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. The hinterland east of the coast has numerous river valleys, riverine islands and the hilly slopes known as the Western Ghats; that lead up into the tablelands of the Deccan. The region has been recognised by name, since at least the time of Strabo in the third century CE. It had a thriving mercantile port with Arab tradesmen from the 10th century. The best-known islands of Konkan are Ilhas de Goa, the site of the Goa state's capital at Panjim; also, the Seven Islands of Bombay, on which lies Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra and the headquarters of Konkan Division.
In India, a devadasi is a female artist who is dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication takes place in a ceremony that is somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taking care of the temple and performing rituals, these women also learn and practice classical Indian dances such as Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi, and Odissi. Their status as dancers, musicians, and consorts was an essential part of temple worship.
Margao is the commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It stands on the banks of the river Sal. It is the district headquarters of South Goa, and administrative headquarters of Salcete sub-district. It is Goa's second largest city by population after Mormugao.
Deenanath Mangeshkar was an Indian actor, Natya Sangeet musician and, Hindustani classical vocalist who was active in Marathi theatre. He is the father of well-known singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Meena Khadikar and Usha Mangeshkar as well as composer Hridaynath Mangeshkar.
The Konkani people 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 Marathi 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.
Chorão, also known as Choddnnem or Chodan, is an island along the Mandovi River near Tiswadi, Goa, India. It is the largest among other 17 islands of Goa. It is located 5 kilometres away from the state capital, the city of Panaji and 10 kilometres away from the city of Mapusa.
The caste system in Goa consists of various Jātis or sub-castes found among Hindus belonging to the four varnas, as well as those outside of them. A variation of the traditional Hindu caste system was also retained by the Goan Catholic community.
Goan Catholics are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians adhering to the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church from the Goa state, in the southern part of the Konkan region along the west coast of India. They are Konkani people and speak the Konkani language.
Hinduism is the majority religion of people living in Goa. According to the 2011 census, in a population of 1,458,545 people, 66.08% were Hindu.
The Daivadnya,, is a community from Goa and Karnataka, who claim to have descended from Vishwakarma. Although they claim themselves to be Brahmin, but these claims are not accepted by others including local Brahmin castes. They are native to the Konkan and are mainly found in the states of Goa and Damaon, Canara, coastal Maharashtra, and Kerala. Daivadnyas in the state of Karnataka are classified by National Commission for Backward Classes as an Other Backward Class.
Karekar is one of the common surnames of the Daivadnya Brahmin community, predominantly residing in Goa, some parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra. They originally hail from Caraim, a village on Chorão island in coastal Indian state of Goa. They belong to various brahminical Gotras and use different surnames and titles and worship Gajantalakshmi Ravalanatha in the village of Mashel, in Goa as their Tutelary deity. Historically many of them were wealthy merchants who formed themselves into guilds or Shreni, and also functioned as Mahajans and Ganvkars of the Ganvkari system.
Padhye Brahmin community hails from Goa, they speak a unique dialect of Konkani known as "Bhati Bhasha".
Shett is a surname and title of the Daivajna subcaste of Konkani people, residing along the coast of the Konkan region in western India. It is also an honorific used by them in Goa, Damaon, Konkan division of Maharashtra, and Kanara subregion of Karnataka.
A Goan temple is known as a dēvūḷ (देवूळ) or sansthān (संस्थान) in the Konkani language. These temples were once the centres of villages, cities, and all the other social, cultural and economic gatherings in Goa. These were known as grāmasansthās (ग्रामसंस्था) in Konkani.
The 1967 Goa status referendum popularly known as the Goa Opinion Poll was a referendum held in newly annexed union territory of Goa and Damaon in India, on 16 January 1967, to deal with the Konkani language agitation and to decide the future of Goa.
Kulpurush is believed to be the progenitor of a clan. Kul literally could mean lineage, race, family, or clan and Purusha could mean man, soul, spirit or even chief.
Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahmin is a Brahmin sub-caste from the western coast of India, residing in the Konkan division of Maharashtra and Goa. They also known as Kudaldeshkar Aadya Gaud Brahmin, Kudaldeshkar and sometimes Kudalkar Brahmins. They speak Marathi, and the Malwani dialect of Konkani.
Mangueshi is a village located within Ponda taluka in the coastal state of Goa, India. Mangueshi or Mangueshim are other variations for the same name.
The indigenous population of the erstwhile Portuguese colony of Goa, Daman and Diu was christianised following the Portuguese conquest of Goa in 1510 and the subsequent establishment of the Goan Inquisition. The converts in the Velhas Conquistas to Roman Catholicism were then granted full Portuguese citizenship. Almost all the present-day Goan Christians are descendants of these native converts; they constitute the largest Indian Christian community of Goa state and account for 25 percent of the population, as of 2011 Census of India.
The Christian population of Goa are almost entirely Goan Catholics, whose ancestors converted to Christianity during the Portuguese rule in India. Christianisation followed the Portuguese conquest of Goa in 1510, which was followed by the Goa Inquisition from 1560 onwards. The Hindu population is mostly descended from immigrants from other states of India, who have been arriving in Goa since the last century There is a higher proportion of Christians in Velhas Conquistas than in Novas Conquistas.
