Billavas are a dominant community in Tulunadu covering Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. It is said that Billavas are neither Dravidians nor Aryans and they settled in the region much before them and are called Adinivasis of Tulunadu.
The coasts of Karnataka had very active martial arts tradition and several Billava families still continue the tradition. They built Garadis similar to Kalaris in Kerala in honour of their folk heroes Koti and Chennayya. These Garadis became major religious and martial-arts centres of the Billavas. The community mostly worships various Daivas (spirits) like Kodamandaye, Panjurli, Jumadi, Jarandaye, Kallurti, Koti Chennaya, Devi Baidedi, Dhumavati, Pilichandi and Bobbarye apart from puranic gods.
Billavas were traditionally suppressed by the upper caste and treated them as untouchables. It is in such a scenario that the community found a messiah in Sri Narayana Guru. Learning about the works and teachings of Guru in establishing social equality through his temple in Sivagiri, Kerala, a prominent Billava leader Sahukar Koragappa visited him with other community leaders in 1908. Four years later in February 1912 Sri Narayana Guru consecrated the Sri Gokarnanatheshwara Kshetra in Kudroli by installing sacred Shiva linga.
it was published in times of India-
The coasts of Karnataka had very active martial arts tradition and several Billava families still continue the tradition. They built Garadis similar to Kalaris in Kerala in honour of their folk heroes Koti and Chennayya. These Garadis became major religious and martial-arts centres of the Billavas. The community mostly worships various Daivas (spirits) like Kodamandaye, Panjurli, Jumadi, Jarandaye, Kallurti, Koti Chennaya, Devi Baidedi, Dhumavati, Pilichandi and Bobbarye apart from puranic gods.
Billavas were traditionally suppressed by the upper caste and treated them as untouchables. It is in such a scenario that the community found a messiah in Sri Narayana Guru. Learning about the works and teachings of Guru in establishing social equality through his temple in Sivagiri, Kerala, a prominent Billava leader Sahukar Koragappa visited him with other community leaders in 1908. Four years later in February 1912 Sri Narayana Guru consecrated the Sri Gokarnanatheshwara Kshetra in Kudroli by installing sacred Shiva linga.
it was published in times of India-
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