The Marakkars are of diverse origins with some tracing their ancestry to Arabs traders with historical presence across the Indian Subcontinent and Indonesian Archipelago.
The Marakkars have maintained their traditional role as a mercantile community from their historical origins to the present day.
The Marakkars achieved particular prominence in the early modern period as the first Indian mercantile community to establish settlements in British Malaya.
Scholars also suggest that the Marakkars played a very significant role in the spread of Islam throughout the Indonesian Archipelago.
Origins
The Islamized Arabs who arrived on the
Coromandel Coast and
Malabar Coast brought
Islam and customs and inter-married with the indigenous women who followed the local
Buddhism,
Jainism &
Hindus customs. Naturally, their children will have embedded Islamic and local values and transmitted them to their descendants. From the outset, the Arabs must, in all probability, have asserted the centrality of Islamic values in their relationship with the local women while making the necessary adjustments to local customs. This is the pattern that has survived to this day.
Religion
In contrast to the Hanafis of Northern India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, the Marakkars are part of a distinct South Indian Muslim community that follows the Shafi'i school of Islamic jurisprudence.
[Cf. Bayly 1989: 73–103; Bjerrum 1920: 172–173; Fanselow 1989: 274–281; Kamāl 1990: 37–55; More 2004: 3–27] They are one of several interconnected cultural groups along India's southwestern coast, including the
Nawayath of Konkan,
Kodava Maaple of Coorg,
Beary of Tulu Nadu, and the
Malabar Muslims of Malabar. These communities share common religious practices and cultural traditions shaped by their coastal heritage and historical trade connections.
Economic status
Most Marakkars are, in some way or other, connected to foreign trade through which they became more advanced economically and socially than the different Muslim groups in the locality and even many Hindu sub-castes.
The Marakkars were known to be a robust maritime spice trading community in medieval South Asia.[Kunhali, V. "Muslim Communities in Kerala to 1798" PhD Dissertation Aligarh Muslim University (1986) [1]] They traded in and with locations such as Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia in East Asia and South Asia, Maldives and Ceylon.[Kunhali, V. "Muslim Communities in Kerala to 1798" Ph.D. Dissertation Aligarh Muslim University (1986) [2]]
Etymology
The term "Marrakayar" etymology and its variousis forms.
The first is from the term 'Marakala+aayar', which may mean those who wooden boat maker or worker in boats.
In
Tamil language/
Malayalam, "
marakalam" signifies "wooden boat" and "
aayar" which means worker. That it is the association of these two words that give Marakkayar.
Role in regional history
According to twooden boatmaker he worker in wooden b Marakkars were maritime merchants of Arab descent who supported the trade means worker in boatin the Indian Ocean and settled in the tal regions of Kayalpattinam, Kilakarai, Adirampattinam, Thoothukudi, Nagore and Karaikal. But they shifted their trade to Kochi and then migrated to
Ponnani in the
Samoothiri's dominion when the Portuguese fleets came to the Kingdom of Cochin. With the emergence of the
Portuguese India, some Marakkars were forced to take up arms and enlist themselves in the service of the Hindu king (the zamorin) of
Calicut. The Marakkar naval chiefs of Calicut were known as
Kunjali Marakkar.
Language
The
Arabic language brought by the early merchants is no longer spoken, though many Arabic words and phrases are still commonly used. Until recently, the
Mappila Muslims Muslims employed
Arabi Malayalam, and the Tamil Muslims employed
Arwi language as their native language, though this is also extinct as a spoken language. Today, they use Malayalam and Tamil as their primary language, with influence from Arabic. Many Arabic and Arabized words exist in Malayalam and Tamil, spoken by Marakkars. Among many examples, greetings and blessings are exchanged in Arabic instead of Malayalam/Tamil, such as
Assalamu Alaikum instead of
Shaanthiyum Samadanavum,
Jazakallah instead of Nanni/Nandri and
Pinjhan/Finjan/Pinjaanam for Bowl/Cup.
There are also words which are unique to Marakkars and Sri Lankan Moors, such as Laatha for elder-sister, Kaka for elder-brother, Umma for mother and Vappa for father, suggesting a close relationship between Marakkars of India and Marrakkar and Moors of Sri Lanka.
| English | Malayalam/Tamil | Marakkar Malayalam/Tamil |
| Father | Appan/Appa | Uppa/Vaapa |
| Mother | Amma | Umma |
| Brother | Chetan/Annan | Kaaka/Naana |
| Sister | Chechi/Akka | Thaatha/Laatha |
| Son | makan | mon/mavan |
| Daughter | makal | mol/maval |
Marakkars and Marakkayars
Marakkars of Kottakal (Kerala)
In Kerala, Marakkar, known as
Marikkars, are primarily concentrated in and around Malabar. They were traditionally boatmen.
According to tradition, Marakkars were originally marine merchants of Kochi who left for Ponnani in the Samoothiri Raja's dominion when the Portuguese came to Kochi. They offered their men, ships and wealth in defence of their motherland to the Samoothiri of Kozhikode – The Raja, who took them into his service and eventually became the Admirals of his fleet. They served as the naval chiefs in the Zamorin's army. Kunjali Marakkar, one of the first Keralites to rebel against the Portuguese, hailed from the Marikkar community.
See also
Notes
Further reading
-
Medieval Seafarers of India – Lakshmi Subramaniam
-
The Career and Legend of Vasco da Gama – Sanjay Subrahmanyam
-
The Portuguese Empire in Asia, 1500–1700: A Political and Economic History – Sanjay Subrahmanyam
-
Portuguese Cochin and the Maritime Trade of India – Pius Malekandathil
-
India and the Indian Ocean World – Ashin Das Gupta
-
Kerala Muslim History – P. A. Syed Mohammed
-
Muslim Identity, Print Culture, and the Dravidian Factor in Tamil Nadu – J. B. Prashant More
-
Saints Goddesses and Kings – Susan Bayly
-
Political Evolution of Muslims in Tamil Nadu and Madras – J. B. Prashant More
-
Charithrathile Marakkar Sannidhyam – S. V. Mohammed
-
Kunjali Marakkar – Kerala Calling Malabar & the Portuguese – K. M. Panikkar
