DZ
DefZone.Net

Kien thuc cong nghe & giai tri

Wiki Article

Marakkar

Nguồn dữ liệu từ Wikipedia, hiển thị bởi DefZone.Net

Xem trên WikipediaBài ngẫu nhiên khác
For the Indian film, see Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea.

Marakkar
Sri Lankan Marakkars in the business district of Colombo (Pettah), 1891
Total population
~3 million
Religions
Islam
Scriptures
Quran & Hadith
Languages
Malayalam • Tamil • Sinhala • Malay • Arwi

The Marakkars or Sonaka Mappila or Sonakar[a] (Tamil: சோனகர், romanized: Cōṉakar; Arwi: چٗونَكَرْ‎) are a mercantile, panethnic group inhabiting the Coromandel and Malabar coasts of India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.[3][4][5]

Similar to the Muslims of Kerala on the western side of Historic Tamilakam, known as Jonaka Mappilla in olden times, Tamil-speaking Shafi’i Muslims were collectively known by it's Tamilized version: Sonaha Mappilla, or Sonahar, in the annals of history.[5]

According to Dr. Raja Mohammed and W. Francis, by the 17th century, this identity had begun to bifurcate along occupational lines in what is now Tamil Nadu, with the Marakkayars consolidating around shipowning and the carrying trade with the Lebbais characterized by import-export commerce, the latter category remaining fluid enough to also absorb mariners within their fold.[6] The term continues to be used today but is now synonymous with Marakkayars in Tamil Nadu.[6] Across the Palk Strait in Sri Lanka, where the core of the Moor community is believed to have germinated before this divergence, no such distinction emerged, and all native Muslims continue to be known simply as Ilankai Sonahar.[5]

The Marakkars were prominent medieval traders who controlled significant Indian Ocean commerce.[7] They are historically notable for mounting the first sustained Indian resistance against European colonialism, fighting the Portuguese Armada for a hundred-years from 1520 to 1619 under leaders including Admiral Kunjali Marakkar IV.[8] Earlier waves of Marakkar migration to Southeast Asia contributed to the spread of Islam throughout the Indonesian Archipelago.[9] In the early modern period, they became the first Indian community to settle in British Malaya, later forming the Jawi Peranakan ethnic group.[10]

Early History

[edit]

Indian Ocean Commerce

[edit]

Pre-1000 CE, Indian Ocean trade networks already stretched from Canton in China to the Mediterranean.[11] Around 900 CE, single ships often sailed the entire Gulf-to-China route, dominated by Persian and later Arab Muslim merchants serving the Abbasid and Tang empires.[11] Due to decline of the Abbasids and Tangs and due to efficiency considerations arising from monsoon wait-times, Gulf-to-Canton route segmented by the 1200 CE into three distinct routes serviced by distinct mercantile communities: Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, and South China Sea.[11]

This segmentation incentivized transitory West Asian populations, making only pit-stops in India during their long journey to China and back, to move more permanently into Indians ports, like Cambay, Calicut, and Sri Lanka, and eventually creating distinction Indo-Muslim populations all throughout coastal India.[11]

Gulf of Mannar and Pearls

[edit]

The Gulf of Mannar has been renowned for its pearl banks of Pinctada radiata and Pinctada fucata for at least 2,000 years. Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE) noted the gulf’s pearl fishery as one of the most productive in the world.[12] Then, as now, the pearl-producing oysters are distributed roughly evenly across the territorial waters of modern Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, with seasonal changes driving the oysters to migrate more toward one side or the other.[13]

Pearl Oyster Distribution (Gulf of Mannar)

The Sonahar or Marakkars first appear in the historical record in the 12th century, primarily as pearl traders holding a royal charter over the pearl fisheries and the authority to tax-farm the littoral.[14] The preponderance of evidence suggests they originated in Kayalpattinam, the southernmost of the pearling cities, before spreading northward to Adirampattinam and Keelakarai, eventually covering the entire breadth of the Indian littoral wherever pearl oysters were found.[14] From there, they expanded into the pearl-producing regions of Sri Lanka and all over the western coast of the island where they still predominate.[15]

Branches

[edit]

There are at least four known branches of Marakkars: Pandyamandala Marakkars of coastal Tamil Nadu, Eezhamandala Marakkars of Sri Lanka, Cholamandala Marakkars of Coromandel and Southeast Asia, and Malabar Marakkars of Kerala.[16]

Marakkars of Sri Lanka

[edit]
Sri Lankan Marakkars (Sapphire Merchants)

In present day, the Marakkars of Sri Lanka are called Sri Lankan Moors, compromising 10.5% of the Sri Lankan population with an aggregate population of 2,283,246.[17] They were historically called Chonakar or Eezhamandala Marakkar.[18] They have over a thousand-year history in the western coast of Sri Lanka, tracing their origin to the Sabaen and Dilmun traders pre-dating Islam. They are disproportionately urban, constituting 42.9% of the capital city of Colombo, and are known on the island for being a "market-dominant minority" inhabiting urban centers.[17] They are native Tamil speakers with high degrees of Sinhalese bilingualism.[17]

Today, Chonaka Moors remain politically and economically influential on the island. Politically, they are represented in every national party and have held all major ministerial portfolios, including finance, justice, education, and trade.[19] They have also produced five Supreme Court Justices since independence.

Economically, though their sectoral monopolies diminished following Sirimavo Bandaranaike's nationalization policies and socialist reforms, they remain influential in textiles, precious metals, pharmaceuticals, commercial real estate, import-export trade, and retail.[19] Eastern Moor landlords, or Sonaha Poddiyar, also hold substantial tracts of the most arable paddy land in the eastern provinces.[20]

Marakkars of Southeast Asia (Chulias)

[edit]
Chulia Marakkars of Penang (Early 20th Century)

The Chulia Marakkars of Southeast Asia, known historically as Chulias or Klings, are Tamil-speaking Muslim Marakkar merchants from the Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, and Kerala, who established permanent communities across the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, and the Indonesian archipelago.[21]

Before 1786

[edit]

Chulia Marakkars were present in Southeast Asian ports from at least the 14th century, forming one of the principal trading communities at Malacca by the time of Portuguese conquest in 1511.[22] They maintained their own settlement called Kampong Palli and were noted by Italian traveller Nicolas Conti as being "very rich, so much so that some will carry on their business in forty of their own ships."[22]

In the Malacca Sultanate, Tamil Muslims attained the highest offices of state.[22] Bendahara Tun Ali served as the fourth prime minister, while his son Tun Mutahir became the seventh Bendahara, whose efficient administration attracted foreign traders and brought Malacca to its commercial zenith around 1500.[22] Sultan Muhammad Syah married Tun Ali's sister, Tun Wati, producing the future Sultan Muzaffar Syah.[22]

Following Malacca's fall, Chulia merchants dispersed to friendlier ports in Aceh, Kedah, Perak, and the Tenasserim coast.[22] By the 17th century, they dominated trade between India and the Malay Peninsula, with Malay rulers of Kedah, Perak, Terengganu, and Johor appointing them as saudagar raja (king's merchants) to manage royal trading activities. Prominent saudagar raja included Sidi Lebbe and Tambi Kecil (titled Raja Mutabar Khan) in Perak, and Syed Nina, Piro Mohamed, and Raja Jamal in Kedah.[22] Their appointment reflected Chulia strengths: connection to complex commercial networks, negotiating competence, accounting skills, shared Islamic faith with Malay rulers, and multilingual fluency.[23]

After 1786

[edit]

The British establishment of Penang (1786) and Singapore (1819) drew large-scale Chulia migration from the Coromandel Coast.[21] Captain Francis Light estimated 1,000 Chulias in early Penang, with annual arrivals of 1,500–2,000 more.[21] By the 1833 census, there were 7,886 Chulias in Penang and 510 in Province Wellesley. Cauder Mohideen Merican was appointed the first Kapitan Kling in 1801 and founded the Kapitan Keling Mosque, which holds one of Malaysia's largest waqf endowments.[21]

Economically, Chulia Marakkars virtually monopolised Penang's shipping and stewarding industry, providing lighters (tongkangs) for loading and unloading cargo, earning them the nickname "Mamak Tongkang."[21] They dominated the textile trade with Southeast Asia, exporting blue cloths, chintz, ginghams, and long cloths from Coromandel ports.[21] When British cotton manufactures began competing from the 1820s, Chulia merchants adapted by diversifying into provision stores, jewellery, money-changing, and publishing.[21]

Today, Chulia Marakkars remain influential in the restaurant trade (approximately 12,000 mamak establishments nationwide), jewellery, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and retail.[21] The nasi kandar trade, originating with Chulia rice sellers in colonial Penang, has evolved into a multi-million ringgit franchise industry.[21] Replicas of the Nagore Dargah in Penang and Singapore commemorate the community's enduring transoceanic Sufi networks.[21]

Jawi Peranakan

[edit]
Merican Clan of the Jawi Peranakan

The Jawi Peranakan (also called Jawi Pekan, meaning "town Muslim") emerged from intermarriage between Chulia merchants and local Malay women, forming a distinct Indo-Malay community concentrated in Penang and Singapore.[24] By the late 19th century, they had accumulated considerable wealth and status, ranking "next to the Arabs in leadership and authority within the Malay-Muslim community."[24] Their English education facilitated employment in the colonial government as clerks, translators, and teachers.[24]

The Jawi Peranakan population in Penang grew from 3,491 in 1871 to 5,462 in 1881. Prominent families such as the Angullias and Maricans left lasting marks on the urban landscape, Angullia Park near Singapore's Orchard Road still bears the family name.[24] Through intermarriage with Malay and Arab families, many descendants inherited titles such as Syed, Tengku, or Wan, while others adopted Malay patronymic naming conventions.[24]

The Jawi Peranakan pioneered Malay-language journalism and publishing.[24] According to historian William Roff, "Malay journalism, like book publication in Malay, owes its origins very largely" to this community.[24] The Jawi Peranakkan ("The Local Born Muslim"), launched in Singapore in 1876, was the first Malay newspaper in the region and the longest-running before World War I.[24] Its founding editor, Munsyi Mohd Said Dada Mohiddin, a Penang-born Tamil Muslim, served for twelve years until his death in 1888. The newspaper identified entirely with Malay interests, speaking always of "we Malays" and reporting Malay affairs.[24]

Over the following three decades, Jawi Peranakan established at least twelve Malay-language newspapers: five in Singapore (Jawi Peranakkan, Sekola Melayu, Nujumul-Fajar, Shamsul-Kamar, Taman Pengetahuan), five in Penang (Tanjung Penegeri, Pemimpin Warta, Lengkongan Bulan, Bintang Timor, Chahaya Pulau Pinang), and two in Perak (Sri Perak, Jajahan Melayu).[24]

Munshi Abdullah (1796–1854), of Tamil and Yemeni descent, is widely regarded as the "father of modern Malay literature." Born in Malacca and fluent in Arabic, Tamil, Hindi, and Malay, he served as scribe to Sir Stamford Raffles and translator for the London Missionary Society. His autobiography Hikayat Abdullah (1849) marked a radical departure from court literature, offering vivid, colloquial descriptions of everyday life. He is also considered the first Malayan journalist, taking Malay literature beyond folk-stories into historical description.[24]

By the early 20th century, as Malay nationalism emerged, the Jawi Peranakan increasingly identified as Malays. They established the Penang Malay Association (1927) to promote Malay interests vis-à-vis the British government. In 1946, they played a major role in founding UMNO's Penang branch, with S.M. Aidid as founder president.[24] Second and third generation Jawi Peranakan received scholarships as Malays, entered the civil service, and served with distinction.[24] Today, most register simply as Malays, their distinct identity having merged into the broader Malay community through social amalgamation and shared Islamic practice.[24]

Marakkars of Kerala

[edit]

In Kerala, Marakkar, known as Marikkars, are primarily concentrated in and around Malabar.

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.[25]

Religion

[edit]
West Coast of India

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.[2][26][27] They are one of several interconnected cultural groups along India's southwestern coast, including the Nawayaths of Konkan, Kodava Maaple of Coorg, Bearys of Tulu Nadu, and the Mappillas of Malabar. These communities share common religious practices and cultural traditions shaped by their coastal heritage and historical trade connections.

Role in regional history

[edit]
Admiral Kunjali Marakkar

Some time in the 11th century, Marakkars become a prominent community in the city of Kochi. In Tamil Nadu, Marakkars are found in Kayalpattinam, Kilakarai, Adirampattinam, Thoothukudi, Nagore and Karaikal. Whether Marakkars are a community that moved from Tamil Nadu to Kerala, or from Kerala to Tamil Nadu remains an unsettled question. Some time later, they migrate to Ponnani in the Zamorin's dominion, where they worked as the admirals of the Zamorin's fleet. There is some evidence that Marakkars cooperated and conducted business with the Portuguese Armada. Soon after, the Marakkar fleet and the Portuguese Armada made war for a hundred years under the leadership of Admiral Kunjali Marakkar.[28]

Language

[edit]

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.[29] The Marakkars of Sri Lanka falls under the 'Sri Lankan Moors group, defined by the Sri Lankan government as a separate ethnic group.[29] There are also words from the Purananuru era, such as Aanam for Kulambu and Puliaanam for rasam or soup.

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

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Marakkar is the Malayalam spelling. Other spellings include Maricar, Marecar, Marikkar, Markiyar, Marican, Marecan, Tamil Marrakayar and Sinhalese Marakkala.[1][2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Tschacher, Torsten (2006). "The Impact of Being Tamil on Religious Life Among Tamil Muslins in Singapore" (PDF). Degree of Doctor of Philosophy PhD: 79 – via National University of Singapore.
  2. ^ a b Hoogervorst, Tom G. (2015). "Tracing the linguistic crossroads between Malay and Tamil". Wacana. 16 (2): 249–283. doi:10.17510/wacana.v16i2.378. hdl:20.500.11755/24e8060c-9e4e-4e09-af73-d8328d1e0944 – via Brill.
  3. ^ V., Kunhali (1986). "Muslim Communities in Kerala to 1798". Aligarh Muslim University Journal.
  4. ^ Eusoff, Datin (1997). The Merican Clan: A Story of Courage and Destiny. Times Books International. ISBN 978-981-204-805-9.
  5. ^ a b c McGilvray, Dennis (1998). "Arabs, Moors and Muslims: Sri Lankan Muslim ethnicity in regional perspective". Contributions to Indian Sociology. 199: 439 to 449.
  6. ^ a b Rājāmukamatu, Je (2022). Maritime History of the Coromandel Muslims: A Socio-historical Study on the Tamil Muslims, 1750-1900. Jamal Mohamed College, Centre for Islamic Tamil Cultural Research. ISBN 978-93-5917-149-4.
  7. ^ Malekandathil, Pius (2013). "Sectional President's Address: INDIAN OCEAN IN THE SHAPING OF LATE MEDIEVAL INDIA". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 74: 178–195. JSTOR 44158814.
  8. ^ STEPHEN, DALE (1977). "The Islamic Frontier in Southwest India: The Shahid as a Cultural Ideal among the Mappillas of Malabar". Modern Asian Studies Journal. II (1): 41–55. JSTOR 311885.
  9. ^ Hall, Kenneth. "Economic Exchange and Social Interaction in Southeast Asia: Perspectives from Prehistory, History, and Ethnography; The Coming of Islam to the Archipelago: A Reassessment". University of Michigan Press: 213–231.
  10. ^ Pillai, Patrick (14 October 2015). Yearning to Belong. Ch. 1: "Mamak" and Malaysian: The Indian Muslim Quest for Identity. ISEAS Publishing. ISBN 9789814519687.
  11. ^ a b c d Morgan, David O.; Reid, Anthony (4 November 2010). The New Cambridge History of Islam: Volume 3, The Eastern Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-316-18436-3.
  12. ^ Hornell, James (June 2009). The Indian Pearl Fisheries of the Gulf of Manar and Palk Bay. BiblioBazaar. ISBN 978-1-110-87096-7.
  13. ^ Wright, Arnold (1999). Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon: Its History, People, Commerce, Industries, and Resources. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 978-81-206-1335-5.
  14. ^ a b Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (1990). Merchants, Markets and the State in Early Modern India. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-562569-1.
  15. ^ Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (7 May 2012). The Portuguese Empire in Asia, 1500-1700: A Political and Economic History. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-67291-4.
  16. ^ Mohammed, SV (2008). Charithratile Marakkar Sannidhyam. Calicut: Vachanam Books.
  17. ^ a b c "Department of Census and Statistics". www.statistics.gov.lk. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  18. ^ Mahroof, M. M. M. (1995). "Spoken Tamil Dialects of the Muslims of Sri Lanka: Language as Identity-Classifier". Islamic Studies. 34 (4): 407–426. ISSN 0578-8072. JSTOR 20836916.
  19. ^ a b Mohan, Vasundhara (1987). Identity Crisis of Sri Lankan Muslims. Mittal Publications.
  20. ^ Rameez, A. (2018). "Sociology of Sri Lankan Muslims: dealing with different dimensions of Muslim society". Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences. 13 (7): 1782–1793. ISSN 1816-949X.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Arasaratnam, Sinnappah (1970). Indians in Malaysia and Singapore. --. Internet Archive. Bombay : Published for the Institute of Race Relations, London, by Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-218184-8.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g Sundara Sreenivasa Rao., Valarmudi (2016). "Merchants in Transition: Maritime Trade and Society of Tamil Muslims in the Indian Ocean World, c. 1780–1840". University of Texas at Austin.
  23. ^ Bhattacharya, B. (1986). "Merchants, Companies and Commerce on the Coromandel Coast, 1650–1740. Arasaratnam Sinnappah. xii, 407 pp. Rupees 190/-". Itinerario. 13 (2). Delhi: Oxford University Press: 123–128. doi:10.1017/S0165115300004368. ISSN 2041-2827.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Fujimoto, Helen (1988). The South Indian Muslim Community and the Evolution of the Jawi Peranakan in Penang Up to 1948. ILCAA, Tokyo Gaikokugo Daigaku.
  25. ^ The Hindu. "The Hindu". thehindu.com.
  26. ^ Prashant More, Jean-Baptiste (1991). "The Marakkayar Muslims of Karikal, South India". Journal of Islamic Studies. 2: 25–44. doi:10.1093/jis/2.1.25. PMC 355923. PMID 15455059 – via Oxford Academic Journals.
  27. ^ Cf. Bayly 1989: 73–103; Bjerrum 1920: 172–173; Fanselow 1989: 274–281; Kamāl 1990: 37–55; More 2004: 3–27
  28. ^ Kunhali, V. "Muslim Communities in Kerala to 1798" Ph.D. Dissertation Aligarh Muslim University (1986) [1]
  29. ^ a b Mahroof, M. M. M. (1995). "Spoken Tamil Dialects of the Muslims of Sri Lanka: Language as Identity-Classifier". Islamic Studies. 34 (4): 407–426. ISSN 0578-8072. JSTOR 20836916.

Further reading

[edit]
  • 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