The word Havyaka was transcended from words Havyaga or Haveega which means the one who performs Havana and Homa, since the very purpose of Havyaka Brahmins was to perform the royal rituals and the related functions of the empirical government. In fact, the name "Haiga" persists in Havyaka lexicon. The word Havyaka might also be derived from the place named Haigunda. That region of Karnataka which has been inhabited by Havyakas from ancient times is also called Parashuramakshethra, Gorastradesha, Gokarnamandala. Anaghaa is a summit.
Origin of Havyakas
Exact facts about Havyaka's origin are hard to come by since there are very little research available. However, the scientific school of thought places the date of Havyaka's immigration back to about 1300 years ago i.e.around 9'th A.D. The Brahmin king Mayooravarma-2'nd of 9'th A.D. was instrumental in bringing the first Brahmin families. It is believed that second Kadamba dynasty brought many Brahmins in to perform the royal rituals and the related functions of the empirical government from a place called Ahichchathra in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Thus the first few families were settled in Banavasi, the capital of the Kadambas and the place adored by Pampa. King Mayooravarma -2'nd act of inviting Brahmins to Banavasi has been inscribed on a stone stab, which now lies near the village of Varadahalli in Sagara. It is now assumed and claimed that these Brahmin families brought from ahichchathra might be those of present-day havyaka families. The descendants and associates of Parshuram are called Tyagi Brahmins in Western UP, Bhumihar Brahmins in Eastern U.P. and Bihar, Goud Brahmins in U.P. and Rajasthan, Chitpawan Brahmins in Maharashtra, Anavil Brahmins in Gujarat, Namboothiri Brahmins in Kerela and Mohyals in the Punjab region. Their variants are found with different names all across the Indian sub-continent. They have same customs and practices.
Present day
Havyakas today are the followers of either Ramachandrapura Math or Swarnavalli Mutt and are guided by Advaita philosophy of Shankaracharya. Havyakas derive their last names from the jobs that they perform rather than by their origin. Till recently Havyakas were primarily engaged in Vedic professions or they were in agriculture especially growing betel nut, paddy, banana, coconut etc. A few decades ago they also started entering into all other vocations like business, education, employment etc. You won't find any Havyaka as Purohit at temples or performing any Havana in today's date. Most of the temple Purohits in South India are Kota, Gowda Saraswats, the Tamil and Telgu Brahmins, few Shivalli's and Namboodiris.
Geographic Distribution
Havyakas are mainly concentrated in the state of Karnataka. Dakshina Kannada, Uttar Kannada, Shimoga, Chikmagaluru and Kodagu Districts in Karnataka and Kasarogod in Kerala are the districts where Havyakas live for centuries. They are now spread all over India, especially in metropolitan cities of Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru and other Industrial and business centres. Havyakas are also in large numbers in countries like United States of America, United Kingdom and other places outside India.
Language
The Havyakas are united by their unique language. They speak a dialect of Kannada known as Havyaka Kannada. It is similar to mainstream Kannada but draws more words from ancient Kannada. However, most mainstream Kannada speakers find it difficult to understand Havyaka Kannada. The Havyaka dialect is supposed to be quite old. Its origins, like many other things in India, are shrouded in mystery. Notably certain Havigannada speakers use neuter gender in place of feminine gender while addressing females. The dialect and even accent of Havyaka Kannada spoken in Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and Dakshina Kannada / Kasaragodu regions differ significantly.
Havyaka Food
Havyaka people are strict vegetarians and have a unique speciality dishes. Havyaka are known to cook food from all the available seasonal vegetables without wasting any part of it for example : every part of a jackfruit is used to cook variety of items from dosa to desserts like halwas The unique variety of dosa include Banana Dosa, coconut dosa, cucumber dosa varities of rice cakes like: "halasina kottige", "southe kottige","pathrode" and many many more Havyaka recipe consists of some unique food items like "Tellevu", "Todedevu", "Odape", "Kocheegayi gojju", "Mavinkai bootgojju", "Kai sasme", "Majjige Polja","Holige", "Appehuli", "tambli","Halasinakayi huli", "Halasina happala", "Kaa'ee rasa", "Atrasa", "Hasi", "Sandige".
