Balai Bunkar
The Balai, Raj Balai, Balahi, Bunkar or Sutarkar/Suutkar/सूतकार are found in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh in India.
Balai is a Hindu Bunkar caste which spelled or known as बळाई/बलाही/सूतकार. The official categorization of Balai or Bunkar caste may vary from state to state as scheduled caste or Other backward caste.
Balai as weavers
Balai is a transliteration of the Hindi word बुनाई. The word means weaving. Weaving is the traditional occupation of Balai.According to Hindu texts, all weavers in Hinduism are the descendants of Rishi Mrikanda. Mrikanda is known as the father of modern weaving.
Bunkar is a suitable name for the caste of balai as it represent the exact character and both are referred to be same, they belong to the vaishya varna, they work in weaving or selling.
[Jainism]
Jain Shravak Sangha preached to the Balai community in 1964, near Ratlam, in the village Guradia. Jain Shravak Sangha gave Dharampal Jain Samaj to the Balai community, in the name of Dharmanatha. About 1.25 lakh people of the Malviya and Gujarati Balai communities are Dharampal Jains.Raj Balai
Historically, the Raj Balais were royal messengers. They used to convey messages from one kingdom to another kingdom in ancient times. Raj means royal, therefore the Balais who was engaged in such royal services called Raj Balais.Beliefs
Balai are Hindus by religion. They are devotees of Maa Kalaratri. They also pay tribute to Baba Ramdeo Ji and consider Maa Durga as their kuldevi. Balais do not marry in their families or within their gotra.Balais are divided into a number of gotras such as Chouhan, Rathore, Parihar, Parmar, Singhal,Solanki, Brejwal, Bunkar Marichi, Atri, August, Bhardwaj, Matang, Dhaneshwar, Mahachand, Jogchand, Jogpal, Meghpal, Malviya, Garva and Jaipal. They live in multi-caste villages in their own areas and bury their dead.
Balais are traditionally non-vegetarian as they believe in bali. Animal sacrifice is the part of worshiping Kalaratri.
History
Historically, Balai/Bunkar caste is part or offshoot of koli group,It was the specific group from kolis which was engaged in the work of weaving. As of now balai caste/community engaged in weaving and know for their traditional work of weaving. According to historical sources, the Kolis were a warrior class and belonged to the Kshatriya varna following them sometime balai also claim themselves to be kshatriya.In Rajasthan and Gujarat states of India they are specifically associated with Meghwal community due to their various cultural similarities like handicrafts and embroidery work.