Khawaja (Persian: خواجه khwāja, khvajeh) is an honorific title used across the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, particularly towards Sufi teachers.
It is also used by Kashmiri Muslims[1][2] and the Mizrahi Jews—particularly Persian Jews and Baghdadi Jews.[3] The word comes from the Iranian word khwāja (Khaje) (Classical Persian: خواجه khwāja; Dari khājah; Tajik khoja). In Persian, the title roughly translates to 'Lord' or 'Master'.[4]
The Ottoman Turkish pronunciation of the Persian خواجه gave rise to hodja and its equivalents such as hoca in modern Turkish, hoxha in Albanian, xoca (khoja) in Azerbaijani,[5][6] hoža in Bosnian, χότζας (chótzas) in Greek, hogea in Romanian, and хоџа in Serbian.
Other spellings include খাজা (Khaaja) (Bengali), and koja (Javanese).[7]
The name is also used in Egypt and Sudan to indicate a person with a foreign nationality or foreign heritage.[8]
Gallery
Hodja of Skodra, from Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873, published under the patronage of the Ottoman Imperial Commission for the 1873 Vienna World's Fair
Hodja of Salonika, today's Thessaloniki (first on the right, with the Hakham Bashi of Salonika on the left and a Monastir town dweller in the middle), from Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873, published under the patronage of the Ottoman Imperial Commission for the 1873 Vienna World's Fair
See also
- Khwaja Khizr Tomb at Sonipat
- Khwajagan, a network of Sufis in Central Asia from the 10th to the 16th century who are often incorporated into later Naqshbandi hierarchies.
- Khajeh Nouri (Or Khajenouri), a Persian family belonging to pre-revolution nobility, their family tree can be traced back 45 generations.[9]
- Khojaly, a town in Azerbaijan.
- Khoja (Turkestan), a title of the descendants of the Central Asian Naqshbandi Sufi teacher, Ahmad Kasani
- Hoca, Turkish spelling of Khawaja
- Hoxha, Albanian surname
- Hodžić, Bosniak surname
- Koya, a medieval Indian administrative position
References
- ^ Epilogue, Vol 4, Issue 5. Epilogue -Jammu Kashmir. pp. 23–. GGKEY:JAACF25BJCD.
- ^ Shyam Lal Pardesi (1989). Amudarya to Vitasta: A Bird's Eye-view of Relations Between Central-Asia and Kashmir. Sangarmaal Publications. p. 15.
It is most pertinent to mention here that the word Khwaja is used as mark of respect before the name of a Kashmiri Muslim shopkeeper or wholesale dealer.
- ^ Husain, Ruquiya K. (2004). "KHWAJA ISRAEL SARHAD: ARMENIAN MERCHANT AND DIPLOMAT". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 65: 258–266. ISSN 2249-1937.
- ^ Potter, Lawrence G., ed. (2014). The Persian Gulf in Modern Times. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US. doi:10.1057/9781137485779. ISBN 978-1-349-50380-3.
- ^ Ashyrly, Akif (2005). Türkün Xocalı soyqırımı (PDF) (in Azerbaijani). Baku: Nurlan. p. 12.
"Xoca" türkcə ağ-saqqal, "böyük" mənasını daşıyaraq hörmət əlamətini bildirir
- ^ "Xoca". Obastan (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ S. Robson and S. Wibisono, 2002, Javanese English dictionary ISBN 0-7946-0000-X, sv koja
- ^ Albaih, Khalid (2018-11-26). "Jamal Khashoggi's borrowed white privilege made his murder count | Khalid Albaih". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
- ^ "The Khajenouri Family". The Khajenouri Family. Retrieved 26 August 2020.