Marafie family
Marafie Behbahani ( | ), also written as Ma'arafi, Marafi, or Ma'arafie. He was Mohammad-Rafie (Marafie) son of Mohammad-Zaman Behbahani, the founder of the currently known Marafie/Marafi Family of Kuwait. He was born in the Iranian city of Behbahan. The surname "Marafie" is also applied to the paternal cousins of "Marafie" who descend from Haidar Alrais, who is one of the paternal grandfathers of the Marafie. He migrated to Kuwait via the port city of Bandar Mah-shahr, Iran. His migration took place from Behbahan to Kuwait due to many reasons; the one reason that many agreed on is he migrated due to political instability of the region which led him to live as trader between the shores of the region. It is widely believed that he was one of the first Iranian Kuwaitis to arrive to the current Kuwait.
He and his sons were traders who have imported the first telephone, first refrigerator, and many household items into Kuwait. This is because, back then, they owned one of the largest trading fleets of dhows (Wooden Ships) in the region. Among the dhows owned, pre-1887 records are not available or precise, but records from 1887-1948 show records of those owned by the Marafie family:
No. |
Name of the dhow/ship |
Weight (mann) |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Almohamadi boom |
6000 |
2 |
Al'allawi boom |
4000 |
3 |
Fateh Alkhair boom |
1800 |
4 |
Almaye boom |
3000 gooti maye or "water tins" |
5 |
Alsfer boom |
3800 |
6 |
Alhashemi baghlah |
2500 |
7 |
Altoorah |
2500 |
8 |
Metwanah |
No Precise Info |
9 |
Bu Hamra |
2500 |
10 |
Alsalamati |
4000 |
11 |
Almansour |
2000 |
12 |
Albaeraq |
2000 |
13 |
Alhussaini |
3000 - 4000 gooti maye or "water tins" |
14 |
Marafie's baghlah |
No Precise Info |
15 |
Samhan |
5000 |
16 |
Al-Menwir |
1500 |
Mann = 75 kilogram Ton = 13.3 man
In addition to this, several dhows we're built after 1948, two of the most well known are the Al-Mohammedi II (1978) and the Al-Hashemi-II (2000). you can see more at: http://www.alhashemi2.com and http://www.almohammadi2.org
Etymology
The name, Marafi, was derived from a combination of two names, Mohammad () and Rafie (). Since the combined-name is widely used in Persia(Iran), when pronouncing The Two names so quickly together, one would unintentionally pronounce the name as "Ma-Rafie"; this is due to the effect of the Iranian accent and dialect over the name.
Genealogy
The family belongs to the T-Haplogroup of the Y-DNA and its terminal SNP is T-L1255, while L1254 marks an interior branch of the family. The T-Haplogroup, and specifically the clad under the SNP M70+ originated in northern mesopotamia and diverged into several populations in the near east and Europe. It is found in various populations including and not limited to Assyrians, Persians, Armenians, Lurs and has subclades in Europe that migrated from the near east in the Neolithic Period.
Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States of America, is the most well known person who belongs to this T-Haplogroup
References
Mendez et al., Increased Resolution of Y Chromosome Haplogroup T Defines Relationships among Populations of the Near East, Europe, and Africa. Human Biology 83(1):39-53, 2011.