Karhade Brahmin - Culture and Language

Culture and Language

Later under the patronage of Adi Sankara and Madhwacharya,now Karhades are (Smarta and Vaishnava) and followers of the Advaita or Dvaita school of philosophy. They are Rigvedi Brahmins and follow the Ashwalayana Sutra. Although a vast majority adopted Vedic Hinduism a few profess other religious pursuits.

One of the distinctive features of Karahdes belief system, is that their titulary community deities (Graam Devatha or Kula Daiwat) are almost always different versions of Shakti or Durga. Example: there are four 'Durga' temples in four corners of Kerala-Karnataka region where there is concentration of Karhaade population - Kongoor at Mangalore and Aavala, Agalpaady and Thaire in Kasaragod. Similarly in the Marathi speaking domains, Karhada populations have always patronised Mahalakshmi- Kolhapur and Durga-Goa. Also in the Marathi dominions, there are 3 1/2 'Durga' temples in 4 corners, Kolhapur, Tuljapur, Vani and Mahur.

Originally the Kshaharatas perhaps spoke an old Eastern-Iranian language, however under the increasing cultural influences from the Satavahanas gradually their languages were Prakritised. They are known to have used the Kharoshti and the Brahmi scripts for writing. Subsequent Brahminisation during the Middle Ages inspired the Karhades to learn Sanskrit as a medium to officiate religious ceremonies.

Most modern day Marathi speaking Karhade live in Maharashtra and Goa, though a significant population exists in Madhya Pradesh. A southern branch of the Karhade Brahmins settled around the Kasaragodu region (north of the Chandragiri river) of the Malabar coast and they are called the Karada and share their traditions with fellow Tuluva Brahmins of Kasargode and Dakshina Kannada / Udipi. Other Tuluva Brahmins of the region are Shivalli and Havyaka. South of the Chandragiri river, collectively the Tulu and certain Karhada Brahmins, who assimilated with the Kerala Brahmins are loosely called Embranthiri.

In Goa Karhade have two subcastes viz. Padyes who speak a unique dialect of Konkani/ Bhati Bhasha and Bhatt Prabhus who speak standard Konkani.

In some pockets the Karadi dialect has been preserved or has influenced the spoken languages of Karhade, e.g. the Karada Bhashe of Dakshina Kannada / Kasargodu, the Karhadi Boli of Rajapur / Sawantwadi and some peculiarities of the Marathi spoken by the Karhade of Bundelkhand.

Particular mention is made of the Karhadi language of Kasaragodu, several researchers like Dr. Radhakrishna Belluru - Kannur University, Nozomi Kodama - Tokyo University and Smt. Saraswathi - Hampi University have studied this intra-community language unique to the region. Dr. Radhakrishna Belluru published a book on Karada grammar and edited Karada Vocabulary. Nozomi Kodama also published a book on Karada language. Research has shown that the Kasaragodu Karhadas retained this language which appears to be a dialect of Konkani with significant structural borowings from Kannada and notably Tulu.

According to Dr. Radhakrishna Belluru,who has extensively researched and published about the Karhada language, two Karada dialects are very popular in Tulu Nadu and Kasaragod region. The second dialect is called Bekila Bhaashe, spoken by later Karhada migrants to the region.

It should be noted that Kasaragodu Karhadas are essentially multi-lingual, resorting to Kannada, Malayalam and Tulu, when communicating outside their community. Unlike them, other Karhadas like those from Hosdrug, interior and northern Canara, Goa and Maharashtra, are now monolingual and can communicate only in the local languages of their residence, i.e. Malayalam, Kannada, Konkani and Marathi respectively.

The modern Karhade celebrate several festivals according to the Hindu Calendar.

Karhadas have actively participated and patronised classical and folk music and art forms. In the Marathi speaking areas, Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki and several others have contributed immensely to the Hindustani Classical music.Another Karhada from Belgaum, Annasaheb Kirloskar promoted the Marathi Natyasangeet. In Kasaragodu region, they have been involved in the local art forms of Yakshagana and Talamaddale. Balipa Narayana Bhagwat is one of the last remaining vocalists from an era where microphones were not so common. Karhadas like Nataraja Sharma, Balasubrahmanya Bhat (son of very popular violinist late Vishnu Bhat Kolikkaje) and Ballapadavu Yogeesha Sharma actively run music schools in Kasaragodu. Prince Rama Varma a descendant of Swathithirunal regularly visits - Veenavadini, Agalpaady to conduct music classes for young aspiring Karhade Brahmins.

'karhadesamskrithi.in' is exclusively devoted to preservation of cultural ethos and conducting research on the southern Karhaade beliefs,customs, traditions, food habits etc.

Free e-copies of their publications on 'Aahnika Vidhi', 'Brahmopadesha' and 'Vivaaha''' are available on request. these focus on rituals as performed in the Kerala-Karnataka region, explain 'what','how' and 'why' of these samskaaras desisting blind beliefs, Pouranic stories etc.