Among the Tulu and Kannada words that have an indistinct source is -Banna. The word 'Banna' forms the core of village names like Bannanje, Bannadi, Bannur,Banneraghatta and probably also Banavasi.
Bannanje, Bannadi
The Karavali village name Bannanje has been made famous by celebrated scholar Bannanje Govindacharya. In Bannanje (Banna+anje) as well as in Bannadi (Banna+aDi), the word 'banna' forms the core.
The nearest known analogous words for 'banna' are- 'bana' (=forest), 'baNNa' (=colour) and 'bannana' (=calamity, problem). Banni (Prosopsis cinaria, Linn.(Mimosaceae) is a tree revered by Kings during Dasara festivities.(Note the place 'Banni Mantapa' in Mysore where traditional Dasara celebrations are conducted.)However none of these provide relevant meaning to the cited place names.
Similarly, there is a hamlet known as Bannadka near Padumarnad, Mudabidri.
Bannera-ghatta
Bannerghatta in the outskirts of Bangalore city provides better clue to the origin of the word. Bannera ghatta represents the 'ghatta' (=hilly terrain) inhabited by the people called 'Banner'(plural of Banna).
And who are these Banner or the Banna?
Ethiopian tribe
The search for the roots of Banna takes us back to African-Ethiopian connections. Banna are an Ethiopian tribe. The Banna tribes presently live in South Omo Province in the southwestern region of Ethiopia.The place names like Banna-anje and Bannera-ghatta in southern India suggest that some of these banna tribes migrated and settled in parts of southern India in the historical past.
Banavasi
Banavasi area near Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district formed important centre of socio-political significance during the history. On the basis of analogy of names it can be suggested that originally Banavasi was something like 'Bannavashe' that was transformed to stylish 'Banavasi' with passage of time. There are village names like Kervashe (near Karkala) that are similar to Bannavashe.
Banna
A few Banna tribes appear to have migrated to southern India and merged with the regional social environs during or prior to the onset of Common Era. Banna were a dominant tribes of socio-political significance in southern India. The 'Bannaya' title was referred to respected persons in Tulunadu. Banna proper names and surnames were common among early Buddhist and Jain people including rulers. We hear about Banna Perumal in Kerala history. Similarly Bannaya, Kundara-bannaya, Bannintaya, Bannanjethaya etc surnames were common among Brahmins of Tulunadu.
The 'Banni tree' could have been a prickly shrub brought by or popularized by the Banna tribes.
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Bannanje, Bannadi
The Karavali village name Bannanje has been made famous by celebrated scholar Bannanje Govindacharya. In Bannanje (Banna+anje) as well as in Bannadi (Banna+aDi), the word 'banna' forms the core.
The nearest known analogous words for 'banna' are- 'bana' (=forest), 'baNNa' (=colour) and 'bannana' (=calamity, problem). Banni (Prosopsis cinaria, Linn.(Mimosaceae) is a tree revered by Kings during Dasara festivities.(Note the place 'Banni Mantapa' in Mysore where traditional Dasara celebrations are conducted.)However none of these provide relevant meaning to the cited place names.
Similarly, there is a hamlet known as Bannadka near Padumarnad, Mudabidri.
Bannera-ghatta
Bannerghatta in the outskirts of Bangalore city provides better clue to the origin of the word. Bannera ghatta represents the 'ghatta' (=hilly terrain) inhabited by the people called 'Banner'(plural of Banna).
And who are these Banner or the Banna?
Ethiopian tribe
The search for the roots of Banna takes us back to African-Ethiopian connections. Banna are an Ethiopian tribe. The Banna tribes presently live in South Omo Province in the southwestern region of Ethiopia.The place names like Banna-anje and Bannera-ghatta in southern India suggest that some of these banna tribes migrated and settled in parts of southern India in the historical past.
Banavasi
Banavasi area near Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district formed important centre of socio-political significance during the history. On the basis of analogy of names it can be suggested that originally Banavasi was something like 'Bannavashe' that was transformed to stylish 'Banavasi' with passage of time. There are village names like Kervashe (near Karkala) that are similar to Bannavashe.
Banna
A few Banna tribes appear to have migrated to southern India and merged with the regional social environs during or prior to the onset of Common Era. Banna were a dominant tribes of socio-political significance in southern India. The 'Bannaya' title was referred to respected persons in Tulunadu. Banna proper names and surnames were common among early Buddhist and Jain people including rulers. We hear about Banna Perumal in Kerala history. Similarly Bannaya, Kundara-bannaya, Bannintaya, Bannanjethaya etc surnames were common among Brahmins of Tulunadu.
The 'Banni tree' could have been a prickly shrub brought by or popularized by the Banna tribes.
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H Viswanath adds the following comments:"Banni is also name of a prickly tree with eatable pods.
ReplyDelete'Bannar/Bannaya': It is a suffix to some family names in Tulunadu, eg. Aryabannaya, Kunderbannaya (TL Page 2225).
Bannaye = a respected man; may be still current among Jain communities. Carpenter is also called 'Bannaye' in Tulunadu. In North Indian communities (Rajasthan) also, 'banna' is suffixed to personal names as a mark of respect or endearment.
There is a 'Banni mantapa' - in Mysore, where Dasara festivities are conducted since the days of Maharajas.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI am searching for information on the Banas (Bana people).
The Banas or Banakula people (also known as Balivamsa or Bana vamsa) were a vedic period clan located in the current Gujarat region. They spread across north and southindia in unknown times. Historically, the Banas were great devotees of Vishnu and minted coins with the Garuda, Shanku and Chakra insignia. The later Banas appear to have been devotees of both Vishnu and Shiva, and associated with Nandidurg around which the Pashupata system flourished. They have also been Jains for a time period.
Puranic myths portray them as descendents of Mavali (Mahabali) and doorkeepers of Vishnu. Interestingly Yoga Narasimha is feted as Cholapureeswara in shlokas.
Historically, the Banas of southindia were associated with all the major dynasties as feudatories (Chola, Pandya, etc), with whom they also had matrimonial ties. However, they were more particularly associated with the Pallavas.
I would be thankful if you can provide information from Tulu and Kannada language sources for possible links between the Tulus and the Banas.
Am particularly interested in info / clues that may shed light on the movement of the Banas. After the defeat of Brihad-Bana by the Kadamba Mayurasharma, and subsequent downfall, wud there be clues to show that a section of the Banas moved away from the Banavasi region into other parts of southindia?
Is the surname of Banna amongst the Tulu-speakers a recent surname or an old one? Are people of this surname associated with growing a certain type of crop? If you know about tribes residing around Banavasi; and if you come across local folk stories about how villages in tulunadu got associated with the Bana name, I request you to post them here.
Thankyou.
The Banna- surnames among Tulu people is definitely not a recent one.The footprints of Banna tribes of antiquity in this land has almost been forgotten, except in place names. The surnames suggest assimilation of these tribes into communities existing at present.
ReplyDeleteBanavasi the place name must have been 'Bannavashe' originally and the date appears to be pre-Kadamba.
Vashe (as in Vashi Maharastra) is a spatial suffix consisting of two independant spatial indicator suffixes namely '-va'(as in Shirva,Kakva etc) and '-she'(or -se)'(as in Kervashe, Belse,Avarse), both roughly mean habitation areas.
Vashe is equivalent of the spatial suffix '-vala'(again a combination two units -va and -la) as in 'Bantvala', the village of Bunts.
Therefore, Bannavashe or Banavasi means the village of Banna people.
Thanks for your inputs.
Shall write again later when I have additional data.
Dear Ravi,
ReplyDeleteThankyou very much. Please do continue to post more as and when you come across more information.