Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 5 of 7

Excerpt: "The Marakkāyars are described, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a Tamil-speaking Musalman tribe of mixed Hindu and Musalman origin, the people of which are usually traders. They seem to be distinct from the Labbais (q.v.) in several respects, but the statistics of the two have apparently been confused, as the numbers of the Marakkāyars are smaller than they should be.” Concerning the Marakkāyars of the South Arcot district, Mr. Francis writes as follows.1 “The Marakkāyars are lar