KONKNNI AND THE KUDUMBIS OF KERALA
After a successful National Seminar on Scripts and Languages of Modern India, with Special Reference to Konknni and three Regional Conferences in three different states of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra since inception a year ago in August 2011, Jagotik Konknni Songhotton (JKS) organized its fourth ‘Pradeshik Sammell’ in Kerala on July 8, 2012 at Maharaja College’s Centenary Hall, Ernakulam.
We – Jose Salvador Fernandes, the Secretary of Dalgado Konknni Akademi (DKA) who presented a paper at the conference and this writer – boarded the Mangala Lakshadweep Express on Friday night at Margao Station and 14 hours and 40 minutes later, we were warmly received by K Viswanathan, the Programme & Media Convenor of the Kerala Conference at the Ernakulam Junction. Later, over biryani at the Indian Coffee House close to St. Teresa’s Convent, Viswanathan gave an overview of the Konknni situation in Kerala and disclosed that of the ten lakh Konknni population, the Kudumbis were a strong seven lakh in number and that an entire street just ahead of the Press Club Road was totally dominated by the Konknni business community.
The ‘Kerala Pradeshik Sammell’, which was attended by nearly a hundred enthusiastic Konknni lovers, including writers and women, was inaugurated by Shri V. S. Achuthanandan, Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister of Kerala. Although late by more than an hour, his star-status was immediately evident from the manner in which he was treated by members of the press, both from the print and the electronic media, who had waited patiently at the entrance of the Centenary Hall. Although Shri Achuthanandan spoke in Malayalam and left quickly after lighting the traditional lamp, from reports appearing in the Kochi edition of The New Indian Express the following day, the former Chief Minister expressed his displeasure at the way the present UDF dispensation was ‘trying to sabotage the order to make Malayalam the first language in colleges.’ He also said that ‘language is the crux of human culture and any invasion over the linguistic rights is a crime.’
Shri Eric Ozario, the Secretary General of JKS, while echoing the words of Dr. Anvita Abbi, (Professor of Linguistics, JNU who had attended the National Seminar on Scripts and Languages of Modern India) that “script variety is an asset of a language” reminded the audience that Konknni was written in five scripts – Nagri, Romi, Kannad, Malayalam and Perso-Arabic – and appealed to everyone to make a determined effort to speak Konknni in our day-to-day life. ‘Bhas uloilear matr ti bhas jivont urta (it is only when a language is spoken that it stays alive)’, Ozario added. Later, during the concluding ceremony, he placed a three-pronged strategy to revive the Konknni movement in Kerala before the local organizers: a) creating zagrutay (awareness) to preserve Konknni b) to establish a Konknni Akademi with proper representation of all stake-holders and c) to step up efforts to introduce Konknni subject in schools, especially in the light of Kerala Govt’s willingness to do so.
Earlier, Shri K. K. Utharan, a retired Principal District & Sessions Judge and the Vice-President of JKS and Chairman of the Kerala Pradesh Conference welcomed and later presented his paper on the ‘Situation & Future of Konknni Language in Kerala’. Speaking in a Konknni language spiced with Malayalam words and referring to the 2001 Census which pegged the population of Konknni community in Kerala at less than a lakh, Shri Utharan lamented that ignorance on the part of the large Kudumbi population regarding their mother tongue was responsible for the dismal numbers in the census survey.
Shri Jose Salvador Fernandes who presented his paper on ‘Situation & Future of Konknni Language at National & International Level’ informed that Konknni was one of the unsafe languages of the world as per UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger survey and impressed upon the writers of the need to publish books and magazines in the Malayalam script.
Shri Gopala Gowda of St. Aloysius College, Mangalore and a Kudmi leader, spoke at length on the ‘Konknni Identity among Konknni Tribals’ with special emphasis on the rich traditions of the Kudmi community of Kodiyal (Karnataka), including the revival of the use of ‘ghumott’. ‘The Gowdas and the gumott are inseparable’, he informed.
As the conference was progressing, this writer came across two books which had chapters shedding light on the migration of the Kunbis to Kerala. In Dr. Balagopal T. S. Prabhu’s book, A Konkani Saga – The Concise Cultural History of Konkani Speaking People of Kerala, we find the following: The Konkani speaking communities, other than Gowda Saraswat Brahmins, distributed in settlements along the coastal stretches of Kerala, are those of Kudumbis, Sonars, Vaniyas and Devadasis. Among these the major group who has played a key role in the destiny of the Saraswaths, is that of Kudumbis. They are also called as Mooppans, Kunbis, Konkana Sudras etc. It is generally believed that they also migrated fromGoa along with the
Saraswat Brahmins and settled in close proximity of the Saraswat settlements.
It is further believed that the Kudumbis provided the manual work of the ships
in which the Saraswat group sailed from Goa in
search of new land. Such theories are built on the fact that the Kudumbi
settlements are also located in the proximity of Saraswat settlement. Further,
Kudumbi servants were generally seen working in Saraswat households. (p. 55)
On page 118-119, we find this quote about Kudumbis from the Census Report of India, 1961 – Vol VII Kerala, p. 210: As to the fact that they were originally inhabitants of the area north of Goa, there can be no doubt for the language, the ornament and the mode of dress show striking similarities with the present inhabitants of that area, proclaiming a common origin. They are believed to have traveled by country crafts and landed at the sea port towns of Kerala which accounts for their concentration in places likeCranganore ,
Cochin
Mention is also made in this book about the Royal familes’ fascination for the beaten rice for which the Kudumbis were famous: Their ability in pavilion making (mattova), beaten rice (phovu) and pappada (appla) is appreciated. For the Royal families ofCochin
By: Walter Menezes
After a successful National Seminar on Scripts and Languages of Modern India, with Special Reference to Konknni and three Regional Conferences in three different states of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra since inception a year ago in August 2011, Jagotik Konknni Songhotton (JKS) organized its fourth ‘Pradeshik Sammell’ in Kerala on July 8, 2012 at Maharaja College’s Centenary Hall, Ernakulam.
An umbrella organization with a
membership of 126 associations from 13 countries, the objective of JKS –
presently headed by Tomazinho Cardozo – is to represent Konknni people and
address issues globally to enrich and preserve Konknni in all serene beauty and
variety and to ensure the transmission of the Konknni heritage and culture to
future generations. The Kerala Conference not only discussed the situation and
future of Konknni in Kerala and at the national and international level, but
also focused on the ‘Konknni Identity among Konknni Tribals’ with references being
made to the large Kudumbi presence in Kerala.
We – Jose Salvador Fernandes, the Secretary of Dalgado Konknni Akademi (DKA) who presented a paper at the conference and this writer – boarded the Mangala Lakshadweep Express on Friday night at Margao Station and 14 hours and 40 minutes later, we were warmly received by K Viswanathan, the Programme & Media Convenor of the Kerala Conference at the Ernakulam Junction. Later, over biryani at the Indian Coffee House close to St. Teresa’s Convent, Viswanathan gave an overview of the Konknni situation in Kerala and disclosed that of the ten lakh Konknni population, the Kudumbis were a strong seven lakh in number and that an entire street just ahead of the Press Club Road was totally dominated by the Konknni business community.
The ‘Kerala Pradeshik Sammell’, which was attended by nearly a hundred enthusiastic Konknni lovers, including writers and women, was inaugurated by Shri V. S. Achuthanandan, Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister of Kerala. Although late by more than an hour, his star-status was immediately evident from the manner in which he was treated by members of the press, both from the print and the electronic media, who had waited patiently at the entrance of the Centenary Hall. Although Shri Achuthanandan spoke in Malayalam and left quickly after lighting the traditional lamp, from reports appearing in the Kochi edition of The New Indian Express the following day, the former Chief Minister expressed his displeasure at the way the present UDF dispensation was ‘trying to sabotage the order to make Malayalam the first language in colleges.’ He also said that ‘language is the crux of human culture and any invasion over the linguistic rights is a crime.’
Shri Eric Ozario, the Secretary General of JKS, while echoing the words of Dr. Anvita Abbi, (Professor of Linguistics, JNU who had attended the National Seminar on Scripts and Languages of Modern India) that “script variety is an asset of a language” reminded the audience that Konknni was written in five scripts – Nagri, Romi, Kannad, Malayalam and Perso-Arabic – and appealed to everyone to make a determined effort to speak Konknni in our day-to-day life. ‘Bhas uloilear matr ti bhas jivont urta (it is only when a language is spoken that it stays alive)’, Ozario added. Later, during the concluding ceremony, he placed a three-pronged strategy to revive the Konknni movement in Kerala before the local organizers: a) creating zagrutay (awareness) to preserve Konknni b) to establish a Konknni Akademi with proper representation of all stake-holders and c) to step up efforts to introduce Konknni subject in schools, especially in the light of Kerala Govt’s willingness to do so.
Earlier, Shri K. K. Utharan, a retired Principal District & Sessions Judge and the Vice-President of JKS and Chairman of the Kerala Pradesh Conference welcomed and later presented his paper on the ‘Situation & Future of Konknni Language in Kerala’. Speaking in a Konknni language spiced with Malayalam words and referring to the 2001 Census which pegged the population of Konknni community in Kerala at less than a lakh, Shri Utharan lamented that ignorance on the part of the large Kudumbi population regarding their mother tongue was responsible for the dismal numbers in the census survey.
Shri Jose Salvador Fernandes who presented his paper on ‘Situation & Future of Konknni Language at National & International Level’ informed that Konknni was one of the unsafe languages of the world as per UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger survey and impressed upon the writers of the need to publish books and magazines in the Malayalam script.
Shri Gopala Gowda of St. Aloysius College, Mangalore and a Kudmi leader, spoke at length on the ‘Konknni Identity among Konknni Tribals’ with special emphasis on the rich traditions of the Kudmi community of Kodiyal (Karnataka), including the revival of the use of ‘ghumott’. ‘The Gowdas and the gumott are inseparable’, he informed.
Shri M. K. Sasi of Konknni
Cultural & Research Centre, Shri P. R. Money, retired Dy. Director of
Fisheries Dept, Shri K. K. Subramanian Master, poet and President of Konknni
Sahitya Samajam, Shri A. G. Gopalakrishnan, novelist, Shri K. D. Sen, president
of Bhatarhiya Konknni Vikas Sabha, Shri Sivananda Shenoy, poet and Shri L. Sumbramanian
were among those who attended the conference and took part in the
deliberations.
As the conference was progressing, this writer came across two books which had chapters shedding light on the migration of the Kunbis to Kerala. In Dr. Balagopal T. S. Prabhu’s book, A Konkani Saga – The Concise Cultural History of Konkani Speaking People of Kerala, we find the following: The Konkani speaking communities, other than Gowda Saraswat Brahmins, distributed in settlements along the coastal stretches of Kerala, are those of Kudumbis, Sonars, Vaniyas and Devadasis. Among these the major group who has played a key role in the destiny of the Saraswaths, is that of Kudumbis. They are also called as Mooppans, Kunbis, Konkana Sudras etc. It is generally believed that they also migrated from
Elsewhere in the same chapter,
Dr. Balagopal writes, The Kudumbis speak Konkani with a characteristic tone
similar to what is still heard in the remote villages of Goa .
Their language has not much mix up of either Sanskrit or local Malayalam. The
isolated community living has helped to keep the language pure. But this
isolation has done much harm to their social development. While the Saraswat
Brahmins have progressed economically through trade and socially through
education, Kudumbis have remained economically and socially backward. Only
during the last few decades sections of this community have come up in
education through their own hard striving. It is time that the Saraswat
Brahmins recognize the contribution made by the Kudumbis and share with them
the benefits of the socio-economic progress. The Konkani language should become
a strong bond between these communities who have shared a common destiny
together for many centuries. (p.59)
Another book, The Kurmis-Kunbis of India by
Margao-based Pratapsinh Velip Kansar speaks of the kind hearted King of Cochin:
In the first exodus, twelve thousand Konkani families from Goa came to Kochi
On page 118-119, we find this quote about Kudumbis from the Census Report of India, 1961 – Vol VII Kerala, p. 210: As to the fact that they were originally inhabitants of the area north of Goa, there can be no doubt for the language, the ornament and the mode of dress show striking similarities with the present inhabitants of that area, proclaiming a common origin. They are believed to have traveled by country crafts and landed at the sea port towns of Kerala which accounts for their concentration in places like
The Kudumbis of Kerala believe
that their ancestors came from five different places of Goa :
Nag Bhumi, Gardi Bhumi, Goa Nagri, Goa Dongri and Nara Bhumi. According to
Kansar, these places could well be Nagve, Dogri near Old Goa and Narve while
Goa Nagri and Gardi Bhumi could be places of Bardez-Pernem talukas where some
Bhavati temples are located.
Mention is also made in this book about the Royal familes’ fascination for the beaten rice for which the Kudumbis were famous: Their ability in pavilion making (mattova), beaten rice (phovu) and pappada (appla) is appreciated. For the Royal families of
The one-day ‘Kerala Pradeshik
Sammell’ was a small – but a significant – step to bring together Konknni
writers and organizations from Kerala under one roof.
- Walter Menezes
[As forwarded by email to gaspar almeida, www.goa-world.com
including photos and references]
(c) All rights reserved.
Pics: All pics by
Ancy D’Souza
DSC06297: A view of the audience
DSC06315: Shri V. S. Achuthanandan, Kerala’s Leader of the
Opposition lighting the traditional
lamp
DSC06335: Eric Ozario making a point
DSC06353: Gopala Gowda: The Gowdas and the gumott are
inseparable’
DSC06376: Book cover of The
Kurmis-Kunbis of India by Pratapsinh Velip Kansar
DSC06561: Jose Salvador Fernandes presenting his paper
