Number examined. Cephalic index.
Tamils 6 75.4
Moplas 6 77.5
Hyderabad Contingent 6 75
Maharattas 7 79
The number of individuals examined is, however, too small for the
purpose of generalisation.
In the Census Report, 1891, it is noted that some Mappillas have
returned "Putiya Islam," meaning new converts to Islam. These are
mostly converts from the Mukkuvan or fisherman caste, and this process
of conversion is still going on. Most of the fishermen of Tanur, where
there is an important fish-curing yard, are Mukkuvan converts. They are
sleek and well-nourished, and, to judge from the swarm of children who
followed me during my inspection of the yard, eminently fertile. One
of them, indeed, was polygynous to the extent of seven wives, each
of whom had presented him with seven sons, not to mention a large
consignment of daughters. On the east coast the occurrence of twins
is attributed by the fishermen to the stimulating properties of fish
diet. In Malabar, great virtue is attributed to the sardine or nalla
mathi (good fish, Clupea longiceps), as an article of dietary.
"Conversion to Muhammadanism," Mr. Logan writes, [186] "has had a
marked effect in freeing the slave caste in Malabar from their former
burthens. By conversion a Cheruman obtains a distinct rise in the
social scale, and, if he is in consequence bullied or beaten, the
influence of the whole Muhammadan community comes to his aid." The
same applies to the Nayadis, of whom some have escaped from their
degraded position by conversion to Islam. In the scale of pollution,
the Nayadi holds the lowest place, and consequently labours under the
greatest disadvantage, which is removed with his change of religion.
As regards the origin and significance of the word Mappilla, according
to Mr. Lewis Moore, it means, "(1) a bridegroom or son-in-law; (2) the
name given to Muhammadan, Christian, or Jewish colonists in Malabar,
who have intermarried with the natives of the country. The name is
now confined to Muhammadans." It is noted by Mr. Nelson [187] that
"the Kallans alone of all the castes of Madura call the Muhammadans
Mappilleis, or bridegrooms." In criticising this statement, Yule and
Burnell [188] state that "Nelson interprets the word as bridegroom. It
should, however, rather be son-in-law. The husband of the existing
Princess of Tanjore is habitually styled by the natives Mappillai
Sahib, as the son-in-law of the late Raja." "Some," Mr. Padmanabha
Menon writes, [189] "think that the word Mappila is a contracted form
of maha (great) and pilla (child), an honorary title as among Nairs
in Travancore (pilla or pillay). Mr. Logan surmises that maha pilla
was probably a title of honour conferred on the early Muhammadans, or
possibly on the still earlier Christian immigrants, who are also down
to the present day called Mappilas. The Muhammadans generally go by
the name of Jonaga Mappilas. Jonaka is believed to stand for Yavanaka,
i.e., Greek!" [190] [In the Gazetteer of the Tanjore district, Yavana
is recorded as meaning Ionia.] It is, indeed, remarkable that in the
Payyanorepat, perhaps the earliest Malayalam poem extant, some of the
sailors mentioned in it are called Chonavans. (The Jews are known as
Juda Mappila.) Dr. Day derives the word Mapilla from Ma (mother) and
pilla (child). [Wilson gives Mapilla, mother's son, as being sprung
from the intercourse of foreign colonists, who were persons unknown,
with Malabar women.] Duncan says that a Qazi derived the name from Ma
(mother) and pilla a (puppy) as a term of reproach! Maclean, in the
Asiatic Researches, considered that the word came from maha or mohai
(mocha) and pilla (child), and therefore translated it into children
or natives (perhaps outcasts) of Mohai or Mocha. A more likely, and
perhaps more correct derivation is given by Mr. Percy Badger in a note
to his edition of the Varthema. "I am inclined to think," he says,
"that the name is either a corruption of the Arabic muflih (from the
root fallah, to till the soil), meaning prosperous or victorious,
in which sense it would apply to the successful establishment of
those foreign Mussalmans on the western coast of India; or that it
is a similar corruption of maflih (the active participial form of the
same verb), an agriculturist--a still more appropriate designation of
Moplahs, who, according to Buchanan, are both traders and farmers. In
the latter sense, the term, though not usually so applied among
the Arabs, would be identical with fella'h." By Mr. C. P. Brown the
conviction was expressed that Mappilla is a Tamil mispronunciation
of the Arabic mu'abbar, from over the water.
"The chief characteristic of the Mappillas," Mr. Govinda Nambiar
writes, "as of all Mussalmans, is enthusiasm for religious
practices. They are either Sunnis or Shiahs. The Sunnis are the
followers of the Ponnani Tangal, the chief priest of the orthodox
party, while the Shiahs acknowledge the Kondotti Tangal as their
religious head. There are always religious disputes between these
sects, and the criminal courts are not seldom called in to settle
them." In an account of the Mappillas, [191] Mr. P. Kunjain, a Mappilla
Government official (the first Mappilla Deputy Collector), states that
"there are a few Moplahs in the Ernad and Waluwanad taluks who are
the followers of the Kondotti Tangal, and are, therefore, believed
to be heretics (Shias). The number of these is dwindling. The reason
why they are believed to be heretics, and as such outcasted, is
that they are enjoined by their preceptor (the Tangal) to prostrate
before him. Prostration (sujud), according to strict doctrines, is
due to God alone." At Mulliakurichi in the Walluwanad taluk there
are two mosques. One, the Pazhaya Palli, or old mosque, belongs to,
or is regarded as belonging to the Kondotti sect of Mappillas. The
other is called Puthan Palli, or new mosque. This mosque is asserted
by the Ponnani sect of Mappillas to have been erected for their
exclusive use. The Kondotti sect, on the other hand, claim that
it was erected by them, as the old mosque was not large enough
for the growing congregation. They do not claim exclusive use of
the new mosque, but a right to worship there, just like any other
Muhammadan. The Ponnani sect, however, claim a right to exclude
the Kondotti people from the new mosque altogether. In September,
1901, there was a riot at the mosque between members of the rival
sects. The Mappillas have a college at Ponnani, the chief seat of
their religious organisation, where men are trained in religious
offices. This institution, called the Jammat mosque, was, it is said,
founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century A.D. by an Arab divine
for the purpose of imparting religious instruction to youths of the
Muhammadan community. The head of the institution selects the ablest
and most diligent from among the students, and confers on him the
title of Musaliar. He is then appointed to preach in mosques, and to
explain the meaning of the Koran and other sacred writings. There are
other religious offices, as those of the Kazi, Katib, and Mulla. The
highest personages of divinity among them are known as Tangals. In
the middle of the last century there was a very influential Tangal
(Mambram Tangal), who was suspected of fomenting outbreaks, and who
conferred his blessing on the murderous projects of his disciples. Of
him it is stated that he was regarded as imbued with a portion of
divinity, and that the Mappillas swore by his foot as their most
solemn oath. Earth on which he had spat or walked was treasured up,
and his blessing was supremely prized. Even among the higher class
of Mappillas, his wish was regarded as a command.
Mr. A. R. Loftus-Tottenham informs me that "it is quite common
now for Mappillas to invoke Mambram Tangal when in difficulties. I
have heard a little Mappilla, who was frightened at my appearance,
and ran away across a field, calling out 'Mambram Tangal, Mambram
Tangal.' The Tangal, who had to be induced to leave Malabar, went
off to Constantinople, and gained great influence with the Sultan."
In 1822 it was recorded [192] by Mr. Baber, in a circuit report,
that the Tarramal and Condotty Tangals "pretend to an extraordinary
sanctity, and such is the character they have established, that the
people believe it is in their power to carry them harmless through
the most hazardous undertakings, and even to absolve them of the
most atrocious crimes. To propitiate them, their votaries are lavish
in their presents, and there are no description of delinquents who
do not find an asylum in the mosques wherein these Tangals take up
their abode, whether pursued by the Police, or by their own evil
consciences." There is a legend current on the Kavarathi island of
the Laccadives that a Tangal of that island once cursed the crows for
dropping their excrement on his person, and now there is not a crow
on the island. On another occasion, hearing the cries of a woman in
labour, the Tangal prayed to God that the women of the island might
suffer from no such pains in future. So strong is the belief in
the immunity from the pangs of child-birth which was thus obtained,
that the women of the neighbouring islands go over to Kavarathi for
delivery, in order to have an easy confinement. [193]
In connection with Mappilla superstition, Mr. Tottenham writes as
follows. "A beggar died (probably of starvation) by the roadside in
Walluvanad taluk. When alive, no one worried about him. But, after
he died, it was said that celestial voices had been heard uttering
the call to prayer at the spot. The Mappillas decided that he was a
very holy man, whom they had not fed during his life, and who should
be canonised after death. A little tomb was erected, and a light may
be seen burning there at night. Small banners are deposited by the
faithful, who go in numbers to the place, and there is, I think,
a money-box to receive their contributions." Mr. Tottenham writes
further that "the holy place at Malappuram is the tomb of the Sayyids
(saints or martyrs) who were killed in a battle by a local military
chieftain. These Sayyids are invoked. At Kondotti there is a very
pretentious, and rather picturesque tomb--a square building of gneiss
surmounted by a cupola--to one of the Tangals. Near it is a small
tank full of more or less tame fish. It is one of the sights of the
place to see them fed. At the great festival called neercha (vow),
the Mappillas go in procession, headed by banners, elephants (if they
possess them), and music, and carrying offerings to the head-quarters
(Malappuram and Kondotti are the principal ones) of some Tangal, where
they deposit the banners, I think at the tomb of the local saint,
and present the offerings to the Tangal. At Malappuram, an enormous
crowd of ten to twenty thousand assembles, and there is a great tamasha
(popular excitement). You will sometimes see a man with his hair uncut,
i.e., he does not cut it till he has fulfilled the vow."
There is a tradition that, some centuries ago, one Sheik Mahomed Tangal
died. One night, some Mappillas dreamt that his grave, which was near
the reefs, was in danger of being washed away, and that they should
remove the body to a safe place. They accordingly opened the grave, and
found the body quite fresh, with no sign of decomposition. The remains
were piously re-interred in another place, and a mosque, known as
Sheikkinde Palli, built. The Mappillas of Calicut celebrate annually,
on the 15th day of Rajub, the anniversary of the death of Sheik Mahomed
Tangal, the date of which was made known through inspiration by an
ancestor of the Mambram Tangal. The ancestor also presented the Mullah
of the mosque with a head-dress, which is still worn by successive
Mullahs on the occasion of the anniversary festival. "The festival goes
by the name of Appani (trade in bread). A feature of the celebration is
that every Moplah household prepares a supply of rice cakes, which are
sent to the mosque to be distributed among the thousands of beggars
who gather for the occasion. A very brisk trade is also carried on
in these rice cakes, which are largely bought by the charitable for
distribution among the poor. On the day of the anniversary, as well
as on the day following, prayers are offered up to the souls of the
departed. According to a legend, the pious Sheik, during his travels
in foreign lands, arrived at Achin disguised as a fakir. One day, some
servants of the local Sultan came to him, recognising in him a holy
man, and begged his help in a serious difficulty. Their Sultan, they
said, had a favourite parrot which used to be kept in a golden cage,
and, the door of this cage having been inadvertently left open, the
parrot had escaped. On hearing of the loss of his favourite bird, the
Sultan had threatened his ministers and servants with dire punishment,
if they failed to recover the bird. Sheik Mahomed Koya directed the
servants to place the cage in the branches of a neighbouring tree,
assuring them that the parrot would come and enter his cage. Saying
this, the holy man departed. The servants did as he had bidden them,
and had the gratification of seeing the bird fly into the cage, and
of recovering and conveying it to their master. The Sultan asked the
bird why it went away when it had a beautiful golden cage to live in,
and a never failing supply of dainty food to subsist upon. The parrot
replied that the beautiful cage and the dainty food were not to be
compared with the delights of a free and unfettered life spent under
the foliage of feathery bamboos, swayed by gentle breezes. The Sultan
then asked the bird why it had come back, and the bird made answer
that, while it was disporting itself with others of its species in
a clump of bamboos, a stifling heat arose, which it feared would
burn its wings, but, as it noticed that on one side of the clump
the atmosphere was cool, it flew to that spot to take shelter on a
tree. Seeing the cage amidst the branches, it entered, and was thus
recaptured and brought back. The Sultan afterwards discovered that it
was the fakir who had thus miraculously brought about the recovery of
his bird, and further that the fakir was none other than the saintly
Sheik Mahomed Koya Tangal. When the news of the Tangal's death was
subsequently received, the Sultan ordered that the anniversary of the
day should be celebrated in his dominions, and the Moplahs of Calicut
believe that the faithful in Achin join with them every year in doing
honour to the memory of their departed worthy." [194]
It is recorded, in the Annual Report of the Basel Medical Mission,
Calicut, 1907, that "cholera and smallpox were raging terribly
in the months of August and September. It is regrettable that the
people, during such epidemics, do not resort to hospital medicines,
but ascribe them to the devil's scourge. Especially the ignorant
and superstitious Moplahs believe that cholera is due to demoniac
possession, and can only be cured by exorcism. An account of
how this is done may be interesting. A Thangal (Moplah priest)
is brought in procession, with much shouting and drumming, to the
house to drive out the cholera devil. The Thangal enters the house,
where three cholera patients are lying; two of these already in a
collapsed condition. The wonder-working priest refuses to do anything
with these advanced cases, as they seem to be hopeless. The other
patient, who is in the early stage of the disease, is addressed as
follows. 'Who are you?'--'I am the cholera devil'. 'Where do you come
from?'--'From such and such a place'. 'Will you clear out at once or
not?'--'No, I won't'. 'Why?'--'Because I want something to quench my
thirst'. 'You want blood?'--'Yes'. Then the Thangal asks his followers
and relatives to give him what he asks. A young bull is brought into
the room and killed on the spot, and the patient is made to drink
the warm blood. Then the Thangal commands him to leave the place at
once. The patient, weak and exhausted, gathers up all his strength, and
runs out of the house, aided by a cane which is freely applied to his
back. He runs as far as he can, and drops exhausted on the road. Then
he is carried back, and, marvellous to say, he makes a good recovery."
"The most important institution," Mr. A. S. Vaidyanatha Aiyar writes,
[195] "among the Mappilas of Malabar is the office of the Mahadun
(Makhdum) at Ponnani, which dates its origin about four centuries
ago, the present Mahadun being the twenty-fifth of his line. [The
line of the original Makhdum ended with the eighteenth, and the
present Makhdum and his six immediate predecessors belong to a
different line.] In the Mahadun there was a sect of religious head
for the Mappilas from Kodangalur to Mangalore. His office was, and
is still held in the greatest veneration. His decrees were believed
to be infallible. (His decrees are accepted as final.) The Zamorins
recognised the Mahadunship, as is seen from the presentation of the
office dress at every succession. In the famous Jamath mosque they
(the Mahaduns) have been giving instruction in Koran ever since they
established themselves at Ponnani. Students come here from different
parts of the country. After a certain standard of efficiency, the
degree of Musaliar is conferred upon the deserving Mullas (their name
in their undergraduate course). This ceremony consists simply in the
sanction given by the Mahadun to read at the big lamp in the mosque,
where he sometimes gives the instruction personally. The ceremony is
known as vilakkath irikka (to sit by the lamp). When the degree of
Musaliar is conferred, this sacred lamp is lit, and the Mahadun is
present with a number of Musaliars. These Musaliars are distributed
through the length and breadth of the land. They act as interpreters
of the Koran, and are often appointed in charge of the mosques. When I
visited the Jamath, there were about three hundred students. There is
no regular staff of teachers. Students are told off into sections under
the management of some senior students. The students are confined to
the mosque for their lodgings, while most of them enjoy free boarding
from some generous Mappilla or other."
I am informed by Mr. Kunjain that "Mulla ordinarily means a man who
follows the profession of teaching the Koran to children, reading
it, and performing petty religious ceremonies for others, and lives
on the scanty perquisites derived therefrom. The man in charge of a
mosque, and who performs all petty offices therein, is also called
a Mulla. [196] This name is, however, peculiar to South Malabar. At
Quilandi and around it the teacher of the Koran is called Muallimy,
at Badagara Moiliar (Musaliar), at Kottayam Seedi, at Cannanore Kalfa,
and north of it Mukri. The man in charge of a mosque is also called
Mukir in North Malabar, while in South Malabar Mukir is applied to the
man who digs graves, lights lamps, and supplies water to the mosque."
The mosques of the Mappillas are quite unlike those of any
other Muhammadans. "Here," Mr. Fawcett writes, [197] "one sees
no minarets. The temple architecture of Malabar was noticed by
Mr. Fergusson to be like that of Nepal: nothing like it exists between
the two places. And the Mappilla mosque is much in the style of the
Hindu temple, even to the adoption of the turret-like edifice which,
among Hindus, is here peculiar to the temples of Siva. The general
use nowadays of German mission-made tiles is bringing about, alas! a
metamorphosis in the architecture of Hindu temples and Mappilla
mosques, the picturesqueness disappearing altogether, and in a few
years it may be difficult to find one of the old style. The mosque,
though it may be little better than a hovel, is always as grand as
the community can make it, and once built it can never be removed,
for the site is sacred ever afterwards. Every Mappilla would shed his
blood, rather than suffer any indignity to a mosque." The mosques
often consist of "several stories, having two or more roofs, one
or more of the upper stories being usually built of wood, the sides
sloping inwards at the bottom. The roof is pent and tiled. There is
a gable end at one (the eastern) extremity, the timber on this being
often elaborately carved."
One section of Mappillas at Calicut is known as "Clap the hand"
(Keikottakar) in contradistinction to another section, which may not
clap hands (Keikottattakar). On the occasion of wedding and other
ceremonies, the former enjoy the privilege of clapping their hands as
an accompaniment to the processional music, while the latter are not
permitted to do so. [198] It is said that at one time the differences
of opinion between the two sections ran so high that the question
was referred for decision to the highest ecclesiastical authorities
at Mecca.
The Mappillas observe the Ramazan, Bakrid, and Haj. "They only observe
the ninth and tenth days of Muharam, and keep them as a fast; they
do not make taboots. [199] A common religious observance is the
celebration of what is called a mavulad or maulad. A maulad is a
tract or short treatise in Arabic celebrating the birth, life, works
and sayings of the prophet, or some saint such as Shaik Mohiuddin,
eleventh descendant of the prophet, expounder of the Koran, and worker
of miracles, or the Mambram Tangal, father of Sayid Fasl. For the
ceremony a Mulla is called in to read the book, parts of which are in
verse, and the congregation is required to make responses, and join in
the singing. The ceremony, which usually takes place in the evening,
concludes with, or is preceded by a feast, to which the friends
and relations are invited. Those who can afford it should perform a
maulad in honour of Shaik Mohiuddin on the eleventh of every month,
and one in honour of the prophet on the twelfth. A maulad should
also be performed on the third day after death. It is also a common
practice to celebrate a maulad before any important undertaking on
which it is desired to invoke a blessing, or in fulfilment of some
vows; hence the custom of maulads preceding outbreaks." [200]
For a detailed account of the fanatical [201] outbreaks in the
Mappilla community, which have long disturbed the peace of Malabar
from time to time, I must refer the reader to the District Manual and
Gazetteer. From these sources, and from the class handbook (Mappillas)
for the Indian Army, [202] the following note relating to some of
the more serious of the numerous outbreaks has been compiled. [203]
Towards the end of the seventeenth century, the Mappillas massacred
the chief of Anjengo, and all the English gentlemen belonging to the
settlement, when on a public visit to the Queen of Altinga. [204]
In 1841, seven or eight Mappillas killed two Hindus, and took post
in a mosque, setting the police at defiance. They, and some of their
co-religionists who had joined them, were shot down by a party of
sepoys. In the same month, some two thousand Mappillas set at defiance
a police guard posted over the spot where the above criminals had
been buried, and forcibly carried off their bodies, to inter them
with honours in a mosque.
An outbreak, which occurred in 1843, was celebrated in a stirring
ballad. [205] A series of Mappilla war-songs have been published
by Mr. Fawcett. [206] In October, 1843, a peon (orderly) was found
with his head and hand all but cut off, and the perpetrators were
supposed to have been Mappilla fanatics of the sect known as Hal
Ilakkam (frenzy raising), concerning which the following account was
given in an official report, 1843. "In the month of Metam last year,
one Alathamkuliyil Moidin went out into the fields before daybreak
to water the crops, and there he saw a certain person, who advised
him to give up all his work, and devote his time to prayer at the
mosque. Moidin objected to this, urging that he would have nothing to
live upon. Whereupon, the above-mentioned person told him that a palm
tree, which grew in his (Moidin's) compound, would yield sufficient
toddy, which he could convert into jaggery (crude sugar), and thus
maintain himself. After saying this, the person disappeared. Moidin
thought that the person he saw was God himself, and felt frantic
(hal). He then went to Taramal Tangal, and performed dikkar and
niskaram (cries and prayers). After two or three days, he complained
to the Tangal that Kafirs (a term applied by Muhammadans to people of
other religions) were making fun of him. The Tangal told him that the
course adopted by him was the right one, and, saying 'Let it be as I
have said,' gave him a spear to be borne as an emblem, and assured him
that nobody would mock him in future. Subsequently several Mappillas,
affecting hal ilakkam, played all sorts of pranks, and wandered about
with canes in their hands, without going to their homes or attending
to their work. After several days, some of them, who had no means of
maintaining themselves unless they attended to their work, returned to
their former course of life, while others, with canes and Ernad knives
(war knives) in their hands, wandered about in companies of five, six,
eight, or ten men, and, congregating in places not much frequented
by Hindus, carried on their dikkar and niskaram. The Mappillas in
general look upon this as a religious vow, and provide these people
with food. I hear of the Mappillas talking among themselves that
one or two of the ancestors of Taramal Tangal died fighting, that,
the present man being advanced in age, it is time for him to follow
the same course, and that the above-mentioned men affected with hal
ilakkam, when their number swells to four hundred, will engage in a
fight with Kafirs, and die in company with the Tangal. One of these men
(who are known as Halar), by name Avarumayan, two months ago collected
a number of his countrymen, and sacrificed a bull, and, for preparing
meals for these men, placed a copper vessel with water on the hearth,
and said that rice would appear of itself in the vessel. He waited
for some time. There was no rice to be seen. Those who had assembled
there ate beef alone, and dispersed. Some people made fun of Avarumayan
for this. He felt ashamed, and went to Taramal Tangal, with whom he
stayed two or three days. He then went to the mosque at Mambram, and,
on attempting to fly through the air into the mosque on the southern
side of the river at Tirurangadi, fell down through the opening of
the door, and became lame of one leg, in which state he is reported
to be still lying. While the Halar of Munniyur desam were performing
niskaram one day at the tomb of Chemban Pokar Muppan, a rebel,
they declared that in the course of a week a mosque would spring
up at night, and that there would be complete darkness for two full
days. Mappillas waited in anxious expectation of the phenomenon for
seven or eight days and nights. There was, however, neither darkness
nor mosque to be seen. Again, in the month of Karkigadam last, some
of the influential Mappillas led their ignorant Hindu neighbours to
believe that a ship would arrive with the necessary arms, provisions,
and money for forty thousand men; and that, if that number could
be secured meanwhile, they could conquer the country, and that the
Hindus would then totally vanish. It appears that it was about this
time that some Tiyyar (toddy-drawers) and others became converts. None
of the predictions having been realised, Mappillas, as well as others,
have begun to make fun of the Halar, who, having taken offence at this,
are bent upon putting an end to themselves by engaging in a fight."
Since the outbreak near Manjeri in 1849, when two companies of sepoys
were routed after firing a few shots, European troops have always been
engaged against the Mappillas. On the occasion of that outbreak, one
of the Mappillas had his thigh broken in the engagement. He remained in
all the agony of a wound unattended to for seven days, and was further
tortured by being carried in a rough litter from the Manjeri to the
Angadipuram temple. Yet, at the time of a further fight, he was hopping
to the encounter on his sound leg, and only anxious to get a fair blow
at the infidels before he died. It is recorded that, on one occasion,
when a detachment of sepoys was thrown into disorder by a fierce rush
of death-devoted Mappillas, the drummer of the company distinguished
himself by bonneting an assailant with his drum, thereby putting the
Mappilla's head into a kind of straight jacket, and saving his own
life. [207] In 1852 Mr. Strange was appointed Special Commissioner to
enquire into the causes of, and suggest remedies for, the Mappilla
disturbances. In his report he stated, inter alia, that "a feature
that has been manifestly common to the whole of these affairs is that
they have been, one and all, marked by the most decided fanaticism,
and this, there can be no doubt, has furnished the true incentive to
them. The Mappillas of the interior were always lawless, even in the
time of Tippu, were steeped in ignorance, and were, on these accounts,
more than ordinarily susceptible to the teaching of ambitious and
fanatical priests using the recognised precepts of the Koran as
handles for the sanction to rise and slay Kafirs, who opposed the
faithful, chiefly in the pursuit of agriculture. The Hindus, in the
parts where outbreaks have been most frequent, stand in such fear of
the Mappillas as mostly not to dare to press for their rights against
them, and there is many a Mappilla tenant who does not pay his rent,
and cannot, so imminent are the risks, be evicted." Mr. Strange stated
further that "the most perverted ideas on the doctrine of martyrdom,
according to the Koran, universally prevail, and are fostered among
the lower classes of the Mappillas. The late enquiries have shown that
there is a notion prevalent among the lower orders that, according to
the Mussalman religion, the fact of a janmi or landlord having in due
course of law ejected from his lands a mortgagee or other substantial
tenant, is a sufficient pretext to murder him, become sahid (saint),
and so ensure the pleasures of the Muhammadan paradise. It is well
known that the favourite text of the banished Arab priest or Tangal,
in his Friday orations at the mosque in Tirurangadi, was 'It is no
sin, but a merit, to kill a janmi who evicts.'" Mr. Strange proposed
the organisation of a special police force exclusively composed
of Hindus, and that restrictions should be put on the erection of
mosques. Neither of these proposals was approved by Government. But
a policy of repression set in with the passing of Acts XXII and XXIV
of 1854. The former authorised the local authorities to escheat the
property of those guilty of fanatical rising, to fine the locality
where outrages had occurred, and to deport suspicious persons out
of the country. The latter rendered illegal the possession of the
Mappilla war-knife. Mr. Conolly, the District Magistrate, proceeded,
in December, 1854, on a tour, to collect the war-knives through the
heart of the Mappilla country. In the following year, when he was
sitting in his verandah, a body of fanatics, who had recently escaped
from the Calicut jail, rushed in, and hacked him to pieces in his
wife's presence. He had quite recently received a letter from Lord
Dalhousie, congratulating him on his appointment as a member of the
Governor's Council at Madras. His widow was granted the net proceeds
of the Mappilla fines, amounting to more than thirty thousand rupees.
In an account of an outbreak in 1851, it is noted that one of the
fanatics was a mere child. And it was noticed, in connection with
a more recent outbreak, that there were "several boys who were
barely fourteen years old. One was twelve; some were seventeen or
eighteen. Some observers have said that the reason why boys turn
fanatics is because they may thus avoid the discomfort, which the
Ramzan entails. A dispensation from fasting is claimable when on the
war-path. There are high hopes of feasts of cocoanuts and jaggery,
beef and boiled rice. At the end of it all there is Paradise with
its black-eyed girls." [208]
In 1859, Act No. XX for the suppression of outrages in the district
of Malabar was passed.
In 1884, Government appointed Mr. Logan, the Head Magistrate of
Malabar, to enquire into the general question of the tenure of land and
tenant right, and the question of sites for mosques and burial-grounds
in the district. Mr. Logan expressed his opinion that the Mappilla
outrages were designed "to counteract the overwhelming influence,
when backed by the British courts, of the janmis in the exercise
of the novel powers of ouster, and of rent-raising conferred upon
them. A janmi who, through the courts, evicted, whether fraudulently
or otherwise, a substantial tenant, was deemed to have merited death,
and it was considered a religious virtue, not a fault, to have killed
such a man, and to have afterwards died in arms, fighting against an
infidel Government." Mr. MacGregor, formerly Collector of Malabar, had,
some years before, expressed himself as "perfectly satisfied that the
Mappilla outrages are agrarian. Fanaticism is merely the instrument,
through which the terrorism of the landed classes is aimed at."
In 1884 an outbreak occurred near Malappuram, and it was
decided by Government to disarm the taluks of Ernad, Calicut, and
Walluvanad. Notwithstanding the excited state of the Mappillas at
the time, the delicate operation was successfully carried out by
the district officers, and 17,295 arms, including 7,503 fire-arms of
various kinds, were collected. In the following year, the disarming
of the Ponnani taluk was accomplished. Of these confiscated arms,
the Madras Museum possesses a small collection, selected from a mass
of them which were hoarded in the Collector's office, and were about
to be buried in the deep sea.
In 1896 a serious outbreak occurred at Manjeri, and two or three
notoriously objectionable landlords were done away with. The
fanatics then took up a position, and awaited the arrival of the
British troops. They took no cover, and, when advancing to attack,
were mostly shot down at a distance of 700 to 800 yards, every man
wounded having his throat cut by his nearest friend. In the outbreak
of 1894, a Mappilla youth was wounded, but not killed. The tidings
was conveyed to his mother, who merely said, with the stern majesty
of the Spartan matron of old, 'If I were a man, I would not come back
wounded.' [209] "Those who die fighting for the faith are reverenced
as martyrs and saints, who can work miracles from the Paradise to
which they have attained. A Mappilla woman was once benighted in a
strange place. An infidel passed by, and, noticing her sorry plight,
tried to take advantage of it to destroy her virtue. She immediately
invoked the aid of one of the martyrs of Malappuram. A deadly serpent
rushed out of a neighbouring thicket, and flew at the villain,
who had dared to sully the chastity of a chosen daughter. Once,
during a rising, a Mappilla, who preferred to remain on the side
of order and Government, stood afar off, and watched with sorrow
the dreadful sight of his co-religionists being cut down by the
European soldiery. Suddenly his emotions underwent a transformation,
for there, through his blinding tears and the dust and smoke of the
battle, he saw a wondrous vision. Lovely houris bent tenderly over
fallen martyrs, bathed their wounds, and gave them to drink delicious
sherbet and milk, and, with smiles that outshone the brightness of
the sun, bore away the fallen bodies of the brave men to the realms
beyond. The watcher dashed through the crowd, and cast in his lot
with the happy men who were fighting such a noble fight. And, after
he was slain, these things were revealed to his wife in a vision,
and she was proud thereat. These, and similar stories, are believed
as implicitly as the Koran is believed." [210]
It is noted by Mr. Logan [211] that the custom of the Nayars, in
accordance with which they sacrificed their lives for the honour of
the king, "was readily adopted by the Mappillas, who also at times--as
at the great Mahamakham twelfth year feast at Tirunavayi--devoted
themselves to death in the company of Nayars for the honour of the
Valluvanad Raja. And probably the frantic fanatical rush of the
Mappillas on British bayonets is the latest development of this
ancient custom of the Nayars."
The fanatical outbreaks of recent times have been exclusively limited
to the Ernad and Walluvanad taluks. There are quartered at the present
time at Malappuram in the Ernad taluk a special Assistant Collector, a
company of British troops, and a special native police force. In 1905,
Government threw open 220 scholarships, on the results of the second
and third standard examinations, to Mappilla pupils of promise in the
two taluks mentioned above, to enable them to prosecute their studies
for the next higher standard in a recognised school connected with the
Madras Educational Department. Twenty scholarships were further offered
to Mappillas in the special class attached to the Government School
of Commerce, Calicut, where instruction in commercial arithmetic,
book-keeping, commercial practice, etc., is imparted in the Malayalam
language. In 1904, a Mappilla Sanskrit school was founded at Puttur,
some of the pupils at which belong to the families of hereditary
physicians, who were formerly good Sanskrit scholars.
At a Loyalty meeting of Mappillas held at Ponnani in 1908 under
the auspices of the Mannath-ul-Islam Sabha, the President spoke as
follows. "When the Moplahs are ranged on the side of order, the peace
of the country is assured. But the Moplah is viewed with suspicion by
the Government. He has got a bad name as a disturber of the peace. He
is liable to fits, and no one knows when he may run amock. From this
public platform I can assure the Government as well as the public
that the proper remedy has at last been applied, and the Moplah fits
have ceased, never to return. What the remedy was, and who discovered
it, must be briefly explained. Every Moplah outbreak was connected
with the relapse of a convert. In the heat of a family quarrel, in a
moment of despair, a Hindu thought to revenge himself upon his family
by becoming a convert to Islam. In a few days, repentance followed,
and he went back to his relatives. An ignorant Mullah made this
a text for a sermon. A still more ignorant villager found in it an
opportunity to obtain admission into the highest Paradise. An outbreak
results. The apostate's throat is cut. The Moplah is shot. Deportation
and Punitive Police follow. The only rational way to put a final stop
to this chronic malady was discovered by a Hindu gentleman. The hasty
conversions must be stopped. Those who seek conversion must be given
plenty of time to consider the irrevocable nature of the step they
were going to take. The Mullahs must be properly instructed. Their
interpretation of the Koran was wrong. There is absolutely nothing
in our scriptures to justify murders of this kind, or opposition to
the ruling power. The ignorant people had to be taught. There was no
place in Paradise for murderers and cut-throats. Their place was lower
down. Three things had to be done. Conversion had to be regulated;
the Mullahs had to be instructed; the ignorance of the people had
to be removed. Ponani is the religious head-quarters of the Moplahs
of the West Coast, including Malabar, South Canara, and the Native
States of Cochin and Travancore. The Jarathingal Thangal at Ponani is
the High Priest of all the Moplahs; the Mahadoom Thangal of Ponani
is the highest authority in all religious matters. It is he that
sanctifies the Musaliars. The Mannath-ul-Islam Sabha at Ponani was
started under the auspices of the Jarathingal Thangal and the Mahadoom
Thangal. Two schools were opened for the education of new converts,
one for boys and the other for girls. Strict enquiries were made as
to the state of mind and antecedents of all who seek conversion. They
are kept under observation long enough, and are admitted only on the
distinct understanding that it is a deliberate voluntary act, and they
have to make up their minds to remain. Some six thousand converts
have passed through our schools since the Sabha was started. The
Musaliars are never sanctified until they are thoroughly grounded in
the correct principles of our religion, and an assurance is obtained
from them that they will never preach rebellion. No Musaliar will
break a promise given to the Thangal. The loyalty of the Musaliars
and Mullahs is thus assured. Where there is no Musaliar to bless them,
there is no Moplah to die as a martyr. The Mullahs are also taught to
explain to all villagers that our scriptures condemn opposition to
the ruling power, and that loyalty to the Sovereign is a religious
duty. We are also trying to spread education among the ignorant
villagers. In order further to enlist the sympathies of the people,
extensive charities have been organised. Sixteen branches of the Sabha
have been opened all over South Malabar and the States of Travancore
and Cochin. A very large number of domestic quarrels--divorce cases,
partition cases, etc.--have been settled by arbitration through these
branch associations. It is an immense power for good."
The Mappillas have been summed up, as regards their occupations, as
being traders on the coast, and cultivators in the interior, in both of
which callings they are very successful and prosperous. "In the realm
of industry," it has been said, "the Moplah occupies a position, which
undoubtedly does him credit. Poverty is confined almost exclusively
to certain wild, yet picturesque tracts in the east of Malabar, where
the race constitutes the preponderating element of the population,
and the field and farm furnish the only means of support to the
people. And it is just in those areas that one may see at their best
the grit, laboriousness, and enterprise of the Moplah. He reclaims
dense forest patches, and turns them into cultivated plots under the
most unfavourable conditions, and, in the course of a few years, by
hard toil and perseverance, he transforms into profitable homesteads
regions that were erstwhile virgin forest or scrubby jungle. Or he
lays himself out to reclaim and plant up marshy lands lying alongside
rivers and lagoons, and insures them from destruction by throwing
up rough but serviceable dykes and dams. In these tracts he is also
sometimes a timber merchant, and gets on famously by taking out permits
to fell large trees, which he rafts down the rivers to the coast. The
great bulk of the Moplahs in these wild regions belong purely to the
labouring classes, and it is among these classes that the pinch of
poverty is most keenly felt, particularly in the dull monsoon days,
when all industry has to be suspended. In the towns and coast ports,
the Moplahs are largely represented in most branches of industry and
toil. A good many of them are merchants, and get on exceedingly well,
being bolder and more speculative than the Hindus of the district. The
bulk of petty traders and shop-keepers in Malabar are also Moplahs,
and, in these callings, they may be found at great distances from
home, in Rangoon, Ceylon, the Straits and elsewhere, and generally
prospering. Almost everywhere in their own district they go near
monopolising the grocery, hardware, haberdashery, and such other
trades; and as petty bazar men they drive a profitable business on
the good old principle of small profits and quick returns. No native
hawker caters more readily to Mr. Thomas Atkins (the British soldier)
than the Moplah, and, in the military stations in Malabar, 'Poker'
(a Moplah name) waxes fat and grows rich by undertaking to supply
Tommy with tea, coffee, lemonade, tobacco, oilman stores, and other
little luxuries."
"Some Mappillas," Mr. A. Chatterton writes, [212] "have taken to
leather-working, and they are considered to be specialists in the
making of ceruppus or leather shoes. In Malabar the trade in raw hides
and skins is chiefly in the hands of Mappillas. Weekly fairs are held
at several places, and all the available hides and skins are put up for
sale, and are purchased by Muhammadans." Some Mappillas bind books,
and others are good smiths. "The small skull caps, which are the
universal head-gear of Mappilla men and boys, are made in different
parts of Malabar, but the best are the work of Mappilla women at
Cannanore. They are made of fine canvas beautifully embroidered by
hand, and fetch in the market between Rs. 2 and Rs. 3." [213]
The Mappillas take an active share in the fish-curing operations along
the west coast, and the Mukkuvans, who are the hereditary fishermen of
Malabar, are inclined to be jealous of them. A veteran Mukkuvan, at the
time of my inspection of the Badagara fish-curing yard in 1900, put the
real grievance of his brethren in a nutshell. In old days, he stated,
they used salt-earth for curing fishes. When the fish-curing yards
were started, and Government salt was issued, the Mukkuvans thought
that they were going to be heavily taxed. They did not understand
exactly what was going to happen, and were suspicious. The result was
that they would have nothing to do with the curing-yards. The use
of salt-earth was stopped on the establishment of Government salt,
and some of the fishermen were convicted for illegal use thereof. They
thought that, if they held out, they would be allowed to use salt-earth
as formerly. Meanwhile, the Mappillas, being more wide-awake than the
Mukkuvans, took advantage of the opportunity (in 1884), and erected
yards, whereof they are still in possession. A deputation of Mukkuvans
waited on me. Their main grievance was that they are hereditary
fishermen, and formerly the Mappillas were only the purchasers of
fish. A few years ago, the Mappillas started as fishermen on their
own account, with small boats and thattuvala (tapping nets), in using
which the nets, with strips of cocoanut leaves tied on to the ropes,
are spread, and the sides of the boats beaten with sticks and staves,
to drive the fish into the net. The noise made extends to a great
distance, and consequently the shoals go out to sea, too far for the
fishermen to follow in pursuit. In a petition, which was submitted to
me by the Mukkuvan fish-curers at Badagara, they asked to have the
site of the yard changed, as they feared that their women would be
'unchastised' at the hands of the Mappillas.
"Small isolated attempts," Major Holland-Pryor writes, "to recruit
Mappillas were made by various regiments quartered in Malabar some
years ago, but without success. This was probably owing to the fact
that the trial was made on too small a scale, and that the system
of mixed companies interfered with their clannish propensities. The
district officers also predicted certain failure, on the ground
that Mappillas would not serve away from their own country. Their
predictions, however, have proved to be false, and men now come
forward in fair numbers for enlistment." In 1896, the experiment of
recruiting Mappillas for the 25th Madras Infantry was started, and
the responsible task of working up the raw material was entrusted
to Colonel Burton, with whose permission I took measurements of his
youthful warriors. As was inevitable in a community recruited by
converts from various classes, the sepoys afforded an interesting
study in varied colouration, stature and nasal configuration. One
very dark-skinned and platyrhine individual, indeed, had a nasal
index of 92. Later on, the sanction of the Secretary of State was
obtained for the adoption of a scheme for converting the 17th and
25th regiments of the Madras Infantry into Mappilla corps, which were
subsequently named the 77th and 78th Moplah Rifles. "These regiments,"
Major Holland-Pryor continues, "at present draw their men principally
from Ernad and Valuvanad. Labourers from these parts are much sought
after by planters and agents from the Kolar gold-fields, on account of
their hardiness and fine physique. Some, however, prefer to enlist. The
men are generally smaller than the Coast Mappillas, and do not show
much trace of Arab blood, but they are hardy and courageous, and,
with their superior stamina, make excellent fighting material." In
1905 the 78th Moplah Rifles were transferred to Dera Ismail Khan in
the Punjab, and took part in the military manoeuvres before H.R.H. the
Prince of Wales at Rawalpindi. It has been observed that "the Moplahs,
in dark green and scarlet, the only regiment in India which wears the
tarbush, are notable examples of the policy of taming the pugnacious
races by making soldiers of them, which began with the enlistment of
the Highlanders in the Black Watch, and continued to the disciplining
of the Kachins in Burma. In the general overhauling of the Indian
Army, the fighting value of the Moplahs has come into question, and
the 78th Regiment is now at Dera Ismail Khan being measured against
the crack regiments of the north." In 1907, the colours of the 17th
Madras Infantry, which was formed at Fort St. George in 1777, and
had had its name changed to 77th Moplah Rifles, were, on the regiment
being mustered out, deposited in St. Mark's Church, Bangalore.
It has been said of the Mappillas [214] that "their heads are true
cocoanuts; their high foreheads and pointed crowns are specially
noticeable for being kept shaven, and, when covered, provided with
only a small gaily embroidered skull-cap."
The dress of the Mappillas is thus described in the Gazetteer of
Malabar. "The ordinary dress of the men is a mundu or cloth, generally
white with a purple border, but sometimes orange or green, or plain
white. It is tied on the left (Hindus tie it on the right), and kept in
position by a nul or waist string, to which are attached one or more
elassus (small cylinders) of gold, silver, or baser metal, containing
texts from the Koran or magic yantrams. A small knife is usually worn
at the waist. Persons of importance wear in addition a long flowing
garment of fine cotton (a kind of burnoos), and over this again may
be worn a short waistcoat like jacket, though this is uncommon in
South Malabar, and (in the case of Tangals, etc.) a cloak of some
rich coloured silk. The European shirt and short coat are also coming
into fashion in the towns. A small cap of white or white and black is
very commonly worn, and round this an ordinary turban, or some bright
coloured scarf may be tied. Mappillas shave their heads clean. Beards
are frequently worn, especially by old people and Tangals. Hajis, or
men who have made their pilgrimage to Mecca, and other holy men, often
dye the beard red. Women wear a mundu of some coloured cloth (dark
blue is most usual), and a white loose bodice more or less embroidered,
and a veil or scarf on the head. In the case of the wealthy, the mundu
may be of silk of some light colour. Women of the higher classes are
kept secluded, and hide their faces when they go abroad. The lower
classes are not particular in this respect. Men wear no jewellery,
except the elassus already mentioned, and in some cases rings on the
fingers, but these should not be of pure gold. Women's jewellery is
of considerable variety, and is sometimes very costly. It takes the
form of necklaces, ear-rings, zones, bracelets, and anklets. As among
Tiyans and Mukkuvans, a great number of ear-rings are worn. The rim
of the ear is bored into as many as ten or a dozen holes, in addition
to the one in the lobe. Nose-rings are not worn.
"Incredibly large sums of money," Mr. P. Kunjain writes, [215] "are
spent on female ornaments. For the neck there are five or six sorts,
for the waist five or six sorts, and there are besides long rows
of armlets, bracelets, and bangles, and anklets and ear ornaments,
all made of gold. As many as ten or fourteen holes are bored in each
ear, one being in the labia (lobe) and the remainder in the ala
(helix). The former is artificially widened, and a long string of
ornaments of beautiful manufacture suspended to it. As strict Sunnis
of the Shafi school, the boring of the nose is prohibited."
I have in my possession five charm cylinders, which were worn round
the waist by a notorious Mappilla dacoit, who was shot by the police,
and whom his co-religionists tried to turn into a saint. It is noted,
in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that, though magic is condemned by the
Koran, the Mappilla is very superstitious, and witchcraft is not by
any means unknown. Many Tangals pretend to cure diseases by writing
selections from the Koran on a plate with ink or on a coating of ashes,
and then giving the ink or ashes mixed with water to the patient
to swallow. They also dispense scrolls for elassus, and small flags
inscribed with sacred verses, which are set up to avert pestilence
or misfortune. The Mappilla jins and shaitans correspond to the
Hindu demons, and are propitiated in much the same way. One of their
methods of witchcraft is to make a wooden figure to represent the
enemy, drive nails into all the vital parts, and throw it into sea,
after curses in due form. A belief in love philtres and talismans is
very common, and precautions against the evil eye are universal.
In 1903, a life-size nude female human figure, with feet everted
and turned backwards, carved out of the wood of Alstonia scholaris,
was washed ashore at Calicut. Long nails had been driven in all over
the head, body and limbs, and a large square hole cut out above the
navel. Inscriptions in Arabic characters were scrawled over it. By
a coincidence, the corpse of a man was washed ashore close to the
figure. Quite recently, another interesting example of sympathetic
magic, in the shape of a wooden representation of a human being, was
washed ashore at Calicut. The figure is eleven inches in height. The
arms are bent on the chest, and the palms of the hands are placed
together as in the act of saluting. A square cavity, closed by
a wooden lid, has been cut out of the middle of the abdomen, and
contains apparently tobacco, ganja (Indian hemp), and hair. An iron
bar has been driven from the back of the head through the body, and
terminates in the abdominal cavity. A sharp cutting instrument has
been driven into the chest and back in twelve places.
"The Mappillas of North Malabar," Mr. Lewis Moore writes, [216] "follow
the marumakkathayam system of inheritance, while the Mappillas of South
Malabar, with some few exceptions, follow the ordinary Muhammadan
law. Among those who profess to follow the marumakkathayam law, the
practice frequently prevails of treating the self-acquisitions of a
man as descendible to his wife and children under Muhammadan law. Among
those who follow the ordinary Muhammadan law, it is not unusual for a
father and sons to have community of property, and for the property
to be managed by the father, and, after his death, by the eldest
son. Mr. Logan [217] alludes to the adoption of the marumakkathayam
law of inheritance by the Nambudris of Payyanur in North Malabar, and
then writes 'And it is noteworthy that the Muhammadans settled there
(Mappillas) have done the same thing.' Mr. Logan here assumes that the
Mappillas of North Malabar were Muhammadans in religion before they
adopted the marumakkathayam law of inheritance. There can, however,
be but little doubt that a considerable portion, at all events, of
these so-called Mappillas were followers of marumakkathayam rules and
customs long before they embraced the faith of Islam." "In the case of
the Mappillas," Mr. Vaidyanatha writes, "it is more than probable that
there were more numerous conversions from marumakkathayam families
in the north than in the south. The number of makkathayam adherents
has always been small in the north. According to marumakkathayam, the
wife is not a member of the husband's family, but usually resides in
her family house. The makkathayam Mappillas, curiously enough, seldom
take their wives home. In some parts, such as Calicut, a husband is
only a visitor for the night. The Mappillas, like the Nayars, call
themselves by the names of their houses (or parambas)." It is noted by
Mr. P. Kunjain [218] that the present generation of Moplahs following
marumakkathayam is not inclined to favour the perpetuation of this
flagrant transgression of the divine law, which enjoins makkathayam
on true believers in unequivocal terms. With the view of defeating
the operation of the law, the present generation settled their
self-acquisition on their children during their lifetime. A proposal
to alter the law to accord with the divine law will be hailed with
supreme pleasure. This is the current of public opinion among Moplahs.
It is recorded in the Gazetteer of Malabar that "in North Malabar,
Mappillas as a rule follow the marumakkathayam system of inheritance,
though it is opposed to the precepts of the Koran; but a man's
self-acquisitions usually descend to his wife and family in accordance
with the Muhammadan law of property. The combination of the two
systems of law often leads to great complications. In the south,
the makkatayam system is usually followed, but it is remarkable that
succession to religious stanams, such as that of the Valiya Tangal of
Ponnani, usually goes according to the marumakkathayam system. There
seems to be a growing discontent with the marumakkathayam system; but,
on the other hand, there is no doubt that the minute sub-division of
property between a man's heirs, which the Koran prescribes, tends to
foster poverty, especially amongst petty cultivators, such as those
of Ernad and Walavanad."
It is unnecessary to linger over the naming, tonsure, circumcision, and
ear-boring ceremonies, which the Mappilla infant has to go through. But
the marriage and death customs are worthy of some notice. [219] "Boys
are married at the age of 18 or 20 as a rule in North Malabar, and
girls at 14 or 15. In South Malabar, early marriages are more common,
boys being married between 14 and 18, and girls between 8 and 12. In
exceptional cases, girls have been known to be married at the age of
2 1/2, but this only happens when the girl's father is in extremis,
since an orphan must remain unmarried till puberty. The first thing
is the betrothal or settlement of the dowry, which is arranged by
the parents, or in North Malabar by the Karnavans. Large dowries are
expected, especially in North Malabar, where, in spite of polygamy,
husbands are at a premium, and a father with many daughters needs to
be a rich man. The only religious ceremony necessary is the nikka,
which consists in the formal conclusion of the contract before two
witnesses and the Kazi, who then registers it. The nikka may be
performed either on the day of the nuptials or before it, sometimes
months or years before. In the latter case, the fathers of the bride
and bridegroom go to the bride's family mosque and repeat the necessary
formula, which consists in the recital of the Kalima, and a formal
acceptance of the conditions of the match, thrice repeated. In the
former case, the Kazi, as a rule, comes to the bride's house where
the ceremony is performed, or else the parties go to the Kazi's
house. In North Malabar, the former is the rule; but in Calicut
the Kazi will only go to the houses of four specially privileged
families. After the performance of the nikka, there is a feast in the
bride's house. Then the bridegroom and his attendants are shown to a
room specially prepared, with a curtain over the door. The bridegroom
is left there alone, and the bride is introduced into the room by her
mother or sister. In North Malabar, she brings her dowry with her,
wrapped in a cloth. She is left with the bridegroom for a few minutes,
and then comes out, and the bridegroom takes his departure. In some
cases, the bride and bridegroom are allowed to spend the whole night
together. In some parts of South Malabar, it is the bride who is first
conducted to the nuptial chamber, where she is made to lie down on a
sofa, and the bridegroom is then introduced, and left with her for a
few minutes. In North Malabar and Calicut, the bride lives in her own
house with her mother and sisters, unless her husband is rich enough
to build her a house of her own. In South Malabar, the wife is taken
to the husband's house as soon as she is old enough for cohabitation,
and lives there. Polygamy is the rule, and it is estimated that in
South Malabar 80 per cent. of the husbands have two wives or more,
and 20 per cent. three or four. In North Malabar, it is not usual
for a man to have more than two wives. The early age at which girls
are married in South Malabar no doubt encourages polygamy. It also
encourages divorce, which in South Malabar is common, while in the
north it is comparatively rare, and looked upon with disfavour. All
that is required is for the husband to say, in the presence of the
wife's relations, or before her Kazi, that he has 'untied the tie,
and does not want the wife any more,' and to give back the stridhanam
or dowry. Divorce by the wife is rare, and can be had only for definite
reasons, such as that the husband is incapable of maintaining her, or
is incurably diseased or impotent. Widows may remarry without limit,
but the dearth of husbands makes it difficult for them to do so.
"When a man dies, his body is undressed, and arranged so that the
legs point to Mecca. The two big toes are tied together, and the hands
crossed on the chest, the right over the left; the arms are also tied
with a cloth. Mullas are called in to read the Koran over the corpse,
and this has to be continued until it is removed to the cemetery. When
the relatives have arrived, the body is washed and laid on the floor
on mats, over which a cloth has been spread. Cotton wool is placed in
the ears, and between the lips, the fingers, and the toes, and the
body is shrouded in white cloths. It is then placed on a bier which
is brought from the mosque, and borne thither. At the mosque the bier
is placed near the western wall; the mourners arrange themselves in
lines, and offer prayers (niskaram) standing. The bier is then taken
to the grave, which is dug north and south; the body is lowered,
the winding sheets loosened, and the body turned so as to lie on
its right side facing Mecca. A handful of earth is placed below the
right cheek. The grave is then covered with laterite stones, over
which each of the mourners throws a handful of earth, reciting the
Kalima and passages from the Koran. Laterite stones are placed at the
head and foot of the grave, and some mailanji (henna: Lawsonia alba)
is planted at the side. A Mulla then seats himself at the head of the
grave, and reads certain passages of the Koran, intended to instruct
the dead man how to answer the questions about his faith, which it is
supposed that the angels are then asking him. The funeral concludes
with distribution of money and rice to the poor. For three days, a
week, or forty days, according to the circumstances of the deceased,
Mullas should read the Koran over the grave without ceasing day and
night. The Koran must also be read at home for at least three days. On
the third day, a visit is made to the tomb, after which a maulad is
performed, the Mullas are paid, alms are distributed, and a feast
is given to the relations, including the deceased's relations by
marriage, who should come to his house that day. A similar ceremony
is performed on the fortieth day, which concludes the mourning; and
by the rich on anniversaries. Widows should keep secluded in their
own houses for three months and ten days, without seeing any of the
male sex. After that period, they are at liberty to remarry."
Concerning the Mappillas of the Laccadives, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes
as follows. [220] "The customs of the Mappillas of the Laccadive
islands are peculiar. The people are not called Mappilas, but
(1) Koya, (2) Malumi, (3) Urukkaran, (4) Takru, (5) Milikhan,
and (6) Melac'cheri. No. 1 is the land and boat owning class,
and is superior to the rest. Nos. 2 to 5 are pilots and sailors,
and, where they are cultivators, cultivate under No. 1. No. 6 were
the slaves of the first division; now they cultivate the Koyas'
lands, take the produce of those lands in boats to the mainland,
and pay 20 per cent. of the sale-proceeds to the Koya owners. The
islanders generally dress like ordinary Mappilas. The Melac'cheris,
however, may use only a coarser kind of cloth, and they are not
allowed intermarriage with the other classes. If any such marriage
takes place, the offender is put out of caste, but the marriage is
deemed a valid one. The current tradition is that these Laccadive
Mappilas were originally the inhabitants of Malabar--Nambudiris,
Nayars, Tiyyas, etc.--who went in search of Cheraman Perumal when the
latter left for Mecca, and were wrecked on these islands. The story
goes that these remained Hindus for a long time, that Obeidulla,
the disciple of Caliph Abu Bakr, having received instructions from
the prophet in a dream to go and convert the unbelievers on these
islands, left for the place and landed on Ameni island, that he was
ill-treated by the people, who were all Brahmans, but that, having
worked some miracles, he converted them. He then visited the other
islands, and all the islanders embraced the Moslem faith. His remains
are said to be interred in the island of Androth. Among this section
of the Mappilas, succession is generally--in fact almost entirely--in
the female line. Girls are married when they are six or seven years
old. No dowry is given. They are educated equally with the boys, and,
on marriage, they are not taken away from school, but continue there
until they finish the course. In the island of Minicoy, the largest
of the islands, the women appear in public, and take part in public
affairs. The women generally are much more educated than the ordinary
Mappila males of the mainland. The Koyas are said to be descendants
of Nambudiris, Melach'cheris of Tiyyans and Mukkuvans, and the rest
of Nayars. Whatever the present occupation of Koyas on these islands,
the tradition that Koyas were originally Brahmans also confirms the
opinion that they belong to the priestly class."
In a note on the Laccadives and Minicoy, [221] Mr. C. W. E. Cotton
writes that "while it would appear that the Maldives and Minicoy were
long ago peopled by the same wave of Aryan immigration which overran
Ceylon, tradition ascribes the first settlements in the northern
group to an expedition shipwrecked on one of the Atolls so late as
825 A.D. This expedition is said to have set out from Kodungallur
(Cranganore) in search of the last of the Perumal Viceroys of Malabar,
a convert either to Buddhism or Islam, and included some Nambudris,
commonly employed, as Duarte Barbosa tells us, on account of their
persons being considered sacrosanct, as envoys and messengers in times
of war, and perhaps also for dangerous embassies across the seas. Some
support may be found for this tradition in the perpetuation of the
name illam for some of the principal houses in Kalpeni, and in the
existence of strongly marked caste divisions, especially remarkable
among communities professing Mahomedanism, corresponding to the
aristocrats, the mariners, and the dependants, of which such an
expeditionary force would have been composed. The Tarwad islands,
Ameni, Kalpeni, Androth, and Kavarathi, were probably peopled first,
and their inhabitants can claim high-caste Hindu ancestry. There has
been no doubt everywhere considerable voluntary immigration from the
coast, and some infusion of pure Arab blood; but the strain of Negro
introduced into the Maldives by Zanzibar slaves is nowhere traceable
in Minicoy or the northern Archipelago."
In a further note, Mr. Cotton writes as follows. [222] "The inhabitants
of Androth, Kalpeni, Kavaratti and Agatti, are Mappillas, almost
undistinguishable, except in the matter of physical development,
from those on the mainland. The admixture of Arab blood seems to
be confined to a few of the principal families in the two 'tarwad'
islands, Kalpeni and Androth. The islanders, though Muhammadans,
perpetuate the old caste distinctions which they observed before
their conversion to Islam. The highest caste is called Koya, in its
origin merely a religious title. The Koyas represent the aristocracy
of the original colonists, and in them vests the proprietorship of
most of the cocoanut trees and the odams (ships), which constitute
the chief outward and visible signs of wealth on the islands. They
supply each Amin with a majority of his council of hereditary
elders (Karanavans). The lowest and largest class is that of the
Melacheris (lit. high climbers), also called Thandels in Kavaratti,
the villeins in the quasi-feudal system of the islands, who do the
tree-tapping, cocoanut plucking, and menial labour. They hold trees
on kudiyan service, which involves the shipping of produce on their
overlord's boat or odam, the thatching of his house and boat-shed,
and an obligation to sail on the odam to the mainland whenever called
upon. Intermediately come the Malumis (pilots), also called Urakars,
who represent the skilled navigating class, to which many of the
Karnavans in Kavaratti belong. Intermarriage between them and the less
prosperous Koyis is now permitted. Monogamy is almost the universal
rule, but divorces can be so easily obtained that the marriage tie
can scarcely be regarded as more binding than the sambandham among
the Hindus on the coast. The women go about freely with their heads
uncovered. They continue to live after marriage in their family or
tarwad houses, where they are visited by their husbands, and the system
of inheritance in vogue is marumakkathayam as regards family property,
and makkatayam as regards self-acquisitions. These are distinguished
on the islands under the terms Velliyaricha (Friday) and Tingalaricha
(Monday) property. The family house is invariably called pura in
contradistinction to Vidu--the wife's house. Intermarriage between the
inhabitants of different islands is not uncommon. The islanders are
very superstitious, and believe in ghosts and hobgoblins, about the
visible manifestations of which many stories are current; and there
is an old mamul (established) rule on all the islands forbidding any
one to go out after nightfall. Phantom steamers and sailing ships
are sometimes seen in the lagoons or rowed out to on the open sea;
and in the prayers by the graves of his ancestors, which each sailor
makes before setting out on a voyage, we find something akin to the
Roman worship of the Manes. The Moidin mosque at Kalpeni, and the big
West Pandaram at Androth are believed to be haunted. There are Jarams
(shrines) in Cheriyam and Cheriyakara, to which pilgrimages are made
and where vows are taken, and it is usual to chant the fateah [223]
on sighting the Jamath mosque in Androth, beneath the shadow of which
is the tomb of Mumba Mulyaka, the Arab apostle to the Laccadives."
In his inspection report of the Laccadives, 1902, Mr. G. H. B. Jackson
notes that "the caste barrier, on the island of Androth, between the
Koya and the Malumi class and the Melacheris is as rigid as ever. It
divides capital from labour, and has given the upper classes much of
the appearance of an effete aristocracy." In a more recent inspection
report (1905), Mr. C. W. E. Cotton writes as follows. "Muhammadans,
owing to their inordinate love of dress, are apt to give an exaggerated
impression of wealth, but I should think that, despite the laziness of
all but the Melacheris, the majority of the inhabitants (of Androth)
are well-to-do, and, in this respect, compare very favourably with
those of the other islands. The Qazi and several other Karnavars, who
have a smattering of the Koran, go to the mainland, and, in centres of
superstition, earn considerable sums by their profession of extreme
learning and piety. The long satin coats (a canary yellow is the
fashionable tint) procured in Bombay or Mangalore are evidence of the
financial success of their pilgrimages. It is perhaps fortunate that
the Koyas have discovered this additional source of income, for, though
they continue to own nearly all the cargo-carrying odams (boats),
their position as jenmis (landlords) has been seriously jeopardised
owing to the repudiation of their obligations as Kudians by many of
the enterprising Melacheri community. The Melacheris are now alive to
the fact that, as their tenure is not evidenced by documents and rests
upon oral assertions, they have a very reasonable chance of freeing
themselves of their overlords altogether. The Mukhyastars are quite
a representative lot. Sheikindevittil Muthu Koya is a fine specimen
of the sea-faring Moplah, and the Qazi, twenty-fourth in descent
from Mumby Moolyaka, the Arab who converted the islanders to Islam,
struck me as a man of very considerable attainments. In his report
on the dispensary at Androth (1905), Mr. K. Ibrahim Khan, hospital
assistant, states that "the quacks are said to be clever enough to
treat cases both by their drugs and by their charms. They actually
prevent other poor classes seeking medical and surgical treatment in
the dispensary, and mislead them by their cunning words. Most of the
quacks come to the dispensary, and take medicines such as santonine
powders, quinine pills, purgatives, etc. They make use of these for
their own cases, and thus earn their livelihood. The quacks are among
the Koya class. The Koyas are jenmis, and the Malims and Melacheris
are their tenants. The latter, being low classes, always believe them,
and depend upon their landlords, who are also their physicians, to
treat them when they fall sick. The islanders, as a rule, have no
faith in English medical treatment. The rich folks who can afford
it go to Malabar for native treatment; only the poorer classes,
who have neither means to pay the quacks here nor to go to Malabar,
attend the dispensary with half inclination."
Marakallu.--Marakallu or Marakadu, meaning fishermen, has been
recorded as a sub-division of Pallis engaged as fishermen in the
Telugu country. The equivalent of Mukku Marakkaleru is a title or
synonym of Moger and Marakkan of Mukkuvan. Marakkayar is a title of
Labbai boatmen.