Daivajna
Shett gentlemen from Goa, from late 18th to early 19th century (Courtesy: Gomant Kalika, Nutan Samvatsar Visheshank, April 2002)
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| Regions with significant populations | |
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Goa, Coastal and west Maharashtra, Coastal and central Karnataka Populations in: |
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| Languages | |
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Dialects of primarily Konkani and Marathi are spoken as the native tongues and are used for written communication. Kannada, Gujarati, Malayalam, Tulu, and Hindi may be sometimes spoken outside home. English is commonly used for education and formal communication. Sanskrit is used for all religious purposes. |
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| Religion | |
| Brahminical Hinduism: Smarta or the Mādhva tradition | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Indo-Scythians, Goan Catholics, Mangalorean Catholics, Karwari Catholics |
Goa, Coastal and west Maharashtra, Coastal and central Karnataka Populations in:
Dialects of primarily Konkani and Marathi are spoken as the native tongues and are used for written communication. Kannada, Gujarati, Malayalam, Tulu, and Hindi may be sometimes spoken outside home. English is commonly used for education and formal communication.
The Daivadnya or Daivajña is an ethno-religious community and a Hindu Brahmin caste of the west coast of India, predominantly residing in the states of Goa, coastal Karnataka, and coastal Maharashtra. The state of Goa is considered to be the original homeland of Daivadnyas. They are believed to have flourished and prospered in Goa and hence sometimes they are called Gomantaka Daivadnya. Due to many socio-economic reasons, they emigrated to different parts of India within the last few centuries.
They are commonly known as Śeṭ in the coastal region. The word Śeṭ is a corrupt form of the word Śreṣṭha or Śreṣṭhin, which could mean excellent, distinguished, or superior. Over time the word was transformed from Śreṣṭha to Śeṭ. Most of the older generation from the Daivadnya community in Goa call themselves Śeṭī Bāmaṇ, which is a corrupt form of Śreṣṭhi Brāhmaṇa. The Portuguese referred these people as Xete (cf. Xett, Xete) or sometimes Chatim (cf. Xatim), which is now Cyātī in the Konkani language; the word was a Portuguese appellation for "trader" derived from the local word Śreṣṭhin. Śeṭs are often called Daivadnya Suvarṇakara in Sanskrit and Sonar in Konkani(cf. Svarṇakāra).
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