Kakrala (Sindh)

Kakrala
ڪڪراله (Sindhi)
Kak
TypeSettlement
LocationSindh, Pakistan

Kakrala (Sindhi: ڪڪراله) or Kak (Sindhi: ڪاڪ) was a historical region in southern Sindh, in the coastal parts of the Indus Delta. Descriptions of its precise extent vary, but it lay in the middle part of the delta, comprising the present-day taluqas of Shahbandar and Jati Taluka in Sujawal and Thatta districts.[1] [2]It has been described as the region from Jati to Kharo Chan, or the region between the mouths of the Wanyani and Pitti rivers.[3][4] This area later formed part of the pargana of Ghorabari.[5]

Henry Miers Elliot and Wolseley Haig identified Kakrala with the island of Krokala in ancient Greek sources.[4][5] The region was occasionally referred to as Kakrala until the 1930s.[6]

Name

The name "Kakrala" is variously transliterated; variant spellings include Kakrāla,[4] Kakrālā, Kakrālah, Kakrālo,[7] and Kukrāla.[1] It is probably derived from the Sindhi adjective kakrālo, meaning "pebbly", derived from the noun kakro meaning "pebble".[5] The interpretation "land's end" has also been proposed, but this is more esoteric.[5] one other suggested origin of its name is believed to be that due to its proximity to the sea, this region was always covered with clouds (Kakar). Consequently, it was called 'Kakran Waro' (the land of clouds) or 'Kakraro', and later became known as 'Kakralo.[8] In history books, it has been recorded also as ''Kakraro', or 'Kand Kakraro', among other variations.[2]

The name "Crocala" or "Cocala" underwent significant changes over the centuries. By the 16th century AD, the name had evolved into "Krokala", which eventually transformed into "Kakrala" or "Kakralo".[9]

History

From about 1470 to 1760, Kakrala functioned as a small state whose rulers held the title of Jam and were identified as either Sammas or Kehars.[1] Their capital was at Dera in Kakrala, now in ruins near the site of Chachkan. The Jams of Kakrala built numerous tombs and chhatris for themselves and for their patron saints.[3] Among their patron saints was Aban Shah, a 16th-century Suhrawardi mystic buried at Aban Shah Ja Takkar, about 2 km south of Chuhar Jamali in present-day Sujawal District. Another was Rajan Shah, also a Suhrawardi mystic from the same family, whose tomb lies about 1 km west of Aban Shah's. Both men and women of the ruling family took part in tomb construction; for example, a woman of the Kakrala ruling family commissioned the tombs at Abro Halani near Jati. Kakrala was eventually annexed by the Kalhoro dynasty in 1760.[3][8]

During the Kalhoro dynasty Period Kakrala was considered one of the center of knowledge and learning in Sindh.[10]

Kakrala was one of the parganas of Lower Sindh under the Talpur dynasty.[11] It was governed by a "sazāwal-kār", or revenue collector, with several munshis (writers) to assist in its administration.[7]

Folklore

Udho Kehar and Hothal Fairy is a Sindhi folktale set in the Kakrala. It tells the story of Udho Kehar, a prince of the Kehar ruling family of Kakrala, and Hothal, a fairy who is described as the daughter of the Nagamara chief Sangan. The tale is a popular work of Sindhi literature and continues to be remembered in Sindh, Kutch, and Saurashtra.[12]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Akhtar, Muhammad Saleem (1983). Shāhjahānī of Yūsuf Mīrak (1044/1634) Sind under the Mughuls: an introduction to, translation of and commentary on the Maẓhar-i Shāhjahānī of Yūsuf Mīrak (1044/1634). pp. 75, 174, 178, 191, 229, 377. doi:10.25911/5d74e2bda15ab. hdl:1885/11279. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  2. 1 2 "ڪڪرالو 1 پرڳڻو : (Sindhianaسنڌيانا)". www.encyclopediasindhiana.org (in Sindhi). S.L.A, Government of Sindh. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  3. 1 2 3 Kalhoro, Zulfiqar Ali (2018). "Sufi shrines as spiritual clinics". The Friday Times. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Elliot, H. M. (1867). "Tarkhán-Náma". In Dowson, John (ed.). The History of India, As Told By Its Own Historians - The Muhammadan Period, Vol. I (PDF). London: Trübner and Co. p. 509. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Haig, Malcolm Robert (1894). The Indus Delta Country: A Memoir, Chiefly on Its Ancient Geography and History. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. pp. 15, 142. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  6. ↑ Billimoria, N. M. (1935). The Journal of the Sindh Historical Society. Vol. 1, Part 3. Sindh Historical Society, Karachi. p. 4.
  7. 1 2 Hughes, A.W. (1874). A Gazetteer of the Province of Sindh. London: George Bell and Sons. p. 47. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
  8. 1 2 "ڪڪرالو 1 پرڳڻو : (Sindhianaسنڌيانا)". www.encyclopediasindhiana.org (in Sindhi). Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  9. ↑ Javed Ali Sindhi, Sheikh (2024-11-12). "Following Alexander's Conquest Of Sindh - II". The Friday Times. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
  10. ↑ Bhaṭṭī, Rashīdu (2002). Birth of a Great Poet: Kalhora Period 1700-1784. Institute of Sindhology,Jamshoro,University of Sindh. p. 117. ISBN 978-969-405-052-2. The chronicles and other available record pointout that , besides Thatta there were other small centres of knowledge and learning scattered over throughout Sindh during Kalhora period. Important of them being, Bukhar, Rohri, Sukkur, Arore, Sivi, Sehwan, Hala Kundi, Bhanot, Khanot, Nasarpur, Katiar, Agham Kot, Bulri, Kakralo, Matiari, Darbelo, Hingorja, Lakhpat, Panhwari, Lahri Bunder, Shikarpur, Piryaloi, Kehar and Sunn.
  11. ↑ Memon, Siddique G. (2000). Sukkur Then and Now. Oxford University Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-19-579069-6.
  12. ↑ Balocu, Nabī Bak̲h̲shu K̲h̲ānu (2014). Folklore of Sindh: Anthology of Prefaces. Sindhi Adabi Board,Government of Sindh. pp. 229–231.

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