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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