Indische Palaographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c48.s1.10.2

c48.s1.10.2

These, like the rest, are converts to the Shiah faith from the commercial classes of the chief towns in Gujarāt, about the 11th century, and combine the strict observance of Muslim worship with a due regard for the Brāhmanic or pre-Brāhmanic methods of dealing with the personal or domestic supernatural. The upper classes engage in foreign trade, but the rank and file are content with a successful career in the retail shop, and are somewhat remarkable for their neglect of English in an otherwise efficient and well-diffused scheme of instruction. The Census shows under the same title the cultivating Vōhorā of Gujarāt, Sunni by sect, and retaining in most cases a fairly clear recollection of the Brāhmanic caste from which they were converted, and adjusting their marriage arrangements in accordance therewith. About half the number of Bohrās given in the return belong to this class. On the Malabar coast are the Māppila and Jōnakkan, and on the south Coromandel coast, the Labbai. The last named are descended from an Arab colony, driven from its native country in the 8th century; or, according to another account, from Arab traders who married Tamil wives at a later date. Their connection with Arabia is indicated, in either case, by the name of S'ōnagan (Arabia) which they used to bear, and their present name of Labbai is said to be no more than a local rendering of labbaik, the Arabic for the familiar phrase "here I am".