Vora Patel - History and Origin

History and Origin

According to the community’s tradition, some were originally Hindus of the Kurmi caste who were converted to Islam by the Sufi saint Sahawa Sindh. They are found mainly in Bharuch, where they live in close proximity with the Sunni Bohras, with whom they share many traditions. They are an endogamous community, but there are cases of marriages with the Sunni Bohra. Cross and parallel cousin marriages are quite common.

The name Vohra can be said to stand not for any single community but for several whose broad similarity is that they are mainly of indigenous origin. Undoubtedly, a number of other communities are also indifenous but their special character, for instance, of being recruited from a particular Hindu caste or community has given them an individuality. such, for instance, are the Girasias, Maleks and Other Rajput and semi-Rajput communities. the word Vohra horever embraces a more general cateagory of primarily agrarian communities which were conerted to Islam most probably during the reign of the Sultans of Gujarat.

Of these Vohras, the one distinct community is the shi'a ismaili community of the Da'udi Bohras and its offshoots which have also formed into distinct communities. Another section is the Sunni Vohra group of communities, whoch is again not one single community but is formed of a number of distincet, regional units which are separate form one another. The tendency of the people to marry in small local units and again to keep marriage connections localized and intimate has further led to the splintering of this broad mass into different units. Broadly, therefore, it is possible to distinguish several regional sections or independent communities.