The Konkani People
These could be the ‘original’ settlers of coastal Konkan. We have some clues to the dating of the arrival of the vaḍukar into the coastal plain. On the basis of the excavations at Inamgaon and related sites, scholars are of the view that severe drought affected the trans-Sahyadri region around 1,000 BCE. “Around 1000 BCE people began to leave this village and others in the region.” says Juliet Clutton-Brock [Clutton-Brock, 2012 : Animals As Domesticates, 89] Another instance of a similar drought that is recorded is in inscription no. 1 at Śravaṇabæḷagôḷa. In anticipation of ‘a twelve year famine between the Vindhyas and the Nilgiris’, Bhadrabahu, the last of the Jaina śruta-kēvali decided to move the entire sangha to the south to escape the starvation; that was towards the end of the 3rd century BCE. (Rice, 1889 : Inscriptions At Sravana Belgola, 2) So, the exodus could have occurred somewhere in the first millennium BCE. A comparison of the crops grown and dietary habits, shows clear similarities between the people of Inamgaon and Goa, particularly the gāvḍi or kuṇabī community. [Driven By The Drought, 05 Feb 17]
