While the antiquity and depth of the connection between southern India and coastal Southeast Asia are well attested, much of the existing literature — whether concerned with commercial interaction or cultural transmission — has concentrated on Gujarat, the Coromandel Coast, and Bengal. This chapter seeks to broaden this focus by examining the links between Southeast Asia and the Malabar Coast, with particular emphasis on the role of Muslim trading networks.

Even on initial reflection, there are numerous parallels in the histories of the Malabar Coast and Southeast Asia. The eastward movement of the Hindu-Buddhist traditions is thought to have originated from the ancient Tamil kingdoms of South India, which included the Malabar Coast. Over the centuries, both regions remained culturally linked in transoceanic Brahmanical and Buddhist networks. There are also similarities in the introduction of Islam to the regions, most clearly in the role of trade in the propagation of the faith and in the incorporation of local traditions into Islamic practices. Even more striking are the economic parallels. Insular Southeast Asia and the Malabar Coast were both located at nodal points of the Indian Ocean trade routes, making them natural entrepôts. Moreover, they were the foremost producers of spices and, as such, developed into important supraregional markets. Politically the regions were, with few exceptions, fragmented and characterized by continuous competition to attract long-distance trade. Both regions were also crucial to the European expansion in the Indian Ocean and developed into focal points of early colonialism and resistance.

These parallels in the religious, economic, and political spheres merit a closer examination of the two regions with regard to their direct contacts, as well as their participation in mutual networks. This chapter sets out the foundations of such a study by first examining the commercial connections between the Malabar Coast and maritime Southeast Asia before considering their interactions in the spheres of religion and culture.