274. Kata and Kandiya

Apart from the ancient spirit Gods like Kapri and Kuti, we discussed in previous post, there were lesser known Spirit Gods in ancient Tulunadu like Kata and Kandiya.  Ramappa Vormika, a traditional Shanobogue working in the Kundapur area during the British administration of Kanara territories in a report dating back to 1819 mentioned Kata and Kandiya forms of worship among the aboriginal tribes of Karavali.

Kata

Kata is a Spirit God worshipped since antiquity by Koraga tribes of Tulunadu. Like most of the primitive Spirit Gods of this land, Kata is represented by a simple piece of stone, placed usually on a pedestal, under a tree. The Koraga word 'kata' has also found place in Tamil, wherein 'Katavul' means God.However, it seems the word is missing in modern Tulu.

Very little is known at present about the origin or evolution of the cult of Spirit known as Kata.  The Koraga people also refer to 'marathadithaaye' (literally, the spirit under the tree). Places like Kata-pādi, spread in different parts of southern India,inclusive of Tulunadu, [example, (a) near Udupi and (b) near Chennai] could have been the ancient places dedicated to the cult of ancient Spirit God known as Kata.

Kandiya

The Spirit God Kandiya apparently was worshipped by ancient agricultural communities since the word   ‘kanDa’ represents an agricultural land in Tulu. Kandiya is said to have been the Spirit God worshipped by non-Koraga communities.

The origin of the word ‘kanDa’ is interesting. The Munda word ‘kan+Da’ means good land. (Kan=good, Da=land, area). The word ‘kanDa’ has been adopted in Sanskrit as (1) a   piece (of land) or (2) a continent.

Kandiya or Khandiya has evolved into several later forms like Kandevu and Khandoba. Ancient places of Khandiya worship were apparently known as Khandige. There are numerous places hamlets known as 'Kandige' in different parts of Tulunadu.
In northern Karnataka, Khandoba is popular as a Spirit God  depicted astride on a horse like the Bermer Spirit of Tulunadu.
Kandevu appears to be the old name for places now usually referred to as Kandige or Khandige. Kandevu ancient spirit worship with passage of time has apparently been replaced by subsequent and current forms of worship.
Kandevi was a form of tribal language akin to Paisachi-Prakrit and it gradually evolved into present form of  Konkani.

Kandiya was also the old name for a Greek port known presently as   Heraklion. It was founded in the 9th century   and was the capital of Crete until 1841.

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208. Murudeshwara

MuruDeshwara is a well known temple town near Honnavar in the Karavali Coast of Karnataka. RN Shetty group has invested special interest to develop Murudeshwara temple town into an interesting tourist attraction.
The original geomorphic feature of the Murudeshwara is a tombolo structure. A tombolo is a littoral rocky island connected to the coastal mainland through a strip of sand bar. Due to civil modifications in the area it is difficult to distinguish the original tombolo structure.However the tombolo features can be recognised if we watch the profile of the area at a distance from the beach north of Murudeshwara ( as can seen in the photo below)


The place name Murudeshwara has special historical significance as it unravels a hidden layer of theological history of the region. It reveals that the place renowned for the worship of Lord Shiva in the form of Murudeshwara, probably since 5th Century CE (or the Kadamba period) was earlier a site of Muruda (or Muruga) worship. Apart from documenting the cult of Kanda in the Karavali during the early centuries of CE, the toponym has also preserved the lesser known word ‘Muruda’.
Now the place name Murudeshwara is popular as a center of Shiva worship. However it can be deduced that the place was originally known as ‘Muruda’ during early history before the onset of Shaiva cult in the area.There are similar places known as Muruda in other parts of India. One such Muruda village still exists in Orissa in the east Coast of India.Another Murud is in coastal Raighad District of Maharashtra known for its famous beach.There is one more Murude village in Maharastra.
This specific place name ‘Muruda’ apparently was transformed into ‘Murudeshwara’ possibly ca. 5th to 6th Century CE. We have discussed earlier the significance of place names that end with the suffix of ‘eshwara’ as ‘eesh+vara’ or divine habitations ( see Post on suffix -va).

Muruda
Muruda literally means the God of the village or the vice versa. (muru=God,spirit. da=area,village). The component word Muru, discussed below, is of ancient African origin. Da is an ancient word from Munda languages.

Apart from the above we can also discuss some of the related words for comparison:
Mu = Three (as in Munneer = ocean)
Mu = Muddy soil, left by receding flood water.
Muru= A 'U' shaped ear ornament with a big precious stone - white or red), worn by men of older generation. A big 'OnTi' opposed to 'Tikki'.( OnTi and Tikki are two popular ear ornaments among Tuluvas of older generation.
Morod (Konkani)= a rough, coarse dry elevated land.
Murul= Punarpuli (Kokam or birinda) a medicinal sour fruit bearing plant.
Muru Meen = a fleshy and tasty fish. It is slightly curved below belly and deeply curved on upper side.

Muruda=Muruga
Muruda, the forgotten word preserved only in place names appears to be the equivalent (or regional variant) of the other familiar word Muruga. Muruga represents the ancient south Indian God also known by alternate names such as Kumara, Kanda,Skanda, Subramanya, Shanmuga etc. The suffix –ga, in Muruga, also represents a village or an habitation (as in place- names Herga, Binaga etc, for example). Therefore Muruda= Muruga.Thus both the ancient words Muruda as well as essentially originally meant: the God of the village.
The name Muruga ( Murugan) for Kumara or Kanda has been in usage mainly in Tamilandu. However, there are indications that the word was earlier in vogue in Eastern Karnataka also as evident by the name ‘Murugha Rajendra’ used by religious institutions based in places ranging from Gulbarga to Chitradurga.
The available data on Muruda=Muruga suggests that the equivalent cult was known as ‘Muruda’ in northern Karavali and Orissa Coasts dominated by Munda tribes in the historical past.In the southern Karavali place names like Kandavara provide evidence for the existence of Kanda (.> Skanda) cult.

Kumara=Muruga
It has been suggested that several early tribes in southern India had adopted worship of trees. Place names like Maravoor, Maroli, Maroor,Marodi etc in the Tulunadu remind us the heritage and footprints of Marava tribes in the region.In south Indian languges the word mara represents a tree.Early Tamil Sangam literature also documents anecdotes of spirits in trees. The soul of King was considered to have been lodged in a specific tree.The Kadamba tree was held sacred by early Munda tribes. Successive tribes adopted worship of other trees like Banyan, Peepal (Ashwatha or Bodhi), Banni, etc.The cult of Spirit in the tree (‘mara’),possibly evolved into the cult of Māra.The cult of Māra was evident during early centuries of CE, when Buddhism held sway in southern India also as evident from early Buddhist texts.
The cult of Māra subsequently evolved into the cult of Ku-Māra, the youthful God. Kumāra means an unmarried young man. It appears that the cults of youthful God prevalent among different tribes like Kumara, Kanda, Muruga and Muruda were unified and later considered synonymously.The regional cult of Kanda (=child) cult was later sanskritised as Skanda. And apparently the Kumara cult was Sanskritized as Subramanya (Su+brahman+ia).
The cult of Māra as tempter in certain regions later evolved independently into or equated to the cult of Kāma or the cupid.

African roots
There are overwhelming evidences for the suggestion that the word Muru originated in Africa and was distributed to other region probably along with the human migrants. For example, the name of the country ‘Morocco’ is said to have been originated from the Persian word ‘Marrakech’which in turn was derived from the Berber word ‘Mur-Akush’ that means the Land of God.
The word Muru also occurs as a surname in Arab names such as : Abd al-Fattah Muru.
It has been suggested by earlier researchers that the cult of Muruga (Murugan) is derived from the ancient East African concept of spirit God ‘Murungu’. In several African cults, Murungu is a Spirit God, the supreme being, the almighty, all-seer, all-giver, master of life and death, creator of all things and of man.The evolution and transition of spirit worship into Deity worship apparently has origins in Africa. In Meruimenti and Merutig languages, Murungu means God. In Nyaturucha languge it means evil spirit,spirit,ghost or apparition.In Nyaturwil languge it is Spirit or God.In Shona language it means employer.
In Uganda, the God Murungu is also known as Mulungu. Murungu is also a surname among Akamba tribes of Uganda and among speakers of Shona langauge, for example, Solomon Murungu. In Zambabwe,the word Murungu (=God) is also applied to white –skinned persons, mostly in an invective sense. Murungu is also the name of a place in Tanzania,United Republic of Kigoma.

Early tribal people have freely borrowed cults, concepts and above all words, from other civilizations. In other words migration of tribes during different periods in the history have carried cults originated in one region to the other.
The world was a global village long before the internet was invented!

-with Hosabettu Vishwanath
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188. Kudupu: layers of history

Our inadequacy in understanding the original historical and pre-historical environs and the socio-cultural settings, often introduces certain degree of ambiguity in the interpretation of place-names and the actual meanings originally intended by our forefathers. This aspect has been adequately emphasized in several of our previous posts.
Kudupu is one such village name that deserves attention of aficionados of evolution of our language and culture. Kudupu is a minor temple town located in the outskirt of present Mangalore city, known as abode of combined Subramanya and Naga worship. Many devout people consider this place on par with ‘Kukke Subramanya’ known for the atonement of what is described as ‘Naga-dosha’ in religious circles.

Three layers of history
At least three superposd layers of theologic history -with estimated periods of origin -can be delineated in the Kudupu area,which was a part of the Alupa domain of ancient Mangalore. The Kudupu is geographically located to the North of Kulashekar and Alape area of historical significance:
1.Early Kudupa/Koda (Naga) worship ca.400BC -400 CE
2.Kanda/Kumara (Subramanya) worship ca 400CE -800 CE
3.Ananta Padmanabha worship ca.800CE-1200CE

The three layers of history overalapped one after the other sequentially, wherein the chronologically earlier cults were absorbed and fused into the subsequent cults.

Naga worship
Let me draw your attention to the available evidences relating to the definite antiquity of this place before going to the analysis of the place name. The Naga worship is apparently quite ancient in Tulunadu possibly not younger than ca 600-400 BC. There are several villages in Tulunadu that carry place-names suggestive of Naga worship. Naguri, Nagur, Nagarbavi, Nagarkall, Uchila, Ujjodi, etc.
I prefer to add Kudupu and Kodavur to this list of Naga villages.
Kudupu is now famous for the temple built around ancient anthills representative of Naga worship cult and the worship of the popular Deity Anantha Padmanabha.

River that dried up

There are ’sthala - purana’ (site/village history) that describe the religious sanctity of the temple-town. In the cited theological ‘village history ‘ there is an interesting reference to a river “ Bhadra Saraswati Tirtha” flowing nearby the temple of Kudupu. The person who put together the village history was aware of the geographic fact that a river and later a lake (partial remains of a dried up river) existed in the area. It is interesting because presently there is no river near Kudupu. Since the village history is built around the devotion of Subramanya and Anantha Padmanabha ,possibly in that sequence, it can be predicted that it was originally compiled between the period of 4th to 7th Century CE. Thus it can be predicted that the river dried up somewhere during this period. The original Naga worship predates the phases of Subramanya and Anantha Padmanabha worships, and hence the initiation of Naga worship at Kudupu can be dated back to a period older than 4th Century CE.
However, the distinct valleys near Kudupu suggest that a river was flowing in the area once upon a time!

Etymology of Kudupu
Kudupu= to shrug off, to shiver (b) a variant of ‘kodapu’ (=to sting ) (c) ‘kudumpa’= a large stinging ant. (d) Kudupa/Kudpa= a male name (of tribal origin); possibly a stinging serpent or Serpent God, the usage derived from the one who stings. Therefore, the term ‘Kudupa’ originally represented a tribe who worshipped serpent God, a Naga worshipping tribe and Kudupu was their hamlet.
‘Kedu’= a boil or growth on the skin or infection. Earlier generation of Tulu people believed that skin boils, carbuncles etc were developed due to curse of Naga God and they prayed and offerings to Naga God for cure and relief from such scourges.
Later the food grain (horse gram) grown by the natives was also called Kudu. Kudu (=horse gram) one of the earliest food crops grown in south India, looks similar to ‘kedu’ outgrowths on the skin or vice versa.
‘Kudubi’= a tribal farmer, originally one who grows ‘kuDu’.
Kudubi, kudupa, kuduba, kuruba, kuduma, kodama, korama, kor, and koraga etc early tribal names might have been the variants applied to related or unrelated tribes spread in spatially different regions.
‘Kudpa’ or ‘Kudupa’ was a popular male name among the earlier generation of Tulu people. It is also true that many of the popular names were borrowed from actual tribal names, for example Koraga, Mudda, etc. Kuduma or Kodama was also a variant name of a former tribe, apart from being a personal name. There are villages in Tulunadu that bear the name ‘Kuduma’ or Kodamānu. Incidentally , renowned temple town Dharmasthala was formerly known as Kuduma.

Koda mani
The other variant ‘Kodama’ is also preserved in the village name ‘Kodaman’. There are several other ‘KoDa-‘ villages such as Kodavur,Kodanjikal,Kodange,Kodakal,Kodapadavu, Kodimbadi, etc.
There is one more proof for the above suggested derivation of ‘KoDa’=Naga. It is the name of a Tulu Spirit, namely the ‘Kodamanittaya’. The puzzling unexplained word ‘KoDa-mani’ should be the equivalent of the ‘naga-mani’ or the mythical gem on the hood of the Naga God.
Therefore, based on the foregoing analysis it may be tentatively concluded that the village ‘Kudupu’ was an early habitation of serpent worshipping tribes called ‘Kudupas’. And in their language, the word Kudupa, Kodapa or Koda represented the Naga, their God.
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