BUNTS

  
 
There are no proper  records  available  to trace  the  origins    of   the   BUNTS.   In    earlier  centuries   Tulava households   ruled   some    smaller  Kingdoms.  Sometimes they   ruled   under   smaller   kings  such   as   Pallava's, Kadamba's,  Chalukya's, Hoysala's. The smaller rulers had frequent clashes or fighting with the kings, who gave birth to a group or  community  of  warriors  called as BUNTARU in Kannada which means able warriors.  In   due course,   the same     community   was   called as      BUNTS.   Later,   they    succeeded   in   becoming   land owners.     Bunta  means  a  powerful man  or soldier.  According  to some  other sources BUNT might have been derived from the word "BUNTA".

 
The word Bunt is derived from the San-skrit word 'Bhata' meaning powerful man or a soldier, the Tulu equivalent is 'Bunte' or 'Bunter' (plural) which means protector. Bunts are also referred to as 'Nayaka', 'Shetray' and 'Nādava' which means leader, nobility and landlord respectively in Tulu. The word 'Shetray' anglicised as Shetty is the most common of all Bunt surnames followed by Rai. In fact in certain parts where the community has migrated like Mumbai, the community is simply referred to as the Shettys.

 
 It is believed that they had been helping the kings,as second - in - command  enjoying  the  king's  trust   and confidence by discharging their duties with devotion. Bunts sometime known as "Naadavas" residing in the northern part of South Kanara extending from Baindoor to Chandragiri River,are a branch of Bunts' community, who speak Kannada. In  Kannada     "Naadu"  means  village or root, sometimes  it is  mentioned as Plant. This indicates Nadavaru settling down with agriculture.

The Bunts are a usually Tulu or Kannada speaking community mostly found in Udupi, Mangalore and Bombay. They are originally from region of Tulu Nadu in which includes the districts of Udupi and Mangalore in the Indian state of Karnataka, they are also found in Kasaragod of Kerala. According to the system of Varna Bunts belong to the Serpent Lineage (Nagavanshi) of Kshatriyas. Bunts traditionally follow the matrilineal system of descent and kinship like their related communities of Samanta Kshatriya, Tulu Jains and Nairs.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

As the kingdoms came to an end,the smaller kingdoms also became weak and lost  their existence such as "moolas" of "bailugadi" ajilas of Venur,raja's of Kumble,Tholahas  of  Sooral,Bhangas of bangadi  Heggades of  Nelyadi,   Chautas of Puthige ,   bairarasa of Karkala,    Marda heggade of Kava,     Maramma   Heggade    of Yermal,  they  still  remember the history of their ancestors.  Due  to the  decline of  kingdoms, Bunts or Buntaru lost their position and jobs, resulting in a fight for their survival. Fortunately, the land given to them by the kings in appreciation of their bravery ,selfless  service and  loyalty to  kings came to their rescue. They diverted their spirit of fighting towards  cultivation  and became the  landlords, there by  improving their l iving standards.
 
The Agriculture became their main occupation. Originally they did not  cultivate the  land  given  to them  as gifts by kings or by themselves, but got it done byother communities. This shows their dominant characteristics. British recognized   Bunts  as  one  of  the  most  handsome  people  in  South-East Asia  well built and well mannered. According  the historian,  E.Thurston - 'men'   had a  broad  forehead  and parrot nose, independent nature, short tempered and well built muscular body  which signifies  characteristics of a  'warrior',that is what Bunts are and they   reign   supreme  in any  field they  choose.    Our  youngsters  believe  in their  beauty  and  brains.  This self-confidence   made  "Aishwarya Rai"  a bunt  girl  become  Miss World,1994. She is the most talked of Miss World because of her beauty combined with intelligence.

There are different studies done regarding the origin of Bunts, Prof S. Shivaram Shetty’s research shows that a tribe called ‘Kosars’ wandered into Tulu Nadu after the Aryan invasion. Mercenaries by nature, they first settled in Deccan and established the Shatavahana kingdom in Andhra Pradesh. In Tulu Nadu they founded the Alupa kingdom. According to one of the various theories regarding the origin of Kadamba Kings, they are connected to the Bunts since one inscription states the kadambas belonging to the Nāga or the serpent lineage to which Bunts also belong and many Bunt families hold the surnames of Kadamba and Varma which were the titles of the Kadambas                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

As a warrior class, the Bunts attained their greatest glory during the rule of Vijayanagara Emperors belonging to the Tuluva Dynasty which was founded by a chieftain Bunt called Tuluva Narasa Nayaka. The glory was further enhanced by Krishnadevaraya by extending the kingdom to whole south India. During the rule of Vijayanagara Tulu Nadu was administered in two parts – Mangalore State and Barkur State. We can still see the glory of Vijayanagar kingdom in Barkur by the beautiful temples they built during that period. After the fall of the dynasty the Bunts again concentrated themselves in Tulu Nadu where they took to large scale agriculture in the vast area of land they still possessed and also served as ad-ministrators and warriors in the various minor Hindu and Jain kingdoms that controlled various parts of the region from time to time.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

The people of the community to the north of River Kalyanapur (closer to Barakuru) speak Kannada and people south of the river (closer to Mangaluru) speak tulu. There seems to have been a close relationship between the Bunts and Jains in Tulu Nadu. Not only are their last names similar in many instances (Ajila, Ballala, Hegde, Banga, Chowta etc.) but they also have similar customs. Aliya santana is followed by both Bunts and Jains in Tulu Nadu, perhaps the only Jain community in India to follow this matriarchal system of inheritance. Bunts of higher social staus were said to have converted to Jainism, though it is not clear when this conversion predominantly occurred. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The Jains of Tulu Nadu suffered a cultural recession. The glory of Jain period was abruptly curbed during the confusion of the takeover of Tulu Nadu by the Nayaks of Ikkeri. It is evidenced also by the lack of building great monuments and the bastis (like in Mudubidri).                                                                                                                                   

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