A mashk (Hindi: मश्क , Urdu: مَشْکَ  ; ISO: Maśka ) is a traditional water-carrying bag, usually made of waterproofed goat-skin, from North India, Pakistan and Nepal.[1] Mashqs can vary in size, from a hand-held bag, which was often used to carry liquids such as alcohol, to a large sized bag that comes with shoulder strap. They usually have only one narrowed opening. A person who is carrying a large mashk is called a māshqi (माश्की, ماشْکِی). Traditionally, in the northern part of the South Asia, the larger mashq was associated with the Bhishti (भिश्ती, بهِشْتِی) subcaste who were employed as water-carriers by all other sections of society and often seen dispensing water (for a fee) in public places, gardens and construction sites.[2]

Since water came as a great relief to people and plants during the hot summer in the northern Indian plains, the term Bhishti derives from the Persian root word bahishti, meaning heavenly.[3]

See also

References

  1. John Lockwood Kipling, Rudyard Kipling (1891), Beast and man in India: a popular sketch of Indian animals in their relations with the people, Macmillan and Co., 1891, ... When filled with water merely, the goat-skin or "mashk" is a characteristic object ...
  2. J. I. Abdul Hakim (May 2005), Modern Colloquial Hindustani, Kessinger Publishing, 2005, ISBN 978-1-4179-6144-3, ... Water-Carrier - Bhishti ... ek mashk kitne ko ata hai ... Get the bhishti to pour some water ...
  3. The Times of India directory and year book including who's who, Volume 28, Bennett and Coleman, 1941, 1941, ... Bhishti" Water-carrier, lit. "heavenly" or "man of heaven ...
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