Khawaja (Persian: خواجه, romanized: Khawājah) 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 (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, խոջա (xoǰa) in Armenian, xoca (khoja) in Azerbaijani,[5][6] hodža in Bosnian, ходжа (khodzha) in Bulgarian, χότζας (chótzas) in Greek, hogea in Romanian, and хоџа in Serbian.

Other spellings include 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]

Etymology

Ultimately derived from a Middle Indo-Aryan reflex of Sanskrit उपाध्याय (upādhyāya, “teacher; preceptor; spiritual adviser”), via Central Asian intermediaries. Various Middle Indo-Aryan reflexes are attested from all stages, including Maharashtri Prakrit 𑀉𑀯𑀚𑁆𑀛𑀸𑀅 (uvajjhāa), but the Central Asian loaning source most closely resembles an unattested *𑀯𑀸𑀚𑁆𑀛𑀸𑀅 (*vājjhāa) — matching Sindhi واجهو‎ (vājho, “Hindu schoolteacher”). The initial aspiration in Classical Persian خواجه (xwāja) is also found in Khwarezmian خواجیک‎ (xwʾjyk /xwājīk/, “venerated man”) and Chinese 和尚 (héshàng, “Buddhist monk”).[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Epilogue, Vol 4, Issue 5. Epilogue -Jammu Kashmir. pp. 23–. GGKEY:JAACF25BJCD.
  2. ↑ 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.and dalals
  3. ↑ Husain, Ruquiya K. (2004). "Khwaja Israel Sarhad: Armenian Merchant and Diplomat". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 65: 258–266. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44144740.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ Ashyrly, Akif (2005). Türkün Xocalı soyqırımı (PDF) (in Azerbaijani). Baku: Nurlan. p. 12. "Xoca" türkcə ağ-saqqal, "böyük" mənasını daşıyaraq hörmət əlamətini bildirir
  6. ↑ "Xoca". Obastan (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  7. ↑ S. Robson and S. Wibisono, 2002, Javanese English dictionary ISBN 0-7946-0000-X, sv koja
  8. ↑ Albaih, Khalid (2018-11-26). "Jamal Khashoggi's borrowed white privilege made his murder count | Khalid Albaih". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  9. ↑ Wiktionary https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC%D9%87#Persian. Retrieved 17 August 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. ↑ "The Khajenouri Family". The Khajenouri Family. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
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