The recognition and
practice of human genetic lineages or the Lineage system (alternately known as
Bari, Bali or Gotra system) among civilized ancient communities in India is
distinctly older in origin and date than the caste system.
A reader has asked
about the caste of Tulu people that migrated into southern Tamil country during
early history corresponding with Sangam age.In my opinion, there were no modern
castes (like Bunt, Billawa, Mogaveera) in Tulunadu at that time. In the early
period the Tulu People were recognized by their bari lineages (matrilineal and
patrilineal) and persons of the same bari could be seen practicing different
professions like those of Bunt (warrior and defense assistant), Billawa (archer),
Salian(weaver), Baidya (tribal doctor), Nadava (cultivator; one who plants
crops), Okkeleme(farm worker; farm settler), Poojari(tribal preist), Maddela
(washerman), Mogera (fish catcher), Kottari (Store-keeper), Kulala (potter) Sapalya(musician)
etc without people being assigned to or divided into distinct
caste/community groups as known now.And
those who did not subscribed this bari system of genetic lineage recognition,
especially older generation of tribals, were recognized by various tribal group
names.
Alupas of four lineages
The aspect of
antiquity of existence of Baris over castes shall be more evident when we study
the lineages of Alupa Kings who ruled early Tulunadu. Data from early inscriptions reveal that
Alupas belonged to four lineages which suggest that in the progress of time
Alupas had offsprings from persons hailing from four different lineages;
however the specific castes have not been attributed to Alupas in the
inscriptions, because castes in Tulunadu did not exist at that point of time. Alupas also had matrimonial relationships with Kannada Kings like Kadamba, Chalukya and Rastrakutas.
Ancient Bari lineages in Tulunadu
In other words, to
begin with there were no castes but only lineages in early India. And the
distict division of people into dufferent castes developed later in the
history.This is especially evident in Tulunadu which provides distinct
evidences in favour of antiquity of the lineage system over the caste system.
The Gotra system
prevailed among the Vedic sages-cowherds of ancient Indo-Aryan communities of
Indian subcontinent appears to be as old as 1900 BC or older.It seems ‘bari’ or
‘bali’ linege types of genetic identification or recognition system similar to
Gotra lineage system coupled with recognition of original place of domicile
/settlement (‘Moolastana’) prevailed among Dravidian communities contemporaneous
to early Vedic sages. Multan in Prakrit language means the Moolastana. Multan
in present day Pakistan still carries the name of one of the earliest Dravidian
settlements in Northwest Indian subcontinent and is useful in tracking the
route of early Dravidian (including Tulu) immigrants into southern India.
Tulu Baris
Indira Hegde (2001)
compiled a list of 61 Baris currently prevailing among Bunts and Nadavas. She
has also enlisted some 55 Baris recorded in inscriptions and generally
considered to extinct at present. Similarly there are some 20 known baris
enlisted among Mogaveers. Mogaveeras have Amin, Bangera, Chandan, Gujaran, Kanchan, Karkera, Kotian,
Kunder, Maindan, Mendon, Naika, Pangal, Puthran, Rao, Salian, Sapaliga,
Shriyan, Suvarna, Thingalaya, and Tholar lineages. And Billawas and other Tulu
communities also have numerous baris.Even Tulu Brahmins adopted a system of
bari lineages.New Baris have evolved and were added throughout the history with
passage of time.Similarly, many baris must have been lost during the long history of
our communities due to various natural factors.
Baris before Caste system
However, on
analysis we find that atleast five baris are common to most of the Tulu
communities.This leads us to propose that such common baris have been in
existence before the arrival of distict caste system in Tulunadu. We find that
Bari lineages known as Banger (or Banga), Salia (or Salian), Putra (or Putran),
Kundra (or Kundaran) and Gujar (or Gujaran) are common to many of the Tulu
Castes at present. The presence of common bari lineages among diverse castes
suggest prevalence of these baris before the consolidation of caste system in
Tulunadu.It appears that there were more
such baris common to different castes but became partially or fully extinct.
Among the common bari examples that became partially extinct in some Tulu communities, we may include Suvarna and
Tingalaya baris. The Suvarna bari has been preserved among Mogaveers and Billawas. Tingalaya bari/surname is found retained among Mogaveers and Brahmins.Similarly, Menda/Mendon and Tolar bari lineages are shared among the present day Bunts and Mogaveers.
We shall discuss
the five bari lineages generally found distributed in most of the
communities/castes of Tulunadu.
Banga, Banger.
In an early post in
this blog we considered that Bangera were the settlers in Bengare (Sand Spits)
areas in the coast.This earlier interpretation of Bengare settlers may not be
appropriate as we find ‘Bangera’ or ‘Banger’ (Banga+yer) in Tulu language is a
respectful version of the Banga lineage, who ruled parts of Tulunadu as Jain
Kings.
Banga tribes: Banga or Bangera appears to be one of the oldest
lineages in Tulunadu. Ancient tribes known as ‘Banga’ still survive in parts of
Nigeria in Africa. In India, the delta region of River Ganga is traditionally
known as Banga or Vanga desha. (It is alternately known as Gowda or Gaur desh
also). The regional place names Bangal (or Bengal) [Banga+al] means river-side
settlements of the Banga tribes. Banga dance form is still popular in Kalingga
region of Phillipines.Banga means earthen pot in Phillipines. It is possible
that early Banga tribes were potters by profession. The association of terms
‘Banga’ and ‘Kalingga’ in Phillipines is interesting to note. In India, Banga
(Bangal) region exists by the side of Kalinga (Orissa)!
According to some
the term Banga is derived from Bong which was Sun God (Sing Bonga) worshipped
by Munda tribes of Austro-Asiatic origin. Thus, the Banga tribes relate to
either early African immigrants or subsequent Austro Asiatic immigrants into
Gangetic delta. The tribes from Gangetic delta migrated to West coast probably
before the advent of Dravidians forming the Banga or Bangera lineage.
There is also a Banga
town in Punjab. Surnames Bangar (Bangad/Bangur) exists among Marwari/Marathi communities and proper
names such as Bangari among Telugu (Bangarusamy, Bangaramma) people.
Bangalore: The origin of the place name of capital of
Karnataka, Bengaluru is generally attributed to the phrase ‘benda kalu ooru’
(Village of boiled pulses). However, it could have been originally Bang+al+oor
also, where the term 'Bangal' originally referred to a settlement of ancient Banga tribes. (All the ancient Banga tribes need not necessarily be considered as Bengalis, as erroneously interpreted by certain historians.) In support of the Banga+al theory cited here ('al'= water source like river, or a settlement besides a water course), geological data
suggests that a tributary of Kaveri flowed in the western side of Bangalore
during early history that dried up later.
Salia, Salian
Salia or Talia
represents spider in Tulu language.One of the oldest known bari lineage,
apparently derived from the ancient weavers of cloths or tribes having a totem
of Spider. The Sāl tree [the silk cotton tree] also represents weaving of
cloths and it was a holy tree traditionally worshipped by several early Munda
tribes.Some historians
opine that the ‘Saluva’ dynasty that ruled Vijayanagar Empire is related to
Salia or Salian lineage.
Putra, Putran
Exact origin of the
surname Putra or Putran is not available at present.However two possibilities
can be discussed.1. The word Puto or
Putra in Prakrit generally represents a town For example the cpital of Magadha
Empire was Pataliputra. Similarly King Ashoka mentioned ‘Satiaputo’ which is
considered to represent (possibly a part of) Tulunadu. Therefore we can
consider that Putran means a person from the ‘Putra’ possibly ancient city of
Pataliputra.2. Putra in
Sanskrit and many of the Indian languages mean son. Since relevance to this
meaning of the word can only guessed we can wait for additional data on the
origin of this surname.The lineage is also
known as Putrannaya. There are Putra surnames in Indonesia and also in Saudi
Arabia.
Kundra, Kundaran
Budhi Kundaran an Indian international cricketer
of yester years hailing from Mogaveera community of Udupi, was one of the first
among coastal Tuluvas in the recent years to popularize the surname of Kundars. Similarly, recent Hindi Film industry in Mumbai (Bollywood) has a celebrity known as Shirish Kundar. Shirish Kunder, who is an Electronic Engineer from SDM College of Engineering & Technology, Dharwad, became a celebrity in Bollyhood as an Editor and Director of Hindi Films. He has married Farah Khan, a famous Choreographer and Director of Hindi Films. In the recent years popular Bollywood heroine Shilpa Shetty, originally from
Mangalore has popularized the Kundar surname in Tulunadu after her marriage
with Raj Kundra of north Indian origin.
While the exact
origin of the name Kundar is not available at present, it can be traced to
ancient Kunda tribes of African heritage. However we find that early Jains and
Buddhist literatures carry the term Kunda. Originally the Kundars in ancient
India could have been a tribe specialized in the skill of gold smelting since
the term ‘kunda’ generally refers to (1) gold and (2) melt. A popular sweet
dish in Belgaum produced from the desiccated milk and sugar is known as
‘kunda’. In common Tulu parlance ‘kunda’ means a pillar.
Kundar: A lineage (‘bari’) based surname among Bunts and Mogaveers, originally
derived from an ancient immigrant Kundra or Kundar ancestor from northern
India. Kundarannaya means a person born
in the Kundaran lineage.
There are numerous
place names having a prefix or suffix of Kunda all over India.For example, Kundapur,
Kundagola, Navalgunda, Nargunda etc. It is possible that the kunda in such ancient
place names refer to ancient victory pillars (totem poles) erected in those
villages.
Gujar, Gujaran
Gujar or Gujaran is
a surviving surname that provides solid support to the theory of amalgamation
of immigrant tribes among Tulu and other communities in the antiquity. It is
said that Gujars originated in Georgia, in southern Russia ( Georgia is also known as Gurjiya in Persian) and
migrated to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India during the early centuries of
Common Era.Descendants of ancient Gujar migrants are found in the States of
Kashmir, Punjab, Rajastan and Gujarat.
Incidentally, the State of ‘Gujarat’ derives its name from Gujar tribes.
A famous hero of
Tulunadu, Agoli Manjanna was from the Gujaran lineage of Bunts.
Gujaran: A lineage (‘bari’) based surname among Bunts and
Mogaveers, originally derived from an ancient immigrant Gujar ancestor. Gujarannaya
means a person from the Gujaran lineage.
Gujje: A species of Jack fruit apparently introduced originally by Gujar
tribes. Presently the term is applied to any variety of unripe or raw jack
fruit.
Gujjadi: A place named after Gujj or Gujar tribes in Udupi
district.
Gujjarabettu: An elevated
dryland (plateau) named after Gujar tribes near Kemmannu village in coastal Udupi
Taluk.
Gujjarkere: An ancient
pond, presently dried up named after Gujar tribes in Jappina mogaru locality, southern
part of Mangalore.
Suvarna
The Suvarna bari has been
preserved among the present day Billawa and Mogaveer communities.The origin of
Suvarna bari name can be interpreted based on data existing on the words like
Suvarna and Suvarnbhumi. The term ‘Suvarna’ means (1) good colour and (2) gold.
Sanskrit and Buddhist texts referred to Burma, Indonesia, Java, Sumatra countries
as Suvarnabhumi. It appears that the term ‘Suvarna bhumi’ referred to people of
golden (yellowish) skin colour rather than golden land. This leads us to infer
that originally the ancient ‘Suvarna’ people of Austro-Asiatic heritage came to
Tulunadu from Suvarnabhumi countries.It can also be recalled that a coastal river
flowing in Udupi district is also called ‘Suvarna’ or ‘Swarna’ River.
***
End piece Trivia:
It is obvious that Words sounding similar can have divergent meanings. Bangar as well as Suvarna in Tulu and Kannada means gold.
Prajwal pointed out that 'Bangar' in Marathi/Mumbai Hindi as well as 'Gujari' in Tulu/Kannada refers to scraps!
-With inputs from H. Vishwanath.
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