Kakrala (Sindh)

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. It has been described as the region from Jati to Kharo Chan, or the region between the mouths of the Wanyani and Pitti rivers. This area later formed part of the pargana of Ghorabari.

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. 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.

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.

Henry Miers Elliot and Wolseley Haig identified Kakrala with the island of Krokala in ancient Greek sources.