Kon: हणजुणें haṇajuṇēṁ
‘Merchant Guild’ – Town/Beach, Goa
From Kan/Tel: hanjama, hanjamana, ‘merchant guild’ [Per: anjuman; Tam: anjuvannam].
This term referred to a medieval association of Persian or Arabic merchants and traders. In the 10thC this was a well-to-do commercial settlement and port.
These days it is a centre for tourists rather than merchants, lured in by its rave parties and busy flea market.
Anjuna has traditionally been spared the excesses of rapid urban development thanks to an ancient curse which is said to bring misfortune to those who dared to build upper storeys on their shops and houses. One commentator has an explanation:
‘The omen had something to do with ecology, it seems. The beaches of Anjuna – small sandy coves were, and still are, subject to erosion by the sea. And perhaps the villagers understood, in good time, that tall buildings were both dangerous and ugly’ [Cabral e Sá (1998) p89].
Anjuna Beach, Goa David Jones