Shenoy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Plaque outside commercial establishment, Goa, India.

Shenoy is a common Surname amongst the Goud Saraswat Brahmins.

Saraswat Brahmins originate from Goa, India. The word 'Shenoy' itself means a temple accountant. Therefore almost every village in Goa had a Shenoy.

The word shenoy is also spelt as Shenoi in Kerala and Xennai, Shenai, or even Sinai in Goa. It was common in Goa for Shenoys to add the name of their ancestral village or title after Shenoy to denote their origin. Thus we have persons named Shenoy-Kuncoliker and Shenoy-Salgaonker ( denoting village) and Shenai-Khatkhate (denoting title) etc. The word Shenoy is also interchangeable with its Sanskrit counterpart 'Shanbhag' or 'Shanbhogue'.

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.

A 1413AD stone inscription in the Nagueshi Temple in Ponda speaks of Purush Shennvi's son Maee Shennvi of Kullalogram (Kuncoliem) being granted the village of Bandode (Bandivade) to carry out the rituals of Shri Naguesh and Shree Mahalakshmi temples.

Inscription with 'Maee Shenvi' of 1413AD, Nagueshi, Goa.

Another 'Shenoy' was Locu Sinai from the Island of Chorao (Chudamani), Goa. He was amongst the first Brahmins to convert to Catholicism in the 16th century due to financial reasons and was then onwards called Lucas de Sa.

A famous Shenoy who contributed immensely to Konkani literature is Shenoy Goembab (Shenoy Vaman Raghunath Vardhe Valavalikar). He has written many books in Konkani. The surname continues to be used by some descendents of Saraswat Brahmin Shenoys who converted to Catholicism during the 16th Century. They may also use their Catholic surnames along with their Saraswat surname, eg. Shenoy-Pereira etc. The 16th Century saw the exodus of Hindus from the Old Portuguese conquests of Salcette, Tiswadi, and Bardez wherein forced conversions and destructions of Hindu temples were carried out by the Jesuits and Franciscans. Shenoys fled along with their Hindu cousins and settled along the western coastline. Large settlements of Saraswats were at Basrur, Mangalore, Cochin and other places along the Canara and Kerala coast. Shenoys are found in great numbers there.

Shenoys, being well educated and progressive, have also migrated to the west. They have, along with other saraswats and Indians as a whole, assimilated well in countries like the United Kingdom, United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

The kuldevtas (family deities) of the Shenoys are Nagueshi, Mangueshi, Ramnathi, Santeri Kamakshi, Mhalasa etc.

[edit] Prominent Shenoys

Shri.Udyavar Banesh Shenoy, Industrialist, Founder of Alpha Power Solutions, Bengalooru.
Shenoy Goembab-Konkani Pandit (1877-1946)
T. V. R. Shenoy-Journalist
Sudha Shenoy-Economist
V D Shenoy - Poker Genius
K Manmohan Shenoi - Banker, Chairman UCO Bank 1986-1990
B R Shenoy - 1905-1978 well known economist (father of Sudha Shenoy)
Anu Shenai Mone - Builder of the original Shantadurga temple at Keloshi (Quellosim, Salcette , Goa) .
Professor V. A. Shenai - Distinguished Professor of Textile Technology at UDCT, Mumbai
Basti Vaman Shenoy-Konkani Pandit.Author of many Konkani books.
V.R.Shenoy -Creator of Dot Nut Technology