Ajay Kumar at 14:57, 23 July 2023

2023-07-23T14:57:29Z

New page

{{More citations needed|date=November 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox ethnic group|
| group = Labbay
| image =
| population =
| popplace =
| rels = [[Islam]]
| langs =
}}
'''Labbay''' ([[Tamil language|Tamil]] : லப்பய் , [[Urdu]] : ﻟﺐ ﺑﮯ also '''Labbai''', '''Labba''', '''Labbabeen''', '''Lebbay''', '''Lebbai'''), is a [[Islam in India|Muslim]] trading community<ref>{{Cite book|last=Parthasarathi|first=Prasannan|title=The Transition to a Colonial Economy: Weavers, Merchants and Kings in South India, 1720-1800|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2001|location=0 521 57042 5|pages=150}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Balfour |first=Edward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qeA0AQAAMAAJ |title=The Cyclopaedia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia Volume 2 |publisher=Akademische Druck-u. Verlagsanstalt |year=1967 |pages=645}}</ref> in [[southern India]] found throughout the southern Indian states of [[Tamil Nadu]], [[Karnataka]], [[Kerala]] and [[Andhra Pradesh]].

== Etymology ==
''Labbay'' is derived from the Arabic phrase ''Labbay'k'' ([[Arabic]] : لبیک ), which means - ''Here I am'', is a title for [[Tamil language|Tamil]]-speaking & [[Urdu]]-speaking Muslims who are converts to [[Islam]] who self-identify as descendants of Arab traders who intermarried with local women.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Wink |first=Andre |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g2m7_R5P2oAC&dq=labbai&pg=PA79 |title=Al-Hind: Early medieval India and the expansion of Islam, 7th-11th centuries |publisher=Brill |year=1990 |pages=78–80|isbn=9780391041738 }}</ref><ref name=":0" />

== History ==
The earliest historical evidence of Muslim settlement on the [[Coromandel Coast|Coromandel]] coast dates from the ninth century; with an edict in 875 A.D. by the king of Madurai granting asylum to a group of Arab immigrants. Even as the community gained momentum their connection with North India was thin. Like the [[Mappila Muslims|Mappillas]], the Coromandel Muslims became prosperous maritime traders. In later times they took on the appellations of ''maraikkayar'' to distinguish themselves from the rural [[Hanafi school|Hanafi]] Muslims of the Tamil hinterland.<ref name=":1" />

Before the arrival of the [[Dutch India|Dutch]] in the region, the Muslim hinterland traders and Muslim maritime traders & boat makers were part of the same community. They both claimed to descend from [[Arabs]] and intermarried with [[Hindus]]. While in some regions the title "Labbay" carried a stigma due to it being held by converts, the Labbay traders were able to change its meaning into a title of social and religious superiority.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Pandian|first=Jacob|title=Caste, Nationalism and Ethnicity: An Interpretation of Tamil Cultural History and Social Order|publisher=Popular Prakashan|year=1987|pages=129–132}}</ref>

Since the Labbay traders were the only literate Muslims in the region, they became priests, registrars, and commentators of the [[Quran]]. Their role as priests gave them high-status in the Muslim community, and great wealth in their role as traders. They spoke Tamil, but wrote it in the [[Arabic script]] also known as [[Arwi]]. They previously prohibited intermarriages and common funeral grounds between them and other Muslim communities.<ref name=":0" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== See also. ==
*[[Tamil Muslim]]

{{Indian Muslim}}

[[Category:Muslim communities of India]]
[[Category:Indian surnames]]
[[Category:Indian castes]]
[[Category:Social groups of Tamil Nadu]]

Labbay - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 14:57, 23 July 2023