Labbay (Labbai, Labba, Labbabeen, Lebbay, Lebbai), is a

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

trading community in southern India found throughout the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.

Etymology

''Labbay'' means "Here I am", and is used as a title for

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

-speaking Muslims who are converts to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. The word "labbay" later became "lebai" in

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

, referring to religious experts dealing with Islamic issues.

History

Though both Marakkayar and Labbay sects descended from Arabs, they have independent cultural practices, vocabulary, diet and dress. Unlike the Marakkayar, the Labbay sect mainly engages in religious scholarship training ''ulema'', ''hazrath'' and ''kazi''. They find employment as registrars of births, weddings and funerals; lead sermons and commentaries of the Quran. Their role as priests is similar to the Jewish Levite

Etymology

History

References

See also