Marakkar - History and Origin

History and Origin

Most of us have heard and read about the famous Kunhali Marakkar and his exploits, but one question remains, where did they come from? There have been many questions about their real origins, were they Moplahs of Arab extract from Pantalayani Kollam (South of Calicut); were they of Sri Lankan origin, were they Tamil Marakkars or were they from Tulunad? The research was quite interesting and the result obtained cannot be termed fully conclusive but was quite revealing. For those here, and only interested in Kunjali’s story, this does not cover the life and times of any of the famous Kunhali’s but hovers only around theories of their possible origin.

The Maraicars can be found in coastal areas of South India, including Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Around 12th century AD in Arab countries there was a dispute among two kings who belongs to the same royal family which later erupted in war. The defeated members of the royal family were packed in ships and banished with their captains and servants. Those who settled in coastal regions of India are called marakala rayars, . The captains of the ships are called malimars (malumiyar comes from the Tamil word MALUMI and YAR, malumi means captain in Tamil) and the ship crew members are called sherangs. Even today malimars, sherangs and Maricars are to be found living only on the coast of Tamil Nadu. Maricars can be found abundance in Maraikayar Pattinam (which is thought to be the ancestral hometown of the early Maricars), Parangipettai (Portonovo), Kilakarai, Kulasekharapatnam, Adirampattinam, Muthupet, Nagore, Nagapattinam, Manjakollai and various other coastal towns.

Probably one of the most famous Maricars is Dr. Abdul Kalam Maraikkayar, the 11th president of India and a noted scientist and aerospace engineer.

Maraicars in Malabar are descendants of one of the missionaries in the team of twelve sent to Kerala during the time of Prophet Muhammed. It is said that the Maharaja of the then Kerala, Cheraman Perumal went to Arabia and accepted Islam in Mecca. He died there in Mecca and was buried there. While the Maharaja was there, he sent a team of twelve messengers in a ship to Kerala to preach the Islamic principles. The local rulers knew these people are sent by their own Maharaja and received them royally. The missionaries married women from the royal families and settled down in different parts of Kerala. The descendants of each of them became a family and one was the Marakkar family. Kunhali Marakkars were the most famous Marakkars among them.

Maricars dealt business with sea trade earlier

According to KVK Iyer, Kunjali after the destruction of Ponnani by Almeida approached the Zamorin and asked to fight the Portuguese. Impressed by his courage he was given this title by the Zamorin. It appears that the people who carried the title used a special silk turban on their heads. Don Lach & Ed Levy quoting Laval in the book ‘Asia in the making of Europe’ states that Marakkar means ‘viceroy’.

NM Nampoothiri quoting the Granthavaris of Calicut - Zamorin confirms the honorific title - In 1687 the Kuliyoti Kottakal Marakkayar was given the title Marakkayar. Another man, Kunnikkalathor was given the title Kunnali Marakkayar in the same year.