Mythologies of the Awadhi Tribe

September 15, 2024

The Awadhi tribe or Awadhis (Awadhi: अवधी, اودھی) are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group who speak the Awadhi language and reside in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh. Many Awadhis also migrated to Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha in India and some adjoining regions of the Terai in Nepal, and in addition 3 per cent of Nepalis are Awadhi speakers. Awadhi people can be found throughout the world, most notably in Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, South Africa, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Historically, Indo-Aryans dominated the North Indian Gangetic Planes; thus, the A. The Awadhi language is spoken by about 55 million people. In India, native speakers are estimated to be 65 million, while in Nepal native speakers are estimated to be 500,000 people. Linguistically, Awadhi is a distinct language with its own grammar. However, the Indian government considers Awadhi to be a dialect of Hindi due to political reasons. Awadhi is not formally taught in any institution.

Awadhi, also known as Audhi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh in northern India and in Terai region of western Nepal. The name Awadh is connected to Ayodhya, the ancient city, which is regarded as the homeland of the Hindu deity Rama, the earthly avatar of Vishnu. Awadhi is also widely spoken by the diaspora of Indians descended from those who left as indentured laborers during the colonial era. Along with Braj, it was used widely as a literary vehicle before gradually merging and contributing to the development of standardized Hindi in the 19th century. Though distinct from standard Hindi, it continues to be spoken today in its unique form in many districts of central Uttar Pradesh. It is regarded by the Indian government to be a dialect of Hindi, and the area where Awadhi is spoken to be a part of the Hindi-language area owing to their cultural proximity, meanwhile Standard Hindi also serves as the lingua franca of the region. As a result, Hindi, rather than Awadhi, is used for school instruction as well as administrative and official purposes; and its literature falls within the scope of Hindi literature. Some of the most culturally significant works in Indian literature like the Ramcharitmanas and Hanuman Chalisa have been written in Awadhi.

Awadhi cuisine (Hindi: अवधी पाक-शैली, Urdu: اودھی کھانے) is a cuisine native to the Awadh region in Northern India and Southern Nepal. The cooking patterns of Lucknow are similar to those of Central Asia, the Middle East, and Northern India and western India with the cuisine comprising both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. The Awadh region has been influenced by Mughal cooking techniques, and the cuisine of Lucknow bears similarities to those of Central Asia, Kashmir, Punjab and Hyderabad. The city is also known for its Nawabi foods. The bawarchis (chefs) and rakabdars (gourmet cooks) of Awadh invented the dum style of cooking or the art of cooking over a slow fire, which has become synonymous with Lucknow today. Their spreads consisted of elaborate dishes such as kebabs, kormas, biryanis, kaliyas, nahari-kulchas, zarda, sheermal, rumali rotis, and warqi parathas. The richness of Awadh cuisine lies not only in the variety of cuisine but also in the ingredients used like mutton, paneer, and rich spices, which include cardamom and saffron.

Awadhi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 38 million people mainly in the Awadh (अवध) region of Uttar Pradesh in India, and also in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Nepal and Mauritius. It is closely related to Hindi and is considered by many as an Eastern dialect of Hindi. Awadhi is also known as Abadhi, Abadi, Abohi, Ambodhi, Avadhi, Baiswari, Kojali and Kosali. Awadhi is usually written with the Devanagari alphabet, or with the Kaithi alphabet, or with a mixture of the two. It was first appeared in writing during the 12th century in the work of Damodara Pandita.

The art of Avadh underscores this complicated, connected history, with Avadhi miniature painting in particular characterized as eclectic, weaving a hybrid of Persianate, Mughal, Indic, and European visual vocabularies. A testament to the interregional dialogue occurring in South Asia at the time, Avadhi miniatures drew from a variety of painting techniques and were overall invested in the depiction of "light and shadows and a more accurate rendition of volume and space" (Losty, 2011). Mihr Chand, Nidha Mal, Mir Kalan Khan, and Muhammad Faqirullah Khan are the most cited and celebrated artists who worked in and around Avadh. Many of them migrated to cities within Avadh, such as Faizabad and Lucknow, after the ruler of Persia, Nadir Shah, sacked Delhi and devastated the Mughal army in 1739. At this juncture, there was an enmeshed network of artistic patronage spurred by courtly elites and also by European traders. Indeed, foreigners like Richard Johnson, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Gentil, and Colonel Antoine-Louis Henri Polier collected and even commissioned complete painting albums. In the permanent collection of the Department of Islamic Art are two miniature paintings from Avadh (Oudh), India. Avadh, located in the northeastern province of Uttar Pradesh, was once ruled by the Nawabs of Avadh (1722–1856), a group that gained autonomy during the disintegration of the Mughal Empire. Quickly, the Nawabs and their courtiers had to contend with the rise of the East India Company. After a decisive victory in the Battle of Buxar in 1764, the East India Company used Avadh as an effective buffer state against encroaching powers such as the Marathas and the Rohillas.