Anjuvannam (in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

, from Persian anjuman, and hanjama or hanjamana in Telugu or

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

or hamyamana) typically refers to a medieval merchant guild, consisting of non-Indian traders — principally ethnic

Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...

and

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

— primarily active in south India. Along with manigramam and ainurruvar (the Ayyavole Five Hundred), the anjuvannam merchant guild played a major role in the commercial activities of southern India in the medieval period. Unlike manigiramam merchant guild, which was also operating in Indian hinterland, the presence of anjuvannam is found only in coastal towns. In some ports this guild obtained royal charters, which permitted the special immunities and privileges within those cities. Anjuvannam finds mention in number of south Indian inscriptions, most notably in

Quilon Syrian copper plates The Kollam (Quilon) Syrian copper plates, also known as the Kollam Tarisappalli copper plates, or Kottayam inscription of Sthanu Ravi, or Tabula Quilonensis (c. 849 CE) are a copper plate grant issued by Ayyan Adikal, the chieftain of Kollam, c ...

(c. 849 CE) and in Jewish copper plates of Cochin (c. 1000 CE). The guild initially engaged in commercial activities along the Kerala coast before expanding its operations to other south Indian coasts.

History

Etymology

The term Anjuvannam probably originates from a Persian root. It is related to and Persian anjuman or (this refers to an organization or association of people). The term or is found in Telugu and

records. is the term used in an inscription from the Konkan Coast. According to an earlier explanation, the title Anjuvannam derived from the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

varna system as any person not belonging to one of the four varnas was referred to as an . A person in the Anjuvannam community is known as an "anjuvannan".

Composition and area of activity

Historian Y. Subbarayalu had defined the anjuvannam guild as a "body of West Asian traders". The guild of anjuvannam was usually organized by Middle Eastern traders that included

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, Syrian Christian,

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and Zoroastrian or Parsi merchants operating in south India (mostly Indian Ocean trade). The merchants generally operated in the trading ports of Konkan Coast,

Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...

and

Coromandel Coast The Coromandel Coast is a coastal region along the southeastern front of the Indian peninsula. Its delimitations are numerous, but generally admitted to be bounded by the Krishna River, Krishna river River mouth, mouth to the north, the Bay of B ...

of south India (and even in South East Asia including

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

). While the Manigramam merchant guild operated in the Indian hinterland as well, the Anjuvannam merchant guild was found exclusively in coastal towns of South India.

Development

The earliest concrete epigraphical evidence of the Anjuvannam, the Quilon Syrian copper plates dated to c. 849 CE, confirms the guild's activity on the Kerala coast in the mid-9th century CE. From the early 10th century CE, the ainurruvar (the Ayyavole Five Hundred) expanded across southern India, uniting most pre-existing merchant guilds, including the Anjuvannam and Manigiramam, under its umbrella. The increased association of the anjuvannam guild with the

traders of Malabar Coast is visible in the Jewish copper plates of Cochin (c. 1000 CE). Starting in the 12th century CE and continuing thereafter, the Five Hundred merchant guild served as an umbrella organization for various smaller merchant guilds. During the 11th - 13th centuries anjuvannam was mostly composed of Muslim traders on both the west and east coasts of India.

References

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External links