Koli Christians | |
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ईसाई कोली | |
![]() Chapel of Jesus, Worli Koliwada, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Christian Kolis | |
Abbreviation | CK |
Jāti | Koli people |
Classification | Other Backward Class |
Kuladevta (male) | Sacred Name of Jesus Christ |
Kuladevi (female) | Mount St Mary |
Nishan | Christian cross |
Religions | Christianity |
Languages | |
Country | India |
Original state | |
Ethnicity | Koli people |
Population | 9000 (1989) |
Feudal title |
|
Subdivisions |
|
Related groups | Aagri and Gauda and Kunbi castes |
Status | Subgroup of Koli caste |
Reservation (Education) | Yes |
Reservation (Employment) | Yes |
Reservation (Other) | Yes |
Kingdom (original) | Portuguese Bombay, Colaba state etc. |
Koli Christians[1] are Koli people who profess Christianity in India, they are also a subgroup of the Bombay East Indians, who are the indigenous people of the Seven Islands of Bombay and the Bombay metropolitan area, which is now also called Mumbai (Bombay).[2] The Koli Christians were of the Son Koli subcaste, before their conversion by the Portuguese from Brahmanism to Christianity, in the former Bom Bahia of Portuguese India.[3] Christian Kolis are also known as Thankar and Gaonkar Kolis, they played an important role in building churches & convents in the northern Konkan division of present-day Maharashtra.[4]