Konkanis in Cape Town, South Africa

The Konkan also called the Konkan coast is the name given to a stretch of rugged and beautiful section of the western coastline of India from Thane District to Goa. Konkan is also one of six divisions of the state of Maharashtra. The Arabian Sea is the main key role player in the development of the Konkan region.

Konkani Muslims originate from the area on the West Coast of Maharashtra in India. The Konkani Muslims are a seafaring people and their main sources of livelihood are farming and fishing. The Arabs had been trading with the Costal Indians long before the coming of Islam and in time a trading relationship was established. By the time the Arabs preached the word of Islam in Arabia, links between the Konkani's and Arabs were centuries old. The Konkani's retained their rich cultural heritage and continued to live in peace and harmony with other communities. At the turn of 20th century many Konkanis had moved out of India in search of employment, mainly to the new British colonies in Africa where they became successful traders, businessmen and skilled workers. Many Konkanis took up British citizenship and settled down in these new colonies mainly Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rhodesia. However, after two generations in the 1960’s and 1970’s these colonies started gaining their Independence. The Independent countries started their own Africanisation programmes and some of these settlers because of political reasons, migrated to other parts of the world. Konkanis who migrated to the United Kingdom form the bulk of the community and are mainly settled in the big cities. Some who migrated to Britain from the Indian Sub-Continent for further education, settled there after completing their education because of the demand in their professions and skills.

Konkani Muslims speak Konkani, a Marathi dialect, peculiar to the community. They are descendants of Arab traders. Konkani Muslims are heavily involved in the merchant navy, shipbuilding, and textile industries in India. Most in villages are also involved into farming and fishing, whereas many work as expatriates in Gulf countries. They trace their ancestry back to the Arab traders who arrived on the Western coast of India during the medieval era. The Diaspora spread out around India and the rest of the world but maintains their strong sense of community and identity. The Konkani Muslims possess most of the important attributes of an ethnic group. Like the Maplas of Malabar, they are the progeny of Arab immigrants and Indian women; they speak the same dialect of Konkani language, and marry among themselves, in anthropological terms they are generally endogamous. Yet, according to Dr. A. R. Momin, "the Konkani Muslim community has a well defined system of ranking and stratification. They frequently have fair skin, and light eyes. The scope of this article is about the Konkanis in Cape Town, South Africa from the Konkan Division of Maharashtra.

What were the social and political factors that encouraged Konkanis to immigrate to South Africa …? The greater part of the Konkan population was involved in agriculture and peasants were impoverished. In 1875 there was an outburst of protest against harsh economic conditions and this led to "grain riots". In 1896 there were demonstrations against moneylenders and grain dealers following the onset of famine and high prices. In the same year there were several incidents of rioting and grain theft. The late 1890's also marked an increase in banditry and poor peasant's protests. In districts such as Thana, the Marwari class was looted unmercifully leading to acts of brutal violence. The grain riots became endemic. British rule was altering the implications of indebtedness and was perceived to be against aspects of the Khoti system. There was a population influx especially into districts such as Ratnagiri. This led to an intense demand on land resources. In the Ratnagiri district the population had increased. This led to a decline in per capita income resulting in an influx to other districts of the Konkan such as Raigad and also Bombay.

In Bombay the stories of Cape Town and the mining boom in South Africa were heard from Konkani sailors working on British vessels. The Cape was a British colony and this facilitated the emigration from Konkan to the shore of Cape Town by several Konkanis escaping the social and economic situation in Konkan. Though initially many Konkanis worked as manual laborers and hawkers, as soon as they were capable, however they went into business independently or worked as shop assistants. The Konkanis tended to become retail general dealers and butchers. Amongst the Konkani's of Cape Town, E. Nordien Mukaddam arrived in 1888. He came from the village Dignee (Taluka Sangmeshwar). He was self educated and by 1908, he owned several shops in Cape Town. As the Konkanis of Cape Town started prospering in their retail business many village societies were formed to cater for the welfare of their respective families. In Konkan for instance many schools, mosques, water works and roads were built by these village societies and individual members. Prominent amongst these schools were Anglo High School Dapoli, Furus High School, Wahoor High School, and Murud High School. During the late 1950's nearly every big Muslim village had a high school for which a considerable contribution was made from these societies. Amongst these new high schools Haji Dawood Amien High School Kalusta, Haji Mukaddam High School in Khed and Morba High School are well known. "It is regrettable however that less effort was made in the educational advancement of the community in Cape Town". The exception was the opening of Habibia Primary School in 1946, due primarily to the efforts of Mr. Balu Parker.

There are more than 40,000 Cape Townians that can trace their roots directly to the Konkan region. We consider such South Africans of Konkani origin an integral part of South Africa and this the modest attempt at helping them to more meaningfully understand their historical backgrounds. All people need to learn about their past and need to be able to participate in their own legacy.

Most of the Konkanis spoke Konkani, Urdu and Africans and tended to maintain their village connections and identities. Since the late 1800s Muslim Indians at the Cape, especially Konkani Indians, who remained prominent, also cooperated with other Muslims to achieve communal and political goals. Konkanis in South Africa organized in different ways to structure their environment, express their cultures and pursue their interests. This includes Religious Authorities, Voluntary Associations and interest pressure groups and joining bigger political groups. Konkani history too is the sum of the contribution of many religions and people from many countries have contributed to the Konkani culture in Cape Town, South Africa.

Source of Information : Konkan News : Volume 3, Issue 1, January-March 2011

Article written by : Mrs. Nujmoonnisa Parker (Konkani Delights, Cape Town, South Africa)