khawaja (Persian: خواجه xʷâjah) 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, 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]
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]
Hodja of Shkodra, from Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873, published under the patronage of the Ottoman Imperial Commission for the 1873 Vienna World's Fair
Hodja of Salonika, today's Thessaloniki (first on the right, with the Hakham Bashi of Salonika on the left and a Monastir town dweller in the middle), from Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873, published under the patronage of the Ottoman Imperial Commission for the 1873 Vienna World's Fair
