17 percent of the total population spoke Kannada. Around 13 percent of the population speaks Konkani as their mother tongue. In 1901, South Kanara had a density of . The 1908 Imperial Gazetteer of India lists South Canara, along with the Thanjavur and Ganjam districts, as the three districts of the Madras Presidency where Brahmins are most numerous. The majority of the people were Billavas and Bunts. There were more Brahmins (12% of the population) in South Kanara than any other district of the Madras Presidency making South Kanara, along with Tanjore and Ganjam as one of the three districts of the province where Brahmins were most numerous. The original indigenous people of the region are Tuluvas (Bunts, Billavas, Mogaveeras, Tulu gowda, Kulalas, Devadigas, Bearys, Jogis) and Malayalis in the Kasaragod Taluk (Nambudiris, Nairs, Thiyyas, Mappilas etc). The Brahmins who settled first belonged chiefly to the Sthanika and thus they were called as Tulu Brahmins. Others were Shivalli, Saraswat, Havyaka, Kotaha sub-sections, Mahars, the hill-tribes (Koragas). Language The most widely spoken Language is Tulu which belongs to the Dravidian family of languages, and whose native speakers are referred to as Tuluva. The number of Tulu speakers was estimated to be about 1.7 million in 2001, although some sources quote as many as 3 million. The other languages spoken in Tulu Nadu include Kundagannada, Arebhashe, Malayalam, Konkani, Koraga and Beary. The Tulu script, originating from the Grantha script, and bears high similarity to the Malayalam script. It was used by Tuluvas for centuries before it was eventually replaced by the Kannada script. Most Sanskrit works and Tulu classics are present in this script, with a few in other scripts. This script was used by Brahmins. Geography and climate Tulu Nadu lies along the Konkan Coast. Tulu Nadu is bounded on the west by the Arabian Sea and on the east by the Western Ghats. With Chandragiri river forming a historical southern border. Tulu Nadu spans an area of , roughly 4.4 per cent of the total geographical area of present-day Karnataka and Kasaragod district is the northernmost district of Kerala. Tulu Nadu also experiences heavy rainfalls during Monsoon season. The coastal area of Tulu Nadu is very rich concerning rainforests and backwaters. The region has a tropical climate; with hot and humid summers, hot winter days, and heavy monsoon. Summer and winter months experience similar temperate conditions, with average temperatures ranging