Handoo

Handoo
ہینڈو
Origin
Meaning	Sheep, Healthy Fat Man
Region of origin	Kashmir Valley, India
Other names
Variant form(s)	Handoo, Handu, Hyondu

Handoo (Kashmiri: हंडू (Devanagari), ہینڈو (Nastaleeq)), also spelled as Handu, is a Kashmiri Pandit surname native to the Kashmir Valley in Jammu and Kashmir, India.^[1] It is commonly found among Kashmiri Hindus and Kashmiri Muslims.^[2]^[3] This surname descent from someone named Handoo or Hēnḍay.

History

According to Muhammad Din Fauq

In the Kashmiri language, "Hondu" refers to male sheep. This nickname was given to a Pandit (Brahmin) man who was strong and healthy like a male sheep. It is said that the Pandits who were Shepherds or related to flocks of sheep eventually become known as Handoo or Handu.^[4]

According to the Handoo Traditions

The nickname was given to a Pandit who was fat and fresh like a sheep or to those Pandits who somehow were connected with flocks of sheep.

Notables

Kuldeep Handoo, Wushu player from Srinagar.
Piyare Lal Handoo, Politician from Anantnag.
Tej Handu, cricket umpire

References

^ Singh, K. S.; Pandita, K. N.; Charak, Sukh Dev Singh; Rizvi, Baqr Raza; India, Anthropological Survey of (2003). Jammu & Kashmir. Anthropological Survey of India. p. xxxiv. ISBN 978-81-7304-118-1.
^ Dhar, Nazir Ahmad (2002). "Social Distribution of Linguistic Variants in Kashmiri Speech". Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute. 62/63: 46. ISSN 0045-9801. JSTOR 42930603. The surnames like Bhat, Pandit, Munshi, Dhar, Dar, Handoo, Kakroo, etc. characterize aboriginal affinity
^ Clements, William M.; Green, Thomas A. (2006). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of World Folklore and Folklife: Southeast Asia and India, Central and East Asia, Middle East. Greenwood Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-313-32849-7. A variety of Hindu surnames such as Dar, Bhatt, Handoo, Kachru, Kichlu, Matoo and Pandit persist in Muslim families.
^ Tareekh Aqwam E Kashmir By Muhammad Din Fauq Urdu. p. 51 https://archive.org/details/tareekh-e-aqwam-e-kashmir-by-m-din-fauq-urdu/page/n49/mode/2up

[1] Singh, K. S.; Pandita, K. N.; Charak, Sukh Dev Singh; Rizvi, Baqr Raza; India, Anthropological Survey of (2003). Jammu & Kashmir. Anthropological Survey of India. p. xxxiv. ISBN 978-81-7304-118-1.

[2] Dhar, Nazir Ahmad (2002). "Social Distribution of Linguistic Variants in Kashmiri Speech". Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute. 62/63: 46. ISSN 0045-9801. JSTOR 42930603. The surnames like Bhat, Pandit, Munshi, Dhar, Dar, Handoo, Kakroo, etc. characterize aboriginal affinity

[3] Clements, William M.; Green, Thomas A. (2006). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of World Folklore and Folklife: Southeast Asia and India, Central and East Asia, Middle East. Greenwood Press. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-313-32849-7. A variety of Hindu surnames such as Dar, Bhatt, Handoo, Kachru, Kichlu, Matoo and Pandit persist in Muslim families.

[4] Tareekh Aqwam E Kashmir By Muhammad Din Fauq Urdu. p. 51 https://archive.org/details/tareekh-e-aqwam-e-kashmir-by-m-din-fauq-urdu/page/n49/mode/2up

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