Bene Israel surnames are surnames taken by the members of the Bene Israel community, which are believed to descend from one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, via their ancestors who had settled in the Indian Subcontinent 2,400 years ago,[1] and who settled mainly in the central part of the western coast of India, known as the Konkan Coast and most especially in the Mumbai area, but also in cities like Ahmedabad and Karachi. Today, most Bene Israel live in Israel, with a small community still residing in India and smaller communities in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the USA. In Israel, most Bene Israel reside in the cities of Beersheva, Dimona, Yerucham, Kiryat Gat, Sderot, Lod and Ramle. This community used to be known as well as Shanvar Telis ("Saturday Oil-Pressers") due to their keeping of the Sabbath as well as their main occupation as oil pressers,[2] and have extensively incorporated cultural influences from India into their lifestyle, making it difficult to distinguish them from the wider Hindustani population.[3] In the early 17th century, the Bene Israel came in contact with Jews from Cochin who standardized their practices according to modern Sephardic Judaism.[4]
History of Bene Israel surnames
Apart from their oral history and traditions, there is very little documentation about the Bene Israel before the 18th century;[5] Maimonides, the Jewish philosopher and physician, in a letter written some time in the 13th century, made reference to a Jewish community living in India, which is believed to be the Bene Israel[6] The usage of surnames was not widely common in India until the arrival of the British and the establishment of the colony.[7] The Bene Israel, mostly concentrated along the Konkan coast, the central section of the coastal plain of Western India, and associated with the local rulers, started migrating to Bombay (today's Mumbai) after the establishment of the British Raj in the late 1850s and were among the firsts to be employed by the colonial authorities in the local administration, which prompted them to start using surnames in the Western fashion.[8]
Bene Israel surnames naming conventions
Bene Israel surnames of Biblical origin
Many Bene Israel have surnames taken from names of characters or places in the Hebrew Bible, like Ezekiel, Solomon, David, Samson, Daniel and Elias. Many of these surnames were adopted by upper-middle-class Bene Israel in the 20th Century, during their service to the British authorities, as a sign of of social mobility.[9]
Bene Israel surnames of toponymic origin
The majority of Bene Israel surnames are associated with the town or village where the bearer is originated from, and are denoted with the suffix in Marathi -kar, like the following:
Bene Israel surnames of occupational origin
Bene Israel surnames of descriptive origin
A significant number of Bene Israel surnames are believed to derive from a Hebrew, Aramaic root and rarely, a Marathi root that can be associated with a physical or a personality trait of the bearer, and the Marathi suffix "-kar", like the following:
- Borgaonkar("clever", "deep")
- Chandgaonkar ("pine nut")
- Gulabkar ("rose")
- Kasukar ("angry")
- Malekar ("full")
- Mendrekar ("oppressive")
- Talegaonkar ("smart")
- Walwatkar ("empty")
Anglicization of Bene Israel surnames
In the mid-1700s, with the British conquest of India, the Bene Israel started to service the new authorities, especially in the armed forces, which earned them access to better education and the command of English. Many of these Bene Israel who served the British Crown changed their surnames to forms more easily readable by the British, like Ashtamkar becoming Aston, Bastekar becoming Best and Walwatkar becoming Walter.[9]
Celebrities of Bene Israel origin
- Leela Samson, Bharatanatyam dancer, choreographer, instructor, writer and actress
- Jerusha Jhirad, physician, he first woman to be granted a scholarship by the Indian government to study abroad
- Esther David, writer, art history professor and sculptor
- David Abraham Cheulkar, Indian actor and singer
- Fleur Ezekiel, the first woman crowned Miss India
- Bensiyon Morisbhai Songavkar, Indian cricketer
Explore more about Bene Israel surnames
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bene Israel of India. Avotaynu online
- ↑ Jacobs, Joseph; Ezekiel, Joseph. BENI-ISRAEL. Jewish Encyclopedia
- ↑ In photos: Bene Israelis, the ancient Jewish community of India. Quartz
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Daniel, Aaron. Jews of India - the Bene Israel
- ↑ Waldman, Yedael Y.; Biddanda, Arjun; Davidson, Natalie R.; Billing-Ross, Paul; Dubrovsky, Maya; Campbell, Christopher L.; Oddoux, Carole; Friedman, Eitan; Atzmon, Gil; Halperin, Eran; Ostrer, Harry; Keinan, Alon. The Genetics of Bene Israel from India Reveals Both Substantial Jewish and Indian Ancestry. PLoS One. 2016; 11(3): e0152056.
- ↑ Roland JG. The Jewish Communities of India: identity in a colonial era. 2nd ed. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers; 1998
- ↑ Naming Conventions. SBS Cultural Atlas
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 The Jews in Konkan. Kalemighty
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 שרשרת הדורות