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Welcome to Cutchi Memon Association Website!
History and Origin
Memons are an ethnic ( liguistic ) group tracing their roots largely
to Sindh , Kutch and Kathiwar. Historically Memons are a mercantile
community (and are generally referred to as a business community)
They are well respected Muslim Entrepreneurs, Philanthropist and
Humanitarian in the Indian subcontinent and elsewhere. Memons are,
generally, well known for being honest, hardworking and innovative.
Traditionally, the name Memon is an adaptation of Momin ( Arabic
) meaning faithful. Memons predominantly adhere to Sunni Islam.
Sindhi,
Gujarati, and Arab origins
More than one hypothesis has been forwarded about the origins of
the Memon community. These hypotheses, although similar, differ
in their details. This could be because Memons have had to rely
on oral history in order to determine their origins.
According to Anthovan, those Lohanas of Thhato who converted to
Islam became Memons and were invited by Jarejho Roa Khanghar, ruler
of Bhuj (1548-1584) to settle in Bhuj. It is from there that Cutchi
Memons migrated to Kathiawar and Gujarat. Surat in Gujarat was an
important trading center during 1580 to 1680 and Memons made their
bounty there. Later, the Memons reached Bombay.[2] Diwan Bherumal
M. Advani writes that all the Memons of Bombay, Gujarat and Kutch
are Lohanas from Sindh. (A volume written by Mr. Anthovan, part
2, pages 52 and 53).[2]
Another theory states that Memons originated in 1422 CE from Thatta
in Sindh. The converts were first called Momins or Mumins and the
term, with the march of time, changed to Memons.[3] The story related
therein states that some 700 Lohana families, (inclusive, perhaps
of some earlier covert and neo-Muslim converts) comprising of some
6178 individuals, succumbed and converted to Islam at the hands
of one Sayed Yusuffuddin Qadri (rahimathullah) and finding themselves
banished by their erstwhile Hindu brothers were forced to migrate.[1]
This was also stated by Hussain Kassim Dada from his Presidential
Chail at the first ever All India Memon Conference in Rajkot in
the year 1931.
A fourth theory according to Karimbaksh Khalid is that certain soldiers
of Arab tribe Banu Tamim of Qatif, near Ta’if, came to Sindh
along with Muhammad bin Qasim, where they were known as Maymenah,
right-wingers in the army; this word later evolved to become Memons.
According to this theory, the Memons were originally Arabs. [7]
Cutchi
Memons
Memon community may be divided into three main groups. Those who
traced their ancestors from Kutch region are identified as Cutchi
Memon and they speak Kutchi dialects. Those who traced their ancestry
to Kathiawar are identified as simply Memon or Kathiawadi Memons
or Halai Memons and they speak Memoni. Those Memon who remained
in Sindh (their ancestor never migrated to neighboring regions such
as Kutch and Kathiawar) are identified as Sindhi Memon and speak
Sindhi language.
Generally? a Memon is a Muslim person born within a Memon family
which traces its ancestry back to the descendants of the ?community
originating from Sindh whose members first embraced Islam, including
Halai Memon, Okhai Memon, Sindhi ?Memon, Kutchi Memon, Kathri, Tharati,
Nasarpuria and others? [6]
Language
Memons speak an unwritten language called Cutchi, a mixture of Sindhi
and Gujarathi which belongs to the Indic North-Western Zone family
of languages. While the Sindhi and Kutchi languages are spoken by
both Muslims and non-Muslims, Memoni refers exclusively to the vernacular
of the Kathiawadi Memons who are predominately Sunni Muslims that
migrated from Sindh to the neighbouring regions of Kutch and Kathiawar
in Gujarat several centuries ago [7]. In stress, intonation, and
everyday speech, Memoni is very similar to Sindhi, but it borrows
vocabulary extensively from Gujarati, Hindustani and lately English[citation
needed]. Like most languages of the Indian subcontinent the sentence
structure of Memoni generally follows subject -> object ->
verb order.
Role
of the Jamaat
Memons generally tie to their respective locally well-organized
societies called "Jamat", literally means congregation,
which are generally established for the betterment and social welfare
of its members which may include issuance of marriage license, matrimonial
dispute resolution, adaptation and enforcement of the rules and
guidelines against certain undesirable customs, establish healthcare
and education centres, provide various facilities for the community
need? and also financial support and housing? for the poor and needy
members and sometime non-members.
Memons
Worldwide
Memons migrated from Sindh to Kutch, and latter to Kathiawar (Kathiawad)
and other part of Gujarat. Memons spread throughout the Indian Ocean
basin in the 19th century, but most Memons lived in Kathiawar, prior
to the Partition of India. Many later settled in Pakistan. Today,
they are scattered throughout India and the port city of Karachi
in Pakistan, with significant communities in the United Kingdom,
Canada, USA, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania,
Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Malawi, Kenya, Mauritius, Singapore,
Australia and Burma.
Memons are known for their involvement in business and philanthropy.
An increasing number of Memons are turning to professional occupations.[8]
Owing to their tradition of management and attention to detail,
Memons are a prosperous community. They have built vast business
legacies and a high percentage of Memons around the world belong
to the upper-middle class. [9]
Religious
practices
Memons mostly follow the Hanafi school of Sunni Islam although some
are known to follow other Sunni schools such as the Maliki and Shafi`i
schools. [10].
Marriage
customs
Memons usually marry within their own social affiliation (Jamat)
(endogamy), depending on circumstances a group (Jamat) may be as
small as few hundred families and as large as few thousand families.
For example Cutchi Memon define their jamat to be entire group having
very few sub-groups whereas Kathiawadi Memons are branched into
few dozens sub-groups. For Kathiawadi Memon a group, by and large,
usually shares their ancestor village in Kathiawad as a reference
point. Marriage between close relatives especially first cousins
is discouraged but such reunion is possible where a group is too
small. Marriage outside the social group (e.g. marrying a Surti
Muslim) is now quite common and accepted by most Memons, although
some community elders may still discourage it.
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