432. Etymology of the Tulu surname (bari) - Kānchan

 

Nepali temple design-architecture (an example)

Temple/spirit shrine design in Tulunadu (example for comparison)

What is the etymology- meaning and origin - of the Tulu surname “Kānchan” (ಕಾಂಚನ್/ കാംചന്) ?

At the outset, you may be tempted to retort that Kānchan means gold as in Sanskrit. But if you delve deep into the intricacies of heritage and history of the land, surprisingly you may stumble upon certain strange connotations.

Note that in the Tulu surnames (or bari), it is specifically Kānchan. The Sanskrit homonym is usually pronounced as kānchana and is a word with several other meanings apart from gold such as wealth, luster or various trees like sampige/champak tree, atti/arti   tree, nāgakesari tree, dattoora plant, etc. (You may find details in “Sanskrit-Kannada Nighantu” compiled by G.N.Chakravarti, 2009 edition)

Secondly, a common feature of Tulu bari names is that most of them end in suffix –an, such as Kanchan, Banjan, Anchan, Mendon, Shriyan, Kukkiyan, etc. The Dravidian suffix –an represents a male person (equivalent of “āN”- ಆಣ್). This suffix was also common in Early Kannada and in Tamil. In view of this the Tulu bari Kānchan can be analysed as- Kanch(a)+an. Then, what is the source of the word Kāncha in bari name Kanchan? Where it came from? And,  when?

Ancient Tribes and migration

 In olden days of history most of the tribal groups had their own individual languages and when  the tribes migrated into another territory, it was a common practice to designate the tribe by the common word used for the male member (or tribal leader) in their tribal language. Therefore in most tribal groups the name of the tribe represents the equivalent word for man in their original language. (For example: Koraga, Munda,  etc the tribal name means man or male person in their original language.)

Bari (ಬರಿ / ബരി ) means house

  You might have noted that various Tulu communities (castes) have several common ‘bari’ names. In other words you may find similar bari names in different Tulu caste communities. This is because the original ‘bari’ groups were formed or founded in Tulunadu well before the formation of castes groups. In other words castes were formed later in the history and the members of several bari groups were split into different caste groups subsequently. And that is why popular songs among the Koraga tribes remind us   that the billava, bunt and mogaveera are the children of one family of sisters.

The common Tulu word bari is an interesting heritage word. In present Tulu bari in general means side or corner. Some people translate it into Kannada and use the modified word bali as found in Kundapura or Ankola. The word bali (ಬಳಿ /ಬಳ್ಳಿ) is used by Kannada speakers in the sense of a (plant) creeper or a lineage. (The Kannada word: ಬಳಿ normally means: nearby).

(Forgive me: Though these are discussed in detail in our older posts, a summary is provided here for the benefit of newbie readers.).

Well, the original meaning of this important heritage word:  “bari” is not a ‘side’ or ‘corner’ but ‘house’! During the early evolution of the Tulu, we have borrowed many words from Munda tribal people who coexisted and lived in Tulunadu. Please note that the ancient Munda/Prakrit word ‘bari’ (=house) has survived also in languages like Bengali. In other words the Tulu word bari is equivalent of “illam” (=house) tradition of Kerala.

Kāncha from Nepal

In Nepalese language, kāncha is a regular word for young man, along with word kānchi applied for young lady. It appears that early in the history a group of young people migrated south and arrived in Tulunadu and these were referred to as Kanchan which became the name of the group or tribe. Eventually these tribes have been assimilated with the native population and it has become one of the ‘bari’ names in Tulunadu.

  Conservatives who may hold a general notion of closed or in situ evolution of Tulu communities may frown upon, asking what the tangible evidences in support of this theory are.  In fact there are several lines of evidences for the exchange of people and ideas between two regions during the early periods of history.

One: It is reported that the Kadamba King Mayura Varma (ca 4^th century CE) who ruled from Banavasi (now in Uttara Kannada district), brought priests (Brahmins) and attendants from Ahichatra, (a place in Northern India) to manage and serve in the newly installed temples in his domain/empire including coastal Tulunadu.

Two: There is a suggestion that Nairs of Tulunadu and Kerala were the migrated and settled members of the Neyer tribes of Nepal.

Three: Above all, there is a striking similarity between the architecture of Nepali temples and the Temples of ancient Tulunadu especially the traditional spirit shrines, suggesting that there was a regular exchange of people and ideas between these two regions.

Four: The founders of Nātha cult at Kadri, Mangaluru, Yogi Macchendra Nāth and his disciple Goraksha Nāth were originally from northern India, who had religious connections with Nepal.

Unity in diversity

The basic tenet of the concept India has been unity in diversity since ages. The assimilation of tribes from different regions even during the early historical periods only proves this point. History demands that we remember and implement this concept of unity strongly and efficiently forgetting minor differences amongst us, especially when some adversary with evil intentions attacks on India.

-  Ravindra  Mundkur