Nawayath

The Nawayaths (also spelled as Navayath or Nawayat) are a small Muslim community found living in and around the town of Bhatkal on the west coast of Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, India. There are smaller distributed pockets of Nawayaths in Byndoor, Gangoli, Shiroor, Maneki, Hoode, Basrur, Kandloor, Honnalla, and Kumta in Karnataka and in Arcot district in Tamil Nadu. Meenambur, a small village close to Gingee south of Madras in Tamil Nadu, is the largest of these.

They trace their ancestry back to the Arab traders who arrived on the Western coast of South India during the medieval era. The Nawayaths spread around India and the rest of the world maintain their strong sense of community and identity. There is a large Nawayath diaspora community of economic migrants working in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.

The Nawayaths belong to the Shafi'i school of Islamic jurisprudence, unlike North Indian Muslims who generally adhere to the Hanafi school.

History of origin

Jaffer Shariff (Qanoon-e-Islam), Colonel Wilkes (History of Mysore, vol 1), and the Imperial Gazetteer of India translate Nawayath as ‘New Comers’. Arabs had established sustained trade relations with west coast of Arabian Sea since time immemorial. These authors are unanimous in the opinion that the Navayaths are of Arab stock but hold divergent opinions about their actual place of origin and the reason for their exodus from the Persian Gulf. Colonel Wilkes states that the Navayaths belong to the House of Hashem. In the early part of 8th century AD during the fearful reign of Hajaj bin Yusuf, the Governor of Iraq under the Caliph Abd-Al-Malik Marwan, many respectable and opulent persons fled Iraq fearing persecution. It is believed that they followed the route their fellow Arabs took for trade, anchoring on the west coast at several points. "While 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).

SK Lal writes in the "Legacy of Arab Dynasty in India" that although Hajaj bin Yusuf was only the Governor of Iraq his influence and rule extended even to Persian speaking regions. Thus the Arabs and Persian traders carried on their commerce together, resulting in Persian influence in the coastal Indo-Muslim colonies.

Another theory 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 a 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 and Ratnagiri. These Navayaths unlike the Navayaths of Bhatkal (about whom this article deals with) have totally adopted the local culture and speak Urdu.

Language

The Community speaks a dialect called ‘Navayathi’. It is an amalgam of Persian, Arabic, Marathi and Hindi with Konkani as its base. The language uses Persian script for writing.

Family names

Nawayathi family names are distincty different from the Urdu speaking people of the area.

Some common Nawayath family names are Khalifa, Muniri, Gawai, Barmawar, Ruknuddin and Siddibapa, Kasarkod, Kasimji, Udyawar, Dabapu (dabapu is a corrupted form actual Root being Siddique' from the lineage of hazrath Abubark siddique r.a )Akrami , Vaugh, Katpadi, Sawda, Sada, Shoupa (شوپا) Habibullah, muallim, Armar jubapu, peshimam, Papa, tarapati, mawda, Syed Mohiddina, Khateeb, Maddas, Chadkhan, Kazia, Kazi, Kola, Kobattay, Kadli, Siddiqa,Damda, Damudi(Amooudi), Chida, Cheda, Faqqi Bhao, Siddi Ahmada, Mohtesham, Musba, Misbah, Shahbandari, Ali Akbara, Mohammadu Jaupa, Goltey, Manna,Jakti, Ajayeb,Hajeeb, Hejib, Peerzade, Barmawar, Sukri, Shingeti, Dhinda, Lowna, Naithy, Baandeh, motiya Shakir, Aliku, khaththal, Dawalji, Ghatrare, Jidda, Jeddy.

Attire

Navayathi males are generally light skinned, and their attire comprises a Jubba (A shirt almost knee length), lungi, and a skullcap.

The females have generally adopted the local way of dressing - decked with gold ornaments, they observe strict Burkah (Islamic Veil). Anklets and nose studs are not a common practice. In fact its discouraged.

Cuisine

Rice, fish, meat, eggs and wheat preparations enjoy the top place in menu. There are more than 200 traditional dishes like Mudkale (small balls of rice dough steamed and put into prepared curry), "Navari" of different varieties (rice dough stuffed with mixed preparations of coconut scrapings and onion/jaggery, made into cakes covered with leaves and cooked in steam), "Godan" of different varieties (a sweet dish preparation and qualified by the name of the special ingredient put, the common being jaggery, coconut juice and ghee)-popular preparations are gavan-godan (of wheat), mooga godan (of green gram), amatya godan (of hog plums), puttoo, tawsuli, taryepuli, khubusapoli, kichadi, bhanduli, sawdano, khute,Andae ki mittai,kaddu ki mittai,nawaithae badi chappipoli, etc, unknown to others are relished by non- Navayaths.

References

• D'Souza, V.S. The Navayats of Kanara- study in culture contacts. Page 12-20, KRI Monogs. No. 3. 2nd ed. Dharwar: Kannada Research Institute 1955.
• Colonel Wilkes, History of Mysore, vol 1

External links

• SahilOnline English Daily Newspaper
• SahilOnline Urdu Daily Newspaper
• Bhatkal Blog
• Nawayaths of Hyderabad, by M.A. Bhatkali
• Bhatkalvoice.com