The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the east.
Definition
Historically, the limits of Konkan have been flexible, and it has been known by additional names like "
Aparanta" and "Gomanchal", the latter being defined as the coastal area between the Daman Ganga River in the north and the
Gangavalli River in the south.
The ancient Sapta Konkan was a larger geographical area that extended from Gujarat to Kerala and included the whole region of coastal Maharashtra and Tulunad.
Etymology
According to the
Sahyadrikhanda of the
Skanda Purana,
Parashurama threw his axe into the sea and commanded the Sea God to recede up to the point where his axe landed. The new piece of land thus recovered came to be known as
Saptah-Konkana, meaning "piece of earth", "corner of the earth", or "piece of the corner", derived from
Sanskrit words:
koṇa (कोण, corner) +
kaṇa (कण, piece).
, the noted
China Buddhist monk, mentioned this region in his book as
Konkana Desha;
Varahamihira's
Brihat-Samhita described Konkan as a region of India; and 15th-century author Ratnakosh mentioned the word Konkandesha.
Geography
The Konkan extends throughout the western coasts of
Maharashtra, and
Goa.
It is bounded by the
Western Ghats mountain range (also known as Sahyadri) in the east, the
Arabian Sea in the west, the Daman Ganga River in the north, and the River Aghanashini in the south. The Gangavalli flows in the district of
Uttara Kannada in present-day
Karnataka. Its northern bank constitutes the southernmost portion of Konkan. The towns of
Karwar,
Ankola,
Kumta,
Honavar, and
Bhatkal fall within the Konkan coast. The largest city on the Konkan coast is
Mumbai, the state capital of
Maharashtra. Districts on the Konkan coast are, from north to south:
Ethnology
The main ethnolinguistic group of the Konkan region is the
Konkani people. Specific caste and communities found in the region are the
Agri caste,
Koli people,
Bhandari caste,
Kunbi, Maratha,
Gabit, Mangela, Karadi, Phudagi, Vaiti,
Kharvi,
Teli,
Kumbhar, Nhavi,
Dhobi,
Twashta Kasar,
Sutradhar, Lohar,
Chamar,
Mahar,
Dhangar, Gaud Saraswat Brahmin (also includes Rajapur Saraswats and Chitrapur Saraswats), Kudaldeshkar,
Pathare Prabhu, Gomantak Maratha,
Chitpavan,
Karhade Brahmin,
Daivadnya, Kayastha Prabhu,
Panchkalshi,
Vani,
Komarpant,
Chaukalshi Gavli, Ghorpi, Nath Jogi,
Gurav, Pagi, Kalan, Ghadi, Padti, Vanjari,
Shimpi and others.
Billava, Bunt, Nadavara,
Mogaveera and Linghayat communities found in the parts of Karnataka which are near to Konkan.
Tribal communities include the Katkari, Thakar, Konkana, Warli and Mahadev Koli, mainly found in the northern and central parts of Konkan. The Halpati and Dhodia tribes live in southern Gujarat, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Palghar district of Maharashtra. Palghar district has the largest percentage of tribal population in Konkan. A small nomadic tribe called the Vanarmare is found in southern parts of Konkan, which was originally associated with the hunting of monkeys. The Gauda and Velip tribes are found in Goa.
The Jewish community called Bene Israel is mainly found in Raigad district. The Christians included Bombay East Indians in North Konkan and Mumbai, Goan Catholics in Goa, Karwari Catholics in Uttara Kannada as well as Mangalorean Catholics in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada.
Major Muslim communities like Konkani Muslims and are scattered throughout the whole region. They are reportedly descendants of people who came from Hadhramaut (in Yemen or South Arabia),
See also
External links
