Chapter IV T H E MUSLIMS OF COROMANDEL lslam took root in South lndia well before the waves of invasions from Central Asia which gave rise to Medieval Muslim Sultanate in North India. The early spread of lslam was associated with the expansion of South India's wide ranging maritime trade network. Arab Muslim traders and navigators settled along the east coast of the peninsula - Coromandel - as early as elghth century A.D. and their number increased as the region began to play a central role in the international trade which linked South lndia to the enterpots of West Asia and international archipelago1. A chain of Muslim trading settlements grew up along the east coast from Pulicat to Colochal in Kanniyakumari. Many of these richest settlements were located in the coastal towns of Thanjavur. Ramanathapuram, and Thirunelveli districts. They had links with wider trading world of Arabian peninsula and the lndian ocean. The port towns of Coromandel coast came to be identified as centres of formal lslam in South India by 12-13t h centuries. The localities such as Pulicat, Nagapattanam, K~lakkarai and Kayalpattanam contained significant number of Tamil speaking Muslims who could be classed as permanently professing lslam and were actually recognised as such within the wider society2. The beginning of the Muslim contact with South lndia was not an accident but a continuation of the ancient commercial intercourse between the Arabs and the people of South India. From the days of Joseph to that of Marcopolo and Vasco da gama, the Arabs were the captains of lndian commerce. Much of the lndian trade was in their hands. Because of the proximity of Southern Arabia to the sea and it's strategic locatlon on the lndian route, rare and highly priced products of India, China, a nd Ethiopia found their way here in transit to the western marts. Here were produced splces, and other aromata for seasoning food or for burning in the ceremonies of the courts and rituals, the foremost among them was incense, the most precious commodity of ancient trade. Arab writer, Ibn Fadbullah-ul- Omari (circa 1348 A.D.) the author of Masallk - kul - alzar, while writing about lndia says that it's seas are pearls, it's mountains are rubies and it's trees are perfumes3. The Arabs, being the great traffickers had access to both lndian and western ports. After third century B.C. vast of the lndian commerce fell at the hands of the Arabs. It Is also possible to assume that the South lndian Parava fishermen cum merchants took the South Indian articles in their vessels to the Persian gulf. The Arab took such goods to the! coasts of Africa. From ther e i t was taken via upper N i o Egypt4
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lslam too k roo t in Sou th lndia well befo re the waves of invasions from Cen tral
Asia which gave rise to Medieval Muslim Su ltana te in North India. Th e early spreadof lslam wa s associated with th e expansio n of So uth India's wide ranging maritime
trade netw ork. Arab Muslim traders and navigato rs settled along th e eas t coast of
the peninsula - C o r o m a n d e l - as ea r ly a s e lgh th cen tu ry A .D . and the i r number
increased a s the region began to play a central role in the international trad e which
linked S ou th lndia to the enterpots of West Asia and internat ional archipelago1.
A chain of Musl im t rading s e t t le m ent s grew up a long th e eas t coast f rom
Pul i ca t t o Co locha l i n Kann iyakumar i . Many of th ese r ichest se t t lem ent s were
located in the coa stal town s of Thanjavur. Ra ma natha pura m, an d Thirunelveli districts.
They had links with wider trading world of Arabian peninsula and the lndian ocean.
Th e port towns of Corom andel coas t came to be identified a s centres of formal lslam
in South India by 12 -13t h centuries. Th e localities such a s Pulicat, Naga pattanam ,
K~lakkaraiand Kayalpattanam contained significant number of Tamil speaking Muslims
who could be classed as permanently professing lslam and were actually recognised
as such wi th in the wider socie ty2 .
The beginning of the Muslim contact with South lndia was not an accident but
a cont inuat ion of the ancient commercia l in tercourse be tween the Arabs and the
peop le of Sou th India. From the days of Jos ep h to that of M arcopolo and Vasco d a
ga ma , th e Arab s were th e captain s of lndian com me rce. Much of the lndian trade
was in their ha nd s. Because of the proximity of So uth ern Arabia to the sea and it 's
s t ra teg ic locat lon on the lndian route , ra re and h ighly pr iced products of India ,
China, and Ethiopia fo und their way here in transit to the western marts. Here were
produced splces, and other aromata for seasoning food or for burning in the ceremonies
of the courts and ri tuals, the foremost among them was incense, the most precious
comm odity of a nc ie nt trade. Arab writer, Ibn Fadbullah-ul- Om ari (circa 1348 A.D.)
the au th or of Masallk - kul - alzar, while writing about lndia says that it 's seas are
pearls , i t 's mountains are rubies and i t 's t rees are perfumes3.
The Arabs, being the great traffickers had access to both lndian and western
ports. After third cen tury B .C. vast of the lndian com merce fell at the han ds of the
Arabs. It Is als o possible to assume that the South lndian Parava fishermen cum
merchants took the South Indian articles in their vessels to the Persian gulf. The Arab
took such goods to the! coasts of Africa. From there it was taken via upper Ni o Egypt4
The flowing trade of the Arabs in lndian and Chinese articles enabled them to
establish their colonies in Southeast Africa and South lndia and capture the monopoly
of t rade in the ports of these region. It is generally believed that from v e y ancient
times, the Greeks and Romans were trading in lndian ocean ports. It may be noted
that the Greek writers of second and first century B.C. do not allude to Egyptian
and Greek merchants sailing to and from India. While Pliny (79 A.D.) and Periplus
(88 A.D.) have copious reference to Arab trade in the first century A.D., but they
have only casual reference about the Roman ships moving across the lndian ocean.
According to Pliny the Romans used to purchase lndian articles from Arabs
In about 77 A.D. in Southeast Arabian marts5. Periplus mentions about Greek
ships along with abudant Arab ships in the port of ~ u z i r i s ~ .ven for such a traffic
the Romans had to keep the Arabs in good humour and the Romans were able tosend their cargoes to lndia only with the help of such Arab mariners which can be
seen from the fact that the Romans were sending presents very often to the rulers
of ~r ab l a ' . The Greeks did not enjoy much favour from 1ndians8. Aden was
occupied with a colony of Egyptians and Greeks and the monsoon was discoverd for
Romans by Hippalus an Egyptian pilot. Because of this a large number of ships left
fo r the East from den^. Ptolemy who wrote his treatise on geography in the
middle of th e second century A.D. does not mention th e Greek or the Romans as
sailing to t he S ou th lndian por ts though he gives a detailed account of Tamil
Country. On the other hand he mentions Mokha (Mocha) in Southern Arabia as thegreat emporium of trade for South lndian l u ~ u r i e s ' ~ .
Thus the Arabs had commercial intercourse with South lndia from remote
antiquity tlll t he birth of Islam, unhampered by any power thou gh with varylng
degree of intensity. There was no scope for Greeks and Romans to develop their
maritime trade in lndian Ocean except for a brief span in the middle of the first
century A.D. when the Romans took Egypt. Even that may not be called direct
trade as they had to depend upon the Arab mariners for guidance in their voyages
and they purchased most o f the lndian goods from Arab traders. Geographically the
Greeks had no direct and short sea route to lndia and they had to cross the Arab
countries by land to reach India.
The San gam literatures of the ancient Tamil country which ar e assigned to
the second century A.D. speak much about a class of people called 'Yavanas'. The
Yavanar are mentioned as traders, soldiers and artisans, in literature llke Ahananuru,
M~~l ln lppa t tu ,c d ~ ~ n n l v n d n l , P r r ~ ~ m p n n n r r ~ ~ p p n i I a i ,nnlmeknlnl, Mnd~~rnlknnrhi,
Prrungalhal , seevayari11l l1a1l1ar1i nd S i l a p p a d l ~ l k a r a ~ ~ ~ l '
Scholars usualy interpret the word 'Yavanas' as Greeks and Romans. Some scholarsextend it's application to all those who came from the west whether as intruders or as
traders. It is also said that the word Yavana originates from lonian, the People lonian seas
meaning the ~reeks ". It seems to be a wry hard derivation for the purpose identifying
the Yavanas with Greeks. Shahibul Qamus the well known lexinographer of Arabic
language defines the word Yavana as a place name in Yaman in South Arabia.
Yunan is a place ne ar Ballaback, in Syria. Th e Yavan which stood as a
place na me must have bee n the stronghold of Yavanas. A Muslim tribe in south
west province of China, was known as Yunnan Chinese writers called the Khalifa of Bagdadas the King of Yunnan13. According to Ceyiones tradition people who frequented the silk
route, before the Arabs, were known as Yonas, a sibling of Semitic ethnicityI4 . In some
old Tamil poems, Yavanam is said to be one of the fiftysix countries around lndia and it
denotes ~ r a b i a ' ~ . he well known medical system of Arabia is "Unani" and it is prevalent
in the same name even to this day.
The horse trade of Arabs in the early centuries of christian era is well known16. No
Greek writer has mentioned that the Greeks and Romans exported horses to South India.
The list of Periplus on the goods exported from Egypt, does not include horses. Whereas
Arabs were pioneem in horse trade, and the Arab breed of horses were rated best.
The principal imports of the Arabs were cloth, gold, emarald, coral, wine, silk, furs,
swords. Rose water, date and horses and exports were precious stones, pearls, crystals.
remained mostly in the hands of the Arabs.Hence there is good ground to suppose that the
Roman coins found in South lndia were brought by the Arabs who planted their colonies
here as early as second century B.C. and not exclusively by Roman as commonly held.
Further it may be noted that the Himayarite Arabs wre found to have minted coins on theRoman model and these coins imitate the Roman coins found in South India. It is therefore
possible to assume that most of the Roman coins found in South lndia were perhaps minted
at by the South Arabian themselves".
Some Tamil terms of South lndian articles of trade such as Arisi (rice) lnchi @inger)
pipeli (pepper) etc., were freely borrowed by the Greeks. But it will be seen that these
words have their, traces in Arabic language since they passed on through this medium.
From the foregoing discussions we can draw an inference that the word Yavana maydenote the Arabs. The " Yavanacheri" (Yavana colony) of Pemmgathai, the Tamil classic,
can be said to be Agartharsida's Arab colonies of South lndiaIs. These colonies were
situated in the port towns. The Arabic form of port town is Bandar. (Mohamed Bandar,
Shahidu Bandar) we find this word in Sangam Tamil literature to describe the ports like
Kodumanal, a s it was named and called by the ~ r a b s ' ? Hence we are lead to a safe
conclusion that the Yavanas of Sangam literatures were the Arabs.
The Arabs came as traders and not as conquerers and they accomodated readily to
the condition of the localities where profitable trade could be pursued. They settled under
the protection of the authorities and acquired a privileged position. The Arabs were
v e ~ t i kn many skills and knowledge in many spheres of learning - as tmders, manufacturers,
navigators, warriors, geographers and as a scholars. The navigator Ibn Majid who conducted
Vasco da gama from the east coast of Africa to Calicut, was a mariner, a merchant and a
geographer who had compiled his own star atlas 'O. The Arab settlements in South lndia
after the birth of Islam, were conglormerate of Persians. Arabs, and Abyssinians, all
Islamised, speaking Arab tongue, have for the sake of convenience been designated as
Arabs who dominated the Indian region silk route ".
The Arab merchants who came to the coastal region of peninsular lndia for the
Purpose of tr ade either contracted marriage or settled in their places of adoption and
married local woman temporarly or permanently. The Arab mariners must haw practised
a Sort of Muta Marriage (temporary marriage with a woman for a stipulated period) while
they were in the ports of South India. They usually married a local woman and stayed with
her for a few weeks or months. Thus the advantage was two fold; they secured not only a
wife but also a pbce for board and lodge. The ch iiren born out of such maniages belonged
to mother's stock and remained wlth the mothe?*. Thus the Arab colonies swelled in the
coastal towns.
The Arab seafarers redoubled their efforts at oceanic commerce after the advent of
lslam in the 7th century A.D. These traders Islamised, continuing the contacts of the pre-
Islamic days settled in many ports of the western and eastern coasts. Thus large muslim
communities came into existence through the marriage of local women to Arab Muslim
sailors and merchants and grew further through local conversions made by thew merchant
missionaries. The women they consorted with and the people whom they converted
belonged to different cultures but as Muslims they developed into a distinct community.
Owing to the link of the Arab merchants between Arabia and lndia and Ceylon, fromvery early times "the Mohamedan influence in Southern lndia and Ceylon dates back almost
to the very inception of Islam" 23. The companions of Prophet Moharned, Tharnirnul Ansari
(Rali) and Mohamed Ukassa (Rali) migrated to the Indian coasts as zealous missionaries and
settled in the eastern coast. Their tombs are at Kovalam and PorotoNovo respedively, The
tombs of the other earliest missionaries such as that of Kassim (Wali) A.H. 4/624 A.D., and
Abdul Rahiman (Wall) A.H. 8/628A.D. are found in Kottaru (Kanniyakumari District) and
Kottharisa Hills (Thirunelveli District) respectively. lslam slowly prenetrated in to the
hinterland also. At the Chola capital Uraiyur, (modern Tiruchirappalli) the earliest mosque
in Tamil Nadu can be seen. It is near the Kottai Railway Station in Tiruchirappalli town in
the form of a small mandapam and the Arabic inscription here informs us that it was built
by one Abdulla Bin Mohamed Anwar in A.H. 116/734 A.D.. So lslam got a firm footing
on the Coromandel Coast and it's hinterland even in the early years of ~ i j i r a ~ ~ .
The native Hindu rulers of South lndia like Rashtrakutas. Kakathias, Hoysalas,
Pandyas and Zamorines encouraged settlements of the Muslim traders in their dominions
offering special concessions and inducements because of the profitable foreign trade.
Further, the Arabs were favoured because they supplied to the South Indian states, horse
for their cavalry and men for manning thelr ships. In return the rulers assured safty to theirmerchandise and person. The Zamorine even gave them freedom to convert his subjects
to Islam. He issued an edict that in order to get sufficient number of Muslims to man his
naw, one or more male m m h n of the Hindu fisherrnon should be brought up as ~ u s l i m s ~
The Governments at the eastern coast also persued similar enlightened policy towards the
Arabs, and the port tourns became welcome places to themzG. Because of the Arab Muslim
intercourse, the ports of Coromandel commanded an extensive coastal and seaborne
As the Arab Muslim merchants settlements multiplied, in the course of time, they
became an integral part of the populadon. They added a new pattern for culture and a new
channkl for intellectual commerce. The Arab merchants enjoyed the liberty of preaching
their faith, to the natives. In this with a dual role in mind they moved close to the lowestclasses to whom Islam symbolised emancipation, equality and prosperity. To the efforts of
these merchant missionaries are to be ascribed the formation of the earliest community of
Indian ~ u s l i r r s ~ .hus these traders cum preachers did much for the spread of Islam. They
also brought with them Mullas, Sufis, Mystics and other religious teachers.
These Missionaries flourished on the evils of the Hindu society. The rigid caste
system inflicted inequality, injustice and inequity on the low caste people. They were
untouchables, never to rise In economic and social status and often harassed by the high
caste people. With conversion, they entered the brotherhood of Islam, free from bondage
and harassment with opportunity for uplift. Hence the preachings of Islam drew blocks of
native people to it's fold and thus the Arab Muslim colonies on the coasts of South India
swelled both by increase in the number of Arab immigrants in persuit of trade and by the
inter related process of inter marriage and conversion. Ram Gopal has rightly pointed out
"A s a knife goes into a melon without much effort, x, did Islam, penetrate in to South Indian
castes"29. Thus the Arab migrants of the early centuries of Hijira, stand as the progenetors
of early Islamic communities of South India.
The Mushrn population which integrated in the local society were influenced by Tamil
culture. The early name "Yavana" disappeared from common usage and the Muslims of theeast coast were known better, as Sonakar, or Jonakar (also in the same name in Malabar),
Thurukkar or Thulukkan (in Coromandel). Epigraphs and literatures of the period from
8-9th centuries have innumerable reference on the community.
SONAKAR
Th e early Tamil name of the Muslims was Sonakar or Sonakan or Jonakan .
Thivakaranigandu (treatise on synanyms and meaning of Tamil words) of 8th century calls
the Yavanas as Sonakar. Pingalanthai Nigandu of a little later period also confirms this3'.
The commentator Nachlnarklniyar of Pathupattu, the Sangam poetry, uses the word Sonagan
her ever the word Y a w a
In Sinhalise tradition, the Yavanas were called Yonakas based on Pal1 Yonna, meaning
Arabs. Later the word Yonakar corrupted in to Sonakar and the Sonakars were
recognised as the descendents of the Arabs. So Yonakar and the Sonakar were used
to denote the same people. In ceylon Sonakar street is also known as
since there is no bar for interdining and intermarriage.Further they are not
heirarchlally ranked like castes as all subdivisions are equal. But it Is extremely
difficult t o distinguish on e from ano ther as they merge with each other. Despite
distinctions of the sub divisions or segments the profession of Islam is a single
distinctive religion to all of them.
The names of these sub divisions are rather occupational titles. It is behaviorally
diffucult to distinguish the sub divisions on the basis of the occupational distinctions.
The facts relating t o their origin indicate their occu patio nal factorss3. The
above social segm ents ar e in vogue for a very long time. Thes e occupational
titles'
a re int erming le d with one another. For example, the Labbai boatmen callthemselves ~ a r a k a y a r s ~ ' . ach segment or subdivision has a very fascinating derivasions
to the origin of the name. An attempt is made in the following pages to trace the
etymology and sequence of these occupational titles of the Coromandel Muslim society.
RAWTHAR
A subdi~isionof the Tamil speaking Muslim society are called as Rawthar because
of their association with hone trade, horse riding and training.
The flourishing horse trade between Arabia and east coast is referred to in the
Sangam ~ t e r a t u r e s ~ ~ .uring the madieval ages, the ports of Kilakkarai, Devipattanam
and Kayalpattanam were busy centres for trade in horses. Marcopolo, Ibn Batuta, Wassaf
and Rashiduddtn give d e h k d accounts of horse trade in the Coromandel ports. The traders
on horse were called " Kudirai Chettis" in inscriptions,56 irrespective of their religion.
Rawthar is generally stood for horsemen5'. Even Hindu ~ l e r snd soldiers wereadorned with the title Rawthar. The Sanskri!&d form of horseman is " Rahootha " as fwnd
in epigraphs58. Some of the Telugu rulers bore the title Rahootha ~ a ~ a n ~ ~ .ne of the
Uties of Raja Raja was Rahoothamindan". In an inscription of 1510 the name of one of
the rulers of Kongu country is given as Paravatha ~awthar~l.ome mirasdars in Thanjaw
district in 17-18th century had the title Rawthar and they are said to be expert horse
riders6P. So me of the Telugu speaking people in Tamil Nadu ar e called " Ravuth ",
Labbai is anoth er general term used to deno te the Tamil speaking Muslims. Th e
census report of 1881, ays that " the Labbak are knwm as Coromandel Moplas, with slight
admlxure of Amb blood and also natlw converts, they are thrifty. industrious and enterprising,
plucky mariners and expert traders and they are dis tinct from ~ a r a k k a ~ a r s ~ ' .hey are
also called a s merchant Moh amedans. Th e census report of 1891 describes them as a
mixed class of people consisting partly compulsory converts to lslam made by the early
Muslim invaders and Tippu Sultan 68 . It is a fact that vast majority of Indian Muslims ar e
con ver ts. It is said that fo rce was used on several occasions but the existing historical
ev ~ d an cesdoe s no t en abl e us to estimate either th e scale or the effectiveness of such
conversion^^^. The myth tha t lslam was sp re ad by fo rc e wi th sword in o n e h and
a n d t h e Q u r a n o n t h e o t h e r h av e n o s u bs ta n c e w ith r e ga r d t o C o r o m a n d e l
C o a s t . H e r e t h e p r o p a g a t l o n of l sl am w as t h e ach i ev em en t of p eace f u l tr ad e r s
a n d p i o u s s u f i m i s s i o n a r i e s .
The word Labbai seems to be of recent origin, for, in Tamil Lexicon this segm ent of
the Muslims is deno ted as So nagan . Th e Labbais were textiles and mat weavers in inland,
and ship crews, traders in marine products and ex pert, divers of pearl and chank fishery inthe coastal belt. Even at pre sen t, both Labbai men and women in some areas earn their
living by weaving korai mat. Th e Manual of Adminiition of Madras Prsidency points out
"The Lubbys are exceedingly industrious and enterprising in their habits and pursuits there
being no trade o r calling which they do not succeed. They are fishermen and boatm en.
They are lapidaries, weavers, dyers, jewellers, bazaarmen, boatmakers, shop owners and
merchants. Tamil is their m other tongue. In religion they are orthodox Muslims. Thurston
says th at thei r title is Rawthar and Marakkayar" 'On. But the Marakkayars consider
themselves better tha n Labbais.
Col. Wllks derives the word Labbai from Arabic "Labbaik (here I am) in the sense
of a s e m t or s slave.". Howewr, in the strict lslamic sense, the term denotes a religious
teacher or a priest or fU& and it accords with the Hebrew word " Led " meanfng, a priest.
T h e L a b b a i - P r i e s t s , m u l l a s a n d Khazis a r e p o p u l a r l y k n o w n am o n g t h e
Muslims of Tamil Nadu as Lovai. It Is correct to infer It in this sense . It Is also used in the
same s e w by the Indonesian ~ u s l i m s ~ ~ .owever, in due course of time, thii term stayed
as th e title of a subdivision of Tamil speaking Muslims alone .But the term Labbai b very liberally used by European witers to denote most of the M u s h
of Coromandel Coast. Prosperous traders and shipowners among the Marakkayars are also
mentioned as Labbais in th e European trading company reco rds, as will be described in
detail in the subsequent chapters.
" bbbai" is considered to be a class name for the purpose of educational concessions,
in Tamil Nadu at present.
MARAKKAYARS
Tho Mamkkayars are the dominan t group of Muslims in the Coastal tavn of CoromKdel
in numerical stre ngt h an d wealth. Their settlements ar e essentially urban in character.
Most of th e Marakk ayars ar e associated with seafaring and maritime activities. Th e
European com pan y records contain a lot of informations about th em .
The origin and meaning of the term Marakkayar has been obscured and confused
because sch ola rs ap xx ia te it indiscriminately with othe r sutdivisions ofthe Muslims. Thurston
the au thor ity o n Ca ste s and Tribes of w ut he m India has contradicated himself while giving
definitions of v ario us su b divisions of Muslims of Corom andel " Ravuthar or Rowthar "
accordtng to him " is a title used by Labbai and ~ a r a k k a ~ a r ' ~ .n the account on Labbai
he says that " their titles are Marakkayar (Marakkalam) and Rawthar ( a horsemen)74". The
gazetteer of Ramanathapuram known as Marakayars or ~awthar".
Different scholars derive the word Marakkayar from different languages and give
various Inte rpreta tions . Francis derives the word Marakkayar from Arabic " Markab". The
Story goes that when the first batch of Muslim migrants landed ashore they were naturally
asked wh o they were and whenc e they came. In answer, they pointed their boat and
Pronounced the word " Markab " and they in consequence came to be k n o m to the Hindus
inscription and said th e term marakkalanayan is the old form of t he term M arakkayar the
ship owning Muslims But the term nayan or nayakan will generally mean as leader.
captain o r owner. So , marakkalanayan will denote a ship owner, ship captain or a ship
comm ander. Kam baram ayanam would call Guh an as th e leader or owner of a thousand
boats. Thiru kkara napu ranam , the Islamic Tamil literature of ninete enth century mentions
the c u r e r of a ship as Mar-yan. It is our argument here that the word Mad!&nayan,
Marakkalanayakan,. Marskkalarayan etc., are general terms to denote seafaring people
includhg the Mu3lima and it does not show any relevance only to MaraWcsyan . th e Muslims
as printed out by the above scholars and the origin has to be traced elsewhere".
The present day Marakkayars consider a copper plate believed to have been granted
by Jayaveera Rajagum Nayani, during nineth century, A.D ., as their birth certificate, since
the word " Marakkalarayar " appears in that plate, as the title conferred upon Mohamed
Khalji, the leader of the fugitives from Kaitrun (Cairo) who settled at Kaithrunpattanam or
Kayalpattanam'. On this basis, pe rhap s the Marakkayars claim their descent from Egypt.
Th e historlclty and auth entic ity of this copp er plate is doubtful 8'.
Khan S ah ib Mohideen Kada rsha M arakkayar of Tuticorin Marakkayar Mahal, had
cirulcated a pham plet on 7 . 1 . 1 9 1 9 , purportedly to be the true copy of th e above copperp la te .
Accordi ig t o the copper plate, fearing the tyranny of the Arab rulers of Misru, some
228 me mb ers, m en and wom en and slaves under the leadership of o ne Mohamed Khalji,
sailed in a ship and reached Sembinadu ruled by Abirama Adiveera Raja Jayaveera Rajaguru
Nayani. KhaljI, app ealed to th e ruler for a cop per plate grant which was issued. Since the
settlers migrated from Kaitrun, the ruler in the copper plate named the place of their
settlement as Kaltm npattanam and the settlers were given the nam e Marakkalarayar, sincethey came in a M arakkalam. Th e date of the copper plate is given a s Keelaga, 7 9 8 . Th e
new settlers we re co nfe rre d with liberal land gran ts, tax co ncessio ns, and right in pearl
fishery in the region.
According to the explanatory note for the copper plate as glven In the phampkt that
the gerwology of the fam ilies of the settlers is traced to those of Prop het Moham ed and the
khaliphs Abubakkar, Umar, Farook and Uduman. Jayaveera Raja Gam is identified as the
Chola w ho ruled from Madurai a s the 74th Pandya king. Th e terms Marakkayar and
Rawthar are derived from Marakkalarayar and Ranuvayukthar respectively. Kaitrunpattanarn
is said to be the present Kayalpattanam. The date has been calculated as April 875 A.D.
We have no information about the wisewabmk of the on& copper plate. The Mamkkayats
and Rawthars quote this copper plate in diiussions about their origin and antiquity. rext
given in the annexure).
Even a superficial scrutiny of the text of the copper plate exposes seveml anachronisms.
inaccuracies an d paleographical erro rs. In the entir e genealogy of the Pandyas there is no
reference to any Chola or Pandya by the name Jayaveera Raja Garu, whicnh denotes a
Telugu chieftain. The date 875 AD is untenable. Th ere is no possibility of any part of Tamil
Nadu being ruled by a Telugu chieftain more or less from Madurai in the nineth century AD ,
The name of the ruler and the terms like Nayakkar and Thalavai, Urkaval. Nattukkaval.
Palayakkaval and Palayathar are paleographic anachronisms and are inconsistant with the
antiquity claimed for the copper plate. If at all this copper plate is a genuine one, if not
spurious, it should be assigned to th e period of Nayak rule and could not be dated before the
s ixteenth centuyaa.
T h e M arakkayars q uo te this co ppe r plate a s their bir th certif icate and also for
claiming antiquity of their origin , titles high er status am on g the fellow Muslims, political
validation for their claims and their rights in maritime activities in this soil. It is a fact that
among tho Muslims of C orom andel the population of Marakkayars was much higher. They
were also economically str on g. Socialogically, a segm ent or a subsegm ent of a particular
group or community which is numerically and economically strong, will project before thefellowm en, their status, by associating som e myths and eulogy to Justify their sta tus in the
society and the reb y establishing the ir rights in every field of hum an activities.
In the similar way this copper plate might have hcan invented by the Markkayars in
a period w hen their claims were in question. According to the cop pe r plate , they claim a
direct line of de scen dan ce from the Prop het M ohamed and the first four Khaliphs.
No doubt this is to enhance their ethnological superiority over other segments of Islamic
society. They have tried to quote polltlcal recognitions yiven to them by a ruler lo the
territory. They a h race the term Marakkayar from nineth century. Above all the copper
plate contemplates their professional right In pearl fishing, salt manufacture etc.. as granted
by the rulers of the territory from a very long time. Thus a critical analysb of this copper
plate, will go to show the intention of the Marakkayars In focusing it for claiming a higher
status over the other segments, besides, to establish their professional rights in maritime
acdvitties which was threatened by the Paravas and the advent of the Europeans. Hence this
copper plate can be said to be a socialogical (folk) charter than a historical document, and
it is clearly doubtful to assign an early date i.e. 9th century, to the term Marakkayar, as
given therein.
The Sinhalese called the Arab traders as " Marakkala Mininsu" meaning a mariner
or a boatmena9. Marakkala Mininsu is a corruption of Markar mininsu. In Ceylonese coasts
the prosperous Malabaris (Sonagars) were called Markar. In the 15-16th centuries all the
prosperous Sonaga Malabaris were known under the title Markar. Markar came to be spelt
as Marakar, Marikar and Maricar at later periods. In the old family documents of the
Muslims of Ceylon their ancestors are noted as only Marican.(not Marakar). But this term
1s not in use in Ceylon at presentg0. It is interesting to note that at present many of the
Marakkayars of Karaikkal region style themselves only as "Marikan".
We have seen that the Malabaris were called in Ceylon as Marakars, and it is
commonly held to denote the people from Malabar, the Malayalam speaking region or west
coast of peninsular of India. But linguistic studies reveal a very interesting information on
this point that the Malabaris are none else than the Tamil speaking Sonagan. Two books.
Thambiran Vanakkam (1578)and Adiyar Vanakam (1586) were printed and published in
Kottayam. It was said to haw been printed in Malabari language and the script was believed
to be in Mslayalam. But when the originals were made available recently, it was found tohave been printed In Tamil and that the script is mentioned in the book itself as Malabari.
With this we come to know that Tamil language was also called as Malabari and the Tamils
as Malabarls from sixteenth centuryg'. Ananda Rangapillai the famous Dubash of Duplew,
in Pondlcheny was called as, " les chef des Malabaris ", (the chief of Tarnlls) by the French
and the natives92. So the Malabaris who bore the title Markar later Marakar are the
Shinng :- for superintending and landing the shi i , the yardmaster, Bandan :- Accountant
Sukkanger or Sukkani - helmsman who stears the ship according to the advice of the
rnalm:Panjmi :- Who looks out from the top of the m ast, gives notice when sea, !and or
ship or stam, re sighted. T o p e , W w m re othot hercommon sailors or IGplasis'08.
Almost all these sub titles can be seen am ong the Muslims of the coastal towns who all
themselver Marakkayars. There are Malumiar and Sherang streets in Nagore and other
places.
A section of Muslim Marakkayars engaged in fishing activities are also known as
Sammatis. The vessel used for fishing is called Sam ban, and it's captain Sambanoti, which
had corrupted to Sam rnatti. The Marakkayar fisherman of R amanathapuram coast are
called by the title Sammati also. They are known as Sammankarar in Ceylon1oq.There are also some other interesting occupational titles among the Muslims of
Coromandel. Kodikkal b r a n (Betal vein growers) Achukkatti (Maken of weaving device)
Madd 7hahwrabn1,(Madurai TamU Sangam ), p .2 . A R E 587 of 19 02 ;
KoyUozhugu p . 1 3 8 .
7NnWa*rab (rmrand2/, 65: l
T n ~ n a ~orka, U pp. 67, 21-25, 34-35. 48-49; 6 w b , fl p.68;A.R .E.598 of 19 26 . S. Vaiyapurl Pillai, K a l a w r KarUral; T.V. Sadaslva Pandarathar,
~ t t d A @ e p p c hnm & p. 23; M.M Uwais and Ajamalkhan, op.clt pp .94 - 96;
A.R.E. 1926-27. pt.11
Mattison Mines, op.clt. p.161
W r llrsan Khan,South Indm M h s Madras 19 10 ) p.60
Manlson mines, op.cit. pp - 160-161
Edgar T h d o n and K.Rangachari, &es and T n ' f W e r n ndia, MewMi (Rpt), 1975 ) N
p . 4 9 5
Madmikanchl, 8 - 1 6 2 8 ; Paninappalai
A R.E. 55 6/ 19 04 ; M M. Uwaise and Ajmalkhan. op cit. I , p 51-52
InaYM Mt& muxi mmmkfion, Vd W . 938. P85: lodm An*, Ill 19 24 p 75;
grade Town Panchayat Centinary Souvenir, 1990 (ed) Kayal Mohaboob; Col wliks, Historical
z k s h of .%Ah /&a (1810); S.M. Kamal, /slamurn Thamiiagamwn op.cit.pp.24-25; A K. Rifayi,
l h d d & J /+hnycpr L4mh fIhenkasi 1988) pp.51-52.
87 T. Jayarajan, " Social and Economic customs and Practices of Marakkayars of Tamil Nadu -a case study of Marakkayars of Adirampattanarn " unpublished M Phil Thesis, Barathidasan
University. Tiruchirappalli. 1990 p. 37 .
8 8 , ibid. pp.6-7.
8 9 W u n t Cube, XlX - (1945) p. 223 T B H Abeya Singah. " Muslims in Srilanka in
rtxtwnth swanteenth centuries; " M d i m s of Sdanka (ed) M.M.Shukri 1986, p. 129-130