Vanshavali Vahi or Bahi are ancient detailed genealogy records of families kept by Hindu Brahmin Pandits also know as “pandas” to record the family history, lineage, gotra & marriages. Although such records have been popular across multiple civilizations across the world, they’re considered particularly sacred and significant in southeast Asia and referred to until this day.
The largest records of these are kept at Haridwar, Kurukshetra, Varanasi, Trimbakeshwar, and Pushkar. Haridwar & Pushkar both the towns are considered sacred to perform last rites and ancestral prayers. They are held sacrosanct by both pilgrims and the pandits. In India, Charans are the Bards who traditionally keep the written genealogy records of various castes. Charans predominantly belong to the Rajasthan, Gujarat, and some parts of Sindh and Balochistan.
In many places these records trace family history for over twenty prior generations, stretching across many centuries. These are beautiful in handwritten registers passed down to the pandits over generations by their Pandit ancestors. They are classified according to the original districts and villages of one’s ancestors. When Hindus make a pilgrimage to a holy place, they also reconnect with their personal family priest, and record births, marriages, and deaths on long paper scrolls. The earliest records were written on palm leaves and have been since lost to the elements, but there are sites across India where such records can still be found. The scrolls are kept by family priests and handed over to the next generations.
Since 1977, Hindu genealogy records were microfilmed and later housed at the Genealogical Society of Utah.