Nawayath - History of Origin

History of Origin

Jaffer Shariff (Qanoon-e-Islam (1832)), Colonel Wilkes (History of Mysore, vol 1), and the Imperial Gazetteer of India derive Nawayath from the Persian نوآید 'Nawāyad' ("newcomer"). The contemporary Indian historian Omar Khalidi summarizes the modern view, writing that "he various Muslim communities that sprang up on the Konkan coast of India in the seventh century share three common characteristics: the first is a common origin in the Arabian Peninsula and the Persian Gulf region, second is a common adherence to the Shafi'i madhab, or school of Islamic law . . . and finally the common descent from Arab mariners and merchants. Among these communities at least three groups came to be called Nawayats. The name appears in a variety of forms in Arabic, Urdu and English, including Nait, Naiti spelled with the letters ta or te. . . . There is controversy among the Nawayat scholars and academic researchers regarding this term. Based on a detailed and sophisticated philological analysis D.V. Chauhan has concluded in his important study that 'the term Navait in the Arabo-Iranian historical sources and also in Indian languages is in fact the Prakritisation of the Arabo-Iranian term "navakidh", meaning shipowners.' . . . . Regardless of the origin and meaning of the term Nawayat, it is clear that there are three groups of Muslims who are descended from the Arab immigrants and their progeny and dispersed to various parts of western and southern India. The first group of Nawayats are those who live predominantly in the town of Bhatkal, in North Kanara district in the southern state of Karnataka. The second group of Nawayats are those who live, among other places, in Chennai (Madras) and Hyderabad. The Chennai and Hyderabad Nawayats are closely linked with ties of kinship and intermarriage. . . . he third group of historical Nawayats initially called Nawayat but are now known as Konkani Muslims inhabiting the region of Konkan . . . ."

Note that Khalidi's view does not turn on notions of an exodus of Navayaths from the Persian Gulf to India, but (anthropologically) locates the Navayaths within a tradition of coastal sea-faring communities. Older (i.e. colonial-era) narratives describe a more dramatic origin. For instance, Colonel Wilkes states that the Navayaths belong to the House of Hashem, and that they were among the "respectable and opulent persons" who fled Iraq in the early part of the eighth century AD, fearing persecution during the fearful reign of Hajaj bin Yusuf, the Governor of Iraq under the Caliph Abd-Al-Malik Marwan. It is believed that they followed the route their fellow Arabs took for trade, anchoring on the west coast at several points. But "w]hile there may be some among the Navayaths whose ancestry can be traced to those who fled Iraq during Hajaj bin Yusuf’s time not all ancestors are of that type", writes Victor D’ Souza in his book "Navayaths of Kanara"(1955). Anticipating Khalidi, D'Souza relates Navayaths to Iranians based on the influence of the Persian language on the language spoken by the Navayaths and Persian elements in Navayaths culture, there is also the presence of an Iranian graveyard in bhatkal and most of the surname are Iranians which can be traced back to Iran even today; another theory postulates that the Navayath community traces its lineage to Yemen from a noble group called Na’at in Hadramawt, Yemen. They sailed through the Arabian Sea with the intention of trade with India. Both Hadramawt and Bhatkal are at 15 degrees of latitude. It is also claimed that integration of Arabs with the locals led to the Navayath community. D’ Souza writes, "The Arab sailors and traders who came to India have generated Muslim communities in different parts of India. Among them at least three different communities are known by the generic name of ‘Navayath’. It has been found that Navayaths are scattered in Pakistan, Srilanka, Hyderabad, Tamil Nadu, Nellore, Arcot, Kolar, Hassan, Goa, Daman,Diu and Ratnagiri. These Navayaths unlike the Navayaths of Bhatkal (about whom this article deals with) have totally adopted the local culture and speak Urdu Or the local language."