Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Labbai

by Edgar Thurston

Labbai.— The Labbais are summed up, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as being "a Musalman caste of partly Tamil origin, the members of which are traders and betel vine (Piper Betle) growers. They seem to be distinct from the Marakkāyars, as they do not intermarry with them, and their Tamil contains a much smaller admixture of Arabic than that used by the Marakkāyars. In the Tanjore district, the Labbais are largely betel vine cultivators, and are called Kodikkālkāran (betel vine people)." In the Census Report, 1881, the Labbais are said to be " found chiefly in Tanjore and Madura. They are the Māppilas of the Coromandel coast, that is to say, converted Dravidians, or Hindus, with a slight admixture of Arab blood. They are thrifty, industrious, and enterprising; plucky mariners, and expert traders. They emigrate to the Straits Settlements and Burma without restriction." In the Census Report, 1891, they are described as "a mixed class of Muhammadans, consisting partly of compulsory converts to Islam made by the early Muhammadan invaders and Tippu Sultān." As regards their origin. Colonel Wilks, the historian of Mysore, writes as follows.*^[1] " About the end of the first century of the Hejirah, or the early part of the eighth century A.D., Hijaj Ben Gusaff, Governor of Irāk, a monster abhorred for his cruelties even among Musalmans, drove some persons of the house of Hashem to the desperate resolution of abandoning for ever their native country. Some of them landed on that part of the western coast of India called the Concan, the others to the eastward of Cape Comorin. The descendants of the former are Navaiyats, of the latter the Labbai, a name probably given to them by the natives from that Arabic particle (a modification of labbick) corresponding with the English 'Here I am,' indicating attention on being spoken to [i.e., the response of the servant to the call of his master. A further explanation of the name is that the Labbais were originally few in number, and were often oppressed by other Muhammadans and Hindus, to whom they cried labbek, or we are your servants]. Another account says they are the descendants of the Arabs, who, in the eleventh and and twelfth centuries, came to India for trade. These Arabs were persecuted by the Moghals, and they then returned to their country, leaving behind their children born of Indian women. The word Labbai seems to be of recent origin, for, in the Tamil lexicons, this caste is usually known as Sōnagan, i.e., a native of Sōnagam (Arabia), and this name is common at the present day. Most of the Labbais are traders; some are engaged in weaving cōrah (sedge) mats; and others in diving at the pearl and chank fisheries of the Gulf of Manaar. Tamil is their home-speech, and they have furnished some fair Tamil poets. In religion they are orthodox Musalmans. Their marriage ceremony, however, closely resembles that of the lower Hindu castes, the only difference being that the former cite passages from the Korān, and their females do not appear in public even during marriages. Girls are not married before puberty. Their titles are Marakkāyan (Marakalar, boatmen), and Rāvuttan (a horse soldier). Their first colony appears to have been Kāyalpatnam in the Tinnevelly district." In the Manual of the Madura district, the Labbais are described as "a fine, strong, active race, who generally contrive to keep themselves in easy circumstances. Many of them live by traffic. Many are smiths, and do excellent work as such. Others are fishermen, boatmen, and the like. They are to be found in great numbers in the Zamindaris, particularly near the sea-coast."

Concerning the use of a Malay blow-gun (glorified pea-shooter) by the Labbais of the Madura district. Dr. N. Annandale writes as follows.*^[2] " While visiting the sub-division of Rāmnād in the coast of the Madura district in 1905, I heard that there were, among the Muhammadan people known locally as Lubbais or Labbis, certain men who made a livelihood by shooting pigeons with blow-guns. At Kilakarai, a port on the Gulf of Manaar, I was able to obtain a specimen, as well as particulars. According to my Labbi informants, the 'guns' are purchased by them in Singapore from Bugis traders, and brought to India. There is still a considerable trade, although diminished, between Kilakarai and the ports of Burma and the Straits Settlements. It is carried on entirely by Muhammadans in native sailing vessels, and a large proportion of the Musalmans of Kilakarai have visited Penane and Singapore. It is not difficult to find among them men who can speak Straits Malay. The local name for the blow-gun is senguttān, and is derived in popular etymology from the Tamil sen (above) and kutu (to stab). I have little doubt that it is really a corruption of the Malay name of the weapon — sumpitan. The blow-gun which I obtained measures 189.6 Cm. in length: its external diameter at the breech is 30 mm., and at the other extremity 24 mm. The diameter of the bore, however, is practically the same throughout, viz., 12 mm. Both ends are overlaid with tin, and the breech consists of a solid piece of tin turned on a lathe and pierced, the diameter of the aperture being the same as that of the bore. The solid tin measures 35 mm. in length, and is continuous with the foil which covers the base of the wooden tube. The tube itself is of very hard, heavy, dark wood, apparently that of a palm. It is smooth, polished and regular on its outer surface, and the bore is extremely true and even. At a distance of 126 mm. from the distal extremity, at the end of the foil which protects the tip of the weapon, a lump of mud is fixed on the tube as a 'sight.' The ornamentation of the weapon is characteristic, and shows that it must have been made in North Borneo. It consists of rings, leaf-shaped designs with an open centre, and longitudinal bars, all inlaid with tin. The missiles used at Kilakarai were not darts, but little pellets of soft clay worked with the fingers immediately before use. The use of pellets instead of darts is probably an Indian makeshift. Although a 'sight' is used in some Bornean blow-guns, I was told, probably correctly, that the lump of mud on the Kilakarai specimen had been added in India. I was told that it was the custom at Kilakarai to lengthen the tin breech of the 'gun' in accordance with the capacity of the owner's lungs. He first tried the tube by blowing a pellet through it, and, if he felt he could blow through a longer tube, he added another piece of tin at the proximal end. The pellet is placed in the mouth, into which the butt of the tube is also introduced. The pellet is then worked into the tube with the tongue, and is propelled by a violent effort of the lungs. No wadding is used. Aim is rendered inaccurate, in the first place by the heaviness of the tube, and secondly by the unsuitable nature of the missile." A toy blow-gun is also figured by Dr. Annandale, such as is used as a plaything by Labbai boys, and consisting of a hollow cane with a piece of tinned iron twisted round the butt, and fastened by soldering the two ends together. I have received from the Madura district a blowpipe consisting of a long black-japanned tin tube, like a billiard-cue case, with brass fittings and terminals.

In connection with the dugong (Halicore dugong), which is caught in the Gulf of Manaar, Dr. Annandale writes as follows.*^[3] " The presence of large glands in connection with the eye afforded some justification for the Malay's belief that the Dugong weeps when captured. They regard the tears of the īkan dugong ('Dugong fish') as a powerful love-charm. Muhammadan fishermen on the Gulf of Manaar appeared to be ignorant of this usage, but told me that a 'doctor' once went out with them to collect the tears of a Dugong, should they capture one. Though they do not call the animal a fish, they are less particular about eating its flesh than are the Patani Malays and the Trang Samsams, who will not do so unless the 'fish's' throat has been cut in the manner orthodox for warm-blooded animals. The common Tamil name for the Dugong is kadalpūdru ('sea-pig'); but the fishermen at Kilakarai (Lubbais) call it āvillīah."

Concerning the Labbais of the South Arcot district, Mr. W. Francis writes as follows.*^[4] "The Labbais are often growers of betel, especially round about Nellikuppam, and they also conduct the skin trade of the district, are petty shop-keepers, and engage in commerce at the ports. Their women are clever at weaving mats from the screw-pine (Pandanus fascicularis), which grows so abundantly along the sandy shore of the Bay of Bengal. The Labbais very generally wear a high hat of plaited coloured grass, and a tartan (kambāyam) waist-cloth, and so are not always readily distinguishable in appearance from the Marakkāyars, but some of them use the Hindu turban and waist-cloth, and let their womankind dress almost exactly like Hindu women. In the same way, some Labbais insist on the use of Hindustāni in their houses, while others speak Tamil. There seems to be a growing dislike to the introduction of Hindu rites into domestic ceremonies, and the processions and music, which were once common at marriages, are slowly giving place to a simpler ritual more in resemblance with the nikka ceremony of the Musalman faith." In a note on the Labbais of the North Arcot district,* ^[5]Mr. H. A. Stuart describes them as being "very particular Muhammadans, and many belong to the Wāhabi section. Adhering to the rule of the Korān, most of them refuse to lend money at interest, but get over the difficulty by taking a share in the profits derived by others in their loans. They are, as a rule, well-to-do, and excellently housed. The first thing a Labbai does is to build himself a commodious tiled building, and the next to provide himself with gay attire. They seem to have a prejudice against repairing houses, and prefer letting them go to ruin, and building new ones. The ordinary Musalmans appear to entertain similar ideas on this point."

Some Kodikkālkāran Labbais have adopted Hindu customs in their marriage ceremonies. Thus a bamboo is set up as a milk-post, and a tāli is tied round the neck of the bride while the Nikkadiva is being read. In other respects, they practice Muhammadan rites.

Concerning the Labbais who have settled in the Mysore province, I gather †^[6] that they are "an enterprising class of traders, settled in nearly all the large towns. They are vendors of hardware and general merchants, collectors of hides, and large traders in coffee produce, and generally take up any kind of lucrative business. It is noteworthy, as denoting the perseverance and pushing character of the race that, in the large village of Gargēsvari in Tirumakūdlu, Narsipur tāluk, the Labbēs have acquired by purchase or otherwise large extents of river- irrigated lands, and have secured to themselves the leadership among the villagers within a comparatively recent period." For the purpose of the education of Labbai and Marakkāyar children, the Korān and other books have been published in the Tamil language, but with Arabic characters. Concerning these Arab-Tamil books I gather that "when a book thus written is read, it is hardly possible to say that it is Tamil — it sounds like Arabic, and the guttural sounds of certain words have softened down into Arabic sounds. Certain words, mostly of religious connection, have been introduced, and even words of familiar daily use. For instance, a Labbai would not use the familiar word Annai for brother, Tagappan for father, or Chithammai for aunt, but would call such relatives Bhai, Bava, and Khula. Since the books are written in Arabic characters, they bear a religious aspect. The Labbai considers it a sacred and meritorious duty to publish them, and distribute them gratis among the school-going children. A book so written or printed is called a kitāb, rather than its Tamil equivalent pustagam, and is considered sacred. It commands almost the same respect as the Korān itself, in regard to which it has been commanded 'Touch not with unclean hands.' A book of a religious nature, written or printed in Tamil characters, may be left on the ground, but a kitāb of even secular character will always be placed on a rihal or seat, and, when it falls to the ground, it is kissed and raised to the forehead. The origin of this literature may be traced to Kāyalpatnam, Mēlapālayam, and other important Labbai towns in the Tinnevelly district." The following rendering of the second Kalima will serve as an example of Arab-Tamil.

1. * Historical Sketches of the South of India, Mysore, 1810 — 17.
2. • Mem. Asiat. Soc, Bengal, Miscellanea Ethnographica, I, 1906.
3. * Journ. and Proc. Asiatic Society of Bengal, I, No. 9, 1905.
4. * Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.
5. * Manual of the North Arcot district,
6. † Mysore Census Report, 1891, 1901.