A dominant tribe is represented by the African words ba (many)+ ntu (people). According to research, the Bantus spread or migrated to various divergent areas in and out of Africa following the desertification of the Sahara region. It’s worth noting that the Tulu word bant′ (>bante) refers to a personal assistant and/or bodyguard. The Kannada word banta means the same thing. Originally, the Tulu word bant′ may have referred to the personal bodyguard of a Tulu king or chieftain. Some of the Bantu people who migrated from the Sahara due to desertification must have landed on the west coast. They must have had dependable, strong, and powerful personalities in order to be accepted as bodyguards or security assistants to the local kings and chieftains.Later, the term must have been extended to a group of people who had settled in this land and formed a professional security cordon around the king or chieftain.
In his blog, Theories on Past Events, Manjunath Vadiari has added more information on Telugu Bantus, who formed suicide squads in ancient Andhra. This information not only sheds light on early Tulu-Telugu relations, but also confirms Bantu tribe migration from the west coast to the eastern Andhra region of the peninsula.
The attachment of a bant′ name-tag to a specific Tulu the community, also known as nadavas, appears to be a later stage in evolution. In addition, the term nadava refers to a native or those who belong to the naad or land/country.
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