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| Nepali temple design-architecture (an example) |
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| 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 4th 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
