The word as attested by linguist Sediyapu Krishna Bhat are a derivation from Ahichatra] Brāhmaṇa. It was changed to Ahika and then Havika, and was agreed upon by scholars like Sediyapu and Nadahalli Ranganatha Sharma. The word Ahichatra Brāhmaṇa is mentioned in inscriptions. Another etymology that is popular for Havyaka is argued to have derived from the Sanskrit word havya, which means "sacred oblation". Thus, Havyaka could mean "performer of Havana rituals". However, according to Shri Sediyapu Krishna Bhat, the word "Havyaka" is a Sanskritization of Ahika-Havika. They are referred to as "Haviga" in colonial-era documents by British ethnographers. Some variations of this name are "Haiga" and "Havika"; "Haiga" is also the name of the region that is centred around Gokarna and is bounded by Tulu Nadu to the south; this region is also called Parashuramakshethra, Gorastradesha.. Sanskrit scholar Mahamahopadhyaya Nadahalli Ranganatha Sharma rejects the Havya+kavya derivation as grammatically incorrect. The word Havyaka was not used in official records until 1928, including in mathas.
Havyakas are descended from Brahmins brought from Ahichatra by King Mayura Sharma who founded the Kadamba dynasty in Kuntala. These Brahmins were originally from the Ahichchatra kingdom near the modern-day Ramnagar village in the modern-day Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh. They were brought in order to perform Vedic rituals especially the Ashwamedha and were originally housed in Talagunda agrahara near Soraba and Shiralakoppa towns where the inscription attesting to this fact is found. Banavasi, which is 24 kilometers from Sirsi was the capital but Mayura Verma was born in the Talagunda agrahara. From there, they spread out in the nearby regions primarily following areas which were suitable for areca nut plantations, which they have historically been involved inThimmappa Kalasi, Vidwan (2012). Havyakara Itihasa [The history of Havyakas] (in Kannada)..
Since the very purpose of these Brahmin families was to perform Havana (Havya) and Homa (Gavya), these Brahmins were aptly named as Havyaga. The word Havyaka was transcended from the word Havyaga. Even the surname or family name were given to us by king Mayura Sharma, which were derived from the specific job each family was performing in the royal rituals. Hegade or Hegde is the chief of village and ritualistic activities, head of the Yajna is Dixit, and Bhatta (Bhat) - who actually performs the rituals, and so on. (Avadhani, Bhagvat, Bharadwaj, Hebbar, Joshi, Joisa, Puranik, Sharma, Shastri, and Yaaji are some of the other surnames or family names of havyakas.)
Havyaka Brahmins, probably the only Brahmins, actually plough the land and cultivate crops. May be it was the influence of the beautiful and enchanting habitat of woods, hills, valleys, and rivers of the Sahyadri (Western Ghats) mountain range surrounding them, our ancestors took a more practical approach and indulged into cultivation apart from their traditional ritualistic activities.
Some claims suggest that the Havyakas originated from the Banavasi region and migrated to Ahichachtra (present-day Uttar Pradesh) in response to the threat posed by non-Vedic sects. Centuries ago, Kadambara Mayura Varma, the founder of Karnataka's first royal family, struggled to carry out his religious rituals due to the lack of Brahmins in those days. Therefore, he invited Havyaka families from Ahichachtra to perform Ashwamedha, provided shelter to some villages, and facilitated their settlement. When the Havyakas were concerned about their protection when they came to the Kadamba kingdom, the Kadamba king gave the Haigunda region of the Sharavati shore, which is an island in the midst of the Sharavati River, to the Havyakas so as not to disturb the Vedic works. In recent times, Haigunda temple was under the administration of Sri Ramachandrapura Mutt, one of the most famous gurupeeths, renovated under the guidance of Sri Sri Raghaveshwar Bharati Swami, and religious programs were performed on special occasions like Navratri.
Though our ancestors settled in Banavasi immediately after migration, today Havyakas are spread around the globe occupying various occupations. Only few are embracing the legacy occupation agriculture, and ritualistic activities.
Although Sanskrit was the language of our ancestors, today, we, Havyaka Brahmins speak Havyaka language, a dialect of Kannada, which draws more words from Sanskrit and ancient Kannada, and a few words from Marathi.
The Havyakas follow a lacto-vegetarian diet. Compared to the cuisines of other communities of South India Havyaka cuisine is milder and less spicy. Rice, curds, buttermilk and vegetables are the staples used in Havyaka cuisine. Coconut is used in a lot of dishes. Some popular Havyaka dishes include Tambuli, a dish of chopped vegetables with curd or buttermilk and a seasoning of spices fried in oil. Sasime- a dish prepared with the ground paste of any vegetable along with curd and a seasoning of spices fried in oil, appe huli- a sour and tangy watery soup made from unripe mangoes and chilly, patrode- dish made of colocasia leaves (Kesu), melara –a mildd coconut-yogurt curry which can be made using various vegetables. Curries are also prepared from unripe jackfruits, the ripe jackfruit is used to cook items such as dosas and halvas. Kesari Bhat is a special dish exclusively belongs to Havyak which is prepared out of pure Keshar and ghee.
Havigannada dialect
Havigannada, also called as Havyaka Bhaashe and Havyaka Kannada, is the dialect of Kannada spoken Havyakas in Malenadu, coastal Karnataka and Kodagu mof Kerala.
