Marakkar
Maraicar or Maraicayar, Marakayar, Maraicar (மரைக்காயர்) maraikalam(wooden boat)+rayar(king) or Moor is a distinctive Tamil and Malayalam-speaking Muslim people of the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in India and sri lanka. Let us first look at the name Marakkar. Note that this is different from Marakkayar though we will observe the connections after a while (Marikkar & Maricar are other spellings used in history books). According to many other historians, Moppila or Moplah is Maha Pillai (great son) and Marakkar means (Marakkalam is a wooden boat) ‘boatmen’. Thurston in his Tribes of S India, states the following - The word Marakkar is usually derived from the Arabic ‘Markab’, a boat. The story goes that, when the first immigrants of this class (they were apparently driven from their own country by persecutions) landed on the Indian shores, they were naturally asked who they were, and where they came from. In answer they pointed to their boats, and pronounced the word Markab, and they became in consequence Marakkars, or the people of Markab.
Was it also a titular name for seaborne traders? KVK Iyer clarifies in his history of Kerala that Marakkar was a prized title given by the Zamorin of Calicut. Derived from Marakka Rayar it signifies the captain of a ship Rayar (Captain) of Marakkalam (ship)
Traditionally, the Maricars engaged in mercantile commerce. They can be found along coastal areas of the states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in India. They are generally considered to be of Middle Eastern(Arab) origin.
Islam in Tamil Nadu Jain and Buddhist conversion to Islam
The Jainism and Buddhism was under stress by resurgent Hinduism when Islam was introduced to Tamil Nadu and Kerala regions of southern India (650–750 AD). The majority of Jains embraced Islam and they still retain some Jain habits.
Read more about Marakkar: History and Origin, Kayalpatnam & Maricar, The Period, Some Prominent Marakkars & Their Trade, Marakkars & Marakkayars, Marakkars of Kotakkal, Back To Origins, Present Circumstances