Tamil fishing communities set example of interfaith coexistence

For S Manoharan, a retired fisherman in Chennai, it had always been a tradition to pray to the 16^th century Sufi saint Shahul Hameed, whom the fishing community fondly calls ‘Nagore Andavar’.

Whenever the sea became turbulent, Manoharan broke into a song seeking the blessings of Nagore Andavar. Once he reached land, he gave offerings.

“I was only following what my parents taught me. I put my complete trust in our elders. For us, the fishermen community across Tamil Nadu, all religions are equal, we accept and pray without religious discrimination. Even today, young fishermen are following the tradition,” says Manoharan, a resident of Olcott Kuppam, who first ventured into the sea with his father at the age of five.

“Similarly, once we returned from the sea, we prayed at Ellaiamman temple,” Manoharan said.

Recalling the times when his mother used to take him to Nagore Andavar mosque in Chennai and to Nagapattinam to pray and give offerings, he said that even today, most of the fishing boats, irrespective of their owners’ faith, have the religious symbol of Islam and image of a Hindu deity/god.

“Whenever we purchase a new boat or have a big catch, we will give offerings to Nagore Andavar. I don’t know why it is so. We have been following this tradition for decades,” said fisherman R Ponnurangam, 45.

“But along with Nagore Andavar, as years passed, we have also started worshipping Islam, as we have a mosque very close to our locality,” he said.

Fishing communities across Tamil Nadu have coexisted for centuries.

“Even though most of the fishermen from our locality belong to the Hindu religion, we offer our prayers to both Nagore Andavar and Velankanni Matha. There are several fishermen who regularly visit the Velankanni temple and offer prayers. They also have the picture of the Hindu god Murugan, Velankanni Matha and religious symbols of Islam on their boats,” said S Balamurali, a fisherman from Nagapattinam.

Balamurali said the fishermen place their trust on the gods without any religious discrimination for they believe that will safeguard them from danger.

“It is not just the fishermen in the state; the entire Tamil diaspora placed its faith in Nagore Andarvar while venturing into the sea in the 19^th century and built a memorial for him wherever they landed. The saint was considered the guardian of those who entered the sea,” said Kombai S Anwar, an historian.

“The saint who was born in Manikpur, a present day town in Uttar Pradesh, took to spiritualism and travelled throughout West Asia to Mecca and to Burma before reaching South India. He reached the coast at a time when sailors, especially Tamil Muslim ship owners, were harassed by Portuguese naval fleets and it gave solace both to the traders and the fishermen,” he said.

Fishermen believe that the saint was able to plug holes in a sinking ship during his stay in Nagore, Anwar said, adding that people of all faiths offer prayers to him at Nagore Dargah in Nagapattinam, where he was buried.