maritime activities economy and social customs of the muslims of ...

Malabar and Bengal ports. This family had two ships. They had big godowns in the seashore at
Kilakkarai which stand even to this day. This family is also said to be the descendent of Periathamb~
Marakkayar. We come to understand from the documents maintained by the members of this farnily.
that the value of a two masted ship in their possession was about Rs.4000/- in 1881'~.
Pamban Canal itself was a private property for some time which was granted by the ruler of
Ramanathapuram, to a Marakkayar family at Pamban Neither people nor vessels could cross the
Pamban Canal. The family of Aboobakar Marakkayar was given the right of taking the people across
the bar of the Pamban on payment of a fees. Later the members of the family became pilots and they
collected fees from all the vessels for pioloting them across the canal and divided amongst themselves the
Income. When difference of opinion arose among the descendants of the family in dividing the fees
collected. AMul Naina Ambalam. Peer Tamby Marakkayar Muthu Ahamed and Chinna Meera levey
Marakkayar represented the matter to the Collector of Ramanathapuram. Retention of their hereditay
rights to collect fees. a flxed salay to those who actually plloted the vessels across the Pamban Canal
was ordered by the ~ollector~'. The descendants of the farnily of Aboobakkar Marakkayar are appolntcd
as pilots at Pamban port-for piloting vessels across the Pamban-even to thls day.
The trading activities in the ports of Thanjavur coast were in the hands of Marakkayars of this
region. Realising the importance of Nagapattanam port and the other minor feeder parts, in the coast.
the English company proposed to improve them for the development of trade. A statistics of the company
shows that there were abut seventy maritime traders in Nagore and Nagapmanam alone in the beginning
of nineteenth centuy and they had a total capital resources of two lakhs pagodas. They entered into the
nineteenth centuy with the support of the English East lndia Company, and were honoured well The
East lndia C:ompany engaged the Cholia vessels for their coastal trade in the Coromandel ports. The
l3esident at Nagore wrote to the Board of Trade in 1812 that " the trade with the east was conducted
chiefly by the Cholia merchants resident in Nagore and Nagapattanam ports, and they used vessels built
there itself the burthen of which ranged from one hundred to four hundred tones". The list furnished by
[lie British resident at Nagore abut the ships and their owners exporting salt to Bengal contained only
Muslim names. Mohamed Kasim Marakkayar was the principle and respectable merchant of Nagore
who yol hls ships !)lade at t'eyu9'
It IS said thal he llved ill a ~pdldc~dl IIOUIB.
M~rctidrils like Kaddr
Mohideen Sahib of Nagapattanam owned a fleet of ships providing employment to a large number of
coolies both Muslims and non ~ wlims~~.