Hatti Kankana(ಹತ್ತಿ ಕಂಕಣ) and Unne Kankana(ಉಣ್ಣೆ ಕಂಕಣ)

Among the fascinating customs of Kuruba Gowdas is also the use of Hatti Kankana(ಹತ್ತಿ ಕಂಕಣ) and Unne Kankaka(ಉಣ್ಣೆ ಕಂಕಣ ) during marriages. In fact all Kuruba Gowdas are split into two groups depending on which type of thread they use during their marriages. Most other costums and traditions remain the same between these two groups.

"Hatti" is cotton and "Unne" is wool from the sheep. Kankana is the the thread made with either of them and which is tied to the wrist of the groom and bride during their marriage ceremony. Usually the marriage is between the same group of people, that is the Hatti Kankana followers marry the followers of the same custom and vise versa. But in modern times this has not been strictly followed and marriages between Hatti Kankana and Unne Kankana people are common.

The story behind this custom and division of Kuruba Gowdas into two groups goes back to the ancient times many thousands of years ago. An ancestor of Kurubas called "Padma Gonda"(ಪದ್ಮಗೊಂಡ) had two wives, the first wife was a Kuruba Gowdathi and the second wife belonged to the brahmin community. So Padmagonda decides to marry off the children born to his first wife by tying the cotton thread to their wrists and he marries off the children born to his second wife by tying the woollen thread to their wrists, thus heralding the formation of this custom.

Kuruba Event 5 - Guddadayya Dance

Kuruba Gowdas of Karnataka have a rich culture and traditions. They have the most amazing forms of dance and festivals, which no other single community in India has. These festivals, fairs and dances showcase the richness and diversity of the community. They also show that the Kuruba Gowda community are the original and the first inhabitants of the land and from which various other communities branched out over many centuries.

One such festival is the "Beereshwara" festival of Medlleri[ಮೇಡ್ಲೇರಿ] village in Ranebennur taluk of Haveri district in Karnataka. About 2 lakh people from the surrounding villages and towns descend onto this small village every year to celebrate the festival of Beereshwara, the community deity of Kurubas. This festival runs for seven days in the month of February every year. The devotees perform various festivities, they bring their sheep's with them to be sacrificed to the god for their well being.

Interestingly the sheep's are not sacrificed to the deity by beheading, but by slicing open their stomachs. I have not heard this type of sacrifice anywhere else in India, this again points towards the ancient origins of the community, wherein the crude practices of the nomadic ancient human beings being still followed in modern times. It also indicates the continuity of the Kuruba community from nomadic first humans to the modern era. A costum followed continuously without break for thousands of years.

  After sacrificing the sheep's comes the most interesting part, the 'Guddadayya Dance'. This dance is performed by the "Goravas", "Dalavoys" and "Eergaras" belonging to the Kuruba Gowda community. These people hold a bamboo stick in their hands and dance to the music of Dollu (drum) beats. The drum beaters encircle the dancers holding the stick and dance according to the sounds being made by the drummers.

This amazing dance, drum beating and show of strength was a way of keeping the wild animals away fro their herds of sheep in ancient times and also a warning to the enemy tribes about the strength of Kuruba Gowdas. This warrior like dance indicates the genesis of the Kurubas from sheep farmers defending their herds from wild animals to the great builders of kingdoms like "Mouryas", "Pallavas", "Vijayanagara Empire" and many more.

Great Kurubas 6 - Siddanagouda Sanna Ramanagouda Patil

Sri Siddanagouda S Ramanagouda Patil is the father of co-operative society movement in India. He successfully organised the first agricultural credit co-operative society in India, in the year 1905 in the village of 'Kanaginahal' in Gadag district of Karnataka. The Kanaginahal co-op society also holds the distinction of being the first co-operative society to be functional in Asia and the credit for this goes to the great Kuruba Gowda Sri Siddana Gouda  S Patil. He was the founder president of the society. The centeNary celebrations of founding of the society was held in 2005, attended by another great Kuruba Gowda Mr Siddaramaiah, the then deputy chief minister of Karnataka, a statue of Mr Patil was unveiled on this occasion.

This event of founding of the first co-operative society in Asia is celebrated as the Sr Siddanagouda S  Patil day on may 8th of every year. The initial capital of the society was 2000 rupees, which was a big amount in those days.