Marakkar: Difference between revisions

{{Use Indian English|date=September 2019}}

'''Marakkar'''/'''Maricar/Marecar/Marikkar/Marican/Marecan''' ([[Tamil language|Tamil]]: '''Marrakayar''')([[Sinhala language|Sinhalese]]: '''Marakkala'''),<ref>{{Cite journal|last=TSCHACHER|first=TORSTEN|date=2006|title=THE IMPACT OF BEING TAMIL ON RELIGIOUS LIFE AMONG TAMIL MUSLIMS IN SINGAPORE|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/48631039.pdf|journal=Degree of Doctor of Philosophy PHD|pages=79|via=NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> is a South Asian [[Muslims|Muslim]] community found in parts of [[India]]n states of [[Tamil Nadu]] (the Palk Strait and Coromandel Coast), [[Kerala]] and in [[Sri Lanka]]. The Marakkars speak [[Tamil language|Tamil]] in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka and [[Malayalam]] in Kerala.<ref name="KunhaliV">Kunhali, V. "Muslim Communities in Kerala to 1798" PhD Dissertation Aligarh Muslim University (1986) [http://ir.amu.ac.in/2736/1/T%205242.pdf]</ref> The community trace their ancestry to marriages between early Arab Muslim traders of the high seas and indigenous [[Mukkuvar (India)|Mukkuvar]] coastal women. Arab traders have also married with other non-Mukkuvar South Asian women in Sri Lanka and India, but their descendants are not necessarily members of the Marakkar community.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Prashant More|first=Jean-Baptiste|title=The Marakkayar Muslims of Karikal, South India|date=1991|journal=Journal of Islamic Studies|volume=2|pages=25–44|doi=10.1093/jis/2.1.25|pmid=15455059|pmc=355923|via=JSTOR/ Oxford Academic Journals}}</ref><ref name=":1">Cf. Bayly 1989: 73-103; Bjerrum 1920: 172-3; Fanselow 1989: 274-81; Kamāl 1990: 37-55; More 2004: 3-27</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Hoogervorst|first=Tom G.|date=2015|title=Tracing the linguistic crossroads between Malay and Tamil|journal=Wacana|volume=16|issue=2|pages=249–283|doi=10.17510/wacana.v16i2.378|via=Brill.com05/28/2020 DOI: 10.17510/wjhi.v16i2.378|doi-access=free}}</ref>

== Kayalpatnam and origins ==

The Islamized Arabs who arrived on the [[Coromandel Coast|Coromandel coast]] brought Islamic values and customs with them and intermarried with the indigenous women who followed the local Buddhist, Jain & Hindu customs. Naturally, their children will have imbibed both the Islamic and the local values and transmitted both to their descendants. From the outset, the Arabs must, in all probability, have asserted the centrality of the Islamic values in their relationship with the local women, at the same time making the necessary adjustments to local customs. This is the pattern that appears to have survived to this day.<ref name=":0" />

The main item of trade of the Arabs was natural pearls fished in the Gulf of Mannar, Palk Strait separating Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from South India and horses. These pearls were exchanged with horses brought from Arabia.

== Deeper into roots ==

But if the Marakkars are Arab, how are they different from the [[Mappila|Moplah]] of Malabar? The Moplas in general had forefathers from Arabia and mothers of local descent. They comprise both the Sunni and the Shiah groups and include converts. The Arabs are believed to come from many regions notably from the Red Sea coastal areas and the Hadhramaut region of present-day Yemen. Many present day [[Mappila|Mappilla]] Muslims are Shafi however it could have been so that they claimed a direct lineage to an Arab trading group without converts. Some scholars opine that the migration to Tuticorin came about only in the 15th or 16th century after Portuguese persecution, though trade documentation indicates that many existed in those ports even earlier. Many of the present-day Tirunelveli Muslims claim to be descended from the Kerala Mappilas and follow Malabari religious teachers and social culture.

== Religion ==

The Marakkayars, the early Muslim inhabitants of Coastal Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, are Sunnis of the [[Shafi‘i|Shafi‘i]] school of thought (Madhab).<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

== Economic Status ==

Most Marakkayars, are in some way or other, connected to foreign trade through which they became more advanced economically and socially than the other Muslim groups in the locality and even many Hindu sub-castes.<ref name=":0" />

The Marakkars were a known to be a powerful maritime spice trading community in the medieval [[South Asia]].<ref name="KunhaliV" /> They traded in and with locations such as [[Myanmar]], [[Thailand]], [[Malaysia]] in [[East Asia]] and [[South Asia]], [[Maldives]] and [[Ceylon|Sri Lanka]].<ref name="KunhaliV2">Kunhali, V. "Muslim Communities in Kerala to 1798" Ph.D. Dissertation Aligarh Muslim University (1986) [http://ir.amu.ac.in/2736/1/T%205242.pdf]</ref> The Marakayar's have dominated the educational and economic landscape in Tamil Nadu since the 17th century.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Arunachalam|first=S.|title=The History of Pearl Fishery of Tamil Coast, Annamalai Nagar|publisher=Ananamalai University|year=1952|location=Tamil Nadu, India|pages=11}}</ref>

== Etymology ==

There are two main hypothesis regarding the etymology of the term 'Marrakayar', and its various forms.

=== Tamil derivation ===

The first being from the term ‘Marakala+aayar’ which may mean those who controlled or owned boats.<ref name=":0" /> In Tamil, 'marakalam' signifies ‘wooden boat’ and 'aayar'. that it is the association of these two words that gives Marakkayar.<ref name=":0" />

KVK Iyer says in his history of Kerala that Marakkar was a prized title given by the Zamorin of Calicut. Derived from Marakka Rayar it signifies the captain of a ship Rayar (captain) of Marakkalam (ship).

== Role in regional history ==

According to tradition, the Kunjali Marakkars were maritime merchants of Arab descent who supported the trade in the Indian ocean who settled in the coastal regions of Kayalpattinam, Kilakarai, Thoothukudi, Nagore and Karaikal. But they shifted their trade to Kochi and then migrated to [[Ponnani]] in the [[Samoothiri|Zamorin]]'s dominion when the Portuguese fleets came to [[Kingdom of Cochin]]With the emergence of the [[Portuguese India|Portuguese in India]], some Marakkars were forced to take up arms and enlist themselves in service of the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] king ([[Zamorin of Calicut|the zamorin]]) of [[Calicut]]. The Marakkar naval chiefs of the Calicut were known as [[Kunjali Marakkar]]s.<ref name="KunhaliV2" /> The seamen were famous for their naval [[guerrilla warfare]] and hand-to-hand fighting on board. The Marakkar vessels — small, lightly armed and highly mobile — were a major threat to the Portuguese shipping all along the Indian west coast.

In 1598, the Portuguese convinced the Zamorin that Marakkar IV intended to take over his Kingdom to create a Muslim empire. In an act of betrayal, the Zamorin joined hands with the Portuguese who brutally killed him. Malabari Marakkars are credited with organizing the first naval defence of the Indian coast.

== Language ==

The [[Arabic language]] brought by the early merchants is no longer spoken, though many Arabic words and phrases are still commonly used. Until the recent past, the Tamil Muslim minority employed [[Arwi language|Arwi]] as their native language, though this is also extinct as a spoken language. They today use Tamil as their primary language with influence from Arabic. Many Arabic and Arabized words exist in the form of Tamil spoken by Marakkars. Among many examples, greetings and blessings are exchanged in Arabic instead of Tamil, such as ''Assalamu Alaikum'' instead of Sandhiyum Samadanamum, ''Jazakallah'' instead of Nandri and ''Pinjhan/Finjan'' for Bowl/Cup.

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== Marakkars and Marakkayars ==

Dr. J.B.P.More points out to spoken words, marriage customs, etc. which strongly connect the Marakkayars of Tamil to the Malabar Marakkars. It is also pointed out in his book that Malabar Marakkars had relations with the communities in the Kayalpatanam (Tuticorin) region, a group which conducted trade with Burma, Malacca and Indonesia.

The Rowther, Marakkayar, Lebbai and Kayalar are the four Muslim communities in Tamil Nadu. Rowthers follow the Hanafi madhab while Kayalar, Lebbai and Marakkayar belong to the Shafi branch of Islam which spread from the coasts of southern Yemen. Kayalar seems to be a subdivision of Marakkayar. Kayalars and Marakkayars are found primarily along the Coramandel coast. [[Rowther|Rowthers]] predominate in the ASEAN.

== Marakkars of Kottakal (Kerala) ==

In Kerala Marakkar also known as '''Marikkars''' are mostly concentrated in and around Malabar. They were traditionally boatmen.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zcyho16xzWEC&pg=PA457|title = A Sourcebook of Indian Civilization|isbn = 9788125018711|last1 = Ray|first1 = Niharranjan|last2 = Chattopadhyaya|first2 = Brajadulal|year = 2000}}</ref>

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 the defence of their motherland to the Samoothiri of Kozhikode-The Raja took them into his service and eventually they 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 British, hailed from the Marikkar community.<ref>{{Cite news|last=The Hindu|title=The Hindu|work=thehindu.com |url=https://www.thehindu.com/archive/print/2005/03/01/}}</ref>

== Present circumstances ==

Traditionally, Maricars have been known for maritime trade throughout east Asia, but now, owing to better education, many of the community are professionals. The Kilakarai Maricars have played a big role in setting up educational institutes all over Tamil Nadu for the betterment of Tamil Muslims and Muslims in general. Many Maricars have connections with the Persian Gulf, Malaysia and Singapore. Some Maricars have moved to the UK, France (called Marecar) and the US.

Maraikayar Pattinam is a small place in the Ramanathapuram district. The people living there are called Maraikayars. Even before two generations they were operating Marakalam 'wooden ships' to the entire world, especially to the Persian Gulf, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and some European countries. The current generation has diversified into many areas apart from their seafaring traditions, but there are still some older people in Maraikayar Pattinam who traveled to many countries by the Marakalam.

==See also==

* [[A. P. J. Abdul Kalam]]

* [[Tamil Muslim]]s

* [[Sri Lankan Moors]]

== References ==

{{reflist}}

==Further reading==

* ''Medieval Seafarers of India'' – Lakshmi Subramaniam

{{Indian Muslim}}

{{Islam in Kerala}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maricar}}

[[Category:Moors]]