Nawayath
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The Nawayaths (also spelled as Navayath or Nawayat) are a small Muslim community found living in and around the town of Bhatkal, a prosperous little picturesque town with quaint old abodes and villas on the west coast of Uttara Kannada, Karnataka, India.
They trace their ancestry back to the Arab traders who arrived on the Western coast of South India during the medieval era. The diaspora of Nawayaths spread out 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 Gulf states.
The Nawayaths belong to the Shafi'i school of Islamic jurisprudence, unlike North Indian Muslims who generally adhere to the Hanafi school.
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[edit] History of origin
Authors like Jaffer Shariff (Qanoon-e-Islam) and Colonel Wilkes (History of Mysore, vol 1) and the Imperial Gazetteer of India give the meaning as ‘New Comers’ for Nawayath. the history reveals that Arabs had established sustained trade relations with west coast of Arabian Sea since time immemorial. Notwithstanding the unanimity that the Navayaths are of Arab stock, the authors however hold divergent opinions about their actual place of origin and the reason for their exodus from the Persian Gulf. Colonel Wilkes in "History of Mysore, vol 1 (1930)" 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 bade farewell to Iraq and fled their homeland 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 postulates that the Navayath community traces its lineage to Yemen from a noble group called Na’at in Yemen, while yet another theory relates Navayaths to Iranians due to the influence of Persian language on the language spoken by the Navayaths and Persian elements in Navayaths culture.
Summing up, it is plausible that the Navayath community is a heterogeneous group from Iraq, Iran and Yemen. It is also calaimed that the integration of Arabs with the locals evolved the Navayath community. Victor 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.
[edit] Language
The Community speaks a dialect called ‘Navayathi’. It is a pleasant amalgam of Persian, Arabic, Marathi and Hindi with Konkani as its base. The language uses Urdu script for writing.
[edit] Attire
Navayathi males aer generally light skinned, and their attire comprises 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 Islamic burka or veil. Anklets and nose studs are no longer a common practice.
[edit] Cuisine
Rice, fish, meat, eggs and wheat preparations enjoy the top place in menu. Traditional dishes like Mudkule (small balls of rice dough steamed and put into delicious prepared curry), Nevri (rice dough stuffed with mixed preparations of coconut scrapping and onion/jaggery, then 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 gova-godan (of wheat), muga godan (of green gram), amatya godan (of hog plums), etc, unknown to others are relished by non- Navayaths. The Bhatkali biryani, half-cooked in steam, is famous all over.
[edit] 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
