Legend of Cheraman Perumals

The legend of Cheraman Perumals is the medieval tradition associated with the Cheraman Perumals (Chera kings) of Kerala. The sources of the legend include popular oral traditions and later literary compositions. The time of origin of the legend is not known to scholars. It seems the legend once had a common source well known to all Kerala people.

Quotes

• While the Muslims claim he went to Arabia and became a Muslim, the Buddhists, Jains, Hindus, and Christians equally hold the last Perumal to have been an adherent of their faith. And whether Perumal’s conversion took place in the ninth century or not, it is a tradition which is very popular among the Malabar Muslims and which probably developed in Malabar itself, even though similar stories of ‘Shakarwati’ can be found in Islamic literature outside of India.42 According to the Qissat ShakarwatT the conversion of the Mappillas was effected by some of the Prophet’s com­panions who established mosques with waqf endowments in Malabar in the third decade of Islamic history.43 Most likely the tradition was in­ tended to support the ancient rights of the Muslim families who held juridical positions in Malabar and was then used to prove the antiquity and respectable origin of the Mappilla community in contrast to the North-Indian immigrant and convert Muslims.44 Historically the con­version of Ceruman Perumal is not attested, whether to Islam or any other faith. The story o f the conversion of the king and the partition of Malabar probably evolved from his having given important privileges to the Muslim trading communities.
  • Wink A Al-Hind, The Making of the Indo-Islamic World. Volume 1 p 76ff

• The belief that the last Perumal embraced Islam is not based on facts which are clear from the observations made by several learned people. In his History of Kerala, Karuppumveettil Gopala Pillai proves point by point that the story of the last Perumal embracing Islam is utterly wrong. His book explains about it. In the book called Land of Perumals, by Dey, a renowned historian has made it clear that there was no individual Perumal with the name Cheraman and the term merely meant the “ruler of Chera kingdom”. Dr. Gundert has recorded like this. “Even though the term Cheraman Perumal is there on the tongue of every Malayali, no one with that name ever existed.”
  In the Mangalore edition of “Keralolppathy “ it is stated that the return of the last Perumal was in the middle of 4th century AD. But the British historians have recorded that the period of last Perumal was 9th century AD. Same time, the period in which Muhammad Nabi lived was in 6th century AD. From this it will be clear that the myth about Cheraman Perumal meeting the prophet is not factual. It is claimed that the Perumal embraced Islam in AD 825. But an Arab traveller called Suleiman who visited Kerala during the period has commented that he could not see even one person or even heard from anybody in Kerala about one who is converted to Islam or learned Arabic.
  • Tirur Dinesh - Moplah Riots (2021)