Coastal South West India is a geo-cultural region in the Indian Subcontinent that spans entire Coastal South Western India. [1] The region was referred as Sapta Konkan region in the Skanda Purana. [1]
Contents
Coastal South West India is a geo-cultural region in the Indian Subcontinent that spans entire Coastal South Western India. [1] The region was referred as Sapta Konkan region in the Skanda Purana. [1]
Coastal South West India spans across the entire Arabian Sea coastline of the Indian subcontinent from the coastline of the Gulf of Kutch in its westernmost corner and stretches across the Gulf of Khambhat, and through the Salsette Island and Mumbai along the Konkan and southwards across the Raigad region and through Kanara and further down through Mangaluru (Mangalore) and along the Malabar unto the southernmost tip to Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin). In ancient tradition Coastal South West Indian Subcontinent extends till Sri Lanka. [1]
The people along coastal south west India exhibit vast diversity along an underlying commonality as a result of long history of contact with west Asian Mediterranean traders along the Arabian sea coastline.
The region includes Gujaratis in the westernmost region, Maharashtrians and Goans along the western coastline, Kannadigas in its south western coastline and Tuluvas and Malayalis in its southernmost region of South India.
As a result of the thriving trade between the Mediterranean world and South West Indian coastline along the Arabian sea, [2] [3] [4] [5] there has been significant intermingling between the people of Coastal South West India and the west asian world. Several west Asian communities have also settled and become part of the diversity of coastal south west India. These include the Parsis, [6] Bohras [7] and Baghdadi Jews [8] in the westernmost region, the Bene Israel along the South western region the descendants of mediterranean traders along Coorg and Mangalore, the Jonakan Mappilas [9] along Malabar region, and the cochin jews [2] [3] [4] [9] [10] [11] [12] and Syriac Nasranis [2] [3] [4] [9] [10] [11] [12] along the southernmost region of South India.
The linguistic diversity of the Coastal south west India includes Languages of the Dravidian language family including Malayalam, Tulu, and Kannada; languages belonging to the western zone of Indo Iranian language families including Gujarati, Marathi, Konkani and languages belonging to the central zone of the Indo-Iranian language families including Urdu and Persian. The region also has speakers of Semitic languages like Arabic, Hebrew and Aramaic. The common elements of the people of coastal south west India includes cuisine that consists of agrarian and coastal products and clothing that involves long flowing drapes with bare midriff for both men and women suited for humid and warm climate. [13] Throughout the region women wear drapes called saree in various styles. [13] In the western corner of the region the drapes are called as Dhoti for men. [13] and Chaniya choli for women, [13] further southwards the drapes are called as lungi or mundu for men. [13] and veshti for women. [13] Another common cultural element of coastal south west India includes relatively more role for women in social system. [13] Towards the southernmost tip of coastal south western India the social system is considerably more matri-focal with instances of matrilineal and matriarchal tradition like amongst the Bunt community of Tulus and the Marumakkathayam of the nairs and a section of Mappila Muslims. [14] This is also manifested in feminine deity oriented festivals and rituals celebrating Shakti or feminine power [15] like Navratri festival among the Gujarati People and Thiruvathira festival among the Malayali people.
Malayalam is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India and is spoken by 2.88% of Indians. Malayalam has official language status in Kerala, Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé), and is spoken by 34 million people worldwide. Malayalam is also spoken by linguistic minorities in the neighbouring states; with significant number of speakers in the Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts of Karnataka, and Nilgiris and Kanyakumari, districts of Tamil Nadu. Due to Malayali expatriates in the Persian Gulf, Malayalam is also widely spoken in the Gulf countries.
Kasaragod, formerly Kassergode, is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in the year 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala and is also known as Saptha Bhasha Sangama Bhoomi.
Konkan is a ribbon of land on the west Indian coast running from Thane in the north to Karwar in the south, with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Western Ghats in the east. The hinterland east of the coast has numerous river valleys and riverine islands among the hilly slopes leading up into the tablelands of the Deccan Plateau. The region has been recognized by name since at least the time of Strabo in the third century CE. The best-known islands of Konkan are Goa Island, location of the state of Goa's capital Panjim, and the seven islands of Bombay on which sits Bombay (Mumbai), the capital of Maharashtra.
South Indian culture refers to the culture of the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. South Indian culture, though with its visible differences, forms an important part of the Indian culture. The South Indian Culture is essentially the celebration of the eternal universe through the celebration of the beauty of the body and femininity. It is exemplified through its dance, clothing, and sculptures.
Kàrāvàlī, also known as Kanara or Canara in Indo-British English, is the a historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. The region comprises three civil districts, namely: Uttara Kannada, Udupi, and Dakshina Kannada.
Mappila Muslim, often shortened to Mappila, formerly anglicized as Moplah/Mopla and historically known as Jonaka/Chonaka Mappila or Moors Mopulars/Mouros da Terra and Mouros Malabares, in general, is a member of the Muslim community of same name found predominantly in Kerala and Lakshadweep Islands, in southern India. Muslims of Kerala make up 26.56% of the population of the state (2011), and as a religious group they are the second largest group after Hindus (54.73%). Mappilas share the common language of Malayalam with the other religious communities of Kerala.
The Tulu people or Tuluva people are an ethno- linguistic group native to Southern India. They are native speakers of the Tulu language and the region they traditionally inhabit is known as Tulu Nadu. This region comprises the districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in Karnataka and a part of Kasaragod district in Kerala, with Mangalore, Karnataka being the commercial hub. The Census report of 2011 reported a population of 1,846,427 native Tulu speakers living in India.
Ezhimala, a hill reaching a height of 286 metres (938 ft), is located near Payyanur, in Kannur district of Kerala, south India. It is a part of a conspicuous and isolated cluster of hills, forming a promontory, 38 km (24 mi) north of Kannur (Cannanore). The Indian Naval Academy at Ezhimala is the Asia's largest, and the world's third-largest, naval academy.
The term Kerala was first epigraphically recorded as Keralaputra (Cheras) in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription by emperor Ashoka of Magadha. It was mentioned as one of four independent kingdoms in southern India during Ashoka's time, the others being the Cholas, Pandyas and Satyaputras. The Cheras transformed Kerala into an international trade centre by establishing trade relations across the Arabian Sea with all major Mediterranean and Red Sea ports as well those of Eastern Africa and the Far East. The dominion of Cheras was located in one of the key routes of the ancient Indian Ocean trade. The early Cheras collapsed after repeated attacks from the neighboring Cholas and Rashtrakutas.
Mushika dynasty, also spelled Mushaka, was a minor dynastic power that held sway over the region in and around Mount Ezhi (Ezhimala) in present-day North Malabar, Kerala, India. The present-day Kolathiris are descendants of the ancient Mushika dynasty. The country of the Mushikas, ruled by an ancient lineage of the Hehaya clan of the same name, appears in early historic (pre-Pallava) south India. Early Tamil poems contain several references to the exploits of Nannan of Ezhimalai. Nannan was known as a great enemy of the pre-Pallava Chera chieftains. The clan also had matrimonial alliances with the Chera, Pandya and Chola chieftains. The Kolathunadu (Kannur) Kingdom, which was the descendant of Mushika dynasty, at the peak of its power, reportedly extended from Netravati River (Mangalore) in the north to Korapuzha (Kozhikode) in the south with Arabian Sea on the west and Kodagu hills on the eastern boundary, also including the isolated islands of Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea.
Islam arrived in Kerala, the Malayalam-speaking region in the south-western tip of India, through Middle Eastern merchants. The Indian coast has an ancient relation with West Asia and the Middle East, even during the pre-Islamic period.
Kasaragod is one of the 14 districts in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Its northern border Thalappady is located just 10 km south to Ullal, which is the southernmost portion of the major port city Mangalore, on the southwestern Malabar coast of India.
Vallikkunnu is a village in Tirurangadi Taluk of Malappuram district in the state of Kerala, India with an area of 25 km2. It is located 5 km north of Parappanangadi town and comes under the jurisdiction of Parappanangadi Police Station and Parappanangadi Judicial First Class Magistrate Court. Its latitude and longitude are 11'07" N and 7'51"E respectively. Vallikkunnu was awarded the best panchayath of Kerala in 1997. Vallikunnu is situated on Tirur-Kadalundi Road. Vallikkunnu is also a part of the Oldest Railway Line of Kerala laid in 1861 from Tirur to Chaliyam via Tanur, Parappanangadi, Vallikkunnu, and Kadalundi.
The population of Kerala, India is a heterogenous group that comprises many ethnic groups that originated in other parts of India as well as the world, with distinctive cultural and religious traditions. While the majority of Keralites speak the Malayalam language, various ethnic groups may speak other languages as well.
North Malabar refers to the geographic area of southwest India covering the state of Kerala's present day Kasaragod, Kannur, and Wayanad districts, and the taluks of Vatakara, Koyilandy, and Thamarassery in the Kozhikode District of Kerala and the entire Mahé Sub-Division of the Union Territory of Puducherry. Traditionally North Malabar is defined as the northern portion of erstwhile Malabar District which lies between Chandragiri River and Korapuzha River. The region between Netravathi River and Chandragiri River, which included the portions between Mangalore and Kasaragod, are also often included in the term North Malabar, as the Kumbla dynasty in the southernmost region of Tulu Nadu, had a mixed lineage of Malayali Nairs and Tuluva Brahmins.
Sephardic Jews in India are Iberian Jews who settled in many coastal towns of India, in Goa and Damaon, Madras and, primarily and for the longest period, on the Malabar coast in Cochin. After the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India in the 1498, a number of Sephardic Jews fled Antisemitism in Iberia which had culminated in the Edict of Expulsion in 1492 and Persecution of Jews and Muslims by Manuel I of Portugal. They settled in Portuguese Indian trading places so that they could continue practicing Judaism secretly while still remaining within the Portuguese Empire. After the Portuguese Inquisition was established, an additional number of falsely-converted Sephardic Jews made sea voyages to settle in India, because it would then be difficult for the Inquisition to investigate and punish them. They spoke the vernacular language of their kingdom and some of them also Arabic.
Karnataka is a state in the southern part of India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act. Karnataka is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, Goa to the north-west, Maharashtra to the north, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to the east, Tamil Nadu to the south-east, and Kerala to the south-west. The state covers an area of 74,122 sq mi (191,976 km2), or 5.83% of the total geographical area of India. It comprises 30 districts. Kannada is the official language of Karnataka and is spoken by 72% of the population. Various ethnic groups with origins in other parts of India have unique customs and use languages at home other than Kannada, adding to the cultural diversity of the state. Other ethnic minorities in the state in 1991 were Urdu speakers (8%), Marathi people (4%), Telugu people (6%), Tamil people (3.8%), Tuluvas (3.38%), Hindi (1.87%), Konkani people (1.78%), Malayalis (1.69%), Kodavas (0.25%), and Gujarati people (0.10%).
The Malabar Coast is the southwestern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain slopes. The term is used to refer to the entire Indian coast from the western coast of Konkan to the tip of the subcontinent at Kanyakumari. The peak of Anamudi, which is also the point of highest altitude in India outside the Himalayas, and Kuttanad, which is the point of least elevation in India, lie on Malabar Coast. Kuttanad, also known as The Rice Bowl of Kerala, has the lowest altitude in India, and is also one of the few places in the world where cultivation takes place below sea level.
Coastal India is a geo-cultural region in the Indian subcontinent that spans the entire coastline of India.(7516.6 km; Mainland: 5422.6 km, Island Territories: 2094 km)
Kannur, formerly known in English as Cannanore, Arabic as Kannanur, and Portuguese as Cananor, is a city and a Municipal Corporation in North Malabar region, state of Kerala, India. It is the largest city in North Malabar, which is the northernmost region of Kerala. It is sometimes identified Kolathunadu, which was ruled by the Kolathiris. In the 12th and 13th centuries there was trade with Persia and Arabia.