Koya is a Muslim community, predominantly found in the city of

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

in southern India. Scholars speculate

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

i origin to the community and assume that the name is a corruption of the title "

Khawaja Khawaja (Persian language, Persian: خواجه ''khvâjəh'') is an honorific title used across the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, particularly towards Sufi teachers. It is also used by Kashmiri Muslims and the Mizrah ...

". The powerful Koyas held administrative positions in the medieval Calicut court (

Zamorin The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edited by ...

).Kunhali, V. "Muslim Communities in Kerala to 1798" PhD Dissertation Aligarh Muslim University (1986

/ref> The Koyas are mostly concentrated in and around the

Kuttichira Kuttichira or Thekkepuram is a quarter located inside the city of Kozhikode in the Indian state of Kerala. Its approximate boundaries are the Arabian Sea on the West, the Kallai river on the South, Vellayil (a fishing village) on the North, a ...

region in Calicut. The Koya family was invited by Raja Keshavadas to Alleppey from Malabar during its formation. They were given permission to construct houses and to conduct trade to various parts of Travancore Kingdom. The Koya family in Alleppey still have their Major undivided property and Tharavads like Pyngamadom, Puthen nalakam, Pulikkalakath, Puthenveedu, Vyranveedu, are some. These Tharavads stands as historic monuments near Stone Bridge Alleppey. Koyas are also found on the

Laccadive Islands The Laccadive or Cannanore Islands are one of the three island subgroups in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. It is the central subgroup of the Lakshadweep, separated from the Amindivi Islands subgroup roughly by the 11th parallel ...

as well as in other parts of former South Malabar Taluk. The Koyas followed maternal kinship system ("marumakathayam").Koya, P. M. Shiyaali. ''Koyas of Calicut: A Distinctive Matrilineal Social Group''

References

Further reading