The caste system in Goa consists of various ''

Jāti ''Jāti'' is the term traditionally used to describe a cohesive group of people in the Indian subcontinent, like a caste, sub-caste, clan, tribe, or a religious sect. Each Jāti typically has an association with an occupation, geography or trib ...

s'' or sub-castes found among

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

belonging to the four ''

varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...

s'' (

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

Kshatriya Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kṣatra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kṣatriyaḥ'' is used in the con ...

Vaishya Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four varnas of the Vedic Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of Varna hierarchy. The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly of agriculture, takin ...

, and

Shudra Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four varnas of the Hindu class and social system in ancient India. Some sources translate it into English as a caste, or as a social class. Theoretically, Shudras constituted a class like work ...

), as well as those outside of them. A variation of the traditional Hindu caste system was also retained by the

Goan Catholic Goan Catholics () are an ethno-religious community adhering to the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church from the Goa state, in the southern part of the Konkan region along the west coast of India. They are Konkani people and speak the Konkani l ...

community.

Hindu caste system

According to the Gazetteer of India, Union Territory: Goa, Daman and Diu, Part I, published in 1979 the 'chief castes' found in Goa are:

Brahman

* Pancha Gauda Brahmins Saraswat Brahmins are spread over widely separated regions spanning from

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

and

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

in the north to the

Konkan The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...

region of southwest India covering the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala. The word Saraswat is derived from the Rigvedic Sarasvati River. **

Gaud Saraswat Brahmin Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) (also Goud or Gawd), also known as Shenvis are a Hindu community of contested caste status and identity. They primarily speak Konkani and its various dialects as their mother tongue. They claim to be Saraswat Bra ...

s popularly known as GSBs. They are landowning though most were engaged in clerical jobs, trade, priests and landlords. **

Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahman Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahmin is a Brahmin sub-caste from the western coast of India, residing in the Konkan division of Maharashtra and Goa. They also known as Kudaldeshkar Aadya Gaud Brahmin, Kudaldeshkar and sometimes Kudalkar Brahmins. They spea ...

were landowning class generally associated with agriculture and trade. **

Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin Chitrapur Saraswats are a small Konkani-speaking community of Hindu Brahmins in India. They are traditionally found along the Kanara coast and call themselves ''Bhanaps'' in the Konkani language. Susan Bayly says that they were formed from c ...

were associated with trade. ** Rajapur Saraswat Brahmin also known as Bhalavalikar Saraswat Brahmins."Gomantak Prakruti ani Sanskruti" by B.D. Satoskar. * Pancha Dravida Brahmins **The two sub-castes was known as the

Padye Padhye Brahmin community hails from Goa, they speak a unique dialect of Konkani known as " Bhati Bhasha". Origin and early history Skanda Purana (Sahyadri Khanda) as well as Brahmanda Purana are very harsh towards Karhade Brahmins."A socio-cult ...

Brahmins and

Bhatt Prabhu The Bhatt Prabhu community belongs to the Panch Darvida category of Brahmins, and claims to be a sub-caste of the Karhade Brahmin community. History It is said that certain Padye families were excommunicated for some reason during the 14th or ...

s, popularly known as 'Bhatt' and 'Prabhu' respectively. They generally associate themselves with

Karhade Brahmin Karhaḍe Brahmins (also spelled as Karada Brahmins or Karad Brahmins) are a Hindu Brahmin sub-caste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra, but are also distributed in states of Goa, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Based on Veda and Ved ...

s. They are landowning castes and were engaged as temples priests and in agriculture, some into money lending. **

Chitpavan Brahmins The Chitpavan Brahmin or the Kokanastha Brahmin is a Hindu Maharashtrian Brahmin community inhabiting Konkan, the coastal region of the state of Maharashtra. Initially working as messengers and spies in the late seventeenth century, the commun ...

also known as ''

Konkanastha The Chitpavan Brahmin or the Kokanastha Brahmin is a Hindu Maharashtrian Brahmin community inhabiting Konkan, the coastal region of the state of Maharashtra. Initially working as messengers and spies in the late seventeenth century, the commun ...

Brahman'' are priests, few in area like Sattari are landowners and work in other professions. **Kramavanta Joshi or Kriyavant Joshi, they were a class of priests who officiated Hindu funeral ceremony and were looked down upon by the above-mentioned castes.

96 Kuli Maratha

Kshatriyas of Goa historically belonged to different clans, and they were collectively referred to as '' Chardo'' prior to the Portuguese rule in Goa. Historian and Journalist B.D. Satoskar has cited Shenoi Goembab Konkani Author and Grammerian had said that "The Konkani word Chardo comes from the Sanskrit word Chatur-Rathi & the Prakrit word Chau-radi literally means The one who rides a chariot yoked with four horses, like Maha-Rathi for the origin of the word 'Maratha'.Chatur-rathi have entered Goa through Dwaraka & Cheddis." The term ''Chardo'' fell into disuse among the Hindu Kshatriyas, in order to differentiate from those Kshatriyas who converted to Catholic Christianity. Later, the Hindus Kshatriyas began to identify themselves as ''Marathas'' of the Mahratta confederacy of the Deccan.

Vaishya Vani

Vaishya/

Vaishya Vani Vaishya Vani is a sub-caste of Vaishyas, one of the varnas of Hinduism. In the Gujarat state and the Daman territory, they are also known as ''Vaishnav'' or ''Vaishnav Vanik''. In Uttara Kannada districts of Karwar and Ankola they are called as ...

: are the traditional community of traders, and are commonly known as ''Vani''s.

Daivadnya

Daivadnya Brahmins are popularly known as

Shett Shett (also spelt as Shet) is a surname and title of the Daivajna subcaste of Konkani people, residing along the coast of the Konkan region in western India. It is also an honorific used by them in Goa, Damaon, Konkan division of Maharashtra, and ...

s, they mainly work as jewellers.They are Mahajan of Kasarpali Kalika devi Temple in

Bicholim Bicholim (Konkani: ''Dicholi''; IPA: ), is a small town and a municipal council in North Goa district in the state of Goa, India. It is the headquarters of the ''Concelho'' (county) of Bicholim, one of seven that make up the '' Novas Conqui ...

. They're

Forward Caste Forward caste (or General caste) is a term used in India to denote castes which are not listed in SC, ST or OBC reservation lists. They are on average considered ahead of other castes economically and educationally. They account for about 30.8% ...

Bhandaris

B.D. Satoskar notes that the Naik/Hetkari subcaste of the Bhandari community from the Konkan region served as naval warriors during the

Maratha kingdom The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former. ...

, with Mainak Bhandari being a notable naval commander. In later periods, members of this community also served in the British Army. Traditionally, their primary occupation has been toddy tapping. The Bhandari community is classified under the Other Backward Class (OBC) and is one of the largest social groups in Goa.

Kalavants

Commonly known as ''Kalavants'' and now known as

Gomantak Maratha Samaj Gomantak Maratha Samaj is a Hindu community found in the Indian state of Goa. They are known as ''Nutan Maratha Samaj'' in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra and ''Naik Maratha Samaj'' in Maharashtra, Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, ...

is a group of various sub-castes who served the temples and the aristocrats in the olden days. Gomantak Maratha is relatively a new ameliorative name (coined in the late 20th century ) given to these groups for uniting and emancipating them.

Artisan castes

These include ''Chari''s, ''Chitaris'' who call themselves Vishwakarma Manu Maya Brahmin, Sutars and Kasars. They are included in the Other Backward Class list of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. Rest of castes generally referred to as

s or ''Sudir''s in Konkani do not really follow the four-fold

system, but have recently started claiming higher status. Most of them have been practicing different occupations historically and now are categorized as Other Backward Class by Govt of Goa, these include Madval (Rajak, Dhobi), Gosavi , Shimpi, Khumbar, Teli, Nathjogi, this list also includes Roman Catholic counterparts of few Hindu castes too].

Scheduled Castes of Goa

Following castes are commonly known as

Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

s. *

Bhangi Chuhra, also known as Bhanghi and Balmiki, is a Dalit caste in India and Pakistan. Populated regions include the Punjab region of India and Pakistan, as well as Uttar Pradesh in India, among other parts of the Indian subcontinent such as south ...

, Chambhar (Hadi),

Mahar Mahar is one of the Indian caste found largely in the state of Maharashtra and neighbouring areas. Most of the Mahar community followed B. R. Ambedkar in converting to Buddhism in the middle of the 20th century. As of 2017 the Mahar caste w ...

, Mahyavanshi (Vankar), Mang

Scheduled Tribes of Goa

Kunbi, Gavda, Velip. The

Gauda and Kunbi Gaudas are aboriginal people residing in the coastal Indian state of Goa. They are believed to be the original inhabitants of Konkan. Most follow folk Hinduism, but many were converted to Catholicism by the Portugal, Portuguese missionaries dur ...

are considered as aboriginals. Dhodia (Halpati, Naikda (Nayaka), Siddi, Varli .

Historically outside Comunidade

Dhangars

Dhangar The Dhangars are caste of people found in the Indian states of Maharashtra, northern Karnataka, Goa, Madhya Pradesh . They are referred to as Gavli Dhangars in northern Maharashtra ( Khandesh region) and the forested hill tracts of India's We ...

, also referred as Gouly or

Gavli Gavli (also spelled as Gawli or Gavali) ( Marathi: गवळी) is a Hindu caste in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. They are a part of the Yadav community. Etymology The name Gauli may have been derived from a Sanskrit word ...

, is the state's only ancient pastoral community. In Goa under colonialism, the community kept away from the rest of society as they wanted to escape the grazing tax and the ban on ''Kumeri'' (

shifting cultivation Shifting cultivation is an agricultural system in which plots of land are cultivated temporarily, then abandoned while post-disturbance fallow vegetation is allowed to freely grow while the cultivator moves on to another plot. The period of cul ...

) introduced by the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

. Dhangar leaders claim that they had fled to remote hilly and forested areas to avoid religious persecution and religious conversion. They were not part of the ''comunidade'' anywhere in Goa. It is claimed that throughout the Portuguese rule in Goa they were so insulated that not a single Dhangar was converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. Their knowledge and experience of deep forests played a major part in finding specific locations to build forts for the Maratha kingdom to flourish. A study carried out by

Government of Goa The Government of Goa is a state government created by the Constitution of India and has executive, legislative and judicial authority of the state of Goa. It is headquartered in Panaji, the capital city of Goa. History The governor's is large ...

in 2013 stated that the community had a unique identity, and are known for their martial prowess. In

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

, they are classified in the Other Backward Classes category in India's system of reservation.

Christianity

, mass conversions were carried out by Portuguese Catholic missionaries from the 1510 conquest onwards. The Portuguese clergy imposed Portuguese surnames on the converts at the time of

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

so that it would be difficult to ascertain their original caste. The Portuguese authorities also suppressed

untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...

among the converts and attempted to homogenize them into a single class. However, the converts retained a variation of their caste status based on patrilineal descent from their previous caste affiliations. All Brahmin sub-castes ( Saraswats,

s and

Daivadnya The Daivadnya, (also known as Sonar or Panchal or Vishwa Brahmin), is a community from Goa and Karnataka, who claim to have descended from Vishwakarma. Although they claim themselves to be Brahmin, but these claims are not accepted by others i ...

s) were merged into the Christian caste of '' Bamonns'' (Konkani: Brahmins). The converts from the

and

castes were merged together as '' Chardos'' (Kshatriyas) and those

Vaishyas Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four varnas of the Vedic Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of Varna hierarchy. The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly of agriculture, takin ...

who did not become ''Chardos'' formed a new caste called ''Gauddos''. The converts from all the lower castes, as well as the previously

and

adivasi The Adivasi (also transliterated as Adibasi) are heterogeneous tribal groups across the Indian subcontinent. The term is a recent invention from the 20th century and is now widely used as a self-designation by groups classified as Scheduled Tr ...

groups, were grouped together as ''Sudirs'', equivalent to

s. The ''Bamonns'', ''Chardos'' and ''Gauddos'' have been hierarchically seen as the high castes in the

Goan Christian Goans ( Romi Konkani: , ) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, formerly part of Portuguese India (''Estado Português da Índia''). They form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, ...

society.