Hindu-Muslim-Jewish Origin Legends in Circulation between the Malabar Coast and the Mediterranean, 1400s-1800s
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: School of Critical Studies
Abstract
The name of the legendary Hindu king Cheraman Perumal is documented in texts in different Asian and European languages as far back as the 1400s. This legendary king is associated with the division of the kingdom of Malabar (southwestern India) into twelve districts before converting to Islam and traveling to Mecca. The multiple tellings of the legend and its "conversion" into different religious settings provides rich empirical data for investigating processes and patterns of religious demarcation within and beyond regional and communal boundaries. The centrality of the Malabar Coast as a node in maritime networks between India, the Arab World, and Europe before and throughout the early modern period highlights the intertwined nature of maritime and religious networks. Our project is a first attempt to systematically analyse and historicise patterns of religious demarcation as reflected in the circulation of origin legends and their respective textual traditions.
The project examines seven sources with different tellings of the Cheraman Perumal legend in Arabic, Malayalam, and Hebrew. Four of the seven tellings have been studied separately, two are known to scholars but not studied, and one will be studied for the first time in this project. The approach to the study of these tellings is innovative in historicising the literary and linguistic features of the texts rather than their contents alone, while reading them in conversation with each other. What patterns of inter- and intra-communal relations are underpinned by this intertextual conversation? How do linguistic and literary data account for broader concerns of religious demarcation, be it inclusive or exclusive, cohesive or divisive, within communities and political entities and between them? Addressing these questions has far-reaching implications for our knowledge on so-called 'religious identities', challenging the notion of religions as stable entities. Textual traditions such as the one under investigation rather underscore the multiplicity and fluidity in the ways communities perceive themselves and interact.
By the end of the project, the first scholarly editions of the seven tellings in the three languages with English translations will be completed along with a critical analysis. Additionally, a typology of the linguistic features of languages-in-contact will be developed, featuring the first of its kind in terms of descriptive grammars. A digital map visualising the maritime nodes and links referred to in each text will demonstrate the intersections and divergences between religious networks along the maritime routes between the Malabar Coast and the Mediterranean. These textual traditions, their circulation, and their evolution are key to analysing the history of religious networks in the early modern Western Indian Ocean.
The project examines seven sources with different tellings of the Cheraman Perumal legend in Arabic, Malayalam, and Hebrew. Four of the seven tellings have been studied separately, two are known to scholars but not studied, and one will be studied for the first time in this project. The approach to the study of these tellings is innovative in historicising the literary and linguistic features of the texts rather than their contents alone, while reading them in conversation with each other. What patterns of inter- and intra-communal relations are underpinned by this intertextual conversation? How do linguistic and literary data account for broader concerns of religious demarcation, be it inclusive or exclusive, cohesive or divisive, within communities and political entities and between them? Addressing these questions has far-reaching implications for our knowledge on so-called 'religious identities', challenging the notion of religions as stable entities. Textual traditions such as the one under investigation rather underscore the multiplicity and fluidity in the ways communities perceive themselves and interact.
By the end of the project, the first scholarly editions of the seven tellings in the three languages with English translations will be completed along with a critical analysis. Additionally, a typology of the linguistic features of languages-in-contact will be developed, featuring the first of its kind in terms of descriptive grammars. A digital map visualising the maritime nodes and links referred to in each text will demonstrate the intersections and divergences between religious networks along the maritime routes between the Malabar Coast and the Mediterranean. These textual traditions, their circulation, and their evolution are key to analysing the history of religious networks in the early modern Western Indian Ocean.
