The history of Goa dates back to prehistoric times, though the present-day state of Goa was only established as recently as 1987. In spite of being India's smallest state by area, Goa's rich history is both long and diverse. It shares a lot of similarities with Indian history, especially with regard to colonial influences and a multi-cultural aesthetic.
Salcete or Salcette is a subdivision of the district of South Goa, in the state of Goa, situated by the west coast of India. The Sal River and its backwaters dominate the landscape of Salcete. Historically, the sixty-six settlements south of the Zuari River formed the original Salcette territory. Salcete forms a part of the bigger Konkan region that stretches along the western shoreline of peninsular India.
The Chutu dynasty ruled parts of the Deccan region of South India between first and third centuries CE, with its capital at Banavasi in present-day Karnataka state. The Chutus probably rose to power as Satavahanas feudatories, and assumed sovereignty after the decline of the Satavahana power. Except for the edicts of Asoka, the inscriptions of the Chutu dynasty are the oldest documents found in the northern part of Karnataka State, India.
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.
The Shilahara was a royal dynasty that established itself in northern and southern Konkan in 8th century CE, present-day Mumbai and Southern Maharashtra (Kolhapur) during the Rashtrakuta period.
North Karnataka is a geographical region in Deccan plateau from 300 to 730 metres elevation that constitutes the region of the Karnataka state in India and the region consists of 14 districts. It is drained by the Krishna River and its tributaries the Bhima, Ghataprabha, Malaprabha, and Tungabhadra. North Karnataka lies within the Deccan thorn scrub forests ecoregion, which extends north into eastern Maharashtra.
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.
The Saptakoteshwar temple at Narve in Goa, India, is considered to be one of the six great sites of temples of Shiva in the Konkan area.
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.
Velim is a large village situated in Salcete, neighbouring Quepem taluka, and falls under South Goa district, in the coastal state of Goa. It has access to the Arabian Sea via the Sal river that flows through it and shares its borders with neighbouring villages and towns of Assolna, Ambelim, Betul, and Cuncolim. The village consists of 22 hamlets or subdivisions which have been organized into 9 wards. As of 2020, the village has a total population of about 8600 residents residing in 2568 households. It is a part of the Velim Assembly constituency.
Vishnupalita Kambhoja finds reference in the Buddhist inscriptions found at Mhar or Mahad in Kolaba district of Maharashtra, in Bombay Presidency. Kanbhoja of the inscriptions is same as the Kambhoja or Kamboja of ancient Sanskrit and Pali texts and of king Asoka’s Rock Edicts. The prince is believed to have ruled in Kolaba, probably around the 2nd century CE.
Vaishya Vani is a sub-caste of Vaishyas, one of the varnas of Hinduism. In the Gujarat state and the Daman territory, they are also known as Vaishnav or Vaishnav Vanik. In Uttara Kannada districts of Karwar and Ankola they are called as Vaishya Vani, or Vani.their mother tongue is Konkani which they speak among themselves in the states of Gujrat, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.
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.
Roman Catholic Kshatriyas or Christian Kshatriyas are a modern Christianised caste among Goan, Bombay East Indian, Mangalorean, Kudali & Karwari Catholics. They are patrilineal descendants of Kshatriya and Vaishya Vani converts to the Latin Church, in parts of the Konkan region that were under Portuguese Goan rule. They are known as Chardo in Goan Konkani, Charodi in Canarese Konkani & as Sandori or Vadval in Damanese-Maharashtrian Konkani; while others identify as Khatri, Panchkalshi & Pathare in their Bombay East Indian dialects. Some Chardos have maintained endogamy, while others have intermarried with Bamonns.
The Kadambas of Hangal was a South Indian dynasty during the Late Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Hangal in Karnataka. Chatta Deva who reigned from 980–1031 CE founded the dynasty. He helped Western Chalukyas in the coup against the Rashtrakutas; re-established the Kadamba Dynasty mostly as a feudatory of Western Chalukyas, but his successors enjoyed considerable independence and were almost sovereign rulers of Goa and Konkan till 14th century CE.
Bhoja dynasty also known as Bhojas of Goa, were a dynasty that ruled Goa, parts of Konkan, and some parts of Karnataka from at least the 3rd century AD to the 6th century. They were feudatories to the Mauryas of Konkana, and possibly to the Chalukyas of Vatapi who expelled the Mauryas. The Bhoja seat of power was located at Chandrapura or Chandraura in Goa.
Jainism flourished in Goa during the rule of Kadamba dynasty of Karnataka. Broken sculptures of the Jain Tirthankara Suparshvanatha, belonging to the period of the Goan Kadamba ruler Shivachitta Permadi Dev, were discovered in an old Jain temple in Jainkot, Naroa.
Revatidvipa or Govapuri was a province under the Chalukya dynasty, encompassing parts of modern-day Goa and Maharashtra, India. Revatidvipa was an important trading port of the dynasties that controlled it, including the Chalukyas. It was conquered by the Rashtrakuta ruler Krishna I in 753 AD.
The Maurya dynasty ruled the coastal Konkan region in present-day Goa and Maharashtra states of India, between the 4th and the 7th centuries. Their capital was Puri, which is variously identified as Gharapuri (Elephanta), Salsette, or Rajapuri. The dynasty is known only from a few records, and there is very little clarity on its genealogy, chronology, territory, administration and political status.
