Bunts - Subdivision

Subdivision

Traditionally the Bunt community was divided into various sub divisions. The principal among these are:

• Masadika Bunt:The single largest subdivision of the community.an overwhelming majority of Bunts belong to this subdivision.the Masadika Bunts natively speak the Tulu language and follow the aliya santana system of matrilineal inheritance. They inhabit or originally hail from the region between Kasaragod town in Kerala and Brahmavar in Udupi district, Karnataka
• Nad Bunt : The Nad Bunt also known as the Nādava are the second largest subdivision among the Bunts and form a sizeable minority within the Bunt community.The Nad Bunt natively speak Kundagannada, a dialect of the Kannada language, and follow the aliya santana system of matrilineal inheritance. They inhabit or originally hail from Kundapura taluka in Udupi district, Karnataka (north of Brahmavar)
• Parivara Bunt : The Parivara Bunt are a minuscule minority within the Bunt community and number around few thousands.The Parivara Bunt natively speak the Tulu language but unlike other subdivisions they follow the makkala santana system of patrilineal inheritance. Scattered populations of the Parivara Bunt are mostly found in the taluka of Sullia in Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, and also adjoining parts of Kodagu district, Karnataka and Kasaragod taluka of Kerala. Their customs and traditions are a mixture of Bunt customs and those of the shivalli brahmins.
• Jain Bunt: the Jain Bunts are traditionally defined as a distinctive subdivision of the Bunt community and sometimes classified as a separate community in itself because they are Jains by faith while the other subdivisions are Hindu. The subdivision arose when some Bunt feudals embraced Jain traditions during the rule of the Hoysala Empire who propagated Jainism. They number around few thousands and speak either the Tulu language or Kannada language. They follow the aliya santana system of matrilineal inheritance, except for a few families who have taken to priestly duties. Their customs are a blend of the Jain customs and those of the Hindu Bunts.

Until the 20th century the rules of intermarriage and interdining were in existence and strictly followed. The community as a whole practised endogamy but subdivisional exogamy was practised only by the Masadika and the Nad who freely intermarried with each other. The Parivara and Jains favoured endogamy and though interdined with other subdivisions but did not intermarry except for rare instances where a woman from the Parivara subdivision could enter into marriage with a man from other subdivisions and a man from the Jain subdivison could enter into matrimonial alliance with a woman from other subdivisions. Apart from the above mentioned principal subdivisions there are about 90 clans found among the Bunts

These clans claim descent either from the Alupas or Perumal kings and were feudatories or rulers of small principalities that existed in Tulu Nadu until the period of British Raj.The Ballal Bunts until the 20th century as a rule neither interdined with other Bunts since they are strictly vegetarian and preferred endogamy. The heads of ballal families mandatorily undergo the Upanayanam ceremony and wear the sacred thread called Janivara or Janeyu. Wearing of the sacred thread and practising vegetarianism is not a compulsion for other Bunts,but apart from the Ballals. Heads of other Bunt families who were erstwhile royalty or have the privileges of “Pattam” (the highest Hereditary title of nobility in Tulu Nadu region) as also certain families called “Shetty Vala’’ and “Hegde’’ who are “Mukteshwar’’ or Muktesar (Administrative Trustees) of temples and solved civil or criminal disputes of areas they had jurisdiction in former times also wear the sacred thread.