August 6, 2008 by Iqbal Soofi, Kuwait
An Introduction to the Beary community of Tulunadu
(A earliest Muslim community of India)
Quick Introduction
The Byari is a significant Muslim community of Dakshina Kannada (aka South Kanara) district of Indian state, Karnataka. It is one of the early linguistic ethnic groups of the Tulunadu, traces of its existence can be found in the history of the region which dates as back as 14 centuries at least. This vibrant community has maintained unique traditions and distinct cultural identity in the region throughout its existence, distinguishing itself from other Muslim communities of the region like Nawayaths of North Kanara (mainly concentrated in Bhatkal) district, Mapillas (aka Moplahs) of Malabar Coast and Labbay community of Coromandel Coast in Tamil Nadu state.
The word Beary (sometimes written as Byari) is a proper noun, and plural form can be either Bearys or Byaris. The local Tuluva community calls them Byarlu and Kannada speaking folks call them as Bearygalu. In Beary Palaka or Nakk-Nikk (the dialect of Bearys) the plural is Byaringa or Byarimaar.
The cultural practices of Bearys is rich and diverse as it is a conglomeration of Arabic, Islamic, Tuluva and Mipilla cultures and practices. Religiously, it is Islam they practice and belong to Shaf’ee school of jurisprudence.
The Bearys constitute the bulk of Muslim community of the South Kanara district and hence the local people erringly refer to all the Muslims as Bearys. It has to be kept in mind that the Bearys neither speak Dakhani Urdu nor Malayalam at home. Hence, the ethnic group of Tulunadu that speaks Beary Palaka (aka Beary baase or Nikk-Nikk) as their mother-tongue can be referred to as Beary community of Tulunadu. Rest of the Muslim communities and ethnic groups who are inhabitants of the districts of Udupi, South Kanara and North Kanara and speak Dakhani, Nawayathi or some of the offshoots of Malayalam language would not come under the category of Beary Community of Tulunadu.
The Beary community is considered as one among the earliest Muslim inhabitants of India with a clear history of 14 centuries [i]. Records do show that a Mosque is built by Habeeb bin Malik in Bunder area of Mangalore (Maikala) in the year 644 A.D [ii]. Habeeb bin Malik was an Arab Da’ee and also a merchant who reached Western coast of South India in the very early days of Islamic history.
A scrupulous research into the origin, history and the lifestyle of Beary Community is important for a number of reasons. It will also provide vital material for those who would like to conduct a research on the earliest Muslim communities of the world who embraced Islam next to the Arabs.
Etymology
Etymologically speaking, the name of the community, Byari, (sometimes written as Beary on the internet portals), is believed to be derived from the local Tulu language word Byara, meaning trade or commercial activities; and Byari means the one who does business. Accordingly, the Byari is an honorific title Byari people have received from the dominant Tuluvas for their extensive involvement in all type of business activities. Having said that, there are at least 3 plausible theories that revolves around the origin of the name Byari.
Theory 1: Byari is derived from the Tulu language word Byara which refers to commerce, trade or business activities. Since the majority of this community people were engaged in small or big businesses since ancient times, the local Tulu speaking folks gave them an honorific title Byari, meaning those who does business. [iii]
According to the census of 1891 Dakshina Kannada district (i.e., undivided DK district that includes today’s Udupi district as well) had a total number of 92,449 Muslim traders out of which 90,345 belonged to the Byari community alone. Then there were 2,104 traders who belonged to Nawayats which is also a Muslim community of Bhatkal origin. As per this census 2,551 merchants belonged to other communities. Records confirm that towards the close of 19th century the percentage of Muslim traders in the district was as high as 97.3 and hence the local Tuluvas have rightly identified the community as Byaris. [iv]
Theory 2: Another theory is that the word Byari comes from Arabic root word Bahar (Arabic: بحر) which means ocean and Bahri (Arabic: بحري ) could be referred to sailor or navigator. It is said that in the olden days Byari community had direct trade relationship with Arab traders who have travelled to the coastal South India, especially to the coastlines of Tulunadu and Malabar [iv a]. Inscriptions are found in Barkur (a place in North Kanara District) that proves the Arab trade links with the people Tulunadu during ancient times. Those who have engaged themselves in maritime trade later came to be known as Byaris.
Theory 3: This theory says that the word Byari is derived from the root word ‘Malabari’ meaning the Muslim community of Malabar area. The great Arab Da’ee, (preacher and propagator) Malik bin Dinar had arrived on the coast of Malabar during the 6th century A.D. with a group of fellow traders. A member from his group, Habeeb bin Malik travelled through Tulunadu region and preached Islam to the local Tuluva population. He had also built mosques in Kasaragod, Mangalore and Barkur. [v]
It is also noteworthy to mention that until very recent times the Byari community was totally depended upon Malabari religious scholars (Moilar) for the religious education of their children. Every mosque had a Madrasa (religious school) and Madrasa had at least one resident Moilar (religious scholar) from Malabar area, appointed by the community to lead daily congregative prayers (niskaara) and to provide basic religious education to the Byari children.
Though these are the theories that surround the etymology of Byari, the most popular and plausible one is that the term Beary has engendered from Tulu root word Byara which means trade or commercial activities.
Demography and geographic distribution
The Byari community makes up approximately 80 percent of the Dakshina Kannada Muslim population. Rest of the Byaris have spread across neighboring districts of Chikmagalur, Shimoga, Kodagu, Hassan and Uttara Kannada. Cities like Mumbai, Goa and Bangalore also has a considerable population of Byari immigrants. A sizeable number of Byaris are living in the Persian Gulf countries as immigrants doing a variety of jobs and some are engaged in business too. It has been estimated in 2007 that the total population of this community could be approximately 1.5 million. [vi]
Social and Cultural History
Although the exact time period of the origin of the Byari community is little known, the available historical data reveals that there existed many affluent local merchants in the region of coastal Tulunadu who were engaged in trade activities with Arab traders through the sea routs of Arabian Sea which connects Indian west coast with the shores of Arabia. Arab merchants have frequently been visiting the coast of Tulunadu for business purposes even before the advent of Islam in Arabian Peninsula. Interestingly, trade was the main motivator that had put the people of Tulunadu into the direct contact with Arabs. It is said that some Arab sailors had even married to the local Tulu speaking women and settled in the region. Their children who grew up assimilating the elements from the cultures of their parents engendered a third culture which was an admixture of Arab and Tulu cultures of those days. Hence it is natural to find traces of Arab and Tulu cultures even today in the day to day life of Byaris.
Following the advent of Islam in Arabian Peninsula, the polytheistic and pagan Arabs who had already established trade links with Tulunadu, were now attracted to the teachings of Islam. The ethical values that Prophet Muhammad preached in Arabia covered every aspect of human life. Once the Arabs embraced such teachings, as true followers of Islam they adopted and practiced those moral values. They upheld virtues like truthfulness and honesty even in their trade activities wherever they went. Needless to say that they had also preached and propagated those virtues to the people of foreign lands wherever they reached, including the land of Tulunadu and the coast of Malabar in Kerala. Alongside business they had also taken keen interest in Da’wah (preaching and propagating the message of Islam) as a religious duty, which has helped tremendously in spreading the teachings of Islam. Thus matrimonial alliances between the two cultures together with Da’wah to the local people, originated a new ethnic group with a distinct community – the Byari community of Tulunadu.
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The Beary culture has a history of at least 1350 years.
The spread of Islam in Tulunadu through Da’wah
The Bearys are the followers of Islam. It is largely through Da’wah of early Arab Muslims the Bearys have come into the fold of Islam.
Da’wah simply means calling or inviting the non-Muslims to Islam through preaching and dialogue, to make the people understand that only the Creator of the universe is true God and He alone is worthy of worship. Da’wah is a method used by the prophet of Islam to convey the message of Islam to the then people around him. The one who perform Da’wah or invites people to Islam is known as Da’ee.
The preaching and propagating the principles of Islam has helped the local people understand Islamic ideologies and philosophy. The Arab traders have always been great Da’ees (propagators) of their faith and ideology. It is because of the Da’wah activities of the early preachers of Islam – the Arabs – the local Tulu speaking people got attracted to the new faith that had come from the Arabia called Islam. The people belonging to the lower castes, including the fishermen were the first people to accept Islam because it had upheld lofty values like human dignity and equality of mankind, ethics based commerce, etc. It is also said that the Arab sailors and traders have originated communities of Islamic faith in the different parts of India as they did in other parts of the world.
The history also reveals that Arab traders who traveled to Tulunadu coast and stayed there for the convenience of maritime trade had also married the women from Tulunadu and had integrated themselves with the local community. The families of these Arabs have followed Islam.
The first major Da’ee (preacher or propagator) of Arab origin is Malik bin Dinar. He visited Malabar Coast along with his team and while engaged in business activities he was preaching Islamic monotheism to the people along the coast. During his stay a large number of people got attracted to the teachings of Islam and embraced it. This team also took up the task of building mosques for the convenience of the new converts.
This team is said to have landed in northern Malabar Coast, in Manjeshwar, which shares borders with Tulunadu. This team had taken up task of constructing a few mosques in the region for the purpose of offering congregational prayers. The Cheraman Perumal Mosque, built in Kodungallur by them, has the honor of India’s first mosque. They have built several mosques along the coastline of Malabar and Tulunadu. Malik bin Dinar mosque of Thalangara (Kasaragod district) and Masjid Zeenat Baksh in Mangalore (Maikala) are among them.
Beary – among earliest Muslim Communities of India
Revisiting the history of costal Tulunadu reveals an interesting fact that Beary community is among the earliest Muslim communities of India. Elliot and Dowson the authors of The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians – The Muhammadan Period, mention the earliest ship carrying Muslims sailors was cited in the coast of India was in 630 A.D. That means, this area came into contact with Islam and Muslims while Muhammad, the prophet of Islam was still living in Madina.
Ahmed Noori, who conducted a research into the history the Beary community during later 1950’s claims that Muslim settlers in the Tulunadu were found much before Muslim invaders came to the north India.
Another famous research scholar, Dr. Susheela P. Upadhyaya, who made a research into the language and folklore of Beary people, maintains that Indian west coast came under the influence of Islam long before any other part of India was influenced by Muslims.
The very presence of Zeenat Baksh Juma Masjid in the Bunder suburb of today’s Mangalore (aka Maikala in Nakk-nikk) which is believed to be built in the year 644 A.D. is a profound tangible evidence that there existed Beary Muslims in a period which was very closed to the period of Prophet Muhammad. Being built only 12 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad (s), the Zeenat Baksh Juma Masjid naturally has semblances of ancient Indian architectural pattern.
Beary – among earliest Muslim Communities of the World
It is very interesting to observe that the Bearys are among those people who received the message of Islam directly from its earliest propagators, the Arabs, and embraced it in the very early period.
According to the historians, unanimously, Prophet Muhammad, may Allah shower blessings on him, was born in the year 570 A.D. and entered into the prophethood when he reached the age of 40. The historians are also of the opinion that Prophet Muhammed died in the year 632 A.D. During the lifetime of Prophet Muhammed most of the Arabian Peninsula came under the fold of Islam. Arabs not only practiced Islam but became the torchbearers of new monotheistic faith and spread it wherever they went.
According to The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians – The Muhammadan Period, (written by Sir Henry Mires Elliot [aka H. M. Elliot] and edited by Dowson [aka John Dowson], published in London), the first ship bearing Muslim travelers was seen on the Indian coast as early as 630 A.D. This is a reliable and profound evidence that the Muslim sailors were visiting this part of land while the prophet of Islam was still living.
Another notable book on Indian history, Ancient and Medieval History of India (ISBN: 8186050795) by H.G. Rawlinson, maintains that the first Arab Muslims settled on the Indian coast in the last part of the 7th century AD.
Another vital evidence that proves how old is the Indian Muslim community is the Cheraman Juma Masjid of Kodungallur, on the Malabar coast, believed to be built in 7th century A.D. by Malik bin Dinar. It is said to be the first mosque on India and second oldest mosque in the world to offer Jumu’ah prayers and constructed during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad. Since Malabar Coast and Tulunadu coast had direct relations the Muslims of Malabar and the Bearys of Tulunadu are the earliest people to accept Islam.
Maikala – the cultural headquarters of Bearys
Maikala is the cultural and commercial capital of Bearys. In old times they used to call south of Mangalore city (consisted of Bunder and Kudroli area where Bearys are still dominating in number) as Maikala or Maikal. But today Maikala stands for the whole of Mangalore city or the area that comes under City Corporation of Mangalore.
According to historian B. A. Saletore, Maikala was an area in the southern part of Mangalore. It got its name through the Kadri Manjunath Temple, which used to be a Buddhist temple earlier. The Buddhist goddess Tara Bhagavathi was also known as Mayadevi. In course of time it came to be called as Maikala, or Maikal. Historians are of the opinion that Maikala is one of the ancient names of Mangalore. (Ref 9)
It is interesting to note that the inhabitants of Maikala who speak different languages have different names for the city. The Tulu people call it Kudla, the Konkanis call it Kodial, the Kannada speaking folk call the city Mangaluru (which is now made official) and Malayalam speaking inhabitants call is Mangalapuram. Mangalore is the popular usage right from the age of British rule when the city was under Madras province.
Participation in the freedom struggle
The Byaris of the coast have actively participated in the freedom struggle against Portugal and British colonialism. There were a number of Byari men who served in the naval force, and also as soldiers and military commanders in the army of brave queen of Chowta dynasty, Rani Abbakka who ruled in the Tulunadu from Ullal as her capital, where the Byaris live in majority even today [viii].
It is fascinating to note that the Portuguese have kept attacking the city of Mangalore and the nearby city Ullal frequently but this brave queen Abbakka resisted and stopped them each time with all courage. It was in 1568, eventually the Portuguese Viceroy António Noronha sent his general João Peixoto, with a fleet of soldiers who not only succeeded in capturing the city of Ullal but also broke into her royal palace. Rani Abbakka, however, managed to escape and took refuge in a mosque of Muslims in the city. She then successfully managed to gather around 200 of her soldiers in the same night and waged an attack on the Portuguese [ix]. It is also said that in the ensued battle General João Peixoto was killed her men. The Byari fighters were always there with this queen if infallible bravery.
Later, in 1570, the farsighted queen formed an alliance with the Bijapur Sultan of Ahmed Nagar and the Zamorine of Calicut, who were also resisting the Portuguese. A Muslim general of Zamorine of Calicut, the famous Kutty Pokar Markar, fought on behalf of Abbakka and destroyed the Portuguese fort at Mangalore but while returning he was killed by the Portuguese [x].
Similarly, the Byari folk had also joined the army of Nawab Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan of Mysore. Historians and researchers have enlisted famous Beary personalities who participated in the freedom struggle of India. Many such freedom fighters were imprisoned by the British, and a few died during imprisonment.
A sixteenth-century Arabic work of Malabar, Tuhfat al-Mujahidin compiled by Shaikh Zainuddin Makhdoom II (grandson of Shaikh Zainuddin Makhdoom I) had motivated the Muslims of Malabar to fight the foreign invaders [xi]. Needless to say that the Malabar Muslims and their religious perspectives had some degree of influence on the Byaris’ religious, cultural and social life. Thus the Byaris took it as their religious duty to fight the foreign invaders, the oppressors, like Portuguese and British and showed their courage in the battlefield.
Religious Education – the Madrasah System
The Beary community did not fell for the western education system which was brought by the British rulers to the then India. Though the city of Mangalore or Maikala enjoyed a number of educational institutes and the convent schools run by Christian missionaries, the Bearys, in the beginning did not recognize them to be compatible with culture and values they respected and upheld. It is true that this community remained a bit backward in modern education. But amazingly, the community had achieved 100% literacy due to the Madrasah system.
The Madrasah education is a system introduced to teach religious education to the boys and girls of the community. Even in the places where Madrasah did not have independent building, the local mosques served the purpose. All the Beary children, irrespective of their social and economic background, are compulsorily sent to Madrasahs that imparts the religious education. These Madrasahs are managed and run by the of community leaders and considered as a collective responsibility of the community. The teachers in these Madrasahs are usually hired from adjacent Kearala and hence the medium of instruction used to be Malayalam. But presently all such Madrasahs have teachers known as Ustad from Beary community who speak Beary and the medium of instruction has shifted to Kannada from Malayalam. Even though Malayalam was the language of instruction, Malayalam script was never taught in Madrasahs, instead a special script was introduced called Arabi-Maliyala which uses Arabic script and has Malayalam phonetics.
In present days most of such Madrasahs are affiliated to Samastha Board which conducts well organized public examination for 5th, 7th and 10 grade students. Visiting inspectors called Mufattish are appointed to inspect the quality of education in Madrasahs. For administrative purposes the area has been divided as range, area, taluq and district. The teachers who are qualified in Arabic language and religious education are known as Mu’allim and students are known as Muta’allim. A centralized syllabus prepared by the Samstha Board is taught in all Madrasahs of the region.
In olden day Madrasah uniform for boys used to be Mundu, Chatte and a Toppi where as girls did wear a long gown with a head-dress known as yalasara. But today this traditional dress pattern has vanished. Boys are now wearing shirt – trousers and girls are adopting Churdar sets.
Apart from Samstha Board many other religious educational bodies also have been surfaced lately. The Salafi group has established their own Madrasahs throughout Dakshina Kannada district. Salafis also have started separate religious schools exclusively for girls in Ullal. Jamat-e-Islami has also established Madrasahs with their own syllabus in some places of Dakshina Kannada.
Byari Palaka OR Nakk Nikk – the language of Byaris
The language spoken by the Byari people is known as Byari Palaka. Other names for this dialect is Byari Baase and Nakk Nikk. Sometimes just the word Byari refers to the language of Byaris.
The Beary Palaka has absorbed the grammatical structure and phonology of Tulu language and enriched itself with the loanwords from Tulu, Tamil, Malayalam and Arabic. This is one of the Indian languages that has substantial influence of Arabic language. One can clearly distinguish the use of Arabic loanwords in Byari Palaka. It is not an offshoot of Malayalam as generally misunderstood. Approximately 20% of Byari Palaka or Nakk Nikk can be understood by Malayalam knowing people where as those who speak Tamil may understand as high as 30% of it. A large number of words are common between Byari and Thakk of Kodavas.
It has been estimated that Byari is being spoken in the region since 1,200 years and today it is the mother-tongue of approximately 1.5 million people. [vii]
Interestingly in Dakshina Kannada district one Hindu community known as Belchada community also speak Byari at home as their mother tongue.
Misconception about Beary Palaka (Nakk Nikk) as an offshoot of Malayalam
Some people wrongly infer that Beary Palaka is an offshoot of Malayalam language which is widely spoken in Kerala including the Muslims of Kerala. There is no doubt that Beary Palaka has borrowed significantly from colloquial Malayalam like it has loanwords from Tamil, Tulu and even from Arabic! Simply for the reason of borrowing few words from Malayalam, the Beary Palaka cannot become its offshoot. Moreover, to be an offshoot of Malayalam it has to use the grammatical pattern of Malayalam language. But the grammatical structure of Beary Palaka is more similar to that of the grammar of Tulu language. Hence it is a profound mistake to say to conclude that Beary Palaka is offshoot of Malayalam, without doing a scientific research.
Those who consider that Beary Palaka has stemmed from Malayalam, erringly do so because they incorrectly identify another dialect of Muslims – the Malaame – as Beary Palaka. Mostly those researchers who themselves are not Bearys did this mistake. In a proper research methodology, it becomes imperative to clearly identify what exactly is referred to as Beary Palaka by Bearys themselves, then continue with the research work. The researchers who are not familiar with Beary Palaka ended up with ensuing incorrect theory when they mistakenly included Malaame into Beary Palaka. In Malame, both the style and the pronunciation pattern are more inclined towards Malayalam where as in Beary Palaka the style and pronunciation pattern is more similar to Tulu language. Similarly, the language being spoken in places like Uppala, Manjeshwara, Puttur, Sullia is also not Beary Palaka, instead it is known as Mapilla Malayalam. Though the Bearys will not have difficulties in understanding the accent of these areas but they definitely have difficulties in pronunciation and style of speech. Hence we would conclude that Beary Palaka is not an offshoot of Malayalam.
Arabic influence in Beary language
Beary Palaka is robustly influenced by the Arabic language and hence obviously a lot of Arabic loanwords are bearified and used by the Bearys in their daily transaction. Saan, Pinhaana, Gubboosu, Dabboosu, Pattir, Rakkasi, Seintaan, are a few words to note here that have Arabic roots but clearly bearified in accordance with Beary phonetics. The following table would give the Arabic roots and equivalents for each word:
| Beary word | Arabic root | العربية | English meaning |
| Saan | Sahan | صحن | Plate |
| Pinjhana | Finjan | فنجان | Bowl |
| Baade | Baadiyyah | صحن باديه | Bowl |
| Kaayin | Nikah | نكاح | Nuptial |
| Seintaan | Shaitan | شيطان | Evil spirit |
| Patteer | Fateerah | فطيرة | A variety of bread/roti |
| Kalbu | Qalb | قلب | Heart |
| Rabbu | Rab | رب | God |
| Supra | Sufra | سفرة | Dining mat |
| Gubboosu | Khubz | خبز | Bread |
| Daboosu | Dabboos | دبوس | Needle |
| Sukulu | Shughl | شُغْل | occupation |
| ijaar | izaar | اِزَار | Pants |
| adaabu | ‘adaab | عـذاب | Punishment |
| kasbu | kasb | كَسْب | earnings |
Media activities
This community people have played a vital role in the media activities of Tulunadu or Dakshina Kannada district. Apart from publishing a lot of books in Beary bashe and Kannada, Bearys have also brought out periodicals, magazines and newspapers. Some of such works are now a history but some are running todate with good reputation. Very recently Beary community people have also launched an online news portal: coastaldigest dot com.
List of periodicals brought out by Bearys
| No. | Name | Editor/Printer/Publisher/Owner |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jyothi | Kamal Hyder(editor) owner(Mohammed sherule) |
| 2 | Swatantra Bharata | Kamal Hyder |
| 3 | Antaranga | Kamal Hyder |
| 4 | Human Affairs | Kamal Hyder |
| 5 | Hamdard | Raheem Ahmad |
| 6 | Sadakat Post | Raheem Ahmad |
| 7 | Udaya Chandra | F.H. Odeyar |
| 8 | Nawa Shakti | B.M.A. Rafeeq |
| 9 | Shanti Sandesh | Dr. M.M. Salih |
| 10 | Divya Vani | C.K. Hussain |
| 11 | Musalman | C.K. Hussain |
| 12 | Millat | A.T.M. Shafi |
| 13 | Hilal | A.T.M. Shafi |
| 14 | Amaanat | Abdul Raheem Haji |
| 15 | Agni | K.H. Hussain Mulki |
| 16 | Bhooloka | Abdullah Belthangady |
| 17 | Himmat | Ibrahim Kareem |
| 18 | Ananta | M.A. Raheem |
| 19 | Apsara | Dr. Wahab Doddamane |
| 20 | Shikshakara Vani | J.M. Mohammed Master |
| 21 | Dharma Vani | Hameed Kandak |
| 22 | Popular | Hameed Kandak |
| 23 | Nawaneet | Muhsin Haji Caup |
| 24 | Al Misbah | Dr. K.M. Shah Musliyar |
| 25 | Aalamul Huda | Dr. K.M. Shah Musliyar |
| 26 | Sarala Patha | Dr. K.M. Shah Musliyar |
| 27 | Sandesha | Abu Raihan Ahmed Noori |
| 28 | Kitaab | Abu Raihan Ahmed Noori |
| 29 | The Message | Abu Raihan Ahmed Noori |
| 30 | Mesco Varthe | Abul Hasan Muhammad Moulavi |
| 31 | AL Miftaah | B.M. Mohammed Mangalanti |
| 32 | Al Muneer | Saletore Aboobaker Faizi |
| 33 | Al Ihsan | Mohammed Ullal |
| 34 | Tawa Nidhi | Prof. B.M. Ichlangod |
| 35 | Media Times | Prof. B.M. Ichlangod |
| 36 | Sanmarga | Ibrahim Saeed |
| 37 | Anupama | M. Sadullah |
| 38 | Al Ansar | Haji Ibrahim Bawa [1] |
| 39 | Moilanji | Hamza Malar |
| 40 | Pavitra Sandesha | ([Karnataka Salafi Association][2]) |
| 41 | Mustaqeem | (Eden Publication) |
| 42 | Hi Puttur | Mittur Hameed Kandak |
| 43 | Isha Patrike | Ismail Shafi |
| 44 | AL Aqsa | T.M. Haneef Maulavi |
| 45 | Puttur Mitra | Ibbatulla Kadaba |
| 46 | Pushpa Mandaara | Aziz Bajpe |
| 47 | Asar Vani | Aziz Bajpe |
| 48 | Jana Vahini | K.M. Khaid |
| 49 | Hoodota | A.C.M. Saletore |
| 50 | Firdous | M.E Mohammed |
| 51 | Hasiru Bhoomi | T.H. Ibrahim Musliyar |
| 52 | Al Qamar | Shareef Moodabidri |
| 53 | Kodagu Kesari | B.A. Shamsuddin |
| 54 | Janadesha Patrike | U. Muhammad Nazeer |
| 55 | Nawa Keerti | B.M. Iddinabba |
| 56 | Karawali Maruta | Iqbal Ahmed Kuthar |
| 57 | Encounter | Iqbal Ahmed Kuthar |
| 58 | Eye Special News | Iqbal Ahmed Kuthar |
| 59 | Lathi Charge | Ismail Moodushedde |
| 60 | Hello Mangalooru | Raheem Uchil |
| 61 | Noble Universe | B.M. Haneef |
| 62 | Islam and Science | S.E. Abdul Rahman |
| 63 | The Islamic Guidance | M Anwar Bajpe |
| 64 | Payaswini Sullia | M.B.M. Madani |
| 65 | Sunni Sndesha | K.M.S. Faizi |
| 66 | Baala Sandesha | K.M.S. Faizi |
| 67 | Samyukta Prabha | Mohammed Rafi |
| 68 | Beary | Akbar Ullal |
| 69 | Utkarsha | Akbar Ullal |
| 70 | Beary Varthe | Basheer Baikampady |
| 71 | Beary Times | Kuwainda Hamzatullah |
| 72 | Kittale Naadu | Kuwainda Hamzatullah |
| 73 | Pernal | Umer U.H. |
| 74 | Indian News | A.S. Anduka |
| 75 | Special News | Bawa Padrangi |
| 76 | Varthabharathi | Abdussalam Puthige |
| 77 | Mesco Varthe | Moulavi Abul Hasan |
| 78 | Sirathe musthaqeem | Da’wa Publications [3] |
Some of these periodicals are still being published and reaching to the hands of a sizable population of Tulunadu and other adjacent districts and to the Persian Gulf States.
Paunaraga of Maikala (the sixteen households)
Before the advent of the Portuguese, Maikala or Mangalore was one of the main centers of Jains with many Jain Muts, Basadis and also palaces. Especially the Bunder area Maikala was dominated by rich Jain houses. The Jains who enjoyed economical and social status maintained a system known as Jaina Beedu, which literally means Jain House.[20]
Later when these Jains embraced Islam, they still maintained this Beedu system as status symbol. Beedu can be translated in Beary bashe as Aga which means House. The Paunar Aga or Paunaraga – which literally means sixteen houses – of high status are:
| 1. Kallare Aga | 2. Beliye Ballal Aga | 3. Cheriye Ballal Aga | 4. Beedhire Ballal Aga |
| 5. Pandiol Aga | 6. Chettra Aga / Bandassale Aga | 7. Kozhikkan Aga | 8. Kachman Aga |
| 9. Moosarikana Aga | 10. Beliyabbaka Aga | 11. Sayirikana Aga | 12. Khayirikana Aga |
| 13. Bubakana Aga | 14. Asakhana Aga | 15. Siyalikhana Aga | 16. Getre Aga |
These houses enjoyed supreme social status amongst Bearys throughout 19th century and treated other Bearys as second class citizens. The people belonging to these houses were identified as Agakkar which means the People of the House. The history of these houses is short lived glory that these houses enjoyed socially and economically. Many of the social customs that the people of Paunaraga observed were special to them and had no roots in Islam.
Thus the lifestyle of Agakkar of Beary community was largely influenced by Jains. Most of the ornaments used by Agakkar was of Jain pattern and had Jain names. Kharjana is the jewel box used by both Jains and Bearys. Today the people of Paunaraga or Agakkar have lost their social and economic status but some of the houses still remain in Bunder area. Their surnames tell the glory once they enjoyed.
Next to Agakkar comes Taalakkar and then Taala-illatavar. All these system the Bearys maintained in the olden days which they inherited from local people. However these systems are vanished with the advent of Islamic literature of late.
Some peculiar names of Bearys
Usually Muslim community people name their children which has Arabic roots. But olden day Bearys had some strange names which are not seen anywhere else in the Muslim world. Although those peculiar names are now vanishing, here are some such examples:Kayiri, Sayiri, Sayirabba, Cheyya, Cheyyabba,Saunhi, Kayinhi, Sekunhi, Baduva,Mayabba, Puthabba, Hammabba, Cheyyabba, Ijjabba,Kunha, Kunhi, Bava, Bavunhi, Kunhibavu, PuttubavuUnha, Unhi, Unhimon,Iddinabba, Podiya, Podimonu,Pallikunhi, Kunhipalli, Kidavaka, Abbu, Abbonu, Chakaka,Addiyaka (Addi), Pudiyampule.
List of the Books related to Beary culture
| No. | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Muslims in Dakshina Kannada | Dr. A. Wahab Doddamane |
| 2 | English – Kannada – Beary: dictionary* [21] | Dr. A. Wahab Doddamane |
| 3 | Maikala* [22] | Abu Raihan Ahmed Noori |
| 4 | Beary bashe matthu Jaanapada Kathegalu* | Dr. Susheela Upadhyaya |
| 5 | Tulunada Muslimaru* [23] | Prof. B.M. Ichlangod |
| 6 | Moilaanji* [24] | Hamza Malar |
| 7 | Beary Muslimaru | Hamza Malar |
- *These books are available at the largest library in the world, the Library of Congress at Washington, D.C., USA.
Marriage
In olden days Bearys used to hold ceremonial marriage functions. Its prodigality some times remained for a full year. Pomp and flaunting rituals and dinner parties some times made some wealthy families victim of bankruptcy. Most of these customs and rituals were against the teachings of Islam, the religion of Bearys. There is no evidence for dowry system in the olden day Beary marriages but a lot of customs inherited from the local Tuluvacommunities living in Tulunadu has been found.
Marriage in Beary bashe is known as Mangila. A lot of ceremonial rituals related to Beary Mangila which once was an essential part of nuptials today vanishing. Keli kekre, Naal kuri, Bethale beikre, Varappu, Moilanji, Kayeen, Beett, Birnd, Oppane, Kaikottu patt, Appathe mangila – all these are related to Mangila or the Beary marriage.
Madrasah education system
Although this community is backward in modern education, it still has successfully achieved 100% literacy rate due to prevailing Madrasa education system. All the Beary children are sent to Madrasah (Arabic: مدرسة) which is managed and run by the community that imparts religious education. All such Madrasahs are affiliated to Samastha Board which conducts well organized public examination for 5th, 7th and 10 grade students. Visiting inspectors called Mufattish are appointed to inspect the quality of education in Madrasahs. For administrative purposes divisions have been made as range, area, taluq and district. The teachers are qualified in Arabic language and religious education are known as Mu’allim and students as Muta’allim. The Madrasahs do use a centralized syllabus prepared by the Samstha Board and media of instruction is now shifted to Kannada from traditional Arabic based Malayalam called Arabi-Malayalam – a special language that uses Arabic script and Malayalam phonetics.
Mundu, Chatte and Toppi is the preferred uniform for boys in Madrasas. Girls do wear a long gown with a head-dress known as yalasara. But today this traditional dress pattern is vanishing. Boys are going for shirt – trousers and girls are adopting Churidars and Salwar kameez style.
In those villages where there is no separate building facility available to run Madrasas independently, this education is however imparted in the mosques it self. Thus mosques some time do play the role of Madrasas in many Beary dominant villages.Apart from Samstha Board many other educational institutions also have been surfaced lately. The Salafi group has established their own Madrasahs throughout Dakshina Kannada district. Salafis also have started separate religious schools exclusively for girls in Ullal. Jamat-e-Islami is now running an exclusive college for girls in Deralakatte province. There are several other schools managed by Bearys which are aimed at providing both modern and religious education simultaneously to the children.
Attire
The Beary attire is different from that of other south Indian community. Men wear a traditional white muslin turban and a Rani-mark belt (wide, green in colour) at the waist, with long full sleeve white shirts (known as Chatte) and bleached mundu. MS belle mundu and Moulana mark Kambai is also among traditional outfit of Bearys. Today due to a cultural shift young Bearys have adopted a shirt-trouser pattern.
Beary women are traditionally clad in three pieces of clothes, viz, tuni, kuppaya and yalasara. While going out the Beary women took a long rectangle blanket, known as valli, a sort of veil to cover entire body. If two women want to go out together they would use a joduvalli (double veil). Surprisingly Valli of Beary bashe and Veil of English language have similarity in pronunciation and convey the same meaning. Thus it demands an etymological research into these words.
Today, different varieties of burqa or Abaya have replaced the traditional valli. Hence Beary women now wear a black over-coat known as Burqa or Abaya while going out. The Abaya or Burqa is more like a business suit for a Beary woman while she is out of home. Many exclusive Arabic pattern Abaya shops have also emerged with commercial interest.
Ornaments
The beary women has excessive love for ornaments and uses it on every possible occasion such as Mangila, Sunnat Mangila, Appate Mangila, Birnd, Moilanji and other social gatherings. There were different types of ornaments used by beary community in past which is at the verge of vanishing today due to the cultural invasion and urbanization. These ornaments are made out of mainly gold and silver and used for the ornamentation of head, ears, neck, waist, wrist, fingers and feet. Beary research scholars are of the opinion that Beary ornaments were largely influenced by Jain ornament patterns. The ornament storage box used by Bearys was made out of brass and other metals was also used by Jain community and was called Kharjana by both Bearys and Jains.[25]
- Head ornaments: Tale singara, Tirupi, Kedage, Jadepalle, Nera Nilaavu, Chauri
- Ear ornaments: Alikat, Kett Alikat, Illi Alikat, Kuduki, Bendole, Lolak, Voli,Jalara,Koppubalsara, Vale
- Neck ornaments: Misri male, Sara, Naklees, Bandi male, Minni male, Nalchuttu male
- Wrist ornaments: Cheth Bale, Alsande bale, Kett bale, Yeduru bale, Sorage Bale, Kadaga
- Waist ornaments: Aranjana, Arepatti
- Finger ornaments: Modara, Kallre modara
- Feet ornaments: Kunipu, Kal sarapali, Chein
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[i] Ahmed Noori, Maikala, Preface to 1st edition (1960)
[ii] a) Ichlangod B.M., Tulunada Muslimaru – Byari Samskruti p. 19 (1997); b) Gopalan Nair C, Moplas of Malabar p. 20-21; c) Ahmed Noori, Maikala, II edition, p. 11 (1997)
[iii] Ahmed Noori, Maikala p.17 (1960)
[iv] Ichlangod B.M., Tulunada Muslimaru – Byari Samskruti p. 39 (1997)
[v] Ahmed Noori, Maikala, II edition, p.11 (1997)
[vi] The Hindu, Saturday, Oct 13, 2007
[iv a] Dr. Neria H. Hebbar | https://www.boloji.com/articles/747/the-intrepid-queen
[vii] The Hindu, Saturday, Oct 13, 2007
[viii] Karnataka Census 2011 – https://www.censusindia.co.in/towns/ullal-population-dakshina-kannada-karnataka-803182
[ix] https://feminisminindia.com/2018/03/13/rani-abbakka-chowta-queen-ullal/
[x] Dr. Neria H. Hebbar | https://www.boloji.com/articles/747/the-intrepid-queen
[xi] Tuhfat al-Mujahidin | ttp://www.twocircles.net/2008jan23/book_review_tribute_strugglers.html
Iqbal Soofi 