Devanga (also known as

Lingayat Lingayatism or Veera Saivism is a Hindu denomination based on Shaivism. Initially known as ''Veerashaivas'', since the 12th-century adherents of this faith are known as ''Lingayats''. The terms ''Lingayatism'' and '' Veerashaivism'' have bee ...

Devanga, Devanga Shetty, Devanga Chettiar)Brown University "Page.8 (Lingayat Devanga), Page.11 (Devanga Shetty),"
/ref> is a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultur ...

from

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...

that traditionally followed the occupation of textile merchandise,

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

and

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

mostly found in the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

states of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

and

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

Origin and culture

The caste claims to be descended from Devala, an ancient

sage. They originated from

and

, and during the reign of the

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Mahar ...

they migrated to

. They are of

Shudra Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four '' varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoretically, class ser ...

status in the

Hindu caste system The caste system in India is the paradigmatic ethnographic example of classification of castes. It has its origins in Outline of ancient India, ancient India, and was transformed by various ruling elites in medieval, early-modern, and modern ...

. However, they use the ''Devanga Purana'', a text sacred to the Devangas, to claim Brahmin status, despite having a non-Brahmin profession. They replaced their native local

gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotra ...

s with Sanskritic gotras. Devanga is a Sanskrit word that means "Body of the God".

Religion

There is a theory that the Devanga and Padmashali communities were once a single entity, with a split arising when the Devanga element took up

Shaivite Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...

Lingayatism Lingayatism or Veera Saivism is a Hindu denomination based on Shaivism. Initially known as '' Veerashaivas'', since the 12th-century adherents of this faith are known as ''Lingayats''. The terms ''Lingayatism'' and ''Veerashaivism'' have been ...

Veerashaivism Veerashaivism is a sect within the Shaivism fold of Hinduism. According to tradition, it was transmitted by ''Panchacharyas'', ( kn, ಪಂಚಾಚಾರ್ಯರು, paṃcācāraya from sa, पंचचार्य, pañcācārya), or fiv ...

while the Padmashalis were Vaishnavs. While some Devangas wear the yagnopaveetam or janivara, others consider the Viramustis as their traditional preceptors, from whom they take precepts and wear ''

lingam A lingam ( sa, लिङ्ग , lit. "sign, symbol or mark"), sometimes referred to as linga or Shiva linga, is an abstract or aniconic representation of the Hindu god Shiva in Shaivism. It is typically the primary '' murti'' or devoti ...

''. During the medieval period, the Veerashaiva weavers supported anti-caste movements such as that of

Basava Basaveshwara, colloquially known as Basavanna, was a 12th-century CE Indian statesman, philosopher, poet, Lingayat social reformer in the Shiva-focussed bhakti movement, and a Hindu Shaivite social reformer during the reign of the Kalyani Cha ...

. However, that movement itself became consumed with caste superiority against other Veerashaivas and Brahmins (who were non-Veerashaivas). The weavers began claiming higher caste status and claim that in 1231 a king granted them rights that were traditionally accorded to upper castes, such as wearing the sacred thread, riding a

palanquin The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...

, and displaying a flag. The main goddess of the Devanga people is Sri Ramalinga Chowdeshwari Amman in the South Karnataka, Andhra and Tamil Nadu regions. In the Central and North Karnataka regions the main goddess of the Devanga people is Sri

Banashankari Amma Temple Banashankari Devi Temple (or Banashankari temple) is a Hindu shrine located at Cholachagudda near Badami, in Bagalkot district, Karnataka, India. The temple is popularly called 'Shakambhari' 'Banashankari'' or ''Vanashankari' since it is locat ...

Devanga Purana

Around 1532, Devangas of the

Godavari The Godavari ( IAST: ''Godāvarī'' �od̪aːʋəɾiː is India's second longest river after the Ganga river and drains into the third largest basin in India, covering about 10% of India's total geographical area. Its source is in Trimbakesh ...

requested the

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

poet Bhadralinga Kavi to write their ''kulapuranam'', or mythological history. He composed the ''

Devanga Purana The Devanga Purana is the ''kulapuranam'', or mythological history, of the Devanga community. It deals with the life of their legendary founder, Devala Maharshi, and his seven incarnations, goddess (Chowdeswari), rituals and customs. The Devanga c ...

'' in the dasimatra-dvipadi style. The Godavari Devangas also helped to Sanskrtize Devangas from eastern

Andhra Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

Occupation

Most members of this community were professional artisans who were specialized in weaving silk apparels with motifs and specialized with brocade, damask and matelassé. They were accordingly primarily concentrated around major textile centres in the Godavari district. They were known for great craftsmanship in weaving clothes of silk and superfine quality cotton textiles. Weaving the loom is usually done by men whereas women dye the yarn and spin the thread and children assist tasks such as looming. They are also very good entrepreneurs and expert in marketing of clothes. Some of them are also engaged in farming.

Notable people

* P. Theagaraya Chetty - T.Nagar is a locality in Chennai which is named after him. * Prem Kumar * Rajesh Kumar - Tamil Crime Novelist * Devar Dasimayya - Famous Eleventh Century Kannada Poet was praised by

* K. Narayan - Member of parliament, Mangalore, Rajya Sabha *

Chandan Shetty Chandan Shetty (born 17 September 1989) is an Indian composer, lyricist, and pop singer who works in Kannada films. Shetty gained fame as a solo artist with Kannada singles such as "Halagode", "3 Peg", "Chocolate Girl", "Tequila" "Fire" and "Par ...

- Music Composer * Sri Dhayananthapuri Swamiji - Hampi, Karnataka *

Umashree Umashree (born 10 May 1957) is an Indian actress and politician. She is known for her portrayal of film roles spoken in the Kannada language (over 400), particularly comic roles. She received National Film Award for Best Actress for her role ...

- Kannada actress and politician

Punishment for inter-caste marriage

In 2004, the Devanga leaders of a small village in Belagur,

Chitradurga district Chitradurga district is an administrative district of Karnataka state in southern India. The city of Chitradurga is the district headquarters. Chitradurga gets its name from Chitrakaldurga, an umbrella-shaped lofty hill found there. Tradition ...

, fined and socially excluded ten families from the community for marrying people outside the caste. The decision was criticised and alleged to be unconstitutional but a similar thing happened to five families in Shivani village, Ajjampura,

Chikmagalur district Chikmagalur, officially Chikkamagaluru is an administrative district in the Malnad subregion of Karnataka, India. Coffee was first cultivated in India in Chikmagalur. The hills of Chikmagalur are parts of the Western Ghauts and the source of ...

in 2011.