Historically, Koyas were traders and have a near monopoly in the big bazaar of Kozhikode.

More
than 20% of the inhabitants are working abroad(mainly in the Middle-East) and their remittances play
a big part in the local economy.

The South Beach Walk

The south beach walk is a popular tourist attraction of Kuttichira. The seashore is beautifully tiled
and maintained for the walk. The walk can begin from Francis Road and proceed to Mishkal
Mosque, Halwa Street and finally up to the Gujarathi Street. Places like Chemmangad, P.I.Road,
Kundungal and Idiyangara come in this route. The road is now extended beyond the Chakkum
Kadavu bridge. On crossing the bridge, you will reach Marad and Payyanakkal beaches. The road to
Beypore beach is connected with this route.

Kuttichira in Kozhikode has a distinct culture of its own. Kuttichira Muslims have unique dress,
customs and culture. It is noted for the ancient sprawling tharavads (ancestral homes) of the
affluent Muslim families. Among the ancient architectural forms, the three mosques situated here
are worth mentioning- Juma Palli, Mucchundi Palli and the Mishkal Palli. All the three mosques are
still in use by the devotees.

The Juma Palli

It is sprawling and can seat a thousand devotees on the ground floor. The entry into this mosque is
by granite steps and a balustrade befitting a prestigious place. The wood work on the roof at the
entrance is etched with beautiful calligraphy in Arabic and on its side are the motifs of flowers and
other designs as in ancient temples of that time. Huge wooden pillars support the roof at the
 entrance and inside. It is a solid work in timber which has withstood the ravages of the monsoon for
long. The washing place is on the left side of the entrance. It was around 1345 that the first Khazi,
Muslim priest started officiating here.

Muchundi palli

This mosque is so called as three small lanes (Chandu in Tamil means narrow way or lane) meet
where this mosque is situated. A black granite stone was found a few years ago which described in
Vattezhuthu (ancient script of Kerala) and Arabic that the land along with a small adjoining area was
given for the construction and maintenance of the mosque. It was a donation by the Zamorin, the
rulers of the erstwhile Kozhikode Kingdom and dates to 13th century. Here also there is elaborate
wood craftsmanship in the front courtyard. The prayers are conducted only on the ground floor
though there is a second floor.

The Mishkal Palli

This mosque is built in the later 13th century and is named after the rich Yemen trader who built it. It
resembles a ship primarily with four main floors with a mizzen floor. Other than the ground floor,
the floors are supported by timber. The technology is believed to be from the Chinese, because it
must have been built after the arrival of the Chinese trader Zheng in 1404. The connection to the
Chinese architecture is evident in the dragon/crocodile shaped wooden figures in the Mukhappu
(front top most portion).

When Vasco de Gama landed in the suburbs of Kozhikode, he was invited to the Muslim dominated
area called Kuttichira. The only tall building he saw there was the Mishkal Mosque built by a Yemen
trader. Gama glimpses all around and quips all houses are as tall as my horse, done up with wooden
rafters and palm leaves. Only the five storied Mosque was oppressive to his eyes and soon he
requested the Zamorin for a piece of land to build a church in the vicinity. He was given a place
almost 800metres north; both almost have an equi-distance from the sea.

According to history in 1510 the Portuguese burnt down some parts of the mosque, but the charred
portions still remain. All the three mosques have slopping roof to withstand the monsoon.

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Marriages and Cosmopolitanism in Kozhikode

by Caf Dissensus on February 15, 2016
By Hameeda C. K.

Malabar is a dynamic region that has played a vital role in the formulation of a major part of the history and culture

of Kerala. The region has been well-known for its maritime trading activities, and this aspect of the Malabar has

been a favourite subject of study for various scholars. Throughout centuries, the ports of Malabar have remained a

coveted centre of maritime trade for many European, West-Asian and East-Asian countries. These trade contacts

strongly influenced the socio-cultural life of the people in this region. Consequently, the Malabar Coast also opened

the gates to Western religions, primarily Islam, Christianity and Judaism. According to sources, Kozhikode or

Calicut was one of the ancient port cities in the region. Under Zamorins rule, the city flourished with foreign trade.

Names of some of the local areas in the city such as Jooda Bazar(Jew Market), and Pattierathu= pattu theruvu or

silk bazaar[1] indicate Kozhikodes long history of transnational maritime trade relationship with several foreigners

such as Chinese and Jews.

II

The political prominence of Malabar was a critical factor that favored, encouraged and invited the foreign traders to

engage in sea trade. The rulers understood the prospects of economic prosperity and encouraged the Arab traders.

The Zamorins, the local rulers of the times, welcomed the traders to settle down in their territory especially in

Kozhikode and to marry local women. Thus, Malabar became a significant region in India as the areas of Arab

settlements and inter-marriages. Gradually the trade relationship helped Islamic proselytizers come and settle in the

city. These settlements and marriages had a relevant role in the social and cultural changes of the region over a

period. The social conditions were equally suitable for the inter-cultural Mappila-Arab marital relations. When

proselytizers families remained endogamous, Arab sailors and traders from West-Asia made the best of this

opportunity and married women from the coastal areas.

Onomastics of many houses in Kuttichira, an important locality in the old city of Kozhikode, such as Kalliyaarakam

(Khazi Family)[2], Baramintakam[3], Jifrintakam[4], Ghaleefantakam, Arabeentakam, Somaleentakam,

Elaapparabintakam, Ahamadahammadintavide, Kuloomintavide, Ibrahim Kasimintavide, Amraante Veedu etc.

reveal peoples familial and marital tie with different racial groups like Africans, Arabs and Persians. Another

interesting observation from the onomastics of family reveals whether the family keeps some sort of exclusivity or

not. The history of social stratification of the area and the exclusive local identification by the local people shows

the high status enjoyed by Khazis, Thangals, Baramis and Arabs as well as Africans who settled in this area from the

pre-modern period. However, all these families are not entirely foreign but the businessmen, sailors and other

workers, who came here as the part of trade, married local women from various stratum of society and settled.

Though Thangal families, Khazi families, etc. came from Yemen and they claim their descent from Prophet

Muhammed, a complete exclusivity is not even obtained from the local and oral narrative. Interestingly, the

progenies and their ancestral traders cum settlers had special acceptance and reverence in the locality, which often

reflected in the socio-cultural development of cosmopolitanism in Kozhikode. This makes Kozhikode a unique place

to every kind of people who came from across Kerala and outside both as migrants and travelers.

III

Before the advent of Islam, the matrilineal kinship system was prominent among the people in Calicut. In this

system, women were both the centre of family and the custodian of the children in the family. In his article,

Kinship Organisation and Marriage Customs among Moplahs on the South West Coast of India, social

anthropologist Victor DSouza argued that this matrilineal kinship system not only existed among Nairs of Malabar

but was also observed among the Thiyyas, Mukkuvas and other castes and communities. Francis Buchanan has

given an example of this in his book, A Journey from Madras through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and

Malabar. He narrates that the Mukkuva women in Malabar Coast are fair and beautiful, compared to people from

other castes. The reason, he argues, is that women of this region and community had unhindered relations with any

man they liked including foreigners. The off-spring from the conjugal relation was retained by the women

themselves. Men had no claim over the off-spring. It meant that the Victorian morality had not yet conquered the

sentiments of conjugal or sexual relation of women at that time. Today this matrilineal joint family system is almost

replaced by the patrilineal family structure due to many reasons, including the application of Muslim Personal Law.

In his book, Mappilas of Malabar: Studies in Social and Cultural History, noted historian Muhamed Koya writes

that for Arabs, Persians and other traders from the west, the prevailing socio-cultural ambience of Malabar gave easy
access to mingle with the locals and create their own progenies in this region. The practice of Muta[5] marriage

among those trading groups from the west left them no cultural rupture, but a convergence or left no immoral

concerns of the modern sort having conjugal/sexual relation with the local women in Malabar. While the western

scholars articulate this practice as a variety of prostitution, neither the local culture nor the trading West Asians

considered it as prostitution or an act of immorality or against the religious values. In fact, it was a two-way process,

which was legitimized by the matrilineal kinship system of that time.

For instance, in the medieval period, the trade between Calicut and the west and central Asian countries flourished

immensely. Even though the entry and monopoly of the British in the maritime trade largely affected the trade with

Arabs, the marriage relationship between these Arab sailors and local women in Kozhikode continued till the late

1980s in the coastal areas in the city. On the contrary, discovery of petroleum in the Arabian Peninsula made a

negative impact on the trade in the port of Calicut. However, the echo of transnational marital relationships has not

vanished from the city. Historical texts provide suggestions of these marriages, which were locally known as Arabi

Kallyanam. It was difficult to find any written records about the experience of women, who had engaged in these

transnational marriages. Many women in the city who married Arabs and Iranians travelled to different places in

Arabia and Iran. Some of them settled in these countries and continued their relationship with their maternal families

in the city. Some women who married and stayed in the city expressed that it was a matter of pride for them to be

selected by an Arab for the marriage. This is because compared to local men, Arabs were handsome, rich and such

marriages acted as a testimony of the beauty these women possessed. The study focused on the oral narratives of

such women and how the act of transnational marriage played in the development of cosmopolitanism among the

people of Calicut. The narratives indicated that marriage ties, in fact, deeply brought close connection in every

sphere of life including food-habit, attire, cultural exchange, behavioural interactions, and language of the people.

Though many women in Calicut are illiterate, they are able to speak the Arabic and Persian language fluently due to

their contact with different countries in West Asia. Fifty-eight-year-old Khadeeja, one of the women in Kuttichira,

shared her experience of visiting many places in Arabia. Her husband was a merchant who came from Dubai and

had fallen love with her while she was attending her tailoring classes. She felt happy and proud when he proposed to

her through her parents. After marriage, she visited many countries Turkey, Egypt, etc. as part of their honey-

moon trip. Khadeeja also expressed her happiness in being able to wear fashionable dresses during those days. She

said that her husband was delighted to make her wear modern and colorful clothes. Her neighbors also expressed

their wonder while she wore sophisticated foreign clothes and shawls, instead of the local attires such
as pavada (skirt),Kaachi[6] and kuppayam (long blouse). Modern lingerie was introduced to these local women

through their foreign husbands. Another woman called Saina, from Mukhadar, also shared her experience of living

in Yemen with her Yemeni husband and their children. She showed her knowledge in speaking Arabic. Families of

these women shared their experience of receiving exotic gifts from their son-in-law. Women who married Arabs and

stayed a long time in Arabia have a lot to share. They speak especially about the clothes they wore there as well as

the different food items they consumed in their husbands home. Many women expressed that they did not find it

difficult to have Arabian food and often enjoyed items such as Majboos, Gava, Aleesa, Roobiyaan, Kubbus, etc.

because these food items already had localized forms in Calicut owing to their historical interaction with the rest

of the world. This shows the true cosmopolitanism of the city of Kozhikode.

The transnational marriage ties of Malabar not only brought a variety of descendents from different parts of the

West and Central Asia, which contributed cosmopolitanism in the cultural and social sphere, but also mutual

transmission of different habits and practices. The famous Malabar daggers called, Malappuram

Kathi and Arappatta (waist belt), have similar cultural ancestry from Somalia, Djibouti, Yemen, Persia, etc. but

modified to the local condition and need. Similarly, two other women, Aisha and Amina, share their experience of

their Yemeni and Somali husbands who used to trade in timber from India to Dubai. They said that their husbands

mostly brought modern dresses for them, instead of pardha or hijab, which symbolizes Muslim culture today or

their interaction with West Asia. Today most of the migrant Muslim men and women from the Arab countries

bring pardha and hijab and rationalize that it is the symbol of their cultural identity. However, the oral history of

these women, who married Arabs, Persians and Africans in Calicut, tells a different story.

To conclude, Calicuts openness to different cultures and practices for the mutual benefit, of course, depicts that the

space and its culture matured to have receptiveness towards difference, which embodies the true sense of its

cosmopolitanism. It is also interesting that the adaptability of the population during the gulf migration reflects the

inherited sense of cosmopolitanism which helped them to get not only access but also acceptance and reverence.

This inherited cosmopolitanism made them successful compared to the other sections of migrants from the state to

West Asia.

[1] The name silk bazaar denoting the silk trade with Chinese traders

[2] Kalliyarakam means the in house of Kalli or Khazi family, the spiritual leaders of Muslim community in Calicut;

they claim to have descended from Prophet Muhammed.

[3] Baramis are a group of Yemeni traders settled in Calicut.

[4] Jifrintakam too claims the spiritual leadership of Muslims in Calicut and they are called Thangals, which is an

equivalent of Sayyids elsewhere, who claim to be the descendants of the Prophet.

[5] Muta marriage is an ancient Islamic marriage practice for a limited time period. The rituals and other aspects of

regular marriage followed in Muta except the marriage is limited for a period, therefore called a temporary

marriage. No mutual rights of inheritance created between the spouses, but children considered legitimate and

capable of inheriting from both parents. Marriage comes to end ipso facto on the expiry of the term, unless extended.

Husband and wife do not have a right of divorce, but he can terminate the union earlier by making a gift of the

term (hiba-i-muddat). In that case, the wife is entitled to full dower. Similarly, the wife has a right to leave the

husband before the expiry of the term of the muta marriage; if she does so, the husband has a right to deduct the

proportionate part of the dower for the unexpired period. These characteristics make Muta different from

prostitution.

[6] A variant of Dothi, women wear in Calicut

SPATIAL TRANSFORMATION WITHIN CORE HERITAGE AREA: KUTTICHIRA, CALICUT Farhana K

(2120200095) This thesis is an attempt to showcase the issues of settlement transformation that
happens with the transformation of dwelling units as basic units in traditional settlements.
Transformation of settlements is seen to be associated with socio-economic changes and modernisation
forces whereby people acclimatize their houses to suit their needs and desires. The desire to have a
modern house may lead to degradation of spatial qualities, and the fulfilment of the desire may
contribute to the modernisation of urban settlements. The traditional settlement of Kuttichira in Calicut,
Kerala was chosen as a case study to illustrate the process of settlement transformations in historic
settlements. Knowledge on the transformation processes acts as an important tool to address the issues
of spatial qualities, modernisation of houses, actors in the processes of transformation and use of
existing space. The transformation of a house acts as the main lead for transforming the street character
which ultimately leads to the transformation of an entire settlement. The results indicate that
transformation activities have been taking place in terms of demolition, extensions and alterations. The
desire to modernise their houses compels developers to use modern building resources. The study
identifies problems associated with the whole process of housing transformation on the heritage if the
area. The problems emerging from this process include: decrease of outdoor space, change in the
traditional character of the settlement. Increase of housing density, losing of the visual integrity of the
settlement. The study concludes that the transformation is happening due to the socio-economic
changes occurring in the settlement. It is further observed that to date most of the dwellers have done
house extensions due to the customs followed within the settlement. The house extensions are being
carried out without trying to conserve the heritage of the area. It is in the light of these developments
that there is a reason for government intervention to guide the transformation processes in historic
settlements. The transformation should be controlled by using conservation of heritage area as a tool
for the regeneration of the settlement, so that the settlement is conserved as well as the need of the
people are met. The study also suggests specific crisis areas for further investigation.