The Legends of Kōnkaṇ

In his Legends of The Konkan, Crawford narrates a folk tale read out to him by an old Bhat from Chiplun, which inter alia describes the peopling of Kōnkaṇ. The first to arrive were the dhangars (herdsmen) of the ghatmala; every year they came with their buffaloes and penetrated further till they overran the payeen ghauts (foot hills). Beyond that was the paradise : mighty rivers, magnificent forests of every kind of valuable timber, trees laden with delicious fruits, a coast line fringed with coconut palms, lush forage on every hillside and wild rice growing in all the valleys. Those that returned to their upland homes gave marvelous accounts of their new discovery. Attracted by these tales, the hardy mhar of the Dekkhan ventured to explore. They built there huts walled with split bamboos and red clay, and roofed them with woven coconut palms. They hired bands of cultivators from above the ghats, sudra by caste, to till the land lying all around. Vaishya followed them and carried the produce up-ghat on bullock carts driven by brinjaris (gypsies) from the far east Dekkhan. The kshatrya from across the ghats came thereafter. But, with the exception of a few Brahmins occasionally summoned by the ryots to officiate at religious ceremonies, none of the brāhman ventured to make their permanent residence in Kōnkaṇ. [Crawford, 1909 : Legends of The Konkan, 25]