Ganiga

Ganiga is a caste found in the state of Karnataka, India. They were originally oil pressers and also oil-mongers in the Mysore region of Karnataka.^[1] They add the title Shetty to their name.^[2]

Ganiga men used to wear sacred thread.^[3] They hold themselves to be high class Vaishyas and did not eat food cooked by anyone other than Havyaka Brahmins.^[4] They employed Havyaka Brahmins to perform their chief ceremonies and their religious teacher is the chief of smárta monastery at Sringeri and They belong to Kundapura Vyasaraja Peetham.^[5] They are classified as OBC in India's system of positive discrimination.^[6]