Community : History 1883 – By Shrinivas Alageri

The Gazetteer of Bombay Presidency Kanara 1883 has the following description about our community @ Page 181-182
Bombay-old -imageKannadaVaishyaVani
Kannad Vani’s: Kannad or Vaishya Vanis, numbering 527 of whom 257 are males and 270 females, are found in small numbers in Sirsi, Supa, and Siddapur, and in greater strength in Honavar, Ankola, and Kumta. They seem to have come from Goa.
They add the word shetti to their names, and, according to their tradition, came from Oudh to escape the wrath of a low-class king who was refused the hand of a kannada vani maiden.
Their household goddess is Mhalsa whose shrine is in Goa. They have no subdivisions and neither eat nor marry with any other division of vanis. They are short, strong, dark, and regular featured, the women closely resembling the me in features and complexion. Their home tongue is Kanarese; but they can speak Marathi, Hindustani and Konkani.
They live in one-storied houses with mud or laterite walls and thatched or tiled roofs. Their ordinary food is rice and fish, and they have the same special dishes as Brahmans. In other respects as regard food, they do not differ from Bandekars. They are moderate eaters and good cooks. Being specially fond of fish, tamarind, and chillies. The men wear the waistcloth, the shoulder cloth, and the headscarf. The women wear the skirt of the robe drawn back between the feet, the backed bodice with short sleeves, and ornaments of gold and silver on the head, neck and ears, nose, arms, wrists, ankles, and toes. They are also fond of flowers of all colours.
They are clean, hardworking. Thrifty, even- tempered, and kindly and considerate to their debtors. They are petty money-lenders and shopkeepers dealing in rice, cloth, spices, and groceries. They are well-to-do, most of them owning land. They rank next to Brahmans. The men go to their shops at sunrise and stay till about nine at night, coming home at noon and going back after three. Their breakfast, which is of simple gruel is taken about noon; their dinner of strained rice and vegetables or fish curry about three; and their supper, which does not differ from their dinner, about half-past nine. A family of five spends about L 1 (Rs. 10) a month.
They keep the ordinary Hindu holidays, worship all Brahman and local deities, and have faith in soothsaying and witchcraft. Their family gods are Mahalakshmi of Nageshi, Ganapati of Kandval, and Shanteri of Madadol in Goa. Their spiritual teacher is the head of th Shringeri monastery in Maisur. He seldom interferes with their affairs and deputes his authority to subordinates who are called parupatyagars or shastris.
They employ Chitpavan, Karhada, Deshasth, Havig, and Joishi Brahmans as their family priests, and treat them with much respect. Boys are married between fourteen and eighteen, and girls between eight and eleven. the heads of widows are shaved and they are not allowed to marry. Polygamy is allowed but is seldom practiced. Their ceremonies from birth to death donot differ from those of the Sasashtkars and Shenvis. breaches of caste rules are enquired into and punished by their community. many are large landholders and are well-to-do. They begun to teach their children English and are better off than the Bandekars

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