Mangalorean Catholics
Latin Christian ethno-religious community in India / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mangalorean Catholics (Konkani: Kōdiyālcheñ Kathōlikā) are an ethno-religious community of Latin Christians from the Diocese of Mangalore and the erstwhile South Canara area, by the southwestern coast of present-day Karnataka, India.[2][3]
Regions with significant populations | |
---|---|
Diocese of Mangalore | 360,000[1] |
Diocese of Udupi | 106,000 (approx) |
Languages | |
Konkani, Tulu, Kannada, Hindi-Urdu, Indian English, and Bombay Mahratti. Also Gulf Arabic in the diaspora. Previously: Latin, British English, Indo-Portuguese, Sanskrit | |
Religion | |
Latin Church | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Malvani and Kudali Catholics, Goan Catholics, Karwari Catholics, Bombay East Indian Catholics, Damanese Catholics, Latin Catholics of Malabar, Koli Christians, Gaodi Christians, Christian Brahmins, Christian Cxatrias, Saraswat Brahmins, Daivadnyas, Vaishya Vanis, Anglo-Indians and Luso-Indians |
Contemporary Mangalorean Catholics descend mainly from the New Christians of Portuguese Goa, who migrated to South Canara between 1560 and 1763, throughout the courses of the Goan Inquisition, the Portuguese–Adil Shahi War & the Mahratta Invasion of Goa and Bombay.[4] They learned Tulu and Kanarese whilst in Canara, but retained the Konkani language and preserved much of their Konkani way of life, which had undergone Christianisation in Goa. The community underwent a 15-year-long captivity at Seringapatam, imposed by Tipu Sultan, ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. Following Tipu's defeat and death at the Siege of Seringapatam (1799) by the English East India Company, the Nizam of Hyderabad, and other allies, most of them resettled in and around South Canara during the Company rule in India. A lesser number sailed to the Seven Islands of Bombay and its adjacent metropolitan area in the northern Konkan region, for higher studies or for superior career prospects.
Although early assertions of a distinct identity date from the migration period, a fully formed Mangalorean Catholic identity emerged only after liberation from captivity, which has been a mix of Mangalorean and Goan cultures. The younger generation of present days at Poona, Bangalore, and the Bombay Metro area; and the diaspora in Persian Gulf countries and the Anglosphere, can be described as an increasingly anglo-americanised Konkani sub-culture, with lingering Portuguese Christian influence and design.