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The Konkani people or Konkanites are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the Konkan region of the Indian subcontinent. They speak various dialects of the Konkani language. Following the Konkani language agitation, Konkani became the premier official language of Goa state, while Mahratti remains as the associate official language of Goa. Konkani is also spoken by populations in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Damaon, Kerala & Gujarat. A large percentage of Konkani people are bilingual.
for etymology. This arises from the legend of Parashuram's axe, which created a strip of land. This land is normally identified with Goa (गोमन्तक or गोवपुरी), Kerala (केरलपुत्र देश), Karavali (करावली; ಕರಾವಳಿ) or the whole of the Koṅkaṇa coast. It is therefore called Konkan (परशुराम सृष्टि).
It is believed that tribes of Austric origin like Kols, Mundaris, Kharvis may have settled Goa and Konkan during the Neolithic period, living on hunting, fishing and a primitive form of agriculture since 3500 BC. According to Goan historian Anant Ramakrishna Dhume, the Gauda and Kunbi and other such castes are modern descendants of ancient Mundari tribes. In his work he mentions several words of Mundari origin in the Konkani language. He also elaborates on the deities worshiped by the ancient tribes, their customs, methods of farming and its overall impact on modern day Konkani society. They were in a Neolithic stage of primitive culture, and they were food-gatherers rather. The tribe known as the Konkas, from whom is derived the name of the region, Kongvan or Konkan with the other mentioned tribes formed reportedly the earliest settlers in the territory. Agriculture was not fully developed at this stage, and was just shaping up. The Kols and Mundaris might have been using stone and wood implements as iron implements were used by the megalithic tribes as late as 1200 BC. The Kol tribe is believed to have migrated from Gujarat. During this period worship of mother goddess in the form of anthill or Santer, was started. Anthill is called as Roen (Konkani:रोयण), this word has been derived from the Austric word Rono meaning with holes. The later Indo-Aryan and Dravidian settlers also adopted anthill worship, which was translated to Santara in Prakrit by them.
The second wave of Indo-Aryans occurred sometime between 1700 and 1450 BC. This second wave migration was accompanied by Dravidians from the Deccan plateau. A wave of Kusha or Harappan people a Lothal probably around 1600 BC to escape submergence of their civilisation which thrived on sea-trade. The admixture of several cultures, customs, religions, dialects and beliefs, led to revolutionary change in the formation of early Konkani society.
The advent of Western Satrap rulers also led to many Indo-scythians migrations, which later gave its way to the Bhoja kings.
The Yadava Bhojas patronised Buddhism and settled many Buddhist converts of Greek and Persian people origin.
The , , , ruled the then Konkan-Goa for several years which was responsible for many changes in the society. Later The powerful Kadambas of Goa, came to power. During their rule, the society underwent radical transition. Close contact with the Arabs, Turkic peoples, introduction of Jainism, patronising Shaivism, use of Sanskrit and Kannada, the overseas trade had an overwhelming impact on the people.
The Goa Inquisition was established in 1560, briefly suppressed from 1774 to 1778, and finally abolished in 1812. Its main aim was to investigate New Christians for heresy, and to preserve the Catholic faith. who emigrated to Goa from the Iberian Peninsula to escape the Spanish Inquisition and the Portuguese Inquisition, were the main cause behind the launch of the Goa Inquisition. Some 16,202 persons were brought to trial by the Inquisition. 57 were sentenced to death and executed in person, another 64 were burned in effigy. Of these, 105 of them were men and 16 women. The rest of those convicted were subjected to lesser punishments or penanced. Those sentenced to various punishments totaled 4,046, out of whom 3,034 were men and 1,012 were women.Salomon, H. P. and Sassoon, I. S. D., in Saraiva, Antonio Jose. The Marrano Factory. The Portuguese Inquisition and Its New Christians, 1536–1765 (Brill, 2001), pp. 345–7.
Seventy-one autos da fe were recorded. In the first few years alone, over 4000 people were arrested. According to the Chronista de Tissuary (Chronicles of Tiswadi), the last auto da fe was held in Goa on 7 February 1773. Sarasvati's Children: A History of the Mangalorean Christians, Alan Machado Prabhu, I.J.A. Publications, 1999
In 1567, the campaign of destroying temples in Bardez was completed after the majority of the local Hindus had converted to Christianity. At the end of it, 300 Hindu temples were destroyed. Laws were enacted from 4 December 1567 prohibiting the public performance of Hindu rituals such as marriages, sacred thread wearing and cremation. All persons above 15 years of age were compelled to listen to Christian preaching, failing which they were punished. In 1583, Hindu temples at Assolna and Cuncolim were also destroyed by the Portuguese after the majority of the locals had converted.
The remaining few Hindus who wanted to keep their Hindu religion did so, by emigrating to the neighbouring territories that continued to be ruled by Bijapur, where these Hindus again had to pay jizya tax.The Cambridge history of seventeenth-century music, By Tim Carter, John Butt, pg. 105
The fall of the "Province of the North" (which included Vasai, Chaul and Salsette) in 1739 led to the suppression of Konkani gaining new strength. On 21 November 1745, the Archbishop of Goa, Lourenço de Santa Maria e Melo (O.F.M.), decreed that fluency in Portuguese was mandatory for the Goan applicants to the priesthood, and also for all their immediate relatives (men as well as women). This language fluency would be confirmed via rigorous examinations by ordained priests. Furthermore, the Bamonns and Chardos were required to learn Portuguese within six months, failing which they would be denied the right to marriage.
The Jesuits, who had historically been the greatest advocates of Konkani, were expelled from Goa by the Marquis of Pombal in 1761. In 1812, the Archbishop decreed that children should be prohibited from speaking Konkani in schools. In 1847, this rule was extended to seminaries. In 1869, Konkani was completely banned in schools until Portugal became a Republic in 1910.
The result of this linguistic displacement was that Konkani in Goa became the língua de criados (language of the servants).Routledge, Paul (22 July 2000), "Consuming Goa, Tourist Site as Dispensable space", Economic and Political Weekly, 35, Economic and Political Weekly, p. 264 Hindu and Catholic elites turned to Marathi and Portuguese, respectively. Ironically, Konkani is at present the 'cement' that binds all Goans across caste, religion and class and is affectionately termed Konkani Mai (Mother Konkani). Due to negative propaganda from the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, Marathi was made the official language of Goa following the Annexation of Goa in 1961. Konkani received official recognition only in February 1987, when the Indian government recognized Konkani as the official language of Goa. Goa battles to preserve its identity – Times of India, 16 May 2010
The later period
The first wave of Vedic people came and settled from Northern India in then Konkan region. Some of them might have been followers of Vedic religion. They were known to speak the earliest form of Prakrit or Vedic Sanskrit vernacular. This migration of the northerners is mainly attributed to the drying up of the Sarasvati River in Northern India. Many historians claim only Gaud Saraswat Brahmins and few of the other Brahmins to be their descendants. This hypothesis is not authoritative according to some. Balakrishna Dattaram Kamat Satoskar a renowned Goan Indologist and historian, in his work Gomantak prakruti ani sanskruti, Volume I explains that the original Rigvedic tribes consisted of people of all the folds who followed the Vedic fourfold system and not just Brahmin, as the caste system was not fully developed then, and did not play an important role.(see Gomantak prakruti ani sanskruti, Volume I).
The classical period
The Maurya empire era is marked with migrations from the East, advent of Buddhism and different Prakrit vernaculars.
13th–19th century AD
Turkic rule
In 1350CE, Goa was conquered by the Bahmani Sultanate of Turkic peoples origin. However, in 1370, the Vijayanagara Empire, a resurgent Hindu empire situated at modern day Hampi, reconquered the area. The Vijayanagara rulers held on to Goa for nearly 100 years, during which its harbours were important landing places for on their way to Hampi to strengthen the Vijayanagara cavalry. In 1469, however, Goa was reconquered, by the Bahmani Sultans. When this dynasty broke up in 1492, Goa became a part of Adil Shah's Bijapur Sultanate, who made Goa Velha their second capital.
Portuguese rule of Goa
The Portuguese conquest of Goa occurred in 1510 under the leadership of Afonso de Albuquerque and with the assistance of the local Hindus led by Timoji. The Christianisation of Goa and its simultaneous Lusitanisation soon followed.
Impact on culture and language
Konkani language had originally been studied and Roman Konkani promoted by Catholic missionaries in Goa (e.g. Thomas Stephens) as a communication medium during the 16th century. The Maratha Empire threat was compounded by their attacks on native Catholics and destruction of local churches during their repeated attacks on Goa in the 17th century. This led the Portuguese government to initiate a positive programme for the suppression of Konkani in Goa, in order to make native Catholic Goans identify fully with the Portuguese Empire. Sarasvati's Children: A History of the Mangalorean Christians, Alan Machado Prabhu, I.J.A. Publications, 1999, pp. 133–134 As a result, Konkani was suppressed and rendered unprivileged in Goa by the enforcement of Portuguese.Newman, Robert S. (1999), The Struggle for a Goan Identity, in Dantas, N., The Transformation of Goa, Mapusa: Other India Press, p. 17
Urged by the , the Portuguese viceroy forbade the use of Konkani on 27 June 1684 and further decreed that within three years, the local people in general would speak the Portuguese language and use it in all their contacts and contracts made in Portuguese territories. The penalties for violation would be imprisonment. The decree was confirmed by the king on 17 March 1687. However, according to the Inquisitor António Amaral Coutinho's letter to the Portuguese monarch João V in 1731, these draconian measures were unsuccessful.
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