The Jain Bunt are the
Jains of
Bunt caste from
Tulunaad area of
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.
They have a feudal and
martial race heritages, because of ties to the erstwhile royalty of the area.
They are classified as
Other Backward Class (OBC) by the
Government of Karnataka
The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as GoK or GoKA, formerly known as Government of Mysore (1956–1974), is a democratically elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka ...
.
[:p2.”Candidates belonging to Category-ll(A),. 1(B), III(A), and III(B) shall be entitled to reservation in the manner specified in the new Comprehensive Creamy Layer policy”;p15. Jain Bunt is listed under III(B)]
Origin
A section of Bunts believe that they were originally Jains who later became a caste group.
Tradition
Achieving
moksha
''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatologic ...
or liberation is the highest goal of life for the Jains.
Jain monastics and renouncers of worldly life are highly revered, especially
Bahubali, a king who turned into an ascetic. His virtues are greatly extolled in legends. Huge,
monolith
A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monolit ...
ic statues have been erected by the Jain Bunts in his honor throughout their recorded history.
[P. Gururaja Bhatt, ''Antiquities of South Kanara'', Prabhakara Press, 1969, 31 page]
/ref> The oldest among them is located in Karkala. Standing about 42 feet tall, it was erected by the Jain Bunt as per the wishes of a pontiff named Lalitakeerti in 1432. Another statue of Bahubali standing about 35 feet was erected in Venur
Venur or Vēnooru is a small village on the banks of the Phalguni river in Belthangady Taluk, Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, India. It was once the seat of Jainism and the capital of the Ajila Dynasty. It is on the Dharmasthala- Mooda ...
in 1604 by the Jain Bunt ruler Timma Ajila
Ajila is a common surname of the Bunt people, the landed gentry of Tulu Nadu region in the south west of India.They were mostly in Tamil Nadu region.It is believed that the founder of this community was named Ajila A Abhilashmanzil.It is also the ...
. The most recently erected statue lies in Dharmasthala and is about 39 feet tall. Mahamastakabhisheka rituals are held once in 12 years at the site of these statues. Jain temple
A Jain temple, Derasar (Gujarati: દેરાસર) or Basadi (Kannada: ಬಸದಿ) is the place of worship for Jains, the followers of Jainism. Jain architecture is essentially restricted to temples and monasteries, and Jain buildings ge ...
s, called ''basadi'' and ''derasar'', are numerous in the region and were built by various Jain Bunt rulers. The most famous among them is the Saavira Kambada Basadi located in Moodabidri.root vegetables
Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans or animals as food. In agricultural and culinary terminology, the term applies to true roots, such as taproots and tuberous root, root tubers, as well as non-roots such as bulbs, corms, ...
.
Matrilineality
Matrilineality is a unique social system of " Aliyasantana" observed among various other Bunt communities, and one notable example is the Jain Bunts. This system, practiced by the Jain Bunts even to this day, revolves around a distinctive approach to inheritance, property ownership, and marital arrangements.
In the context of matrilineality among the Jain Bunts, an intriguing pattern emerges where the wife plays a central role in matters of property and inheritance. Unlike many traditional systems where property and inheritance are primarily passed down through the male line, among the Jain Bunts, it is the wife who inherits both land and property. This practice reflects a significant departure from conventional societal norms, highlighting the importance of the female lineage in shaping the community's social and economic fabric.
Furthermore, matrilineality among the Jain Bunts also influences the dynamics of marriage. In this unique system, upon marriage, the husband becomes a part of his wife's household. This contrasts with the more common practice of a wife moving to her husband's family residence. By embracing matrilineality
Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...
, the Jain Bunts challenge the conventional gender roles and familial structures prevalent in many societies, showcasing an alternative approach to family and community cohesion.
See also
* Jainism in Karnataka
References
{{Jainism Topics
Tuluva
Jain communities
Mangalorean society
Bunt (community)
Tulu Nadu