March of Patriots

Natives of Konkan

The Konkan region, a narrow coastal belt stretching along the Arabian Sea from Surat to
Bhatakal, was one of the four natural regions in the Bombay Presidency. The first mention
of Konkan was in the ninth century when the Puri Shilaharas (9th to 13th century), the
feudatories of Rashtrakutas, ruled the northern Konkan (Kawdi Dwipa) from Puri which
was present day Navi Mumbai. The province surrounding the present-day Thane,
Maharashtra was called Puri-Konkan. The word Konkan was derived from two Sanskrit
words, Kon (angle), Kan (mountain); Konkan means angle of mountain. However, there are
a few other conflicting hypotheses on the etymology of the word “Konkan”. South Konkan
or Konkan-900 extended from present-day Goa to Gokarna, Karnataka. The South Konkan
Shilaharas (8th to 11th century) were also subordinates of the Rashtrakuta dynasty. The
South Konkan Shilaharas and Kolhapur Shilaharas were closely related to the Puri
Shilaharas. The capital of the South Konkan Shilaharas was Chandrapura (Chandor) in
Goa. Prior to the southern Shilahras, the original natives dwelled in the secluded little
triangular spaces cleared between the Sahyadri hills and the Arabian Sea. Compared to the
neighboring fertile land of the southern plains, South Konkan was underdeveloped both
socially and economically. The lack of key historical monuments and relics of Gomanta or
Goparashtra (Goa) before the establishment of the Shilaharas in the ninth century, suggests
that the human activities in the southern Konkan were thin. However, the Elephanta caves
indicate that the development of the northern Konkan began in the fifth century.

All along the history, Goa was recurrently attacked by the invaders as its uncoordinated
sparse human habitation was unable to counter the regimented external forces. From the
third century BC till the reign of Rashtrakutas in the ninth centiry, Mauryans, Satvahanas,
Badami Chalukyas and Southern Mauryas ruled Goa. The mountainous expanse of Goa
never attracted a major flow of immigrants from outside till the sea trade was initiated by
the Rashtrakutas. During the Rashtrakuta and Shilahara regimes, language of Goa might

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have been Kannada. Konkani, the present language of Goa is akin to Malvani, spoken in
Vengurla and Ratnagiri. Both dialects were perhaps developed from Marathi.
Approximately 4 million people speak Konkani in South Konkan including Goa and it is
not spoken anywhere else in India. If Konkani dialect had migrated from elsewhere, its
residues were not left behind anywhere else. The Konkani dialect was born probably in the
thirteenth century during the rule of Yadavas of Devagiri who spoke Marathi and in the
sixteenth century during the rule of Gersappa Queen, Konkani began to spread southwards
into Uttara Kannada. All rational analyses suggest that Goa is the proud motherland of
Konkani heritage.

Prior to the growth of sea-trade in the southern Konkan, the dynamics of the human
habitation was tending towards the plains of India. The demand for the hilly seafront of
Konkan was lackluster because of the shortage of land to support the grain economy. In the
absence of ancient historical evidence, it can be conjectured that flow of immigrants during
ancient times into the South Konkan was a rarity. Since the time of Shilaharas in the ninth
century, small clusters of random drifters from the other parts of India might have migrated
to Goa. In the twelfth century Siddis, the East African seamen who were brought to India
by Arabs settled in the west coast of Gujarat. Later in the sixteenth century during the horse
trade, the Portuguese traders frequently brought Siddis to Goa from Mozambique and
Tanzania for the transportation and maintenance of horses. The Siddi tribe settled in Goa
adopted Konkani as it was the main dialect of the natives. Presently, Siddis living in the
Western Ghats of Karnataka and Goa speak a conspicuous dialect of Konkani mixed with
Marathi and Urdu.

Konkan remained underdeveloped up until the ninth century when Rashtrakutas began the
cotton exports using innovative logistics by sea. They built Gomantak (Goa), Balipattana
(South Goa) and Chittakula (Sadashivgad) ports in the ninth century for trading with
Arabs. Later, during the Vijayanagara Empire, Konkan gained importance owing to the
booming sea-trade with Europe and Arabia. The ancient temples of Konkan suggest that
Konkani was one of the two main languages spoken in the southern Konkan during
Vijayanagara. The southern Konkan was well secured with the newly built forts. The sea-
trade during Vijayanagara was state-owned and port workers from everywhere flocked to
the port towns. The Vijayanagara rulers-built scores of new temples in Goa and Uttara
Kannada, when the sea-trade in the southern Konkan was flourishing. The spice trading of
Vijayanagara became the metaphorical steroid for the speedy urbanization process of the
South Konkan. After Vijayanagara, Gersappa, Keladi and Sonda rulers continued with the
state-owned trading enterprises, but the zest for trading notably declined. Even after
Vijayanagara, a handful of Nadavara maritime workers lived along the Konkan belt in
Chandavara, Kagal, Mirjan, Chandiya, Chittakula and Majali. In Malenad, Nadavaras were

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spread out between Keladi and Sonda. The rocky ruins of ancient Jain structures are found
around Sonda, Banavasi, Salikani, Bilgi, Gersappa and Chandragutti where Nadavaras once
domiciled. The scattered living was a contingent strategy to avoid the probable total
annihilation of the community by Adil Shah, but Adil Shah didn’t target Nadavaras living
in Sonda and Gersappa territories. The adversarial fear was eased when Aurangzeb finally
put an end to the Adilishahi dynasty in 1686 AD. Also, they felt safer after the Mughal’s
goodwill treaty with Keladi Chennamma.

Nadavaras were in good terms with Chennamma of Keladi and with Sadashiva Nayaka of
Sonda. Chandragutti which was in of the domain of Keladi was dominated by the
Virashaiva devotees. The Jain Nadavaras in Chandragutti were inundated by the aggressive
propaganda of Virashaivism. At the end of the seventeenth century, to avoid the possible
religious encounters, they escaped to Konkan and settled on the north bank of Aghanashini.
Even now in Hiregutti they distinguish themselves as Jain Nadavaras. Nadavaras prevailed
in Malenadu despite the unsympathetic Monsoon but thinly spread inaccessible dwelling
was pestering their endurance. The only remedy that they could think was consolidation of
the scattered population for promoting social living. The Hiregutti settlement of the
eighteenth century became a role model of Nadavaras. In the first half of the eighteenth
century, Nadavaras of Malenadu slowly started shifting to Konkan. The Nadavara
Diaspora gradually began to expand on the banks of Gangavali and Aghanashini rivers.

The Nadavara families were not well informed of their ancestry beyond four to five
generations. Only handful of families who were aware of their roots in Malenadu provided
ancestral data which was useful in sketching the passage to Konkan. The familial
connections to old temples and religious events in Malenadu, and certain folklores were
resourceful in drawing logical inferences. The families from Gersappa, Kuchinad and
Chandavara moved to Gokarna Seeme (Mirjan Seeme). The families living in the Sonda
territory settled in the villages on the northern side of the Gangavali River. The state of the
families who lived in Karwar Seeme is open-ended. They might have resettled in Bhavikeri,
Belekeri and Avarsa. Initially the Nadavara exodus from all around folded in the highlands
of Ankola and Kumta before making its way to the water's edge. The subsequent arrivals
settled in villages along the shoreline ranging from Kagal to Avarsa. Many of the villages
are situated on the mountain ridges and riversides. The locations were chosen in such a
way that the naturalness of the landscapes formed barriers sustaining their vigilant living.
The consolidation of the scattered families helped to confront unanticipated incursions. The
combats of the eighteenth century with Virashaivas in Adlur and Portuguese in Gokarna
attest the Nadavara territorial contention in Konkan. The ancient ruins around Adlur
corroborate that the Kalachuris of Kalyan settled on the slopes of the rolling mountains of
Adlur since the twelfth century.

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Bankikodla and Hanehalli are socially intertwined friendly twin villages located on the
western seashore of India at about two miles north of Gakarna. Saraswats migrated to
Bankikodla from Goa twelve generations ago. The average male generation stretch is
approximately 30 years. Saraswat settlement in Bankikodla is close to four centuries old.
Eight generations ago, toward the end of the eighteenth-century Rama Nayaka from Vasars
Kudaragi moved to Henehalli (eight generations: 1. Rama Sr., 2. Subbray Sr, 3. Dodtam., 4.
Rama Jr., 5. Subray Jr., 6. Ramananda, 7. Madhusudan, 8, Son of Madhusudan). Probably
Rama came from Kuchinadu to Vasar Kudargi and the made his way to Hanehalli.
Bhavikeri is multi-ethnic shoreline village situated one mile south of the Belekeri port. The
pioneer of the Bhavikeri Gaonkar house, Ananta Sr. settled in Bhavikeri eight generations
ago (1. Ananta, 2. Venkanna, 3. Giriyanna Sr., 4. Beeranna, 5. Giriyanna Jr., 6. Ananta Jr., 7.
Adarsha, 8 Ansha). The whereabouts of Nadavaras who left Majali, Sadshivgada and Arga
in the eighteenth century is not known. The Gaonkar family of Bhavikeri up until 1950s was
Mokteshwara of the Shantadurga Temple which was brought from Goa to Majali to Adlur
to Ankola. It is rather likely that Ananta Sr. might have come to Bhavikeri from Majali or
Adlur in the eighteenth century.

In the beginning of the nineteenth century the Collector of Canara began to doubt handful
of Nadavara families living in Malenadu. The last wave of a few remaining Nadavara
families who were living in Sonda, Gersappa, Bilgi and Hulekal with the concern for the
Collector consequently relocated to the villages in Konkan. They took up farming, but it
was not by choice. The British rule forced them to give up the martial occupation which
was practiced for so many centuries. After a long tenure of martial lifestyle, the transition to
farming seemed unexciting. Toiling in fields initially was extremely hard. According to the
records of the nineteenth century, the Nadavara families possessed sizeable slices of land in
Konkan. But how did the new settlers of Konkan upon their arrival manage to acquire
land? Did they develop barren landscapes? Did they buy land from the farmers already
living in Konkan?

Prior to the British occupation of North Kanara in 1799, Zamindars and temples were the
owners of land. Sir Thomas Munroe while he was the Collector of Kanara District
considered the replacement of Zamindars with Roytawari settlements which would create
large number of laws abiding Ryotas. In 1821, in a letter to the Governor General, Lord
Warren Hastings, Munroe then the Governor of Madras Presidency recommended
Roytawari system, a new land ownership scheme for a handful of districts including
Canara to replace the existing land revenue system introduced by Haider Ali. According to
Mr. Munroe, the land rent paid to landlords by ryotas frequently exceeded fifty percent of
the net land yield. In the first quarter of the nineteenth century, Sir Thomas Munroe

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introduced the “Permanent Settlement” policy. Cultivators or ryotas became the

landowners but the farm laborers were not considered to be ryotas. The special report
prepared in 1833 by the Revenue Department claimed that the taxation on land in North
Kanara was unsatisfactory even though the land yielded richly priced crops such as spices
and bettlenut especially in Malenad region. The report further stated that the land revenues
collected from the estate owners were fixed and yet the less significant ryotas paid more
than their fair share of taxes. In 1840s, the Collector of Kanara, Mr. Blane abolished the fixed
taxation codes which resulted in the higher taxes for the estate holders, especially in
Malenad. Some landlords refused to pay the new taxes and lost their land. Gatimani family
who had moved to Gonnehalli near Gokarna lost the ownership of its land in Halasanahalli
close to Siddapura in the mid nineteenth century. Even though the bill made a few
landlords unhappy, it earned the good will of the native ryotas. The Mula-Geni (absentee
cultivator) system was accepted under the new bill.

The Nadavara settlements in Konkan were consolidated in twenty-four neighboring

villages. They were located on the banks of the Gangavali and Aghanashini rivers within an
area of eight-mile radius. Why did they live in such close quarters on the banks of two
rivers? Along the north shore of the Ganagavali River in the Kalgod region a small
population of Salwas lived since the time of the Southern Kalachuris. During the heydays of
Vijayanagara, Nadavaras became quite familiar with the coastal stretch of Uttara Kannada
when the Vijayanagara, Sonda and Gersappa rulers occupied the forts at Ankola and
Mirjan. The familiarity of the landscape between Ankola and Mirjan brought the
Nadavaras who lived in Sonda, Banavasi, Chandragutti, Bilgi, Gersappa, Chandavara and
Kuchinadu to settle in small adjoining hamlets bunched between Avarsi and Mirjan. The
proximity of the villages formed clusters of strategic settlements to reassure the safety of the
closely-knit community. All the villages together formed a borough of Nadavaras. South
Konkan was infested by the local robbers and pirates of Malabar. Frequent incursion of the
Portuguese soldiers along the shoreline of Uttara Kannada was even a bigger count of risk.
The Nadavara settlement in Konkan brought feeling of security to the area. The clustered
configuration of the Nadavara settlement in Konkan unveils a clear mold of Kshatriya
colonies that were based on the criterion of self-defense. Over time the Nadavara mode of
settlement became outmoded. The isolated configurations of villages made Nadavara an
insular community which might have stunted its progress. Its dialect was unintelligible
except for the local people. Its customs were different compared to the communities in the
area.

The Nadavara population in 1890 was 5000 and they all practiced Hinduism. After the end
of Vijayanagara the Nadavaras scattered in Malenadu were loyal Jains. In the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries a handful of Nadavaras were converted to Islam and Christianity.

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Anecdotal stories were told of the Nadavara conversion to Christianity in Goa and
Chandavara. The Church of Chandavara in 1950s had a list of a few names including that of
Nadavaras who accepted Christianity at the church. Nadavaras were converted to Islam in
Honavara during the reign of Tipu Sultan. Stories were also told of Nadavaras accepting
Brahmanism and priesthood in Sonda in the seventeenth century. Nadavaras started eating
meat and fish after they became Hindus and settled on the coast of the Arabian Sea. A small
number of the Jain Nadavaras never accepted Hinduism and moved away from Uttara
Kannada. According to the Mr. Munroe’s report, published in the beginning of the
nineteenth century, 85 Jain families lived in North Kanara and in a different context
Munroe had referred to 200 Jains living in Malenadu and 18 Jain migrants from Kuch who
came to work for Tipu Sultan merged with the local Jains. The report was prepared when a
small fraction of the Nadavara community was still practicing Jainism. As documented in
the Gazetteer of 1883, all the Jain families of North Kanara were landowners, which
supported the fact that Nadavaras became farmers in the beginning of the nineteenth
century. Till the beginning of the twentieth century, Jain guests from remote places often
visited with the Nadavara families in Torke, Hittalmakki and Talageri. Were they the
cousins of the past, who never accepted Hinduism?

On December 10, 1510, a Portuguese commander, Alfonso de Albuquerque, with the help a
local Goan pirate, Timmayya conquered the Tiswadi island (Panjim) and ultimately
occupied the entire Adilshahi controlled Goa. After the fall of Vijayanagara in 1565, the
Portuguese started forcibly converting Goan Hindus to Christianity. Many chiefs and
military personnel of Vijayanagara in Goa did have bit of a setback when Adil Shah took
control of Goa. Still, they were the major land holders in Goa. But the subsequent
Portuguese Goa endangered the spirituality and religion of the land holders. Most of them
had to accept Christianity for the intent of retaining the ownership of their land or else they
were converted by force. Probably the converted land holders of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries are the Chardos presently living in Goa. By 1570, three hundred
temples of Goa were destroyed and many of them were transformed into cathedrals and
churches. In 1583, the army of Gaonkars of Goa fiercely fought the Portuguese soldiers to
keep them at bay. In 1590 AD, the Portuguese invited twelve Gaonkars of the Concolim
territory for a peace treaty discussion, and mercilessly murdered them. In Margoa
(Madgoan), the families of the slain chieftains were converted to Christianity. Three
fortunate Gaonkars who did not attend the peace treaty escaped to Uttara Kannada. A good
number of Christian Chardos currently living in Goa are descendants of the Vijayanagara
chieftains who once controlled Goa. Although baptized into Christianity, they still
participate in religious ceremonies of the Shantadurga temple of Fatorpa and many other
temples of Goa. The Chardos of Goa in the past perhaps were connected to the Nadavaras
of Uttara Kannada.

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In the second half the sixteenth century after occupying Margaon, the Portuguese
demolished the famous Shantadurga temple built by the Vijayangara rulers in the early
fifteenth century. A few duplicate statues of Shantadurga from Salcett were taken to the
places beyond the Portuguese controlled territory which included Tisadi, Mormgoa and
Salcett. Three Nadavara Chieftains and their families escaped from Goa to Majali, Uttar
Kannada in 1590 AD with an icon of the goddess Shantadurga. A section of Majali till
recently was called Nadavawada. In early 1600s the icon was instituted in Adlur, a village
in the highlands of Ankola, Uttar Kannada. Many decades later the statue of Shantadurga
was moved from Adlur to a transitory podium in Shirkuli near Ankola. A permanent abode
for the goddess was built in the Honnikeri village in Ankola. The priests, temple dancers,
and temple escorts settled around the temple complex. Three Nadavara families from
Adlur, Bhavikeri and Surve villages were the Mokteshwaras (managers) of Shantadurga.
Expert dancers were brought from Goa to perform in the temple. The elite dancers of Goa
who mainly recited in the courts of god were highly regarded by the temple devotees. The
carvings of dancing girls on the walls of ancient temples reflect the esteemed status once
held by the temple dancers in the Indian culture. Some of the temple dancers came to
Ankola from Naroa and Narve villages which are situated on the banks of Mandvi river
approximately 25 miles from Panjim. The immigrants from Naroa and Narve even today
reside on the fringes of Shantadurga in Ankola. They no longer are temple dancers but are
among the well-educated clusters of Uttara Kannada. The dance recitals performrd in the
Shantadurga temple resembled Kathak and Bharat Natyam of modern days. The dance
concerts held in the temple corridor attracted even the Nayakas of Sonda. The temple still
serves the spiritual needs of its devotees, but the dancing rituals have disappeared.

Gokarna, the legendary pilgrimage center, came under the rule of Keladi Nayakas after
they the fall of the Gersoppa kingdom. The Mahabaleshwara temple of Gokarna was held
in the highest regard by the Keladi rulers. Gokarna for Shaivas and Virahaivas was a holy
place of pilgrimage. In 1714, during the reign of the Keladi King, Basavappa, the Viceroy of
Goa, Vasco Fernandez Cesar de Menezes, unexpectedly attacked Gokarna, Mirjan and
Honavara in Uttara Kannada with his navy ships. Nadavaras were caught by surprise. The
skirmish lasted for a few days and many Nadavara youths died in the battle. The
Portuguese quickly pulled out of Mirjan but the Mahabaleshwar Temple of Gokarna was
destroyed beyond recognition. The Nadavara chieftain of Hiregutti, Uttar Kannada, who
then controlled Gokarna, reclaimed the temple. Later in the mid-eighteenth century
Hiregutti Nadavaras refurbished the temple complex. According to the folklores, the
original temple was built by the famous sculptor of the Hoysala era, Jakkanacharya. He
built the famous Chenna Keshava temple of Beluru, Karnataka in the beginning of the
twelfth century.

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The Hiregutti chieftain, who was a Vaishnava (Devotee of Vishnu), continued to be in

charge of the Mahabaleshwara temple. Being Vaishnavas, why did Nadavaras take such an
interest in promoting the Mahabaleshwar (Shiva) Temple? The Nadavaras of Hiregutti
helped to build temples and promoted religious establishments (Mathas) in Gokarna
during the eighteenth century. Was it a philanthropic gesture of Nadavaras of that era?
Recently, till 1925 AD, a progeny of the Hiregutti Chieftains was given kingly treatment at
the Mahabaleshwar temple. Seated in the temple chariot and dressed up in royal attire, he
was paraded around. This was one of the main events of Shivaratri festival in Gokarna. A
dedicated entrance was set up for the Nadavara community at Koti Theertha, a sacred
bathing pond built for the pilgrims. The Nadavara families living around Gokarna
luminously celebrated the Kartika festival in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The
Nadavara families of Hannehalli and Maskeri were the main contributors to the celebration.
The main streets of Gokarna were brightly lit with thousands of oil lamps. On the final day
of Kartika, in the evening Nadavara men and women bathed in Koti Theertha. As a mark of
honor, the center of the holy cremation ground of Gokarna, Rudhra Bhoomi, was held in
reserve for the cremation rituals of Nadavaras. The privileged treatment offered to the
Nadavara community in various aspects of the holy city of Gokarna, supports the fact that
the Hiregutti Nadavara chief was the ruler of Gokarna.

The families belonging to Kavarai sect were appointed by Krishna Devaraya to oversee
Vijayanagara’s international trading. Even though Kavarais were Kshatriyas, their union
was affiliated with the merchant community of Vijayanagara. Also, later in the seventeenth
century the Kavarais were actively involved traders during the Banajiga rulers of Keladi
who ruled Keladi kingdom from Bednore, the modern day Nagara. In another finding from
the writings of a wellknown early twentieth centuty teacher, Murkundi Gaonkar of
Hiregutti, the Kavaris of Torke belonged to the Kavaru wing of Jain Nadavaras of Dakshina
Kannada. Kavaru families were landlords thinly scattered between present day Udupi and
Kundapura. In the seventeenth century, the Keladi rulers controlled the Honavar port. At
the end of the seventeenth century, the Queen Chennamma appointed Kavaris from Udupi
to administer the port of Honavara. In the early eighteenth century, the Portuguese took
control of the Honavar and Bhatkal ports from the Keladi kings and started forcibly
converting Jains and Hindus to Christianity. The great grandfather of Late Ramakrishna
Kavari (1834 -1908) left Chandavara to avoid forced conversion and settled in Torke in the
mid eighteenth century. It is probable that etymology of Kavarai, Kavaru and Kavari were
derived from the same origin. However, additional research is warranted to confirm the
origin of the Kavaris of Torke. The Kavari Family owned most of the land in Torke,
Sanikatti, Sidheshwarara villages. In the eighteenth century, Kavaris introduced salt
production in Sanikatti, Uttara Kanada. Kavaris were vegetarians when they settled in

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Torke. In the beginning of the nineteenth century, they built a second kitchen detached
from their abode, for cooking fish and meat. Moodbidri was their revered holy place and
till the beginning of the twentieth century they made periodic pilgrimages to Moodbidri
and Dharmastala in South Kanara.

Sharif-ul-Mulk, the governor of Ponda took control of the Mirjan Fort after Venkatappa
Nayaka of Keladi defeated Chennabhairadevi in 1608. He was a commander in the army of
Ibrahim Adil Shah II. Sharif-ul-Mulk also occupied the Ankola fort for a brief time before
passing it on to Ramachandra Nayaka, the king of Sonda. The Mirjan Fort was held by
Sharif-ul-Mulk till Shivappa Nayaka snatched it from Adil Shah. The Salwa king of Kagal,
Krishnaraya Nayaka, subordinate of Keladi Chennamma controlled the fort around the
turn of the seventeenth century. However, the Salwa families who lived in the secluded
places of Malenad and Konkan were always antagonistic to the Keladi dynasty. Naga
Nayaka of Kagal who the grandson of Krishnaraya was had secret associations with Haidar
Ali. In 1763 AD, Haidar Ali’s victory over the Viramma gave him the control of North
Kanara. A small faction of Nadavaras helped Haidar in his North Kanara operation.
Nadavaras were split into two groups, for and against Haidar Ali. Although the larger
group was against Haidar, it did not possess the much-needed muscle power or courage to
oppose Haidar. The conservative Jain bloc, who was in alliance with Haidar wanted
payback for the terrorism inflicted on Salwas living in the Keladi domain, particularly in
Haduvalli. Perhaps the Nadavara faction that practiced Jainism welcomed Haidar Ali into
North Kanara.

The Katyayani Temple in the beginning was known as the Avvarasi Temple, named after
Chennabhairadevi. Avvarasi (mother queen) was the cherished nickname of
Chennabhairadevi. The etymology of Avarsa village stems from the Avvarasi Temple.
Narayana Nayaka who ruled the province of present day Arga, Amadalli, and Avarsa
villages was a feudatory of Chennabharadevi. A locally sung Janapada (tribal song)
narrates the story of Nadavaras building a fort in Arga, alluding to the rule of a Nadavara
Nayaka. The Sahyadri forest stretching from Aversa to Arga was famous for ebony,
teakwood and rosewood. Elephants and bullock carts were utilized for the transportation of
lumber from forest to the Belikeri River. A group of sailors belonging to the Kharvi sect
were hired from Margoa during the Chennabhairadevi’s reign, to transport lumber on
barges from Aversa to Goa and then to Europe. The Kharvis are the earliest settlers of
Aversa, lived on the banks of Belikeri River. Katyayani temple was exclusively built for the
migrant Kharvi people settled in Aversa. Narayana Nayaka, who built the Khatyayani
Temple, was influential in the growth of the state owned Avarasi logging enterprise. The
Kharvis were recognized warriors in the army of Goan Shilaharas who later turned into
fishermen, like the Mogaveers of Dakshina Kannada and Kolis of the northern Konkan.

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Kharvis are one of the original inhabitants of Goa. During the Portuguese rule they
supported the temples of Goa. Dasara, the main festival of Chennabhairadevi, was
zealously celebrated by the Kharvis at the Avvarasi Temple. However, recently fabled story
regarding the temple’s origin do not relate to Chennabhairadevi. In the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries, Avarsi was under the rule of Sonda kings. In the second half of the
eighteenth century Avarsi Nayaka became a helper to Haider Ali. According to an
anecdotal story, the Avarsi Nayaka built barracks high up in the mountains to house
Haider Ali for a few days. For the warm hospitality, Haider gave his sword to Avarsi
Nayaka as Baksheesh (reward).

In the nineteenth century, the headman of Avarsa, Timmanna Naik, was the main
Mokteshwara of the Katyayani Temple. He owned a large portion of the ancestral forest in
Avarsa and Amadalli villages. At the end of the nineteenth century, Timmanna lost his
forestland to the British autocracy but he continued with the logging business as an
independent contractor. The family owned two elephants and one hundred bullock carts at
the turn of the twentieth century. After Timmanna, his eldest son, Venkataramana,
inherited the last surviving eight-year-old elephant along with a large pack of bullock
carts. Venkataramana was a spiritual man and was not particularly interested in the
ancestral logging enterprise. Moreover, his logging business began to shrink due to the
growing competition from the arrivals of new contractors. He became terminally ill in 1930s
and wished to die in the corridor of Katyayani temple. During the last two months while
living in the temple, Mantri, a young friend from Yellapur, Uttara Kannada, helped him.
After the death of Venkataramana, Mantri took care of the elephant, but as the elephant in
logging business became outdated, its expensive maintenance proved to be uneconomical.
Mantri still kindly kept the elephant as his pet. The deductive reasoning surmises that
Aversa Nayakas perhaps were the descendents of Narayana Nayaka of the Gersappa
Kingdom.

Ankola was an exemplary secular society consisting of Hindus, Muslims, and Christians
jointly living in harmony. Haidar was not friendly to the innocent residents of Ankola. He
set Hale Peti, the marketplace of Ankola, ablaze killing countless number of shoppers and
shopkeepers. The town of Ankola had nearly one hundred shops, but after facing the
ravage of Haidar, only forty shops survived. It was probably Haidar’s way of imposing
command, through cruelty and coercion. In 1783, Haidar’s son, Tipu Sultan, returned to
Ankola to convert Christians and Hindus to Islam. In the Ankola fort, he executed many
Hindu and Christian residents on false accusations of helping the English. He frequently
tortured the people living in Konkan, spanning from Karwar to Honavara. The lively port
towns turned into ghost towns and the people lost their confidence. The cotton export

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gradually dwindled, handloom mills went out of business and shopkeepers changed
identities and sought refuge in the Malenad towns.

In the first half of the eighteenth century, the Nadavaras migrated from Chandragutti to a
mountainous village, Doorgutti that was a few miles east of Hiregutti. Near Doorgutti they
secretly hid their gold in a cave which served as a safeguard for their valuables. After
Haidar Ali captured Uttara Kannada the Nadavaras hid in the thick forest of Sahyadri
around Doorgutti. A Nadavara man who was in cahoots with Haidar disclosed the gold
secret. In the absence of any resistance from Nadavaras, it was quite an opportune time for
Haidar to encroach Doorgutti. He confiscated the concealed treasure without any collision
with the Nadavaras. Haidar departed quietly with the ransom. For some reason, Haidar did
not have any sort of vindictive animosity towards Nadavaras. There is no evidence of
Nadavara skirmishes with Haidar during his victory ride through Uttara Kannada. The
scattered and disorganized Nadavara strength was incapable to oppose Haidar. Also
because of a handful of Nadavaras supported Haidar’s incursion, probably he was lenient
to the entire community.

The Nadavara families living in Chanadavara, Kagal, Arga and Sadashivgada in the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries worked in the state-owned maritime transports. Two
Kagal Nadavara families who lived on the southern bank of Aghanashini in Kagal moved
to Torke in the beginning of the twentieth century and a family supposed to be the last of
the Kagal Nadavaras is said to be still living there as a token of establishment since the hey
days of Kagal. The Nadavara families of Kagal owned smaller boats used for collecting rice
bags, coconuts and molasses from the farmers living along the coastal and riverside
villages. From Kagal and Tadadi state owned larger vessels like schooners carried cargo to
Goa and other distant places. The men belonging to the Kharavi sect were employed for the
navigation of schooners. Kagal was the hub for transporting rice, coconut and spices. The
Kagal trading enterprise was owned by the Gerusoppa and later Keladi rulers and it was
solely managed by the Kagal Nayakas. The Hulachi family associated with the maritime
transports in Arga, Uttara Kannada, shifted to Torke at the turn of the nineteenth century
and it was the last family in Torke to give up Jainism.

Nadavaras were ambivalent about the demeanor of Tipu Sultan. He was cruel king by
many and also some described him as a freedom fighter against the Colonial Rulers.
Around the end of the eighteenth century, to avoid the forced conversion to Islam,
Nadavaras of Chandavara fled to Torke. The soldiers of Tipu Sultan hounded them and
two Nadavara men were killed in Hosakattu near Torke. Their marked memorials as a
witness to the Tipu’s forced conversion, still stand in Torke. Around the same time, two
cousins, Kencha and Devanna of Chandavara, escaped on a small boat to Devarbhavi, a

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village adjacent to Torke. Both in the beginning helped the Kavari family with the
transportation of salt from Tadadi to Uppin Pattana located on the northern bank of the
Aghanashini River. The grandson of Kencha Nayaka of Chandavara, who was also known
as Kencha married the sister of Ramakrishna Kavari, Torke, around 1860s. In the first half of
the nineteenth century, the saltpans were almost the monopoly of the Kavari family. In the
second half of the nineteenth century, the salt production in Sanikatta doubled as three
Nadavara and two Saraswata families converted additional rice fields into saltpans. At the
end of the nineteenth century, the British government started controlling the salt
production in Sanikatta. In 1888, the taxation on salt was sharply raised by Lord Dufferin,
the Viceroy of India. Indians started using the cheaper imported Liverpool rock salt. By the
turn of the twentieth century, salt production significantly declined due to heavy taxation
which reflected on the profit margin. Early in the twentieth century, salt producers
collectively formed the Sanikatta Salt Trading Society which managed the salt production
and sales and gave dividends to the participating saltpan owners.

The remote memories of Chandavara became the matter of nostalgia. To pacify crying
toddlers, the women of Torke until recently, sang a lullaby in Kannada, “Honavar to
Chandavar, its only two Haradaris (three miles); stop crying or else you will be punished
by a ghastly looking Bikari (beggar).” Ironically, the song was more of a scare tactic than
pacifier. The Kavaris started private tutoring at their home to educate the young children of
Torke. In 1850, the Kavari family built a special private school in Torke. Later in 1881, the
Torke School became a public school under the Colonial education system which added
over 90 new schools in 1880s across North Kanara. According to the 1918 census, Torke
was one of the most literate villages in India. Partially it was due to Torke’s homogenous
and well-to-do residents who had an easy access to school. Its people were intimately
acquainted and were eager to educate their children. Torke was the role model to other
Nadavara villages.

The cousin of Chennabhairadevi, Jitta Nayaka at the end of the sixteenth century was
appointed as the chief of Kagal province that included Mirjan, Kumta, Hegade, Kagal,
Masur and Bada. Jitta Nayaka was a follower of Jainism. The story of Sharif-ul-Mulk
constructing the fort in 1605 may not be accurate because Portuguese traders frequently
visited Chennabhairadevi at the Mirjan fort. Two identical Jain pillars erected by her on the
grounds of Kagal and Mirjan forts and the Hindu temples built inside the Mirjan and
Ankola forts by the kings of Vijayanagara still stand to negate the hypothesis of Sharif-ul-
Mulk building the Mirjan port. It is possible that Adil Shah or his chieftains might have
expanded or renovated the fort. After the fall of Vijayanagara, the Mirjan and Ankola forts
came under Bijapur Sultanates. The Queen moved her capital to Gersappa on the southern
bank of the Sharavati River and Sharif-Ul-Mulk briefly took over the Mirjan fort. Later, Jitta

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Nayaka controlled the fort for some time. The Sonda kings, under the reign of Adil Shah
occupied the Ankola fort till Ankola came under the statute of Shivaji.

Jitta Nayaka was a faithful assistant of Chennabhairadevi and at the same time he reported
to the governor of Ponda. Getting along with two chiefs of conflicting interests was not easy
but he kept both well satisfied. The relation of Jitta Nayaka with Sharif-ul-Mulk in a way
buttressed Chennabhairadevi’s relaxed relationship with Adil Shah. After Keladi
Venkatappa Nayaka imprisoned Chennabairadevi, Jitta Nayaka in retaliation burnt a horse
at the stake in Mirjan. The preposterous story of Nadavaras (Jitta Nayaka) eating horsemeat
still goes around among the people of Uttara Kannada. But Jitta Nayaka being a Jain and
vegetarian, it is difficult to conjecture the reason for Jitta Nayaka’s ingestion of horsemeat.
Did he perform the rituals of fire sacrifice (Yajna) as declaration of war against Venkatappa
Nayaka? However, after the end of the long reign of Chennabhairadevi, the king of Kagal
became the feudatory of Keladi Nayakas. Perhaps, Jitta Nayaka’s convoluted connection
with Keladi had to be accepted by Venkatappa as he could not afford to complicate the
strained relations with Sonda and Adilshahi kingdoms any further. The Jain Nadavara
family of Kagal over the span of two centuries, managed to remain loyal to the Adil Shahis,
Keladi kings and Mysore Sultantes. They alternated their living quarters between Kagal
and Mirjan. The Kagal chiefs exported rice, spice and lumber from Mirjan, Kagal and
Tadadi ports. The British occupation in 1800AD ended the long-held Jain family’s control of
Kagal.

In 1730s smallpox broke out in Goa and later spread to Uttar Kannada. The Portuguese
sailors apparently brought the disease from Europe. Honnamma of Kagal was pregnant
when her husband, the prince of Kagal died of smallpox and was buried near the Kagal
fort. Honnamma’s husband (name unknown) was the son of Krishnaraya Nayaka, the
ruler of Kagal and wife Mankali. The subjects of Kagal believed that the prince was victim
of an evil spirit who was residing in his tomb and occasionally came out after dusk. The
people of Kagal were afraid to go near his tomb. Honnamma ruled Kagal and Bada till her
death in 1750s, and her memorial was built on the southern bank of the Aghanashini River
near Kagal. Her son, Naga Nayaka, the young stalwart militant prince of Kagal resented
his duty of loyalty to Keladi rulers. Along with Agsur Honnappa Nayaka and Achave
Hebbara, he conspired with the Sultan of Mysore, Haidar Ali against the queen of Keladi,
Virammaji in 1763 AD. Naga Nayaka was treated like a renegade by the angry Nadavaras
of Mirjan and Bargi who were against Haidar Ali. Uttara Kannada came under the control
of the Sultans of Mysore. Tipu Sultan supported Naga Nayaka, but after the death of Tipu
Sultan in 1799 AD, he felt threatened by the Colonial rulers.

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During the rule of the Keladi kings, Kavaris of Chandavara and the rulers of Kagal were
intimately acquainted with each other. It was probably since both worked in maritime
enterprise of Keladi Nayakas. The Kavari family invited Naga Nayaka to live in Torke and
provided land for his living quarters. In the 1807 travel diary, Sir Francis Hamilton,
Surgeon General of the East India Company wrote that the Jain king of the country
stretching from Kumta to as far as north of Honavara lived in Kumti (Kumta). The Jain
King was Naga Nayaka who shifted from Kagal to Torke in the early nineteenth century.
Like the Kavaris, the family of Naga Nayaka accepted Hinduism. After settling in Torke, he
occasionally visited the Venkateshwara Temple in Manjaguni, Uttara Kannada. Supposedly
Torke families followed the suite. He became a well-liked member of the friendly
homogeneous commune of Torke. Naga Nayaka, while living in Kagal was collecting one
thousand Kandagas of rice in land rent from the farmers of Kagal country. Kandaga is an
old measure of grains, weighing approximately 50 kilograms. His family jointly with the
Kavari family hosted eighteen Haridana celebrations while living in Torke. Haridana was a
splendid festivity of feeding the entire Nadavara community for three to seven days. The
grandson of Naga Nayaka, who was also named Naga Nayaka, married a Kavari woman.
The robust old home of Naga Nayaka, built in the early 1800s, still stands in Torke. The
Permanent Land Ownership rule of 1830s, which barred the absentee landowners from
holding land, seized most of Naga Nayaka’s Jahagir that covered parts of Mirjan, Hegde,
Kagal, and Bada. Unlike in the other districts, the rule implemented by Governor Munroe
in Kanara snatched the land from the large Jain Nadavara landlords of Kagal, Adlur,
Aversa and Bilgi without giving them the Jahagir status. It was perhaps due to the
Nadavara dealings with Tipu Sultan. Teera Mastar, the son of Naga Nayaka, even in 1930s,
was honored at the Temple of Kagal, Ammana Mane, which was attached to an ancient Jain
Basti.

According to the records, Gati family in the nineteenth century owned land in the village of
Halasan Halli near Siddapur. Honnappa was the great grandfather of Gati Sahib. Since
Honnappa was one of the last persons to leave the Malenadu for settling in Konkan, his
family was nicknamed Gatimani. Honnappa bought land in Gonehalli and Kotekeri near
Gokarna. Kotekeri is allegedly a historic place from the time of Shilaharas. Honnappa
carried along the Bera Stone of Gudi Honnappa and enshrined on a hilltop near Gonehalli.
The descendents of Gatimani believe that Gudi Honnappa was their ancestor. The hilltop
temple was the family shrine of Gatimani. Gati Sahib frequently visited the temple. Even
now the name Honnappa is common among Gatimani families. The hamlets around the
Gudi Honnappa temple celebrate Bandi Habba (festival) in summer. Nadavaras told
interesting stories of their Bera and Sati shrines to connect their families with the historical
events. Most of the stories are anecdotal and not all narratives may be accurate. The

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exploration of the archeological sites around the Nadavara villages can help to discover
their past.

The Nadavara population of the northern Canara was 3700 according to the document
prepared in 1821 by the Collector of Canara. The strategic reports of the Colonial rulers of
the early nineteenth century, if not accurate might be closer to reality. The estimate of 5,000
in 1890s by Ramakrishna Kavari was the most reliable headcount of the Nadavara
population. His estimate of Nadavara population was 1.5% of the population of North
Kanara, 335,000 (1881 census). The Gazetteers of Bombay Presidency compiled between
1877 and 1904 AD were written in rather poor linguistics and with inconsistent and
erroneous data sets. The particulars contributed to the Gazetteer were initially compiled by
the village clerks in Marathi and Kannada. The documents were translated to English by
the Collector’s office in Karwar. Subsequently the records from twenty-five districts (in
1883) of the Bombay Presidency were edited and compiled in the office of the Secretary in
Bombay. Historical writings at times were victimized by wrong opinions for varieties of
reasons. The reports were prepared by many contributors to the same bureaucratic project
and the subject matter experts did not edit the final products. The Gazetteer lacked much
needed quality control subroutine. The poor writing skills of the information compilers
make one question the validity of contents in the Bombay Presidency Gazetteer.

According to one of the Gazetteers, 600 Nadors lived in North Kanara. They grew vegetable
and sold them in large markets. Yet another Bombay Presidency Gazetteer mentioned
Nadavara women dressed like Brahmin women. The most interesting one was Bombay
Presidency Gazetteer, Karwar, Volume XV Part I, 1883. Some of the descriptions are,
“Nadavara generic surnames are Kippa, Kania, Janga, Poska and Donka. Nadavara
population in North Kanara is 3576 of which 65% male and 35% female. They believe in
witchcraft and ghost. They respect Brahmins but do not employ them. Their village head is
called Budavanata.” The descriptions merely point to erroneous documentation of the
Nadavara community. Also, the community was mentioned by the unusual slang moniker,
Nador which was the term used by the local sects such as Halakki Goudas and Komarpants
of North Kanara. The 1883 Gazetteer was recorded thirty -three years after the Kavari
family of Torke started a private school to educate young Nadavara children. Yet in another
Gazetteer (the Bombay Presidency Gazetteer, Karwar” Volume XV, Part III 1888),
Nadavaras were referred to as “Nadgis, the proprietors of salt pans sold salt in Katagal
along with Saraswats.” The Konkanis still in Uttara Kannada use the slang term Nadgi for
Nadavara. In the same Gazetteer the term Nador is used in a different context.

The villages in the south of Ganagavali were under the Keladi Kingdom whereas the north
side of the river, including the Kalgod region belonged to the Sonda Kingdom. Nadavaras

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lived near the seashore on either side of the Gangavali River since the mid eighteenth
century. The old-fashioned five Seemes which existed during Sonda and Keladi rules came
to an end when the well-organized Colonial administration took firm control of Kanara.
Simply for the geographical distinction, Nadavaras started using new jargons, Achiseeme
and Ichiseeme. However, Ganagavali, the rushing green river in the valley of Sahyadri
created the geographical divide between Nadavaras living on either side of the river.
Residents of each side of the river even now refer to the other side as “Achiseeme” (that
county) and “Ichiseeme” (this county) for their own. It is amusing to think of a minor river,
two hundred yards wide creating a barrier that split a small community of a few thousand
people in two pointless factions. Each Seeme attempting to establish pretentious
superiority over the other was allegorically like two siblings constantly bickering for
attention. The dichotomy of Seemes began to taper off by the mid twentieth century and
now both Seemes have coalesced into single extended borough of Nadavaras.

The Nadavaras settled on the southern shore of the Ganagavali River were a bit more
educated than their counterparts living on the northern shore. In 1950, D.P. Karmarkar, the
Commerce Minister of Bombay state, while visiting Ramachandra K. Naik referred to Torke
as one of the most educated villages in Bombay Karnataka. In fact, Torke had the literacy
rate of 99% and was among a few villages with lofty literacy rates in India. Nevertheless,
the two Seemis never fought; instead, helped each other during crises. They tried to show
off their generous hospitality towards each other during religious functions. Ghati Sahib
was outcasted for going abroad by the Hiregutti leaders, but the Nadavaras of Bhavikeri,
the northern side of the river did not see any wrongdoing by Gati Sahib and opposed to
condemning the innocent. The community was split in the Gati Sahibs case. However,
upon Sahib’s return from England, Nadavaras from both sides welcomed him with the
garlands of cardamom. The Seemis had their differences, yet they were not intense enough
to shatter their integrity.

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The Mirjan Fort, Mirjan, Karnataka

Built by the Sangama Dynasty, Vijayanagara: 15th century. Later on occupied by:
Gersoppa Queen and Sharif Ul Mulk (Adil Shah): 16th century,
Jitta Nayaka (Ruler of Kagal) and Keladi Rulers: 17th century
Haider Ali and Naga Nayaka(Ruler of Kagal): 18th century

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Mahabaleshwara Temple, Gokarna, Uttara Kannada

In 1714 the Portuguese navy invaded Mahabaleshwara Temple, Gokarna. Nadavaras of

Hiregutti came to the defense of the temple. It was totally ruined. The Nadavara chieftain of
Hiregutti, who then controlled Gokarna, reclaimed the temple (Details on page # 7).

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