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Survey result part one: A Malabari family tree

How do we relate to our elders

The Malabaris in Malaysia take roots from a  region almost as big as Malaysia itself. The diversity of culture and dialect that we see among Malabari here today is partly a reflection of regions our forefathers originated from. This difference is not as marked here as in Kerala because. The local culture admixture made the terms we use in Malaysia more diverse than in Kerala.

The following is the first part of the analysis of the survey we conducted thru the net. The next part will be coming out soon. If you have any comments, Please email to us at webmaster@e-malabari.net

Generally we find that the terms that  took origin from Kerala vary from  the Northern Kerala (which was for sometime known as Malabar) and southern Kerala. The areas in between seems to be a mixture of both:

Grandfather:

The term Uppapa and its variations such as Appupa  and  Ippapa seems to the most widely used term, cutting across territories from north to south. Some people do use terms like Vellipa to denote the same figure. There seems to be no difference in how you call the paternal and maternal grandfathers. The term Taata is a Tamil word used by some in Malaysia

Grandmother:

The term Ummama seems to the most widely used term, though there are many variation. the most common seems to be the terms Uppama and Vaapama to denote mother's father. The term Pettama seems to be used for either grandmothers and by some for their elder aunties. The term Vellimma also is used for grand mother and elder auntie by some . The Tamil term Paatti is used by some in Malaysia

Father

 Uppa and Vaapa are the common terms used to denote father. The term Appa used by some seems to be the influence of Tamil. The term Atthan is used by some Tamil Muslims. the terms abah and ayah are Malay influences

Mother

Umma  or just Ma is the most common term used. In some areas there are variations like ummachi or imma. The Tamil term is Amma. Ibu is a Malay influence.

Uncle

Culturally the uncle plays a major role in the family structure especially in the Northern States in Kerala where marumakkathaayam was practiced. This influence has spread to areas in further south where marumakkathaayam is not practiced by Muslims. However there are different terms used for maternal and paternal uncles.

The title for maternal uncle in ammaman. Where  marumakkathaayam is practiced the eldest maternal uncle in the family is given the title Karnavar, as the head of the family. The uncles in general are called ikka, or ikkaka as one would refer to and elder brother though some may just call them mama or Amon kaka ( ammaaman kaaka). Some people may add vellika or cerikka to denote their position the family. The maternal uncle plays a major role in the welfare of the family i.e. their sisters and sister's children in marumakkathaayam system.

The paternal aunties husband also has the title Ammaman and is referred to with variation of Ikka as above

There paternal uncle plays  bigger role in the patriarchal system of the southern and central Kerala. The elder uncle is called Moothapa and occasionally aattuppa in the North. The younger paternal  uncles are called Elaapa. Other names will be  Kunhuppa and Kochuppa (more towards the south).

Aunties

Similar to uncles, the paternal and maternal auntie are called differently also. Paternal aunty is called ammayi in general. However in the south the term Mamie seems to be preferred. In the North terms like attuma, pettuma and pettaca are preferred. Please note the overlap in the term pettuma as used for grandmother. The wives of Ammaman (maternal uncle )are called similar to the above.

Maternal aunties and wives of the paternal uncles are called similarly. Muthumma is generally used to denote the elder aunt thought the term Vellima( similar term as grandmother ) is sometimes used.

Brother

Brothers are called Ikka, or kaaka if they are elder and is usually referred to by name if they are younger. The title however varies. Brother of a sister is called angela whereas a brother of a male is called jyeshTan( if elder) and anujan ( if younger)

Sister

The title of an elder sister is jyeshTatthi (aeTatthi) for the an elder sister and anujaththi for a younger sister if the referring person is a female. A male however refers to his sister as pengal. Some do use the term checi for the elder sister which is a Hindu influence.

When addressing a person directly Ittha and thaatha is used to refer to an elder sister. Some, particularly in the north use the term Itthatha  to refer to a sister elder than Ittha. A younger sister is referred to by name

 Husband

Bharthave : Husband. a term universally excepted

mapla: A term for husband mostly used in the the northern Kerala. The word Mapla is also  used to be a term to include all Malabar Muslims It was also used ot define Malayalee Christians. The word may have originated  from the words Mala Pilla which means big child to welcome a husband to a family

Wife

Bhariya:Wife. a term universally excepted

Veedaru: A term used to refer to  wife. More used in the northern states in Kerala. May have originated from the term 'veetu kaar' which means people of the house

 

To be continued...

Go to part two

 

 

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