The Kulhaiya Sheikh (Urdu: کلاحیا) is a Muslim community found in the northeastern part of the Indian state of Bihar as well as the terai region of south-east Nepal. The founding members of this community belonged to the Hadhrami-origin tribe of Yemen settled on the coast of Horn of Africa who came as mercenaries and sellsword to North-east Bihar via Sindh and Kutchh, on the invitation of the Bengal Sultanate for reinforcement of Purnea Division army bastion. The mercenaries started marrying local Rajput & Babhan (Bhumihar) women in large numbers as well as the womenfolks from Rajbongshi, Kayastha, and Yadav communities. In the later stages the Gurjara nomads of Kutchh and Gujarat, Jats of Sindh and Kurmis of present-day Uttar Pradesh who were renowned for their agricultural acumen were invited by local powerful vassals, with the permission of the Bengal Sultanate which had the marital relations with the Nawab of Junagadh, as the surplus pasture and arable lands were turning into barren wastelands due to incessant floods and subsistence agriculture practiced by indigenous locals. Together all of these migrant communities along with the local indigenous populace intermarried extensively amongst themselves, gradually evolving into a unique and intra-genetically diverse but single ethnicity, which over the time became structurally rigid and endogamous. With a distinct culture as well as a Maithili and Kutchhi-based lingua franca and eventual acceptance of Islam as the common religion, the community came to be known as 'Kulhaiya'. Etymology The word 'Kulhaiya' came from Persian language combining words 'kul (کل)' meaning complete and 'haya (حیا)' meaning modesty. Some chronicle accounts of the community state that it came from word 'Kulah' which means turban cap which the founding members from Yemen wore while other believe it to come from Sanskrit word 'Kul' meaning tribe or family. Most of the customs and practices followed by Kulhaiyas are adopted from local indigenous Hindu communities which combined with the cultures brought by the migrant ethnicities evolved into a unique and distinct culture. History Origin Founding members of the Kulahiya community were preferred for soldiers in the Bengal Sultanate due to their mercenary background. The Faujdars of Purnea at the time of the Mughal Nawab of Bengal, Saif Khan, appointed kulahiyas to protect Indian border on the side of Nepal against the invading Gurung and Gurkha tribes. The original members of this community were Arab mercenaries and sellswords from Hadhrami tribe of Yemen.