What rhymes with Mappila?
map·pi·la

Mappila, also known as a Mappila Muslim, formerly anglicized as Moplah and historically known as Jonaka Mappila, in general, is a member of the Muslim community of the same name found predominantly in Kerala, southern India. Muslims of Kerala, of which Mappila community make up a large majority, constitute 26.56% of the population of the state (2011), and as a religious group they are the second largest group after Hindus (54.73%). Mappilas share the common language of Malayalam (Malayali) with the other religious communities of Kerala.According to some scholars, the Mappilas are the oldest settled native Muslim community in South Asia. In general, a Mappila is either a descendant of any native convert to Islam or a mixed descendant of any Middle Eastern — Arab or non Arab — individual. Mappilas are but one among the many communities that forms the Muslim population of Kerala. No Census Report where the Muslim communities were mentioned separately is also available. As per some recent scholarship, the term "Mappila" denotes not a single community but a variety of Malayali Muslims of different origins.The Mappila community originated primarily as a result of the West Asian contacts with Kerala, which was fundamentally based upon commerce ("the spice trade"). As per local tradition, Islam reached Malabar Coast, of which the Kerala state is a part of, as early as the 7th century AD. Before being overtaken by the Europeans in the spice trade, Mappilas were a prosperous trading community, settled mainly in the coastal urban centres of Kerala. The continuous interaction of the Mappilas with the Middle East have created a profound impact on their life, customs and culture. This has resulted in the formation of a unique Indo-Islamic synthesis — within the large spectrum of Kerala culture — in literature, art, food, language, and music.Most of the Muslims in Kerala follow the Shāfiʿī School, while a large minority follow modern movements that developed within Sunni Islam.

more definitions for Mappila »