Gowda (surname)

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Gowda (also known as Gauda, Gouda or Gonda[1][2]) is a surname native to the Karnataka state of India. It is mainly found among the Vokkaligas in south Karnataka and the Lingayats in north Karnataka.[3][4] It is also used by Kurubas.[5]

Gowda was originally an honorific used by the administrative head of a village. Typically, such a head owned land and held political and social sway in the village.[6] Among Kurubas, it was used to refer to the head of the community.[7][8]

Etymology[]

According to historian Suryanath U. Kamath, the word Gowda derives from Gavunda.[9] The German Indologist Gustav Oppert opined that the root of ‘Gowda’ is a Dravidian word meaning "mountain".[10]

The term Gowda and its archaic forms in Old Kannada such as Gamunda, Gavunda, Gavuda, Gonda, appear frequently in the inscriptions of Karnataka. The Epigraphia Carnatica is replete with references to land grants, donations to temples, hero-stones (Veeragallu), stone edicts and copper plates dating back to the age of the Western Ganga Dynasty (est. 350 CE) and earlier.[11] The Gavundas were landlords that collected taxes and rendered military service to the Kings.[12] Noboru Karashima says the Gavundas had functions corresponding to that of the Chola Vellala Nattars.[13] While the majority of the gavundas were derived from the Vokkaligas; by the 10th century, the term gavunda also came to denote chiefship of a community or group and was adopted by the heads of other communities assimilated into the early medieval state.[8]

Notable people[]

Kempegowda I, founder of the Bengaluru city

Notable people with the surname Gowda:

See also[]

  • Gouda (disambiguation)

References[]

  1. ^ Census of India, 1961, Volume 11, Part 6, Issue 23. India: Office of the Registrar, General Manager of Publications. 1976. p. 10. ...Gowda (also spoken as Gonda colloquially)...
  2. ^ Ramananda Chatterjee (1930). The Modern Review. Vol. 47. India: Prabasi Press Private, Limited. p. 80.
  3. ^ D K Kulkarni (1992). "Tenants movements in Uttara Kannada district and the Kagodu Satyagraha". Peasant movements in Karnataka since 1900 their nature and results (PDF). Karnatak University / Shodhganga. p. 80. Retrieved 24 October 2016. Gowdas, literary means a village headman usually from Vokkaliga community in Southern district of Karnataka and Lingayat in Northern part
  4. ^ George Matthew (1984). "Shift in Indian Politics: 1983 Elections in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka". Concept. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  5. ^ A. S. Seetharamu (1997). Literacy Campaigns in India. APH Publishing. p. 131. ISBN 978-81-7024-814-9.
  6. ^ K. T. Margaret, ed. (1999). The Open Classroom: A Journey Through Education. Orient Blackswan. p. 131. ISBN 978-81-250-1669-4.
  7. ^ "152" . Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 4.djvu – via Wikisource. According to Mr. Stuart, "each community of Kurubas, residing in a group of villages, has a headman or Gaudu. He acts the part of pūjāri or priest in all their ceremonies, presides over their tribal meetings, and settles disputes.
  8. ^ a b Adiga, Malini (1997). "'GAVUNDAS' IN SOUTHERN KARNATAKA: LANDLORDS AND WARRIORS (AD 600 to 1030)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 58: 145, 147. JSTOR 44143897. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  9. ^ Kamath, Suryanath U.; Naik, R.A (1983). Gazetteer of India Government of Karnataka, Karnataka State Gazetteer Part II. Bangalore: Parishree Printers. p. 243-244.: ”Villages had gramakuta or gavunda (gauda), the village headman. He had under him the village militia^ later called as talaras and tolls.”
  10. ^ Kumar Suresh Singh; Anthropological Survey of India (2002). People of India. Anthropological Survey of India. p. 408. ISBN 978-81-85938-99-8.
  11. ^ Benjamin Lewis Rice, R.Narasimhacharya (1894–1905). Epigraphia Carnatica. Government Central Press, Bangalore & Mysore.
  12. ^ Adiga, Malini (1997). "'GAVUNDAS' IN SOUTHERN KARNATAKA: LANDLORDS AND WARRIORS (AD 600 to 1030)". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 58: 139. JSTOR 4414389. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  13. ^ Karashima, Noboru (2014). A Concise History of South India: Issues and Interpretations. India: Oxford University Press. p. 144-145. ISBN 978-0198099772.:”They are, for example, Gavunda chiefs and heggade revenue officers vis-à-vis the Chola Vellala nattars; kalnad military tenure vis-à-vis padai-parru or parigraham tenure in the Chola state”
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