page_title: Arakkal kingdom
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: Arakkal kingdom / Origins
caption_attribution_description: English: Mappila Bay is a natural harbor situated in Ayikkara Kannur town, Kerala state of South India. മലയാളം: കണ്ണൂർ ജില്ലയിലെ പ്രശസ്ത മത്സ്യബന്ധന തുറമുഖമാണ് മോപ്പിള ബേ എന്നും അറിയപ്പെടുന്ന മാപ്പിള ബേ.
context_page_description: Arakkal kingdom was a former city-state on the Malabar Coast, ruled by a dynasty of the same name. The ruling King was called Ali Raja and the ruling queen was called Arakkal Beevi. Arakkal kingdom included little more than the Cannanore town and the southern Laccadive Islands, originally leased from the Kolattiri. The royal family is said to be originally a branch of the Kolattiri, descended from a princess of that family who converted to Islam. They owed allegiance to the Kolattiri rulers, whose ministers they had been at one time. The rulers followed the Marumakkathayam system of matrilineal inheritance, a system which is unique to a section of Hindus of Kerala. Under Marumakkathayam, the succession passes to the male offspring of its female members, in other words from a man to his sister's son and so forth. As the only Muslim rulers in Malabar, they saw the rise of Hyder Ali as the opportunity to increase their own power at the expense of Chirakkal, and invited him to invade Malabar. Ali Raja Kunhi Amsa II and his successor, Arakkal Bibi Junumabe II, were among Hyder Ali and Tippu Sultan's staunchest allies during the Mysorean occupation of malabar.
context_section_description: As per myth, the last ruler of the Chera Empire, Rama Varma Kulashekhara Perumal, is claimed to have been converted to Islam by Malik Bin Dinar, an Islamic missionary. Perumal along with Malik Deenar came from Mahodyapuram (Old name of Kodungallur -The capital of the Chera Empire) to Thalassery, to visit Perumal's sister and nephew residing there. Perumal's sister Sridevi and nephew Mabeli were residing in a place called Dharmadam north of Thalassery. The relics of their fort is located in the vicinity of Govt. Brennan College, Thalassery. Mabeli was converted to Islam and he accepted the name Muhammed Ali, who later became the first Arakkal Ali Raja. According to folklore, Cheraman Perumal went to Mecca from an erstwhile province named Poya Nadu(Governed by feudal governors named Randuthara Achanmar. The region comprices Edakkad, Anjarakkandy, Mavilayi etc.) now in Kannur district. Malik Deenar built a mosque in Madayi north of Kannur, the third oldest mosque in Kerala.
  Perumal's nephew Mabeli was an Arayankulangara Nair, and hence the Nair matrilineal system is observed by the Arakkal royal family. His wife was the daughter of Kolathiri, and they later came to be known as Arakkal Beevi. Muhammad Ali continued in the service of the Kolathiris even after his conversion, and his successors known as the Mammali Kidavus were the hereditary Padanairs of the Kolathiri. Around this time, many Muslim merchant families became financially influential in the Malabar region.  When the Arakkal family took control of Laccadives, they achieved near-royal status.
  The British Military was very eager to make Dharmadam as their base and built a fort there. This small island village was strategically more secure than any surrounding places as it is a hilly island, however it was governed by Arakkal kingdom, being the first Ali Raja's home town. Arakkal kingdom was so powerful in that time as an ally of Sultanate of Mysore, even to defy the British. British East India Company was not allowed by the Arakkal kingdom to build military garrison in Dharmadam. So they were forced to build their base in Thalassery where there was strong presence of French forces stationed few kilometers away in Mahe.
  Another legend is that the daughter of Chirakkal Raja began to drown while bathing in the Chirakkal kulam (pond). Her friends cried and shouted but were unable to rescue her. Muhammed Ali heard the shouting and came to find out what was wrong. He recognized the girl drowning in the pond as the princess, but was hesitant about saving her because of untouchability and if a lower-caste person touched an upper-caste person it was considered a sin, possibly punishable by death. However, he rescued her and gave her his dhoti to cover the princess. When the news reached the Chirakkal Raja, he called his daughter and the Muhammed Ali. At that time, if a man gave a pudava (a long cloth used for covering the body) to an unmarried woman, they were considered married. The scholars of the court told the Raja that since his daughter was touched by a Muslim, she was no longer allowed to enter the palace. However, the man had given her his pudava so she was married to him as well. As per the custom the Raja had no other choice but to give his daughter to the Muhammed Ali. The Raja was unhappy to give his daughter his servant, so he made the boy ruler of a part of his dominion. The area given to the boy was known as Arakkal and his family was called the Arakkal family.
caption: Mappila Bay with the old Arakkal kingdom in the distance
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