Konkani people

The Konkani people are an Indian ethnic group. According to some, the word derives from "kum", meaning 'Mother Earth' and "Kana", meaning 'dust' or 'atom'. The Konkani within the Indian state of Goa have been principally a farming community through most of their history, though now moving increasingly towards tourism. The Konkani people in other states are mainly a business community.

Their current centre is in Goa and are thought by some to have settled there around the 11th century CE. Outside of Goa, Konkani people are also settled along the Konkan coast with concentrated population in Mangalore, south coastal Maharashtra, north coastal Kerala and northern Karnataka.

Some, though not all, Konkani Hindu Brahmins are known to eat fish. There are also populations of Konkani Catholics, converted by the Portuguese starting from the 16th century.

Descendants of Konkan Muslims can be found in South Africa [1].

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