Regions with significant populations | |
---|---|
Tamilnadu, Kerala, Malaysia, Singapore | |
Languages | |
Tamil • Malayalam | |
Religion | |
Islam | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Tamil People, Mukkulathor Clan |
The Rowther (anglicised as Irauttar, Rawther, Ravuttar,Ravutta, Ravuthar, Ravuthamar) are originally a Tamil community from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. [1] they were converted to Islam by the preacher Nathar Shah. [2] Even after conversion they retained their caste name. they were elite cavalrymen of the Chola and Pandya kingdoms. [3] They were traditionally a martial clan like the Maravars, [4] and constitute large part of the multi-ethnic Tamil Muslim community. [5] Rowthers have also been found as Tamil polygars, zamindars and chieftains from the 16th to 18th centuries. [6] The traditional homelands of the Rowthers were in the interior of Southern Tamilakam. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
Another theory suggest they are descendants of Turkic people who came in Chola Empire. [13]
The name Ravuttar (or Ravutta, Ravuthar, Rowther, Rawther) means king, horseman, or cavalry warrior in the Tamil language and is derived from the word Rājaputra , in the sense of 'prince', 'nobleman', or 'horseman'. D.C. Sircar points out that Ravutta or Rahutta, as a title, means a 'subordinate ruler'. [14] Some scholars claim that the name comes from Rathore, a name common among the Muslim Rajputs of North India. [11] Historically, they are parts of clans traditionally holding positions as rulers and military folk. Ravuta means a high-ranking title King, lord, or feudatory ruling chief. [15]
Rahut or rowt means Warrior and raya means captain. [16] Rāvuttarayan or Rāvuttakartan means high military chief of cavalry.
Rowthers are largest Muslim community in Tamil Nadu. they found all over Tamil Nadu and in Central and Southern Kerala. Their mother tongue is Tamil. [17] Many of them are familiar with the Perso-Arabic script. They adhere to the principles of Islam, engaging in the study of the Quran and other religious texts in Arabic. Simultaneously, despite their commitment to their Islamic faith, they share a common pride with all Tamils in their rich Tamil language and vibrant cultural heritage. [18]
Rowthers generally speak Tamil. [19] They have their own distinct culinary traditions which notably include Rowther Biryani. [20] [21] [22] The elderly men wear white Vēṭṭis or white kayili while elderly women wear a white thupatti draped over a sari. [18] [12]
Traditional costumes also include the Fez and a traditional turban called a Thalappakattu.[ citation needed ] The community also celebrates a festival called Chandanakudam every year.[ citation needed ]
Ravuttar, Rawther, and Rowther are common surnames among the group, [23] but other titles often used are below:
Rowthers are Soldiers, officials, and literati attached to Muslim Court in the Deccan. [30] In described as a Rāuta, Rāutta or Rāvutta derived from Sanskrit Rajaputra and was often assumed by subordinate rulers. [31] [32]
Later, Chola kings too invited Horse traders from the Seljuk Empire who belonged to the Hanafi school. [33] During 8th-10th centuries, an armada of Turkish traders settled in Tharangambadi, Nagapattinam, Muthupet, Koothanallur and Podakkudi. [34]
These new settlements were now added to the Rowther community. There are some Anatolian and Safavid inscriptions found in a wide area from Tanjore to Thiruvarur and in many villages. These inscriptions are seized by the Madras museum. Some Turkish inscriptions were also stolen from the Big Mosque of Koothanallur in 1850. [35]
There are two factions of Rowthers in Tamil Nadu, Tamils cavalry warriors covers majority of Tamil Nadu while Seljuk Turkic clans remains in Tharangambadi, Nagapattinam, Muthupet, Koothanallur and Podakkudi. [33] Both now Tamil and Turkish Hanafi expanded with Population and some circumstantial evidence in historical sources that the Rowthers are related to Maravar converts. [36] Rowthers worked in the administration of the Vijayanagar Nayaks. [37]
The Rowthers were an endogamous group. But like all modern societies, they have adapted to modern norms and rituals. [38]
English | Rowther's Tamil/Malayalam |
Father | Aththa or Attha/ Vappichi or Vappa |
Mother | Amma/Buva |
Elder Brother | Annan |
Younger Brother | Thambi |
Elder Sister | Akka |
Younger Sister | Thangai/Thangachi |
Paternal grandfather | Atthatha/Ayya/Appa/Radha |
Paternal grandmother | Aththamma/Radhima or Thathima |
Maternal Grandfather | Ayya/Appa or Ammatha/Nanna |
Maternal Grandmother | Mooma/Ammama/Nannimma |
Father's elder brother/ Husband of mother's elder sister | Periyatha or Periyavaapa |
Mother's elder sister / Wife of father's elder brother | Periyamma or Periyabuva |
Father's younger brother | Chaacha/Chinnaththa |
Mothers younger sister | Khalamma/Chinnamma/Chiththi |
Uncle | Mama |
Aunty | Maami |
Cousins | Machan & Machi |
Elder brothers wife | Madhini/Machi |
Nevertheless, in cities, inter-marriages do occur, although they are rare" (Vines, 1973). Parallel and cross-cousins are potential spouses. they remember their historic valor during their marriage ceremonies, where the bridegroom is conducted in a horseback procession. [8]
Traditionally the Rowthers were landlords and landowning community (historically mentioned as Rowthers are brave cavaliers and early Muslim horse-traders in Tamil literature [39] ) but now they are engaged in various occupations, mostly their own businesses. They deal in gemstones, gold, textiles, and real estate and participate in the restaurant industry, construction work, and general merchandising. Some are professionals, such as doctors, engineers, advocates, and teachers. [40]
There is no traditional caste council or panchayat as such among the Rowthers. Learned and elderly persons act as advisers. The Rowther have an association that preaches against dowry and collects funds for charity. [40]
The Rowther belong to the Sunni sect of Islam and the Hanafi school. They follow the five basic tenets of Islam, which are, reciting the Kalima, offering prayer five times a day, observing fast during the month of Ramadan, giving charity (zakah) to the poor, and going on the Haj pilgrimage. The major festivals celebrated are Eid-Ul-Fitr, Chandanakudam and Bakr-id. [40]
The well-known legend of the Shiva saint Manikkavacakar of the 9th century is connected with the purchase of horses for the Pandya king. In that, the god Shiva who appeared in disguise as a horse trader to protect the saint and he is called as Rowther. Also, the Tamil god Murugan is praised by saint Arunagirinathar as சூர் கொன்ற ராவுத்தனே (Oh Ravuttan, who vanquished Sooran) and மாமயிலேரும் ராவுத்தனே (Oh Ravuttan, who rides on the great peacock) in his Kanthar Alangaram (கந்தர் அலங்காரம்) and in Kanthar Venba (கந்தர் வெண்பா). [41] [42] [43]
This shows the religious harmony of Rowthers and Saivites in early Tamilakam till now. [44] [45] [46]
There were Tamil Rowthers working in the administration of the Vijayanagara Empire in the Khurram Kunda. The inscription details the dedication of the land by the Rowther to a Murugan temple in Cheyyur.
Muththaal Ravuttar (meaning Muslim Rowther is a Prakrit derivation from raja-putra) figures as Tamil male deities who protect Tamil land. [6]
The Rowthers give importance to education. They are one of the most prominent Muslim groups in South India, making their mark in various fields, from jurisprudence to Entertainment. [40]
The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar, Tamilians, or simply Tamils, are an ethnolinguistic group who natively speak the Tamil language and trace their ancestry mainly to India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, to the union territory of Puducherry, and to Sri Lanka. The Tamil language is one of the world's longest-surviving classical languages, with over 2000 years of Tamil literature, including the Sangam poems, which were composed between 300 BCE and 300 CE. People who speak Tamil as their mother tongue and are born in Tamil clans are considered Tamils.
Pillai or Pillay, meaning "Child of King" (Prince) or "Child", is a surname found among the Malayalam and Tamil-speaking people of India and Sri Lanka.
Nadar is a Tamil caste of India. Nadars are predominant in the districts of Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar.
Tamil Muslims are Tamils who practise Islam. The community is 6 million in India, primarily in the state of Tamil Nadu where 90% of the Muslim community identified themselves as Tamils. In Tamil Nadu, the majority of Tamil-speaking Muslims belong to the Rowthers Community while other Muslims live in coastal Tamil Nadu. There is a substantial diaspora, particularly in Southeast Asia, which has seen their presence as early as the 13th century. In the late 20th century, the diaspora expanded to Western Europe, Persian Gulf and North America. These Tamil speaking Muslim communities in Sri Lanka were known as the Sonakar, which is derived from the term Yona, originally meaning a Moors.
Maravar are a Tamil community in the state of Tamil Nadu. These people are one of the three branches of the Mukkulathor confederacy. Members of the Maravar community often use the honorific title Thevar. They are classified as an Other Backward Class or a Denotified Tribe in Tamil Nadu, depending on the district.
Gavara is a term used to refer to four different South Indian communities.
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Islam arrived in Kerala, the Malayalam-speaking region in the south-western tip of India, through Middle Eastern merchants. The Indian coast has an ancient relation with West Asia and the Middle East, even during the pre-Islamic period.
Dravida Nadu is the name of a proposed sovereign state demanded by the Justice Party led by the founder of the self-respect movement, E.V. Ramasamy Periyar, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led by C. N. Annadurai for the speakers of the Dravidian languages in South India.
The 1981 Meenakshipuram Conversion was a mass religious conversion that took place in the Indian village of Meenakshipuram, Tamil Nadu, in which hundreds of "oppressed" caste Hindus converted to Islam. This incident sparked debate over freedom of religion in India and the government decided to introduce anti-conversion legislation. Later, many converts converted back to Hinduism, citing the lack of fulfillment of promises made during the conversions.
The caste system among South Asian Christians often reflects stratification by sect, location, and the caste of their predecessors. There exists evidence to show that Christian individuals have mobility within their respective castes. But, in some cases, social inertia caused by their old traditions and biases against other castes remain, causing caste system to persist among South Asian Christians, to some extent. Christian priests, nuns, Dalits and similar groups are found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal.
Labbay, are a Tamil Muslim trading community in southern India found throughout the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. The Labbay are a subgroup within the Tamil Muslim community.
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Kallar is one of the three related castes of southern India which constitute the Mukkulathor confederacy. The Kallar, along with the Maravar and Agamudayar, constitute a united social caste on the basis of parallel professions, though their locations and heritages are wholly separate from one another.
Uppara is a Hindu caste and is classified as Backward Class or OBC, predominately found in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
M. Muhammad Ismail was an Indian politician and social worker from southern Indian state Tamil Nadu. he was a founder of the Indian Union Muslim League party after the partition of British India. He was popularly known in Tamil Nadu and Kerala as the "Quaid-e-Millat" .. Ismail was a member of Madras Legislative Assembly and Leader of the Opposition (1946—52). He was also a member (1948—50) of the Constituent Assembly, the drafting body of the constitution of India. He was also a member of Rajya Sabha (1952—58) and Lok Sabha.
Dewan Khan Bahadur P. Khalifullah (1888–1950), was a politician of the Madras Presidency, British India. He served as the minister for public works in the short-lived ministry of Kurma Venkata Reddy Naidu from April–July 1937. He was a Tamil Muslim belonging to the Rowther community. His father T.A. Pitchai Rowther was a wealthy businessman of Tiruchirapalli. Born in 1888 in Tiruchi into a wealthy rice merchant's family, his birth name was Mohamed Pichai Rowther Ibrahim Khalifullah. He went on to be known by the honorific Khan Bahadur, a title bestowed on him by the British. In later years, his work as the Dewan of Pudukottai made him more popular as ‘Dewan Khalifullah.’
Sultan Syed Shah Mutaharuddin Suhrawardi (969–1039), also called Dada Hayat Mir Qalandar or Nathar Wali or Nadir Shah, was a Muslim preacher and mystic from Anatolia who in the 9th-10th century moved to Tamil Nadu, India, where he travelled about preaching Islam. He went to Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, The tamil warrior tribe converted by his preaching are known as Ravuttars(Rowthers) in Tamilnadu and kerala one of the earliest and important muslim community The most important Islamic building in the city is Nathar Shah's Mosque, which contains the tomb of the saint Sultan Nathar Shah. According to legend it is atop the grave of the three-headed Hindu demon Tiriasuran whom Dada killed.
Mukkuvar is a maritime ethnic group found in the Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Eastern and North Western coastal regions of Sri Lanka. They are mostly found on the Malabar Coast, South Travancore Coast and Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, who have traditionally been involved in fishing and other maritime activities.
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