Thangal Explained

The Thangals (also spelled Tangals) are a social group among the Muslims of Kerala, south India.^[1] The Thangals are often regarded as roughly equivalent to the more general Sayyids or Sharifs, or descendants of Muhammad, of the wider Islamic culture.^{[2] [3]} Most members of the community practices endogamy and rarely marry spouses from outside their community.^{[4] [5]}

The Thangal families are numerous in Kerala, all receive recognition, but some are considered as saints. The Thangal identification brings much 'reverence and attention' in the Kerala Muslim community (which predominantly identifies with Shafi'i madhab).^[6] Some individuals take advice from the Thangals on crucial matters. A number of thangals in Kerala 'treat' people for illness and to 'ward off evils'.

Shihab, Mashoor, Hirdh, Bafaqi, Jifri, Jamalullayli are some of major Thangal families have many gradations of status on social and economic scale. Influential of the Thangals generally come from prominent business families. They usually exercise their influence through commerce and politics.

Notable Thangal in north Kerala

• Pukkoya family (Panakkad-Kodappanakkal House)
  • P. M. S. A. Pukkoya Thangal (d. 1975)
  • Muhammedali Shihab Thangal (1936 - 2009)
  • Hyderali Shihab Thangal (1947 - 2022)
  • Sayed Abbas Ali Shihab Thangal (Born 31 May 1971)
• Kondotty Thangal Family

Notes

1.Only some scholars consider the thangals as a 'community' among the Muslims of Kerala.

Further reading

• Book: Miller, Roland E. . Mappila Muslim Culture: How a Historic Muslim Community in India Has Blended Tradition and Modernity . State University of New York Press . 2015.
• Dale . Stephen F. . Islamic Society on the South Asian Frontier: The Mappilas of Malabar 1498–1922 . Modern Asian Studies . Clarendon Press Oxford . 1980. 18 . 1 . 157–161 . 10.1017/S0026749X00011276 .

External links

• Web site: Kunhali . V. . 1986 . Muslim Communities in Kerala to 1798 . Aligarh Muslim University.
• Web site: Claudia Lang . Muslim Thangals, Psychologisation and Pragmatic Realism in Northern Kerala, India . SAGE . Transcultural Psychiatry 2014, Vol. 51(6) . 904–923.

Notes and References

1. Kunhali, V. "Muslim Communities in Kerala to 1798" PhD Dissertation Aligarh Muslim University (1986) http://ir.amu.ac.in/2736/1/T%205242.pdf
2. Miller, Roland E., Mappila Muslim Culture. New York, State University of New York Press, 2015. pp. 268-271.
3. Web site: Meethal. Amiya. 2016-04-25. Thangals All Set to Test Popularity in Malappuram. Deccan Chronicle. en.
4. Lang. Claudia. 2014-12-01. Muslim Thangals, Psychologisation and Pragmatic Realism in Northern Kerala, India. Transcultural Psychiatry. 51 . 6 . 904–923. en. 10.1177/1363461514525221. 24637733 . 30638105 .
5. Kunhali, V. "Muslim Communities in Kerala to 1798" PhD Dissertation Aligarh Muslim University (1986) http://ir.amu.ac.in/2736/1/T%205242.pdf
6. Web site: Caste system exists among Muslims though not overtly . 2020-10-12 . The New Indian Express. 31 August 2019 .