| Total population | |
|---|---|
| ~5 million | |
| Religions | |
 Islam | |
| Scriptures | |
| Quran &Hadith | |
| Languages | |
| Malayalam •Tamil •Sinhala •Bahasa Melayu |
TheMarakkars[a] are of diverse origins with some tracing their ancestry toArab traders with historical presence across theIndian Subcontinent andIndonesian Archipelago.[3][4] Their contemporary populations are primarily concentrated in the Indian states ofKerala andTamil Nadu, the Republic ofMaldives, as well as theWestern,Central, andSouthern provinces ofSri Lanka.[5] WithinSoutheast Asia, prominent Marakkar communities exist inMalaysia andSingapore.[4]
The Marakkars have maintained their traditional role as a mercantile community from their historical origins to the present day.[5] They are a multilingual community with language use varying by region. In Kerala, they predominantly speakMalayalam, while Tamil Nadu's Marakkar population speaksTamil.[3] In Sri Lanka, community members are conversant in bothSinhala andTamil. Religiously, the Marakkars are adherents ofSunni Islam.[5]
The Marakkars achieved particular prominence in theearly modern period as the first Indian mercantile community to establish settlements in British Malaya.[6] However, their most significant historical impact was during medieval India. Before thePortuguese Armada's arrival on Indian shores in 1497, the Marakkars exercised substantial control overIndian Ocean trade networks.[7] They later gained distinction as the first Indic ethnic group to mount sustained military resistance against European colonial expansion, engaging in ahundred-year conflict with the Portuguese from 1520 to 1619.[8] This resistance was notably led by AdmiralKunjali Marakkar IV, whom some regard as "the first Indian freedom fighter."[9]
Scholars also suggest that the Marakkars played a very significant role in thespread of Islam throughout the Indonesian Archipelago.[10] Their maritime trade networks and established presence across multiple regions facilitated this religious diffusion, though the exact extent of their influence remains a subject of academic discussion.[10]
The Islamized Arabs who arrived on theCoromandel andMalabar Coast broughtIslam and customs and inter-married with the indigenous women who followed the localBuddhist,Jain &Hindu 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.[11]
In contrast to theHanafis 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][11][12] They are one of several interconnected cultural groups along India's southwestern coast, including theNawayaths of Konkan,Kodava Maaple of Coorg,Bearys of Tulu Nadu, and theMappillas of Malabar. These communities share common religious practices and cultural traditions shaped by their coastal heritage and historical trade connections.
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.[11]
The Marakkars were known to be a robust maritime spice trading community in medievalSouth Asia.[13] They traded in and with locations such asMyanmar,Thailand,Malaysia inEast Asia andSouth Asia,Maldives andSri Lanka.[14]
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.[11] InTamil/Malayalam, "marakalam" signifies "wooden boat" and "aayar" which means worker. That it is the association of these two words that give Marakkayar.[11]
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 toPonnani in theZamorin's dominion when the Portuguese fleets came tothe Kingdom of Cochin. With the emergence of thePortuguese in India, some Marakkars were forced to take up arms and enlist themselves in the service of the Hindu king (the zamorin) ofCalicut. The Marakkar naval chiefs of Calicut were known asKunjali Marakkars.[14]
TheArabic language brought by the early merchants is no longer spoken, though many Arabic words and phrases are still commonly used. Until recently, theMappila Muslims employedArabi Malayalam, and the Tamil Muslims employedArwi 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 asAssalamu Alaikum instead ofShaanthiyum Samadanavum,Jazakallah instead of Nanni/Nandri andPinjhan/Finjan/Pinjaanam for Bowl/Cup.
There are also words which are unique to Marakkars andSri Lankan Moors, such asLaatha for elder-sister,Kaka for elder-brother,Umma for mother andVappa for father, suggesting a close relationship between Marakkars of India and Marrakkar and Moors of Sri Lanka.[15] The Marakkars of Sri Lanka falls under the 'Sri Lankan Moors group, defined by the Sri Lankan government as a separate ethnic group.[15] There are also words derived fromSinhala, such asMattapa for the terrace. There are also words fromthe Purananuru era, such asAanam for Kulambu andPuliaanam 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 |
In Kerala, Marakkar, known asMarikkars, are primarily concentrated in and around Malabar. They were traditionally boatmen.[4]
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.[16]
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