Mangalorean Catholics

The community gets its name from the Mamgalore diocesan adherents of the Latin Church in India, After this migration, these skilled agriculturists were offered various land grants by the native Bednore rulers of South Canara. Most migrants were people from the lower economic strata who had been left out of government and economic jobs; their lands had been confiscated due to heavy taxation under the Portuguese in Goa. As a consequence of the wealth and privileges which these migrants enjoyed in Mangalore, they began feeling superior to their landless kindred in Goa. Their captivity at Seringapatam (1784–1799), where many died, were killed, or were converted to Sunni Islam, led to the formation of a separate and common cultural identity among members of the group, who had previously considered themselves an extension of Goans. They no longer self-identified as Goan Catholics after the captivity. ==History==

Pre-migration era , where the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed in 1498 All records of an early existence of Christians in South Canara were lost at the time of their deportation by Tipu Sultan in 1784. Hence, it is not known exactly when Christianity was introduced in South Canara, although it is possible that Syrian Christians settled in South Canara, just as they did in Kerala, a state just south of Canara. The Italian traveller Marco Polo recorded that there were considerable trading activities between the Red Sea and the Canara coast in the 13th century. It can be surmised that foreign Christian merchants were visiting the coastal towns of South Canara during that period for commerce; it is possible some Christian priests might have accompanied them for evangelistic work. In April 1321 the French Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani of Severac (in south-western France) landed at Thana with four other friars. He then travelled to Bhatkal in North Canara, a port town on the coastal route from Thana to Quilon. According to historian Severine Silva, no concrete evidence has yet been found that there were any permanent settlements of Christians in South Canara before the 16th century. It was only after the advent of the Portuguese in the region that Christianity began to spread. In 1500, Portuguese explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral arrived at Anjediva in North Canara with eight Franciscan missionaries. Under the leadership of Frei Henrique Soares de Coimbra, the missionaries converted 22 or 23 natives to Christianity in the Mangalore region. During the early part of the 16th century, Krishnadevaraya (1509–1529), the ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire of Deccan, granted commercial privileges to the Portuguese on the Canara coast. There was complete freedom of worship, belief, and propagation of religious tenets in the Vijaynagara Empire. The Portuguese Franciscans slowly started propagating Christianity in Mangalore. Their properties were subsequently taken over by their Hindu relatives, but the viceroy instructed his factor of Mangalore to get their property restored. In 1534, Canara was placed under the ecclesiastic jurisdiction of the Bishop of Goa, where the Portuguese had a strong presence. Missionaries soon arrived and gained converts. The number of local converts in South Canara continually increased until 1546. Migration era taking leave of John III of Portugal before his departure to Goa in 1541, by Avelar Rebelo (1635). In 1510, a Portuguese fleet under Afonso de Albuquerque, sent by King Manuel I of Portugal, wrested the region of Goa from Sultan Yusuf Adil Shah of Bijapur. In 1534, the Diocese of Goa was established. Soon missionaries were sent to Goa, which led to conversion of a sizeable population to Roman Catholicism. The bulk of Christian settlers came in three major migration waves towards South Canara. These migrations occurred in periods of great unrest: the Goa Inquisition occurred from 1560 onwards; the Portuguese–Adil Shahi wars were between 1570 and 1579; and the Portuguese–Maratha wars occurred between 1667–83 and 1737–40. In 1542, the Navarrese Jesuit Francis Xavier, co-founder of the Society of Jesus; arrived in Goa. He discovered that the newly converted Christians were practising their old Hindu customs and traditions. He requested the Portuguese king João III to install an Inquisition in Goa in 1545. Many of the Goan ancestors of the present Mangalorean Catholics fled Goa after the Inquisition began in 1560. King Sebastião I decreed that every trace of Hindu customs should be eradicated through the Inquisition. Many Goan Christians of upper-caste Hindu origins were attached to their caste practices, and did not want to abandon them. Those converts who refused to comply were forced to leave Goa and to settle outside the Portuguese dominion, The Christians who left Goa were for the most part skilled agriculturists who abandoned their irrigated fields in Goa to achieve freedom. At the time of migration, Canara was ruled by the Keladi king Shivappa Nayaka (1540–60). He evinced great interest in the development of agriculture in his empire and welcomed these agriculturists to his kingdom, giving them fertile lands to cultivate. This was confirmed by Francis Buchanan, a Scottish physician, when he visited Canara in 1801. In his book A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar (1807), he stated that "The princes of the house of Ikkeri had given great encouragement to the Christians, and had induced 80,000 of them to settle in Tuluva." Later, this was identified as a probable mistake and should have read "8,000". This figure included the second emigration of Christians from Goa. The taxation policies of the Keladi Nayakas during 1598–1763 enabled the Goan Catholic migrants to emerge as prominent landowning gentry in South Canara. These migrants usually brought their own capital from Goa, which they invested in their new lands, thereby indirectly contributing to the prosperity of the Keladi kingdom. The appointment of the Vicar Apostolic of Mangalore was felt by the Holy See to be of critical importance. Nayaka pressured the church authorities to appoint a native priest as the Vicar Apostolic, which resulted in the appointment of Fr. Andrew Gomez to the post; however, he died before the nomination papers could reach Mangalore. After his consecration, he first went to Calicut and then moved to Mangalore, where he served from 1677 to 1684. In 1677, Bishop de Castro entered into a conflict with the Archbishop of Goa, Dom Frei for disregarding the Padroado. Consequently, they did not cede the jurisdiction to him despite the Pope's letter of appointment. However, after being convinced of its legitimacy, Fr. Vaz submitted to Bishop de Castro and brought about a truce. He further managed to persuade the bishop to delegate his jurisdiction to him while retaining the post. The Milagres Church, one of the oldest churches in South Canara, was built in 1680 by Bishop Thomas de Castro. In 1568, the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Mangalore (Our Lady of Rosary of Mangalore) was erected by the Portuguese at Bolar in Mangalore. The Churches of Nossa Senhora de Mercês de Velala (Our Lady of Mercy of Ullal) and São Francisco de Assis (St. Francis of Assisi) at Farangipet were erected by the Portuguese in South Canara at around the same time. These three churches were mentioned by the Italian traveller Pietro Della Valle, who visited Mangalore in 1623. In 1570, the Sultan of Bijapur, Ali Adil Shah I, entered into an alliance with the Sultan of Ahmadnagar, Murtaza Nizam Shah, and the Zamorin of Calicut for a simultaneous attack on the Portuguese territories of Goa, Chaul, and Mangalore. During the Maratha raids on Goa, about 60,000 Christians migrated to South Canara. These new migrants were given lands at Shirva, Kirem, Mundkur, Pezar, and Hosabettu by the Chowta kings of Moodbidri and at Milagres, Bondel, and Cordel by the Banghel kings of Mangalore. During later years, migration slowed because of the Maratha–Mughal wars, and some 10,000 Christians returned to Goa. The Portuguese promised to refrain from slaughtering cows and to halt forcible conversions in their factories. Post-migration era and captivity (1750–1799), the architect of the Seringapatam captivity In 1686, Seringapatam, the capital of the Kingdom of Mysore, had a community of more than 400 Catholics. The community was severely harassed in the following two decades, with the churches destroyed and the priest's house confiscated. The destruction was undertaken under the name of the Wodeyar king, Kanthirava Narasaraja I, by his finance minister. The priest's house was returned to the church in 1709. Relations between the Wodeyars and the Mangalorean Catholics improved until 1717, when there was an anti-Christian outburst. The resident priest was expelled and forbidden to preach. Several more anti-Christian outbursts followed. By 1736, there were better relations between the two groups. From 1761 onwards, Hyder Ali, a distinguished soldier in the Mysore army, took de facto control of the throne of the Kingdom of Mysore through the Wodeyar dynasty. Hyder occupied Mangalore in 1763. In February 1768 the British captured Mangalore from Hyder. Toward the end of 1768, Hyder and his son Tipu Sultan defeated the British and recaptured Mangalore fort. After the conquest, Hyder was informed that the Mangalorean Catholics had helped the British in their conquest of Mangalore. Hyder believed that this behaviour of the Christians amounted to treachery against the sovereign. The Christians were alleged to have helped General Mathews with a sum of Rs. 3,30,000/-. Hyder summoned a Portuguese officer and several Christian priests from Mangalore to suggest the punishment for the Mangalorean Catholics for treachery. The Portuguese officer suggested the death penalty for those Catholics who helped the British, because it was a fitting punishment for people who betrayed the sovereign. But Hyder exhibited a diplomatic stance and imprisoned the Christians, rather than killing them. Later, he opened negotiations with the Portuguese. As a result of the agreement, the suspicion against the clergy and the Christians was removed. During Hyder's regime, the Mangalorean Catholic community continued to flourish. After Hyder's death in the Second Anglo-Mysore War on 7 December 1782, the British captured the fort again. Hyder was succeeded by his son Tipu Sultan. Tipu laid several assaults on the Mangalore fort until January 1784, all of which resulted in failure. The fort was finally delivered to Tipu when the British capitulated on 30 January 1784. Tipu received highly exaggerated reports about the role of the Mangalorean Catholics and their help to the British in the Second Anglo-Mysore War. To minimise the British threat to his kingdom and in the Sultan-ul-Tawarikh, due to "the rage of Islam that began to boil in his breast", Tipu banished the Mangalorean Catholic community from their lands, and imprisoned them at Seringapatam, the capital of his empire. The captivity of Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam, which began on 24 February 1784 and ended on 4 May 1799, remains the most disconsolate memory in their history. Soon after the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784, Tipu gained control of Canara. He issued orders to seize the Christians in Canara, confiscate their estates, and deport them to Seringapatam, through the Jamalabad fort route. All this was accomplished in a secret and well-planned move on Ash Wednesday (24 February 1784). Accounts of the number of captives differ, ranging from 30,000 to 80,000. The generally accepted figure is 60,000, as per Tipu's own records. They were forced to climb nearly through the dense jungles and gorges of the Western Ghat mountain ranges along two routes; one group travelled along the Bantwal-Belthangadi-Kulshekar-Virajpet-Coorg-Mysore route, and the other along the Gersoppa falls (Shimoga) route. It was from Mangalore to Seringapatam, and the journey took six weeks. According to the Barcoor Manuscript, written in Kannada by a Mangalorean Catholic from Barcoor after his return from Seringapatam, 20,000 of them (one-third) died on the march to Seringapatam due to hunger, disease, and ill treatment by the soldiers. At the camp at Jamalabad fort, Mangalorean Catholic leaders were thrown down from the fort. After arriving at Seringapatam, the Christian captives were made to forcibly embrace Islam, were tortured, or sentenced to death. The young men who refused to embrace Islam were disfigured by cutting their noses, upper lips, and ears. They were seated on asses, paraded through the city, and thrown into the dungeons of Seringapatam. Historian Praxy Fernandes, author of Storm over Seringapatam: The Incredible Story of Hyder Ali & Tippu Sultan, states that contrary to popular belief, 40,000 Christians were not kept manacled in the dungeons of Seringapatam. Ludwig von Pastor, a German historian, claimed "countless" Mangalorean Catholics were hanged, including women with their children clinging around their necks. Others were trampled or dragged by elephants. The young women and girls were distributed as wives to Muslim officers and favourites living in Seringapatam. The persecutions continued until 1792. This was followed by a brief relaxation period from 1792 to 1797, during which a few Catholic families managed to escape to Coorg, Cannanore, and Tellicherry. The persecutions resumed in 1797. British and modern eras '' by Henry Singleton In the Battle of Seringapatam on 4 May 1799, the British army, under officers George Harris, David Baird, and Arthur Wellesley, stormed the fortress and breached the town of Seringapatam, with Tipu being killed in action. After his death in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, the Mangalorean Catholics were freed from his captivity. Of the 60,000–80,000 Mangalorean Catholics taken captive, only 15,000–20,000 made it out as Christians. Historian Alan Machado Prabhu mentions that only 11,000 survived the captivity as Christians. Of the remaining Christians freed, about a thousand went to Malabar, and some hundreds settled in Coorg. According to Francis Buchanan, 15,000 of them returned to Mangalore and its vicinity, while 10,000 of them migrated to Malabar. According to genealogist Michael Lobo, the present Mangalorean Catholic community is descended almost entirely from this small group of survivors. 10,877 were Christians. Thomas Munro was appointed the first collector of Canara in June 1799. He passed three orders in respect of the estates of the Christians, which were taken over by non-Christians during the captivity. Through the assistance of the church and with the support of Munro, the Christians were able to recover their lands and estates. Fr. José Miguel Luis de Mendes, a Goan Catholic priest, was appointed Vicar of Our Lady of Rosary of Mangalore on 7 December 1799. He took interest in the re-establishment of the community from 1799 to 1808. helped the Mangalorean Catholics recover their lands after their return from captivity. In 1800, there were 2,545 Catholic households with a population of 10,877. Their population almost doubled by 1818. According to various parish books, Mangalorean Catholics numbered 19,068 in South Canara (12,877 in Mangalore and Bantval, 3,918 in Moolki, 2,273 in Cundapore and Barcoor). Most of the churches which were earlier destroyed by Tipu were rebuilt by 1815. The community prospered under the British, and the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Goa recommenced. The opening of the Protestant German Basel Mission of 1834 in Mangalore brought many handicraft industries, such as cotton weaving and tile-manufacturing, to the region and led to a large-scale rise in employment. In 1836–37, the political situation in Portugal was in turmoil. Antonio Feliciano de Santa Rita Carvalho, a Portuguese priest, was appointed Archbishop-elect of Goa in September 1836 without authorisation from the then Pope, Gregory XVI. Many Mangalorean Catholics did not accept the leadership of Carvalho but instead submitted to the Vicar Apostolic of Verapoly in Travancore, while some of them continued to be under the jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Goa and Daman. The parishes in South Canara were divided into two groups—one under Goa and the other under Verapoly. Conceding to their request, Pope Gregory XVI established Mangalore as a separate Vicariate on 17 February 1845 under the Verapoly Carmelites. The Mangalore Mission was transferred to the French Carmelites by a bull dated 3 January 1870. During the regime of Carmelites, the Mangalorean Catholics constantly sent memorandums to the Holy See to send Jesuits to Mangalore to start institutions for higher education, since students frequently had to go to Bombay and Madras for educational purposes. Pope Leo XIII, by the Brief of 27 September 1878, handed over the Mangalore mission to the Italian Jesuits of Naples, who reached Mangalore on 31 December 1878. The Italian Jesuits played an important role in education, health, and social welfare of the community. They built St. Aloysius College in 1880, St Aloysius Chapel in 1884, St. Joseph's Seminary and many other institutions and churches. On 25 January 1887, Pope Leo XIII established the Diocese of Mangalore, which is considered to be an important landmark in the community's history. By the later half of the 19th century, many Mangalorean Catholics were involved in the Mangalore tile industry, coffee plantations, and trade in plantation products. The overwhelming majority of Mangalorean Catholics continued to remain agriculturists. in 1884, after Mangalore was transferred to the Italian Jesuits in 1878. During the later 19th century, they started migrating to other urban areas, especially Bombay, Bangalore, Calcutta, Karachi, Madras, Mysore and Poona. The Mangalorean Catholics came to Bombay out of economic necessity. The first permanent settlement of Mangalorean Catholics in Bombay was recorded in the 1890s. The first Mangalorean Catholic settlement in Madras was recorded in the 1940s. Joachim Alva, a Mangalorean Catholic politician, actively participated in uniting the Mangalorean Catholic community against the British during the Indian Independence Movement. In 1901, Mangalorean Catholics accounted for 76,000 of the total 84,103 Christians in South Canara., while in 1962, they numbered . During the mid-20th century, Victor Fernandes, Bishop of Mangalore from 1931 to 1955, erected a large cross at Nanthoor, near Padav hills, on the former outskirts of Mangalore, in honour of the memory of Mangalorean Catholic martyrs who died on the march and during their 15-year captivity at Seringapatam. During the 1970s, coastal communication increased between Bombay and Mangalore with the introduction of ships by the London-based trade firm Shepherd. These ships facilitated the entry of Mangalorean Catholics to Bombay. In 1993, the Mangalore Diocese estimated the population of Mangalorean Catholics to be out of a total South Canara population of . This amounts to 9.23 per cent of the population. A notable post-independence era event pertaining to the Mangalorean Catholics that occurred in southern Karnataka, and made national headlines, were the attacks on Christian religious institutions in September 2008. ==Geographical distribution==

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Mangalore estimates the population of Mangalorean Catholics in the areas that comprise historical South Canara to be out of a total population of , or approximately 9.5 per cent of the population. Other regions of India having a significant proportion of Mangalorean Catholics, characterised by the presence of Mangalorean Catholic organisations or celebration of the unique Mangalorean Catholic Monti Fest festival, are Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, and Ranchi. A few Mangalorean Catholics are found in Kodagu and Kerala, where there are tiny pockets concentrated in Thalassery, Kasargod, Kannur and Kochi. They are mainly descended from those Catholics who fled the persecution and roundup by Tipu Sultan. The Mangalorean Catholic diaspora is scattered across the globe. Many Mangalorean Catholics are found in Persian Gulf Arab states in the Middle East. The Mangalorean Catholic Association of Sydney (MCAS) has estimated that around 300 Mangalorean Catholic families live in Sydney, Australia, with a lot of second generation families. Many of these are multi-racial, being married into Anglo-Saxon, Spanish, Italian, Greek, and other ethnicities. Mangalorean genealogist Michael Lobo has estimated that approximately half of the Mangalorean Catholics still reside in Mangalore and the other towns in the South Canara district. As for the remaining half, about 15 per cent reside in other parts of Karnataka (mostly Bangalore), 15 per cent reside in Mumbai and its neighbouring areas, 10 per cent reside in the Persian Gulf countries, 5 per cent reside in other parts of India, and the remaining 5 per cent reside in other parts of the world. ==Culture==

Architecture The German missionary Georg Plebst set up the first tile factory at Mangalore in 1860. It was called the Basel Mission tile factory. In 1991–1992, out of twelve Mangalore tile manufacturing factories in Mangalore, six were owned by Christians. These tiles, prepared from hard clay, were in great demand throughout India, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, and were even shipped to East Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Australia. These were the only tiles to be recommended for Government buildings in India, and still define Mangalore's skyline and characterise its urban setting. Urban and rural housing follows the traditional variety of laterite brick structures with Mangalore tile roofing on steeply sloped roofs. Inside the house, a spacious hall is present while a large verandah is present in front of the house. The traditional houses tend to have spacious porticos, red cement or terracotta floors, and have fruit trees outside the house. Cuisine '' are sweet delicacies prepared at Christmas, and include around 22 varieties of sweets. Coconut and curry leaves are common ingredients to most curries. Sanna-Dukra Maas (Sanna is idli fluffed with toddy or yeast; Dukra Maas is pork) is one of the most popular dishes of the Mangalorean Catholic community. Rosachi Kadi (Ros Curry), a fish curry made with coconut milk (ros), is a traditional curry served during the Ros ceremony. Patrode, a dish of colocasia leaves stuffed with rice, dal, jaggery, coconut, and spices is popular. Kuswar are sweet delicacies prepared during Christmas and include around 22 varieties of sweets. Fish and rice form the staple diet of most Mangalorean Catholics. Par-boiled rice, known as red rice, is the traditional rice eaten and is preferred over raw rice. and generally follow the second declension. Mangalorean Catholics also use Konkanised forms of their surnames in Konkani conversations, such as Soza, Kueli, Piint & so on; These original surnames are actually the names of five classes of persons: lord, cultivator, merchant, warrior, and writer. At least one of these are Saraswat Brahmin surnames, with the exception of Padival and Shett; Shett is used by those who trace their origins to Daivadnyas. These ancestral pre-Christian surnames are called paik in Konkani. A few have reverted to their paik surnames. While a few others use both, they use Konkani surnames which are hyphenated with the Portuguese ones. Mudartha is a rare and unique Konkani and Gaud Saraswat Brahmin surname found among a few Catholics who hail from Udupi. Language and literature published the first genealogical encyclopaedia of the Mangalorean Catholic community in 1999. Mangalorean Catholics speak the Konkani language, which they have retained as their mother tongue despite the migration; the language is central to the community's identity. The Mangalorean Catholic dialect has Sanskrit influences, and preserves many features of the Maharashtri, Shauraseni, and Magadhi dialects of Prakrit. It also has loanwords from the Tulu and Kannada languages. It is written in the Kanarese script. The dialect does not distinguish between the nouns of Kannada and Konkani and has developed into a language that is very practical for business. Some Kannada root words which have disappeared from the Goan dialects due to the influence of Portuguese have re-entered the Mangalorean lexicon. The Mangalorean Catholic dialect is largely derived from the Bardeskaar (North Goan) dialect and bears a good degree of intelligibility with the modern Bardeskaar dialect (spoken by North Goan Christians) and to a slightly lesser extent with the standard Konkani dialect. It consequently differs from the dialect spoken by the Goud Saraswat Brahmins in South Canara, which is copiously derived and bears a good degree of intelligibility with the modern Sashtikaar (South Goan) dialect spoken by South Goan Christians and North Canara Konkani Hindus. It is much closer to the dialects of the Goan Hindus than to that of the Goan Catholics. The Italian Jesuits who arrived in Mangalore in 1878, devoted themselves to the study and development of Konkani, and were thus responsible for the revival of the Konkani language in Mangalore. The origin of their literature dates to 1883, when Angelus Francis Xavier Maffei, an Italian Jesuit, published the first An English–Konkani Dictionary in Mangalore. He published a book on Konkani grammar in 1882, with a revised version in 1893. In 1912 the first Konkani periodical, Konknni Dirvem (Konkani Treasure), was published in Mangalore by Louis Mascarenhas. Popular Konkani periodicals published in Mangalore include Raknno (Guardian) (1938) by Mons. Sylvester Menezes, Konkan Daiz (Heritage of Konkani) (1958), and Kannik (Donation) (1965) by Raymond Miranda. The twentieth-century literature focused on themes like the suffering of the Mangalorean Catholics during their 15-year captivity at Seringapatam and the oppression of Goan Catholics during the Goa Inquisition. The first Konkani novel in Karnataka Aangel (1915), was written in the Kannada script by Joachim Santan Alvares. In Bombay—which had a small Mangalorean Catholic community—periodicals like Sukh-Dukh (Ups and Downs) (1948) by G.M.B. Rodrigues, Konknni Yuvak (Konkani Youth) (1949) by George Fernandes, Poinnari (Traveller) (1950) by V.J.P. Saldanha, is best known for his work The Revised Kamasutra, a novel on sexual desires. Modern literature is diverse and includes themes such as Indian politics in books like What Ails the Socialists by George Fernandes, historical awakening, in books such as ''Sarasvati's Children: A History of the Mangalorean Christians by Alan Machado Prabhu, and sexual desires, in The Revised Kama Sutra: A Novel of Colonialism and Desire by Richard Crasta. Genealogist Michael Lobo published the first genealogical Encyclopedia of the Mangalorean Catholic community in 1999. This genealogical encyclopaedia, which exceeds 6,000 pages, covers over a thousand families, each of which is researched as far as its ancestry can be traced. Three offshoots have thus far been launched, which include Mangaloreans Worldwide – An International Directory (1999), Distinguished Mangalorean Catholics (2000), and The Mangalorean Catholic Community – A Professional History / Directory (2002). William Robert da Silva translated the first complete Bible from English into Konkani. The work entitled Baibol (Bible) was written in the Kannada script, and published by the Mangalore-based Konkani Bible committee in 1997. In 2000, the Mangalore Diocese also released a Konkani Bible in Kannada script entitled Pavitr Pustak'' (Holy Book), which was made available online on 26 July 2007. Customs and festivals Mangalorean Catholics have retained many Indian customs and traditions; these are especially visible during the celebration of a marriage. It was mainly these pre-Christian marriage rites that the Portuguese found objectionable and prohibited during the Goan Inquisition. The roce (ritual bathing) ceremony, conducted one or two days before a wedding, celebrates the last day of virginity of the bride and the groom; it involves the parents' blessing the bride and groom, who are bathed in roce (coconut milk), while a cross is inscribed on the bride's forehead. The ethnic Konkani marriage rituals include soirik (betrothal), which known as badalchen (changing hands; formal acceptance of the promise made by the bride's father to the bridegroom's father that he will give his daughter in marriage). Other rites include the onpnni or '' (giving away the bride formally by the father or the guardian of the bride), and singing of honvious'' (hymns). celebration near the Milagres Church in Hampankatta, Mangalore In addition to common Christian festivals like Christmas, Great Friday, and Easter, the community celebrates many other festivals of religious and historical significance. Monti Fest is one of the major festivals, celebrated on 8 September. It combines the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and blessing of novem (new crops). The festival derives its name from the Monte Mariano Church at Farangipet, and was initiated by Fr Joachim Miranda, a Goan priest at Farangipet, in 1763. Although Tipu Sultan destroyed the churches of Canara, he spared Monte Mariano Church in deference to the friendship of his father Hyder Ali with Fr Miranda. Attur Jatre or Attur Fest (Attur festival) is the feast of St Lawrence, celebrated at the St. Lawrence Shrine on the outskirts of Karkala. In modern times however, this mode has changed. Only a few older men can be seen wearing this traditional dress on church-going occasions. Before marriage, women used to wear a kirgi (half sari) and baju (kurti). The kirgi is a piece of cloth not longer than four feet, and about three feet wide. It was wrapped around the body from the waist down. A jacket with long sleeves called a baju, was used to cover the upper part of the body. This dress was a sign of the bride's virginity and was worn during the roce or ros ceremony. The kirgi was wrapped around the waist, but the end of the sari is not thrown over the shoulder. Married women used to wear sarees the general way. The salwar kameez and the lungi are forms of popular clothing among present-day Mangaloreans. The Mangalorean Catholic bride's wedding sari is known as a sado. It is usually a red-coloured Benaresi sari which is made of finely woven silk and is decorated with elaborate engravings. The pirduk (mangalsutra) is a necklace made of black beads strung on gold wire as either as a single chain or double chain, with a connecting pendant. This necklace is worn as long as the husband is alive; a widow is expected to take it off. A widow is expected to wear a black sari for the remainder of her life, and is not allowed to wear ornaments. The bridegroom's dress in early times consisted of a breechcloth (dhoti), with a red and gold hem (todop), a coat (kutanv) & a towel (urmal) on the head. Presently, most Mangalorean Catholic couples opt for a white wedding, where the groom wears a black suit, while the bride wears a white dress. The traditional style of wedding is becoming exceedingly rare. Historical society Catholics were divided into three broad divisions: the higher classes of Catholics were landlords, merchants and public servants. The middle classes were traders, cultivators; the lower classes were agricultural laborers, tailors and domestic servants. Mangalorean Catholics retained the same caste system as their Konkani ancestors in Goa. They were mainly divided into four castes: Bamonns, Charodis, Sudirs, and Gaudis. There were also local converts from Bunt, Beary, Koragas, Holeya, Mogaveera, Billavas, Mansa and other communities due to the social reform and missionary activities of the Jesuits and Capuchins in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Bamonns were further divided into other subcastes or classes according to rank. In Mangalore, they were sub-divided into Sirudhegars (the highest class), Alhdhengars, Cutdhnangars, Dhivodegars, Nathnolegars, Sashragars, Puruvargars, and Maidhegars. These names are taken from the villages to which they once belonged. According to John B. Kutinha of the Karnataka Second Backward Classes Commission, the Bamon Christians and Sarodi Christians were akin to Vaishyas and Shudras, and the Gaudi Christians were akin to untouchables. The Charodis were converts from the Kshatriya (warrior class) and Vaishya (merchant class) castes. The artisan converts formed the third group who were known as Sudirs (the Konkani word for Shudras who were the labour class). Other minor castes included the Padvals, whom historian Severine Silva found to be native Tulu Jain Bunt converts. The Bamonns and Charodis would invite neighbours and friends belonging to the Sudir and Gaudi castes to special occasions such as weddings and baptisms, although the latter would have to observe certain restrictions with regards to sitting and eating. The lower castes felt honoured if they were invited and usually accepted such invitations. The upper castes usually did not attend the ceremonies of the lower castes, even if expressly invited. of St Lawrence Church, Moodubelle, gives his blessings to his granddaughter during her Ros ceremony, year 1975. He wears a short kurta and a dhoti. It was difficult for the few priests who had accompanied the Christian emigrants to South Canara to look after them properly. Thus, the gurkar system came into existence. Gurkars were Mangalorean Catholic men of good moral character who were selected as headmen in Christian settlements. They were entrusted with the social and religious supervision of the community. The mass was celebrated in Latin; but the sermon, the catechism, and the explication of the mysteries were delivered to the congregation in Konkani. The parishes were grouped into deaneries called varados. Every parish was divided into wards, while parish councils were present in most parishes. A widow had to remain indoors, practically for the rest of her life. Since high-caste Hindu widows cannot remarry after the death of their husbands, the high-caste Christians too considered the remarriage of a widow as something unnatural. Canon law did allow remarriage for widows and therefore there was no direct prohibition for widows to remarry in the society of the Christians of South Canara. Few women had the courage to go against the strict conventions of their community. A widow who remarried was looked down upon, pitied, and shunned as unlucky. But she was not ill-treated or made an outcast, and no stigma was attached to her husband. By the end of the 20th century however, social categorization and differentiation became manifested not on various factors apart from caste. Catholic Christians who belonged to the lower economic classes and were tenants in former times now have become land owners, due to the land reforms. Songs and music On 26 and 27 January 2008, a Konkani cultural event, Konkani Nirantari, held in Mangalore by the Mangalorean Catholic organisation Mandd Sobhann; entered the Guinness Book of World Records for non-stop singing of Konkani hymns. The Silver Band, started in 1906 by Lawrence D'Souza in Mangalore, is one of the oldest and most popular brass bands in Mangalore. The well-known Konkani hymn Riglo Jezu Molliant (Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemene) was written by Fr. Joachim Miranda, an 18th-century Goan Catholic priest, when he was held captive by Tipu Sultan on his Canara mission. Mons. Minguel Placid Colaco wrote the devotional hymn Jezucho Mog (Jesus' Love) in 1905, Joseph Saldanha's Shembor Cantigo (100 Hymns) Other popular Konkani hymns composed by Mangalorean Catholics are Aika Cristanv Jana (Listen, O' Christian People), Utha Utha Praniya (Wake up, Creatures), and Sorgim Thaun (From Heaven). Konkani pop music became popular after Indian Independence in 1947. Henry D'Souza and Helen D'Cruz are known for the Konkani love duet Kathrina in 1971 and the love Ballad Garacho Divo (Lamp of the House) in the 1970s, while Wilfy Rebimbus' sonnet Mog Tuzo Kithlo Axelom (How I Have Loved Thee) from 1977 is popular. Konkani plays, especially religious ones, were written and staged in Mangalore in the 20th century by prominent playwrights such as Pedru John D'Souza, Pascal Sequeira and Bonaventure Tauro. The instrument has the form of an earthen pot but is open at both sides. One end is covered with the skin of some wild animal, and the other is left open. The traditional theatre form is called Gumat, and is performed on the eve of the marriage or in connection with the marriage celebrations in the decorated pandal (stage). The tradition of Voviyo (wedding songs), sung by women during a Ros, is important to this community. The procedure is that an elderly lady, usually the ' (wife of the master of ceremonies, who is known as ') who knows the '''', leads the song while the rest of the women sing along. Only women whose husbands are still living may sing. In ancient times, the wedding songs expressed very lofty sentiments and gave vent to the feelings of the people about the marriage partners and their families, invoking the blessing of God on them. }} Castes Konkani Christians of the erstwhile South Kanara area belong to multiple castes, that correspond to the Hindu castes they converted from. These include: Gowdis, Charodis, Bahmons, Sudirs, Kharvi, Dalits, Madivals, Renders, Kumbars, Koragas, etc. Other communities in the region treated the Catholic Christians of Dakshina Kannada as a single jati or caste group but the Catholics were not a monolithic block. Historically, they had internal divisions and inter-marriages between these castes were not forbidden, but rarely took place. Caste differences among Mangalore catholics have reduced because of advancing education, inter-caste marriages, inter-religious marriages, migration to the gulf, and land reforms in the 1970s. As Christians in Karnataka, they are classified under Category III(B) of other backward classes in Karnataka and are eligible for reservations in education and government employment for non creamy-layer sections, while scheduled caste converts to Christianity are classified under Category I. ==Organisations==

Many organisations cater to the community in South Kanara. The most notable are Mandd Sobhann, which broke the Guinness record for non-stop singing, and the Catholic Association of South Kanara (CASK). The first session of the Canara Konkani Catholic World Convention took place on 26 December 2004 in Mangalore. The convention aimed to establish institutions to conduct research on the history of Mangalorean Catholics. In India, the Kanara Catholic Association, Mumbai, (KCA Mumbai, established in 1901), the Kanara Catholic Association, (KCA Bangalore, established in 1955) and Mangalore Catholic Association, (Pune) (MCA, established on 10 February 1996) in are well known. Also the Kanara Entrepreneurs, Bangalore (established in 2007) a non profit group to promote skill development and success among Mangalorean Catholic Entrepreneurs, students and catholic institutions are part of the efforts to help the community. In the United Kingdom, Mangalorean United Konkani Association (MUKA) in Nottingham is popular. In Australia, The Mangalorean Catholic Association of Victoria (MCAV) established in Melbourne was the first organisation for the community in Australia. In 2006 the Mangalorean Catholic Association of Sydney (MCAS) was established in Australia. and the Mangalorean Konkan Christian Association (MKCA) in Chicago are well known. In the Middle East, the Mangalore Cultural Association (MCA) in Doha, Qatar; was established in March 2008. ==Notable people==

• Joachim Alva, member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament, from 1968 to 1974 • Margaret Alva, member of Rajya Sabha from 1972 to 1998; appointed Governor of Uttarakhand in 2009 • Adline Castelino, winner of Miss Diva Universe 2020 • Janalynn Castelino, Indian-Italian pop singer, songwriter and doctor • Blasius D'Souza, Politician in the Indian National Congress and first Roman Catholic minister in the Karnataka state government • Faye D'Souza, Indian journalist and television news anchor • Jerome D'Souza, Jesuit priest, educationist, writer, and member of the Indian Constituent assembly from 1946 to 1950* • Tony D'Souza, American novelist • Erica Fernandes, television actress • George Fernandes, former Defence Minister of India from 1998 to 2004 • Oscar Fernandes, member of Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament, from 1980 to 1998 • Michael Lobo, Indian writer, scientist and genealogist • Freida Pinto, Hollywood actress known for her role in Slumdog Millionaire • Pius Fidelis Pinto, Indian historian, researcher and scholar on Christianity • Viren Rasquinha, captain of India's national field hockey team • Mabel Rebello, member of Parliament Bhopal • Wilfy Rebimbus, Konkani singer and lyricist • Jemimah Rodrigues, Indian professional cricketer - India women's national cricket team • Melvyn Rodrigues, Sahitya Akademi award (2011) winning Konkani poet • Victor Rodrigues, Konkani novelist and short story writer • Lawrence Saldanha, archbishop of Lahore Archdiocese from 2001 to 2011 • V.J.P. Saldanha, Konkani litterateur, dramatist, musician, and poet • Aarti Sequeira, Indian American cook and television personality ==Notes==