The Moolasthana concept

Is there a concept of moolasthana in other parts of India?

Many TuLu communities have the concept of a moolasthana, which consists of the words moola (original) +sthana (place), where their ancestors first settled and lived. In Tulu, the lineage is known as bari (pronounced as short ba as in bun). It is the Uttara Kannada equivalent of bali (pronounced as short ba as in bun, li as heavy Li common in south Indian languages) and gotra in Brahmin communities. The term baLLi refers to a plant creeper, which represents the family lineage. The term bari is most likely the Tulu equivalent of the old Kannada word baLLi. This explanation is necessary because the word bari also means ‘the side’ in TuLu.

Tulunad’s moolasthanas have a small temple dedicated to the divine spirit (Daiva or Bootha), Naaga or the Bermer′. Many of these moolasthanas have replaced the original deities with subsequent deities such as Durga or other Gods as a result of socio-cultural evolution and are located near the beaches or in the proximal areas of the coast. Tulu families make it a point to visit their respective moolasthanas at least once a year. Ceremonial worships are held at the small temple there.

I went to one of these moolasthanas near Hoode, about ten kilometres north of Udupi. Hoode hamlet is situated near the confluence of the Sita and Swarna rivers. The word Hoode denotes a location. ‘Ade, ide, ode,’ and other place indicators mean ‘there, here, and where’ in Tulu, respectively. (Similar words can be found in Malayalam.)

Bengare, near Hoode, is the location of the moolasthana. A sand spit is the equivalent of the word bengare or bangere. Ben+kare is an abbreviation for ‘a location opposite a coastline or beach.’ The lineage indicator bangera appears to be descended from bangare. This is the TuLu moolasthana of bangera ancestry. Surprisingly, all TuLu communities of the bangera lineage have designated this site as their moolasthana. Castes such as poojari, sapalya, moolya, marakala, and others were formed based on their trades or professions. However, all of these TuLu communities share common lineage tags (surnames) such as bangera, putran, and anchan. A person’s lineage is determined by his mother’s lineage (as in matriarchic society).

The fact that diverse communities share a common ancestor suggests that the lineage system predates the classification of people into diverse communities based on trade or profession. After the elucidation of chaturvarna, it appears that the trade-based classification, the varna system, arose in post-Vedic times. According to Greek historians, it was firmly entrenched in Indian society by the time of Chandragupta (circa 340-293 BC) and Chanakya (circa 350-283 BC). As a result, the maternal lineage system of the Tuluva people is most likely of late Vedic origin.

The moolasthanas appear in the earliest Tulu settlements on the west coast. (Perhaps there were other inhabitants in the land prior to the arrival of the Tulu tribes.) For example, the early Munda tribes gave a plethora of village names with the Munda prefix. (See also 8.Mundkur, Munder) It’s worth noting that Mool-thaan (Multan) is a similar-sounding place near the Salt Ranges. The Prakrit word thaan is equivalent to the Sanskrit word sthan. The people of Pirak and Mehrgarh had settled near a place known as Multan, or the original place.

However, for a variety of reasons, several families migrated southward through Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharastra, eventually settling on the West Coast. When their offspring/progenies migrated back within Tulunad, it appears that these coastal settlements were renamed moolasthanas.

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