Paper short abstract:

This paper recounts one concrete case in the relationship between connected and disconnected circuits of knowledge. It elaborates on the different stories of the Kunjali Marakkars, 'pirates' on the southwest coast of India in the 16th century, and on the different perceptions of this story.

Paper long abstract:

While for centuries the Kunjali Marakkars were considered pirates and criminals in the eyes of official historians, the local Muslims praised them as their heroes of resistance against the Portuguese in their epics and ballads. For centuries, there were two totally disconnected circuits of knowledge. This chasm in perception changed thoroughly in the last 60 years. The paper follows the changes of perception through the last 60 years in different fields of knowledge: in academics, in the public sphere and in popular culture. As the starting point for this change, the paper considers a monograph in English on the Kunjali Marakkars, first published by an Indian author in 1955: O.K. Nambiars Portuguese Pirates and Indian Seamen. Nambiar was also the first author to take up the oral tradition of the Mappila Muslims.

E-paper: this Paper will not be presented, but read in advance and discussed