page_title: Kannada people
hierarchical_section_title: Kannada people
context_page_description: The Kannada people or Kannadigas, are speakers of Kannada language and trace their ancestry to the state of Karnataka in India and its surrounding regions. Kannada belongs to the Dravidian family of languages. Significant Kannada minorities are found in the Indian states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and in other Indian states. An alternate English demonym for Kannadigas in modern works of history is the Kanarese. Modern Kannada stands among 30 of the most widely spoken languages of the world as of 2001.
  Evidence for human habitation in Karnataka exists until at least the 2nd millennium BCE, and it is postulated to have had contact with the Indus Valley civilisation. The existence of artifacts shows Karnataka was involved in trade as early as the 1st century CE. In the 4th century BCE the land was ruled by the Mauryans and Jainism was very popular. After the Mauryas, parts of Karnataka were variously ruled by dynasties either ethnically Kannadiga or outside. The Kadambas, Chalukyas and Holysalas were some of the many major Kannada kingdoms and dynasties ruling the region.
context_section_description: The Kannada people or Kannadigas ("Kannadigas" is a term obtained by adding the English suffix "-s" to "kannadiga" to make it plural. "Kannadigaru" is the plural form in Kannada), are speakers of Kannada language and trace their ancestry to the state of Karnataka in India and its surrounding regions. Kannada belongs to the Dravidian family of languages. Significant Kannada minorities are found in the Indian states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and in other Indian states. An alternate English demonym for Kannadigas in modern works of history is the Kanarese. Modern Kannada stands among 30 of the most widely spoken languages of the world as of 2001.
  Evidence for human habitation in Karnataka exists until at least the 2nd millennium BCE, and it is postulated to have had contact with the Indus Valley civilisation. The existence of artifacts (such as Roman coins) shows Karnataka was involved in trade as early as the 1st century CE. In the 4th century BCE the land was ruled by the Mauryans and Jainism was very popular. After the Mauryas, parts of Karnataka were variously ruled by dynasties either ethnically Kannadiga or outside. The Kadambas, Chalukyas and Holysalas were some of the many major Kannada kingdoms and dynasties ruling the region. The Vijayanagara Empire was founded by Kannadiga chieftains and they were great patrons of Kannada art and literature.
  The Kannada language has written inscriptions since 450 CE. Kannada literature is mostly composed of poems and treatises on religious works. Kannada architecture is dominated by stone-carved sculptured palaces and temples. The ruins of Hampi are a UNESCO World Heritage site. Kannada music and dance is rich and varied, including both complex.
  Most Kannadigas are Hindus, but in rural areas villagers practice Dravidian folk religion similar to their Tamil neighbours, worshipping many gramadevataru in addition to the main deities. In addition, many in North Karnataka practice Lingayatism, a religious tradition centred around worship of Shiva. There are also small minorities of Jains, remnants of ancient times and Christians. Kannada cuisine is varied, with both non-vegetarian and vegetarian items using numerous spices.
caption: Flag of Karnataka and Kannadigas