Shenoy

"Shenai" redirects here. For the instrument, see Shehnai.

Plaque outside commercial establishment, Goa, India.

Shenoy (Devanagari: शणै, शणय, शेणवी; historicaly स्येनवि, सेण्णवी) is a common surname amongst the Konkani speaking Goud Saraswat Brahmins and Rajapur Saraswat Brahmins in India.

Etymology

श्रेणीपति > शेणीव्वई > शेणय

The original word is Shrenipati or the leader of the guild, which got converted as Shennivayi in Apabhraṃśa, and later as Shenai or Shenvi in old Konkani.

Background and origins

The Goud Saraswat Brahmins are from Goa, India and are originally part of the larger Saraswat community of north. Saraswat Brahmins used to live on the banks of the river Saraswati during ancient times . After the river got extinct some migrated towards south and since then settled in Goa. The Shenoys were generally involved in administration of the city. The word "Shenoy" itself means a writer. GSBs were administrators of the temples. The word "Shenoy" is also interchangeable with its Sanskrit counterpart Shanbhag or Shanbhogue which means clerk.

The Saraswats migrated from Goa during the Muslim and Christian conquests during 1600, and carried their surname with them . Thus the word 'शणै' is transliterated in Latin script as Shenoy in Karnataka, as Shenoi in Kerala, and as Xennai, Shenai or even Sinai in Goa. "Xennoi" was used in the erstwhile Portuguese territory of Goa but has given way to "Xennai" today. Another possible origin of the surname Shenoy is from the word "Shennvi" meaning ninety six. This denotes the ninety six families of Saraswat Brahmins who initially settled in Goa.

It was common in Goa for Shenoys and other Saraswats to add the name of their ancestral village or title after Shenoy to denote their origin. Thus we have persons with surnames such as Shenoy-Kuncoliker and Shenoy-Salgaonker (denoting village) and Shenai-Khatkhate (denoting the title).

Some other Saraswat surnames are Bhat, Kamath, Mallya, Pai, Bhndarkar, Nayak, Padukone, Rao. The surname continues to be used by the Konkani Roman Catholics of Goa and Canara, who were descendants of the Shenoys. They may use their Catholic surnames along with their Saraswat surname (e.g. Pereira-Shenoy)

Notable people

• Shenoi Goembab - Konkani Pandit (1877–1946)
• Basti Vaman Shenoy - Konkani activist and founder of World Konkani Centre in Mangalore
• Preeti Shenoy - artist and writer
• Suresh V. Shenoy - technology executive and philanthropist
• Vijay Balakrishna Shenoy - associate professor of physics at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and recipient of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, the highest science award in India
• Arun Shenoy - composer and music producer who has received a Grammy Award nomination
• Vasudev V Shenoy - Educationist, Educational Counsellor, Konkani Activist, Plants Enthusiast, Journalist and a Social Activist.(15 Feb 1940 – 9 Mar 2015)
• Aishwarya Nag - South Indian actress
• Samskruthy Shenoy - actress who has appeared in South Indian films

References

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Further reading

• Inscription of the Nagueshi Temple in Bandivade, Goa, India (See Image)
• http://www.goacom.org/goanow/99/apr/backwoods.html
• http://shreeshantadurga.com/history_gsb.asp
• http://www.hindu.com/mag/2005/03/13/stories/2005031300760700.htm
• 'Bombay the Beautiful' Book by J.V.Furtado. Publishers Thacker and Co.,LTD Bombay 1957.
• Ramogi Sinay mentioned in Overland from India in 1663: Published in: Bulletin of Spanish Studies, Volume 4, Issue 16 1927, pages 156 - 170 .
• A baptism of fire: The Van Goens Mission to Ceylon and India 1653-54. http://www.une.edu.au/asiacenter/Alfons.pdf
• Vithal Shenoy 1623, http://www.kamat.com/database/articles/goa_karnataka.htm
• de Souza, Teotonio R.Hindu entrepreneurship in Goan History.
• http://www.flagfoundationofindia.in/fight-to-free-tiranga.html .
• José Garçon da Cunha - Essays in Classical and Modern Hindu Law By J.Duncan M. Derrett- Page 473/529, ISBN 90-04-04808-1, Published 1977