The present ethnographic sketch portrays the lifeworld and material culture of two communities of Muslim fishermen living on the southern Malabar coast close to the city of Trivandrum. The villages of Madhipuram, which belongs to the small port town of Vizhinjam, and Bimapalli are inhabited by low caste Marakkan as well as Mappila Muslims. After outlining the setting through historical and ethnographic notes on both settlements, emphasis is given to the impressive mosques and Sufi shrines functioning as Islamic landmarks. The son of a famous early Muslim missionary of Kerala and a companion of the great Sufi saint Abdul Qadir Jilani are buried in Madhipuram whereas Bimapalli is noted for the female saint Bima Biwi supposed to have come from Arabia in the 8th century CE. The main section of this article describes different aspects of the lifeworld of fishermen, such as types of boats (with notes on the woodcarving of prows and related symbolism), methods of fishing, and everyday activities (food, popular pastimes, public life). Concluding remarks reflect upon the ongoing socio-economic change as well as environmental destruction observable in both places.
Jürgen Wasim Frembgen (Thu,) studied this question.