Shett (also spelt as Shet) is a surname and title of the Daivajna subcaste of Konkani people, residing along the coast of the Konkan region in western India. It is also an honorific used by them in Goa, Damaon, Konkan division of Maharashtra, and Kanara subregion of Karnataka.[1]
The word Shett is derived from the Sanskrit word Śreṣṭha (Devanagari: श्रेष्ठ) or Śreṣṭhin (श्रेष्ठीन्, ‘superior’), Prakrit as Seṭhī (सेठी), and then Śeṭ (शेट) or Śeṭī (शेट) in modern Indo-Aryan dialects.[2]
The guilds of the traders, merchants, bankers as well as moneylenders (mahjana),[what language is this?] administrators of various institutions and their employees in ancient Goa, like other parts in India, were called as śreṇī, and the head of these guilds were called as Śreṣṭha or Śreṣṭhīn, which would mean 'His Excellency'.[3][non-primary source needed]
Various Romanised versions found during the colonial period include Chatim, Xete, Xetim, Xatim, Chati, Sette etc.[4][5]
Before the Goa Inquisition, Daivajna men used the titles Sethi, etc. after their first names. e.g. Virupa Chattim, Gana Sethi, etc. The father's name was used as a middle name. The Daivajna diaspora started using village names after their first names to distinguish themselves from other communities. Daivajna people still in Goa continue to use it as an honorific title. Due to various socio-economic reasons, Daivajna people migrated from Goa to other places. Some started using Shet as their surname just to distinguish themselves from others (especially in South Canara, Udupi, Shimoga and in some parts of North Canara.[1]
Few[clarification needed] Mangalorean Daivajna families who converted to Catholicism migrated during the attacks by Marathas in Goa and Bombay in late 17th and early 18th century.[6][7] These families still use the title Śeṭ.[8] The Saldanha-Shet family is one of the well-known Konkani Catholic families from Mangalore.[9]