Caste system in Goa

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The caste system in Goa consists of various Jātis or sub-castes found among Hindus belonging to the four varnas (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Shudra), as well as those outside of them. A variation of the traditional Hindu caste system was also retained by the Goan Catholic community.

According to the Gazetteer of India, Union Territory: Goa, Daman and Diu, Part I which looks at Goa (published in 1979) the "chief castes" found in Goa are:

• Pancha Gauda Brahmins
  • Gaud Saraswat Brahmins popularly known as GSBs. They are landowning though most were engaged in clerical jobs, trade, priests and landlords.
  • Kudaldeshkar Gaud Brahman were landowning class generally associated with agriculture and trade.
  • Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin were associated with trade.
  • Rajapur Saraswat Brahmin also known as Bhalavalikar Saraswat Brahmins.
• Pancha Dravida Brahmins
  • The two sub-castes was known as the Padye Brahmins and Bhatt Prabhus, popularly known as "Bhatt" and "Prabhu" respectively, they generally associate themselves with Karhade Brahmins. They are landowning castes and were engaged as temples priests and in agriculture, some into money lending.^[1]
  • Chitpavan Brahmins also known as Konkanastha Brahman are priests, landowners and work in other professions.^[1]
  • Kramavanta Joshi or Kriyavant Joshi, they were a class of priests who officiated Hindu funeral ceremony and were looked down upon by the above-mentioned castes.

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96 Kuli Marathas/Konkan Maratha & Bhandari (kshatriya/naik).

Kshatriyas of Goa historically belonged to different clans, and they were collectively referred to as Chardo prior to the Portuguese rule in Goa.

According to historian B.D. Satoskar, the Konkani word Chardo comes from the Sanskrit word Chatur-Rathi or the Prakrit word Chau-radi literally means "the one who rides a chariot yoked with four horses", like Maha-Rathi for the origin of the word 'Maratha'. 

The term Chardo fell into disuse among the Hindu Kshatriyas, in order to differentiate from those Kshatriyas who converted to Catholic Christianity. Later, the Hindus Kshatriyas began to identify themselves as Marathas of the Mahratta confederacy of the Deccan.

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bhandaris are original known as bhattarak warriors.they known for their bravery.the shankaracharya of karveer also accept their kshatriya status.satoskar also m mention about bhandari are kshatriya.they are naval warriors in maratha,vijaynagar and british army.during ealry 15 century muslimkingdom conquered major portion of maharastra that time several bhandari kings,chief ruled over parts of konkan and goa.their tradional occupation is toddy tapping.bhandaris are added in other backward classes (obc).they are largest group in goa.

Vaishya/Vaishya Vani: are the traditional community of traders, and are commonly known as Vanis.

Daivadnyas are popularly known as Shetts, they mainly work as jewellers.^[2][3][1]

Commonly known as Kalavants and now known as Gomantak Maratha Samaj is a group of various sub-castes who served the temples and the aristocrats in the olden days. Gomantak Maratha is relatively a new ameliorative name (coined in the late 20th century^[4]) given to these groups for uniting and emancipating them.^[5]

Konkani Kharvi: They term themselves as Kharvis are largely involved in fisheries. Though they are presently a fishing community.

These include Charis, Chitaris who call themselves Vishwakarma Manu Maya Brahmin, Sutars and Kasars. They are included in the Other Backward Class list of the Government of India. Rest of castes generally referred to as Shudras or Sudirs in Konkani do not really follow the four-fold varna system, but have recently started claiming higher status. Most of them have been practicing different occupations historically and now are categorized as Other Backward Class by Govt of Goa, these include Madval (Rajak, Dhobi), Gosavi , Shimpi, Khumbar, Teli, Nathjogi, this list also includes Roman Catholic counterparts of few Hindu castes too].^[1][6]

Following castes are commonly known as Dalits.

• Bhangi, Chambhar (Hadi), Mahar, Mahyavanshi (Vankar), Mang

• Dhodia (Halpati, Naikda (Nayaka), Siddi, Varli Kunbi, Gavda, Velip.

The Gauda and Kunbi are considered as aboriginals by some historians though this claim is disputed.

Dhangar, also referred as Gouly or Gavli, is the state’s only ancient pastoral community. In Goa under colonialism, the community kept away from the rest of society as they wanted to escape grazing tax and ban on Kumeri (shifting cultivation) introduced by the Portuguese Empire. Dhangar leaders claim that they had fled to remote hilly and forested areas to avoid religious persecution and religion conversion. They were not part of the comunidade anywhere in Goa. It is claimed that throughout the Portuguese rule in Goa they were so insulated that not a single Dhangar got converted to Christianity.^[7] Their knowledge and experience about deep forests, played a major part in finding specific locations to build forts for the Maratha kingdom to flourish. A study carried out by Government of Goa in 2013 stated that the community had a unique identity,and are known for their martial prowess.^{[8][9][10][11]} In Goa, they are classified as Other Backward Classes category in India's system of reservation.^[12]

In Goa, mass conversions were carried out by Portuguese Catholic missionaries from the 1510 conquest onwards. The Portuguese clergy imposed Portuguese surnames on the converts at the time of Baptism so that it would be difficult to know their original caste easily. The Portuguese authorities also suppressed untouchability among the converts and attempted to homogenize them into a single entity.^[13][14]

However, the converts retained a variation of their caste status based on patrilineal descent from their previous caste affiliations. All Brahmin sub-castes (Saraswats, Padyes and Daivadnyas) were merged into the Christian caste of Bamonns (Konkani: Brahmins).^[15] The converts from the Kshatriya and Vaishya Vani castes were merged together as Chardos (Kshatriyas)^[15] and those Vaishyas who didn't become Chardos formed a new caste called Gauddos.^[16] The converts from all the lower castes, as well as the previously Dalit and adivasi groups, were grouped together as Sudirs, equivalent to Shudras.^[17][18] The Bamonns, Chardos and Gauddos have been hierarchically seen as the high castes in the Goan Christian society.^[19]

• Hinduism in Goa
• Maratha Clan System
• Christianity in Goa
• Christianity in India

• Gazetteer of India, Union Territory: Goa, Daman and Diu, Part I which looks at Goa (published in 1979)
• The Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part-1, section-1, published by authority, India"The Gazette of India, Extraordinary" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2009.