PONANI, a seaport on the west coast of India, in Malabar district, Madras, at a mouth of a river of the same name. Pop. (1901), 10,562. .It is the headquarters of the Moplah or Mappilla community of Mahommedans, with a religious college and many mosques, one of which is said to date from 1510. There is a large export of coco-nut products.