Last month when I was at Olavipe, a British travel agent who had come to see the place asked me, “You are Christians. How is it that you have Jewish names?” She had a point there. My name is Abraham. Among the brothers we also have Mathew, Joseph, and Jacob. Biblical names are common among the Syrian Christians of Kerala.
I explained to the lady that the reason was that Christianity came to Kerala even before the Apostles started converting gentiles. The word ‘Christian’ was coined in
The Church and many historians accept that
There is another interesting question that is raised sometimes. Why is one community among the Christians of Kerala called Syrian Christians? It is not because they originally came from
The belief is that
Then, in the 16th century, during the Portuguese ascendancy in Kerala, St. Francis Xavier converted a great number of locals, mostly in the coastal areas, to the Roman Church in which Latin was the language of liturgy.
The Dutch ousted the Portuguese from
No doubt, the Syrian Christians belong to an Eastern Church of Apostolic origin. But the Jews have been in Kerala perhaps from the time of King Solomon.
35 comments:
HI Uncle!
Just read the Blog(well, not all of it.Am still inthe process of doing it). Must say, it makes great reading.
I liked some of the work on the history of the church in Kerala. In fact, am currently doing up some reading on this.
Perhaps you could also look at some of the sites that I came across.
http://www.indianchristianity.com/html/Churches.htm
http://members.tripod.com/~Berchmans/chridx.html
Would be interested to know if they are reliable at all.
Will contnue reading the blog when I can. Meanwhile, do keep up the good work
Regards
Manoj
Abraham Joseph etc. may be Biblical names, but what intrigues me are names such Stephen in the form of Esthapanos appearing among Syrian Christians. Esthapanos sounds close to the Syriac Stephanos. Geevarghese, varghese, etc. are certainly Syriac I presume.
what about name kuruvilla
i'm from thoomkuzhy family
Our ancestors
It is generally believed that Syrian Christians of Kerala are descendants of Namboodiri Brahmins converted to Christianity by St. Thomas in first century A.D. However recent geneology studies based on DNA samples collected from Kerala Syrian Christians cast serious doubts on this theory. More than 77% Brahmins of India has a specific genetic mark designated as haplotype R1 a 1a. . This marker is present in only very few Syrian Christians . The predominant haplotype (genetic mark) found among Syrian Christians are H and J. Type H is typically Indian native population . It is interesting that a large proportion (50%) of the clan are having the haplotype J which is predominantly found among semetic population in Israel, middle east and Turky!.
There are sufficient historical evidence that jews had trade relations with Kerala well before Christian era and many jews had settled in the state. It is more likely that St.Thomas came to Kodungallore in AD 52 and easily interacted with the local jews and converted many of them to christianity . Later a number of native population also were converted to Christianity but only very few Namboothiris followed suit. Later in 4th century, Christians from Bagdad, Jerusalem and Nineve arrived in Kerala along with merchant Thomas of Cana. Todays Nazranis are progeny of these great great grand parents ,not that of few Namboodiris.. .
p j thomas jost311@Gmail.com
Here are some results. I encourage people to take dna tests if possible as a bigger sample size is needed to make a judgement
http://www.familytreedna.com/public/SyrianChristiansOfIndia/default.aspx?section=yresults
Dear Joe,
YOu do not say 'converted jews to Christianity'. You baptize a Jew into a Nazerene. The Nazerene still remains a complete Jew. This is important, if you do not get this, then you will not understand any biblical prophecies. For instance, you will then fail to understand Zachariah 8:23. Check it out and let me know.
what about the knanaya?
Hello uncle,
Very interesting and well written. Probably St. Thomas must have come with some converted Jews (Nasranis)to Kerala and the Jewish names were adopted by new converts. Eventhough the Decree XVI of the synod of Diamper, 1599, forbade the use of Old Testament names, the practice still continues.
rgds
Sajan
Jews had maritime contact with Kerala even from King Solomon's days. But when St. Thomas came to India, he would have probably met some merchants from the Middle East, including Jews from Palestine. He would have converted them. Later migration from the Middle East under the leadership of Thomas of Cana was the largest contingent of Christians to come to Kerala and it is estimated that there were 400 male members. They were allowed to settle down in Kerala by the local rulers. In a rigid caste-ridden society they could get wives only from untouchable castes such as Ezhavas, Mukkuvas and Pariahs. The wives and children of these immigrants were made Christians and they were locally known as Mappillais. As centuries went by, the Mappillais became indigenous Christians. The Portuguese called them Syrian Christians because of Syriac
liturgy used in their worship service as opposed to Latin liturgy used in Catholic churches founded by the Portuguese. Untouchables who joined the Syrian church were also known as Syrian Christians. With the coming of Protestant missionaries from CMS there was indiscriminate conversion of untouchables, mainly from the Ezhavas, Pariahs, slaves and
Mukkuvas, there was a population explosion of Syrian Christians. There is nothing on record to show that Brahmins or Nairs were converted, except some stray cases. Nairs forced Syrian Christians to do oozhiyam service even after conversion from untouchable castes. Due to the pressure brought by the missionaries on Christian Residents such as Munro and Macaulay, Syrian Christians were exempted from oozhiyam service.
hi,
what Mr. yeshuratnam said is a totally wrong theory, with absolutely no evedences to substatiate. There is NO historical record of the untouchables and the ezhavas being converted to join the syrian church. History says that the syrian christians always enjoyed a high position in the caste hierarchy and were recognized with honour by the kings of kerala, down the ages. Even today, the syrian Christians are listed under Forward Castes, along with the Nairs and the brahmins of Kerala, by the Govt. of India.
And about the syrian christian descent- please look at what Mr. Joe posted. 50% of kerala's 5 million syrians have Jewish or Semitic ancestry, and some others- Brahmin. and so there's no question of the syrian christians having ezhava or 'untouchable' ancestors!
And by the way, the converts made by the European missionaries, starting from the Portugese, and going on till the British, were never made to join the Syrian church. The syrian christians always remained as an ethno-religious group of christians, who never mingled with other groups.
hi,
what Mr. yeshuratnam said is a totally wrong theory, with absolutely no evedences to substatiate. There is NO historical record of the untouchables and the ezhavas being converted to join the syrian church. History says that the syrian christians always enjoyed a high position in the caste hierarchy and were recognized with honour by the kings of kerala, down the ages. Even today, the syrian Christians are listed under Forward Castes, along with the Nairs and the brahmins of Kerala, by the Govt. of India.
And about the syrian christian descent- please look at what Mr. Joe posted. 50% of kerala's 5 million syrians have Jewish or Semitic ancestry, and some others- Brahmin. and so there's no question of the syrian christians having ezhava or 'untouchable' ancestors!
And by the way, the converts made by the European missionaries, starting from the Portugese, and going on till the British, were never made to join the Syrian church. The syrian christians always remained as an ethno-religious group of christians, who never mingled with other groups.
Dear Jacob J,
I am giving the following excerpts from Rev. C.Y.Thomas’ book ‘History of CSI.’
In 1840, Bishop Spencer of Madras, who succeeded Bishop Daniel Corrie after his death in 1837, made his first episcopal visit to Malabar soon after the Archbishop of Canterbury had put the congregations of Travancore under the Episcopal oversight of the Bishop of Madras. Thus the Anglican Church was fully established in Travancore in 1840. By 1840's missionaries started systematic evangelism among the non-Christians, especially those of the lower classes. In 1848 Baker reported that he baptized thirty five individuals. He again speaks: "They have been Chogans. Two I had rescued from slavery very accidentally."6 In 1850, Rev. J. Hawksworth wrote, "The visible success of this mission during the past half-year has been almost exclusively among the 'heathen"
Mallappally has a place of honor in the history of the Mission. Mallappally was the first non-convert (Anglo-Syrian) congregation. Rev. George Mathen was the first Malayalam clergyman of Anglican Church. He ministered to the Mallappally people. The Missionary who did most to foster the movement in its infancy was the Rev. John Hawksworth. He wrote to the committee in the early part of 1851 as, "For some months past there has been a very hopeful movement among the poor slaves in the neighborhood of Mallappally. In this country these poor creatures are regarded by the higher classes, and even by common coolies, as utterly unclean and polluting.
A school room was erected at a place called Kaippatta. Mr. Mathen was the schoolmaster. The slaves heard and received the word of God with great joy. Among the slaves, one of the first to be baptized was named Abel, which had taken place in 1854. There were thirty desiring baptism, but only eight were admitted. This Kaippatta incident caused a great excitement in Mallappally. The barber and the washer man refused to work for the Rev. George Mathen and the members of his congregation, who were deemed defiled by the admission of outcastes into their church.
Despite persistent persecutions, slave schools were opened in several places and the movement spread, gathering momentum with each new step. It is recorded that nine years after the first baptisms the Bishop of Madras visited the Mass Movement area and confirmed over a thousand outcaste Christians.
Who are the descendants of Ezhavas, washermen, outcastes and slaves today? They, of course, flaunt the common community name of Syrian Christians.
@ Jaqcob j
Even before the coming of CMS missionaries, the Syrian church converted lower castes. This is proved from the fact that there were some 30,000 Christians at the time of Coonen Cross Oath. With no Nambudiri or Jew willing to be converted, and with Nambudiri and Jewish population lesser than Syrian population, it is a clear demographic proof that Syrian Christians before the coming of the Portuguese and CMS Missionaries were from lower castes. This is confirmed by the official and authoritative statement of the Syrian Bishop Mar Coorilos when he waited, by special request, on Mr. Grant Duff, Governor of Madras, at Calicut, in January 1882, and presented to him the position of Syrian Christians in Kerala. In the memorandum submitted by him, it was narrated: “ In order to understand better the progress of the Catholic mission in this country, it must be noted that the present Syrian community, now composed of Catholics and Jacobites, was, at the beginning, one and the same congregation, founded in the earliest times of the church, as the bishops, who subsequently came from Persia into Malabar, communicated to them their own liturgy(which was the Syrian rite), for that reason the above-said Christians were usually called Syrians; they were also designated by the name of ‘Thomas Christians,’ according to the tradition handed down from their forefathers that they had really been converted from paganism by that holy Apostle. This Christian community subsisted and gradually increased, both by its intrinsic elements and by the admission of new converts from the people living in the neighbourhood of Syrian churches. In some localities, those neophytes were very numerous, and having from the day of their conversion, resided amongst Syrians, were considered as belonging to their race. Even now, amongst those who are baptized at Verapoly, the greater part settle in Syrian parishes.”It is crystal clear from the official memorandum of the Syrian Bishop Mar Coorillos that before the arrival of St. Francis Xavier in 1542, the Syrian Church baptized lower castes who alone resided in the ‘neighbourhood of Syrian churches’. We know from Kerala history that Nambudiris and Nairs resided in separate farm areas, away from churches and only mukkuvas of the coast and Ezhavas lived there. The Syrian Bishop has specifically mentioned Verapoly. Verapoly is a fishing area and fishermen assembled at the time of Coonen Cross oath. Later Portuguese priests brought them back to Roman Catholic Church. The conquest of Portuguese territories in Malabar and Cochin in 1663 by the Dutch and the expulsion of Catholic Missionaries from their territories by Dutch threatened the existence of the Vicariate of Verapoly. But the Church survived under the Indian Prelate Parambil Chandy (Alexander De Compo) whom the Portuguese Bishop Sebastiani had consecrated as his successor before his departure in 1663. The name Chandy is a common Syrian name now. But Mukkuvas were having this name and this Parambil Chandy kept Verapoli church under the Latin rite. It is also clear from Bishop Coorilos’ memorandum that all Christians before the arrival of St. Xavier belonged to Syrian Church which was the only church that existed in Kerala at that time. But subsequent events after the Coonen Cross episode created other divisions such as Jacobite, Syrian Catholic, Latin Catholic, Kanaya, CMS, Mar Thoma, Pentecost etc., But all these Christians are the descendants of original Syrian church which consisted of, according to the Bishop, ‘pagans’ and ‘neigbourhood’ residents of churches, who were obviously neither Brahmins nor Jews. So, if DNA sampling is taken today it can be scientifically proved that Syrians are not from Jewish or Nambudiri stock.
"“You are Christians. How is it that you have Jewish names?”" I am rather intrigued by this question. Either the lady who asked the question is completely ignorant about Christians (rather surprising considering the lady was British) or it is ist made up. Isn't it the most natural thing for Christians to have Jewish/ Biblical names (lDavid Cameroon, for example)?
Dear Yeshuratnam,
DNA studies have sufficiently proven that the Malabar Nasrani's are of Israelite heritage.
Dear Mats,
Jewish names like Thoma, Yacob, Matthai, Abraham, Ithack are extremly commen in Kerala amongst the Nasranis. I live in the West and such names are very uncommen here. If at all, they are only first names, but in Kerala, they are last names and the naming traditions in Kerala Nasranis is very different from the West. WE do not have 'family names'. We have grandfather's name as the first name and father's name as the last name.
If we look back, history will tell us that St. Thomas visited Kerala from Mylapore after making several conversions in Persia. The claim that St. Thomas visited Palayur and ordained four families as clergies from the Brahmin families of Pakalomattom (Pakalomattam) , Kalli ,Sankarapuri ,Kalikavu is a laughable figment of imagination because there were no Nambudiris in Kerala in 1st century A.D. The earliest notice of the existence of Christianity in Ceylon is that of Cosmos Indoplustes, an Egyptian merchant, and afterwards a monk, who published his ‘Christian Topography’. He says that Persian priests and merchants in Ceylon were mere sojourners and they did not marry the local people. That was the case in Kerala too. After a long interval after St. Thomas’ martyrdom, Persian missionaries came to Kerala occasionally and there was no mass migration of Persians or Assyrians to Kerala. So it becomes crystal clear that Christians converted by the Persians in Kerala were local residents. In those days religious orthodoxy and caste consciousness, upper castes such as Nambudiris or Nairs could not be converted. But lower caste people who were in contact with the Persian missionaries such as fishermen (mukkuvas) barbers, dhobis, day labourers (parayas), coconut climbers in their compound (Ezhavas) and such others were made Christians.
The Portuguese occupation of Kreala for 150 years elevated all outcaste converts’ toa superior status. Even the Kochi Raja was made a subordinate vassal. Christians, irrespective of caste or status (Parayas, Pulayas etc.,) were appointed in the army and this made even Nambudiris and nairs to be afraid of them and respect Christian army officers. Christians were appointed in Portuguese factories as accountants, messengers, planters in estates, cooks (famous Portuguese cuisine in Christian homes today, instead of kappa and fish), widespread intermarriage with low caste converts producing a new community with white colour and good physical features), brokers (tharakans) etc., It was this elevated status given by the Portuguese that has made Syrian Christians claim Nambudiri, Jew and now Assyrian descent, although all were from lower castes. “Rev. C.Y. Thomas in his book on Madhya Kerala Diocese points out: “Despite persistent persecutions, slave schools were opened in several places and the movement spread, gathering momentum with each new step. It is recorded that nine years after the first baptisms the Bishop of Madras visited the Mass Movement area and confirmed over a thousand outcaste Christians.”
Who are the present descendants of Ezhava, washerman, outcastes and slave converts? Hundreds of year’s existence has wiped out their untouchable past and now they flaunt the common community name of Syrian Christians, with the fake claim their ancestors were Nambudiris and Jews.
Dear George Mathew
One has to laugh at your stupid attempts to prove your fake identity with Jews on the basis of manipulated DNA. Mispairing is the common error in DNA replication.. Mispairing is known as wobble and it often occurs during DNA replication.. It occurs because the DNA double helix is flexible and able to accommodate slightly misshaped pairings. Replication errors can also involve insertions or deletions of nucleotide bases that occur during a process called strand slippage. Why this wicked attempt to steal the identity of Jews and Namboodiris? Christians eat pork sausages and beef burgers, thereby demonstrating they are neither Jews not Brahmins. How can you distort Kerala history? Why Nambootiri record does not claim that some Namboodiri families become Christians? Who were the Jews who married pork-eating Christians before the pre-colonial period? Christians who assembled at the Coonen Cross revolt were all untouchables, mostly mukkuvas.When St. Xavier came to Kerala, he was greeted by two Syrian Christians and they were mukkuvas.
New York Times has given the news below:
DNA Evidence Can Be Fabricated, Scientists Show
By ANDREW POLLACK
Scientists in Israel have demonstrated that it is possible to fabricate DNA evidence, undermining the credibility of what has been considered the gold standard of proof in criminal cases.The scientists fabricated blood and saliva samples containing DNA from a person other than the donor of the blood and saliva. They also showed that if they had access to a DNA profile in a database, they could construct a sample of DNA to match that profile without obtaining any tissue from that person.
In Kerala history there is absolutely no evidence of Nambudhiris or Jews being converted by St. Thomas or at a later stage by missionaries coming from Persia. Instead of scientifically proving (not manipulated ) genetic link between Jews or Nambudhiris with Syrian Christians, people like George Menachery are making ridiculous references to colour of dress, building model, customs, rituals and social habits to claim Brahmin and Jewish ancestry. Along with these preposterous comparisons, manipulated DNA tests are being conducted to nullify authentic records of conversion of untouchables by saintly and trustworthy CMS missionaries such as Norton, Fenn, Baker, Bailey, Peet, Dawson and others Hawksworth says that he converted slaves, and how can DNA test show that the descendants of the slaves have Jewish blood? The descendants of untouchable Ezhavas, mukkuvas, slaves and others in Alappuzha, Mallappally, Pallom, Mavelikara, Chengannur, Kottayam, Kochi and other places are now a part of mainstream Syrian Christian community. CMS (now CSI) church marriage registers will show how many Malankara and Jacobites have married CMS boys and girls.
Missionaries from Persia who came to Kerala in pre-colonial days were not Jews or Assyrians, but Persians. It is not sufficiently realized by racist writers that the immense majority of the members of the Nestorian Church living east of the Tigris were of Persian, and not Semitic or Aramean birth and extraction. Many were born of Christian parents who originally belonged to the Zoroastrian faith, and many others were only themselves converts from Zoroastrianism. So it is sheer absurdity to claim Jewish or Assyrian genealogy through Persians who periodically visited Kerala.
Another argument of these racists is that tying of thali is a proof that Syrian Christians are descendants of Nambudhiris. But this claim is also not sustainable because untouchables such as Parayas, Pulayas, Mukkuvas, vannans and many others tie thali. Paul Roche gives this account of Paraya Catholic marriage: “The priest, though of higher caste, does not treat the Paraiya couple as untouchables. He blesses the couple and says Mass for them. The symbol of the wedding union is the thali. The thali is a gold medal on a yellow thin string. It is yellow because it is dyed with turmeric (Manjal). During Mass the priest blesses the thali and hands it over to the bridegroom who ties it around the neck of the bride. The priest also blesses two flower garlands and hands one each to the bridegroom and the bride who garland each other.” The fact that Syrian Christians follow Hindu rituals is a clear proof that they were converted from backward Hindu communities. Ezhava, Pulaya and Paraya Christians are having Hindu relatives of their own castes even after conversion and therefore they still retain more Hindu rituals and customs than Syrians who were also lower caste converts. Menachery, instead of pointing out Hindu rituals and manipulated DNA, should give clear evidence about the conversion of Nambudhiris or Jews --- the locality of these Nambudhiris or Jews, the number of people converted, the year of conversion and , above all, the person or missionary who converted them. CMS missionaries’ diaries give a detailed account of the caste of the converted people and the date, place and year of conversion. Can Menachery produce such a record of Nambudhiri or Jewish conversion, instead of showing fake DNA or the white dress that even Paraya Pentecost people wear everywhere?
(contd)
Quite surprisingly, these racial writers also claim that Church built on the model of a Hindu temple is another proof for their Nambudhiri ancestry. But Paraya and Pulaya temples are also like Nair temples.. Lamp, especially oil lamp, Kuthvilakku, is lighted on all important occasions of Parayas, and this practice is also prevalent in some Syrian houses. Church architecture was modeled on temple architecture because that was the prevalent pattern of buildings in Kerala at that time. Aishwarya has recently constructed a house in Mumbai in American style. Is it not foolish to claim American ancestry for her because of her American model house? What separates Syrian Christians from Nambudhiri Brahmin and links them to lower castes is their lifestyle and food habits. Syrian Christian settlements were seen on the coastal areas and thick jungles. But Nambudhiri settlements were inside villages, near temples and tanks. Syrian Christians like Parayas eat beef and pork. But Nambudhiris are vegetarians. Jews do not eat pork. Christian Jews in Israel and Europe do not eat pork. But for Syrians, pork is a favorite dish. In convents, sisters rear pigs to supply pork to Christians on important occasions such as Christmas, Easter and Anniversaries. Another important factor that separates Syrians from Brahmins is, Nambudhiris wear a sacred thread (poonool) which is conspicuously absent in Syrian Christians. Nairs followed matrinelial system but Syrian Christians like Parayas follow patrilineal system and their surnames are generally inherited from the father and property passes to the sons. To camouflage this, people like George Menacchery claim Nambudhiri and Jewish descent without realizing the cardinal fact that Syrian Christian population is greater than Nambudhiris and Jews. Some Syrians live in a fantasy world thinking St.Thomas converted Nambudhiris to claim ‘nobility status’ without realizing the historical fact that there were no Nambudhiris when St Thomas came in the First century A.D. There is also no reference to the conversion of Chera kings. Nairs were also not converted, for Kerala history has recorded that Nairs used Syrian Christians to do free labour (oozhiyam) in their farmlands. In Jewish records kept by Koder there is no reference to Christian Jews. Menachery has even quoted Kesavan Veluthat and M.G.S.Narayanan confirming the coming of Nambudiris to Kerala several centuries after the coming of St. Thomas. .And yet, a racist claim is propagated that five Brahmin families in Kodungalloor were converted to Christianity by St. Thomas in the first century, when there were no Brahmins at that time. .Another phony claim is that Nambudhiri Christians migrated to Kuravilangad, Angamaly, Pallipuram, Niranam etc.and founded Christian settlements. Probably at the time of persecution of Christians by one Manickavachagar some backward Christian converts would have fled from Kodungalloor to jungle areas. But how could Nambudhiri caste could be attached to those fugitives, when there is no record in Kerala history about Nambudhiri conversion or about the flight of some Nambudhiri families to jungle areas? Another laughable claim of Menachery is that Christianity is older than Hinduism in Kerala ignoring the fact that Hinduism in Kerala can be traced to the Indus Valley religion. Research studies suggest the possible relationship with Indus Valley Civilization during the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age. Rock engravings in the Edakkal Caves (in Wayanad) are thought to date from the early to late Neolithic eras around 5000 B.C. M.R. Raghava Varier of the Kerala state archaeology department identified a sign of “a man with jar cup” in the engravings, which is the most distinct motif of the Indus valley civilization. It is rank foolishness to claim that there was no religion in Kerala before the Nambudhiris came and introduced their own religion. Nambudhiris did not destroy any god or goddess of Keralites. All the gods and goddesses of pre-Nambudhiri Kerala were declared various incarnations of Nambudhiri gods. (contd)
Another racial and offensive argument of Menachery is to claim phony superiority status for untouchable Syrian converts along with Nambudhiris and Jews by referring to the similarities in (to quote his words)“ the customs and traditions of the Namboothiri Brahman, Jews and Syrian Christians in the matter of their attitude to pollution, untouchability, or the idea of “Clean and Unclean”.. It is only after the coming of the colonial powers that Christians were instructed to lead a clean and hygienic life. According to early Portuguese and British writers Syrian Christians were in a very pathetic condition when they first met them. Abbe J.A. Dubois, a missionary in Mysore, in his letter dated August 7, 1815, writes: “The Jesuits, on their first arrival in India, hearing of them, in one way or other converted the greatest part to the Catholic faith. Their liturgy is to this day in the Syrian language, and in the performance of their religious ceremonies they use this ancient dead tongue. There remains still among them large congregations, consisting of 70 or 80,000 Christians, of whom two-thirds are Catholics, and a third Nestorians. They are all designated under the contemptuous name of Nazarany, and held by the pagans in still greater contempt than the Christians of this part of the country. The Nairs chiefly keep them at a greatest distance, and they form a separate body in society.” (Dubois, Abbe J.A., Letters On The State of Christianity in India, New Delhi:Associated Publishing House, (1977),p.12).European missionaries trained Christians to live in cleanliness and to dress properly. Some decisions of the Synod of Diamper refer to the untidy lifestyle, superstition, and unhygienic environment of Christians.. .An eye witness account by Samuel Mateer when he visited Syrian Christian (not Protestant CMS Christians) settlements as narrated in his book, ‘Native Life in Travancore,’ is given below:
The Syrians appear to be in the lowest condition in the
northern and mountainous districts in Muvdttupulay direction….
Between Cottayam and Trichoor, a distance of about 70 miles,
a great field for Christian labour lies open, for which the
Alwaye Itineracy has been established. At Mdvdttupulay
and Todupulay there are large numbers of Syrians, poor, hard-
working, and kind people, renting lands from the Nambiiri
landlords, for which they pay four or five times the seed sown,
and cultivating areca palms and the fruits, roots, and grains on
which they live. They have no Scriptures or other books, and
few schools. Nor is there a Sirkar District school at either of
the two district towns just mentioned. The priests conduct
service and go off to their houses ; sometimes indeed there is
no one to hold worship in the churches. The surrounding
population have very little idea as to what God the Syrians
worship, or how
1883 Book digitized by Google from the library of New York Public Library)
It is quite evident from Samuel Mateer’s account that the Syrian Christians of the pre-British period in Travancore were not Nambudiri converts but lower castes working as farm labourers of Nambudiri jenmis. Churches were managed by local, uneducated priests.
(conclusion)
Missionary records and eyewitness accounts tell that pre-Portuguese Syrian converts were from lower castes and they lived a miserable life. There were also wealthy and elite groups of Syrian Christians living in urban areas. They were elevated to that status by the Portuguese by employing them as Army officers, soldiers, police officers, brokers, planters, traders, accountants, cooks, teachers, priests and messengers. They were not Nambudiris but from various sub castes. But they even controlled Nambudhiris and Nairs because the Raja of Kochi was a loyal and obedient vassal of the Portuguese.Interracial marriage officially sponsored by the Portuguese gave white colour and good physical features to those untouchable converts. This may be the probable reason for them to assume Nambudhiri and Jewish status, although they came from untouchable stock.
Despite an avalanche of irrefutable evidences that Syrian Christians cannot claim Nambudhiri or Jewish ancestry, why these racists are inventing lies to usurp the identity of others by referring to temple architecture, colour of dress, phony DNA ,tying of thali and cleanliness?
END
SYRIAN CHRISTIANS AND JEWISH DIASPORA
There are some attempts without any inscriptional or literary evidences to establish the fact that St. Thomas converted Jews in Kerala. It is claimed without any evidence that there were Jewish settlements in Kerala from the days of King Solomon It is true that Solomon's ships came to India but it was not for bringing Jews to settle in Kerala but for the purpose of trade. Guided by Phœnician pilots, manned by Phœnician sailors, Phœnicians and Jews sailed forth together on their distant voyages, into the southern seas. They sailed to India, to Arabia and Somaliland, and they returned with their ships laden with gold and silver, with ivory and precious stones, with apes and peacocks. It was a trading mission and Jews were not brought in the ships for staying permanently in India. In those days when the Jews were living in all comfort and luxury in their own country there was ne need for a Diaspora
Another claim of St. Thomas Christians without any basis is that they are the descendants of the Jews who came to Kerala during Diaspora. In their fanatical bid to disown their original caste of their own country and to appropriate for themselves the Jewish link they have been propagating the view that they are the progeny of the Jews of Diaspora. But the historical events of the period and the significance of Jewish Diaspora will prove their cunning attempts are nonsensical. The first Diaspora of the Jews in recorded history is the Baylonian exile. The Jewish Diaspora actually began in the year 597 BC with the seige and fall of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Known as the Babylonian Captivity, a significant portion of the population of Judea was deported to Babylonia, not to Kodungalloor in Kerala. A second deportation began in 587 BC when the First Jewish Temple was destroyed. In approximately 582 BC, the Babylonian governor of Judea was assassinated and many Jews fled to Egypt and a third deportation most likely began. Many of those Jews never returned to Israel.The Diaspora continued with the Great Jewish Revolt, otherwise known as the First Jewish-Roman War, which began in the year 66 AD and ended in 70 AD with the destruction of Jerusalem. After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., Jews during this diaspora fled to Babylonia, Persia, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Russia, and the United States. They did not come to India.
(contd)
(continuation)
SHEPHERDIC JEWISH DIASPORA
After the Roman destruction of the Temple in 70 ce, the Jews spread throughout the Mediterranean world. A major community eventually formed in the towns of the Iberian peninsula. The Sephardim, from the Hebrew for Iberia (“Sepharad”), played a prominent role in the culture and economy of both Muslim and Christian Spain and Portugal. But in 1492, Spain's monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, also ordered the nation's Jews either to convert to Christianity or to leave the country under pain of death. At least 50,000 Jews--some believe as many as 300,000--were banished from Spain. Known as Sephardim from the Hebrew word for Spain , the banished settled in the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, Yemen, Italy and they did not flee to Kodungalloor in Kerala, India. A website of Syrian Malabar Nasrani makes a fake claim that during Shepherdic diaspora Jews from Yemen who came to Kodungalloor are the ancestors of Nasrani Christians. The foolishness of this argument is quite obvious in view of the fact that the Shepherdic diaspora occurred because the Jews wanted to avoid forcible conversion to Christianity. Unlike other countries, only few Jews had come to Kerala. They (White and Black Jews) did not become Christians but remained Jews and worshiped in their synagogues and not in Christian churches. How foolish it is to claim phony genealogy for the Syrians from these Jews! Dr. M. Vijayalakshmi, in a paper presented at the South Indian History Congress, has, after examining the Geniza documents of the Jews, pointed out that the Jews of Yemen who came to Kodungalloor were involved in trade and had depots in Kollam and Pantalyani Kollam. So they were not Christians but Jewish traders.
Why some haughty Syrian Christians are struggling hard to usurp the caste of others? Before Internet became popular, they used fake family history such as Niranam Granthavari and manipulated dance songs to expropriate Namboothiri and Jewish caste. They were not contemporary accounts but produced in the 18th century. When Kerala historians such as William Logan, Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai, Keasavan Veluthat and M.G.S. Narayanan pointed out that there were no Namboothiris in the 1st century in Kerala, Syrians gradually gave up Namboothiri descent. Now the new infatuation is about Assyrian and Jewish descent. At the time of persecution, the Assyrians migrated to Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and Persia and not India. Even 5th century B.C. migrations of the Sakhas, Bacterians and Huns are recorded in Indian History. But there is absolutely no reference to Assyrian migration. It is a new distorted invention of some Syrians. CMS Missionary diaries and Reports tell us about largescale conversion of untouchables and slaves in Kottayam, Mallappally, Mundakkayam, Kochi, Alappuzha, Kodukulanji, Chengannur, Mavelikara and other areas. At the Coonen Cross episode there were 200,000 people to take the pledge. Was it possible to get 50 Jews or 1000 Namboothiris from Mattancherry.?So they were all lower castes. And yet, manipulated DNA is produced to show that a descendant of an Ezhava converted by Norton has Jewish blood. What a shame!
Rajan Rajiv:
Appreciated your painstaking research to underline that Syrian Christians will not come to the level of Nairas and Brahmins in social status..Also it would be grateful to use your scholastic ability therefore to ut Syrian Christians in SC ,ST OR OBC atleast these "hardworking laborers"will get some lion share participation in govt.jobs. Well then how this Nairs and Brahmins came into being?.. directly with pure genes from any Aryan Apes !!
@Jeethumon Abraham
We accept Syrian Christians are wealthy, educated and well off in society. But the problem with some of them are their false claims as descendants of Nambudhiris, Jews and when these claims are proved historically and ethnically wrong by scholars, the recent laughable claim they are Assyrian descent. In our view they are all Indian Christians, like other Christians. Why the Moplahs, in spite of their wealth, education and complexion, do not claim they are Nambudhiri descent? They will never make this false claim because Kerala History tells they are descendants of lower castes of Malabar. But they are proud to be known as Malabar Muslims. Why don't the Syrians without telling lies about their descent be proud to be known as Indian or Kerala Christians?
Great discussion! DNA test is the best way to establish the possible lineage. If you read the latest DNA test conducted on Ezahava guys (jats, turkish and german connection), then most people would like to be associated with them. It is such a sad thing that the real mother who might be the Indian eve from a lower cast who lived and worked hard on this land and do not want to be associated by her great great...grand kids because it is uncool to be associated with her so called "caste". I don't think Jesus would approve that. God bless you!
kindly go through the history of aadi-dravida not even dravida. don't worry about dna test it is scientific.In kerala,tvm the institute is called rajive gandhi institute of Bi-otecnology headed by 2 calcutta basedcouple and one menon and a christian. You may kindly go through their findings.my email Id; pkumaran.dyfa@gmail.com
There is great genetic and phenotypical heterogeneity among the Syrian Christians.
Jews, lower caste Hindus,high caste Hindus all lived in kerala at the time Christianity reached our shores.
The responsibility of running the services and maintaining the faith probably was delegated to educated and classy families.
Instead of trying to establish a prudish link to a nebulous past why don't we just celebrate our heterogeneity and our present prosperity and move on. We have a nation to build.
With breakthroughs in DNA testing, this puzzle is now getting solved. Though the sample size is still small, the top two Haplogroups of Syrian Christians of Kerala are J2 ( definitely Semitic and most probably Jewish) and R1a ( Indo European / ARYAN). I myself has tested my DNA and was not surprised to see J2 as my haplogroup. ( since there were many priests from our family before the 20th century)
The Jewish origin of nazranis is something probable from the evidences in their culture. (Res ipsa loquitur)
1. Pesaha is still celebrated with unlaven bread at homes. The family together eats bread made of unlaven bread on the night before good Friday (not in the wednesday evening which is the pesaha day as per church calendar), Family head while making the bread puts holes in the bread with a spoon so that the bread does not raise. This is called in Malayalam "juthante kannu kuthal" which means piercing the bread according to the Jewish custom). This unlaven bread is never shared with people other then nazranis ( they share the laven bread on the following days).
This is the custom followed by Mizrahim Jews (mizrah = east). Yemani Jews still follow this. Persian Jews had the same system till persecution.
During the time of genocide, Hitler publicly asked household servants to report any piercing of bread during the pesach period at home so that the disguised Jew families can be identified. Nowadays the Jews use readymade unlaven bread for pesaha. Keralite nazranis still follow the original pesaha of the Jews in spite of the church's attempts to abolish this.
2. In Syrian Christian marriages, the bride stands on the right hand side of the groom unlike other Christian marriages where the groom stands on the right side of the bride. This is a Jewish custom. Kerala nazranis are the only Christian community in the world to do so. Moreover the groom puts the veil ( manthrakodi) on his wife's head after the official wedding (coronation or kireeda vazhvu). It should be noted that Jewish girls need not use a veil in synagogue prior to marriage (Syrian brides are not allowed to come for marriage with a veil on). Jews also gives veil to their women at the marriage function.
3. Naming of nazrani children is according to the custom of Jews. Until the colonial era (even now in most of the families) Syrian Christians did not use surnames.
First male child will get paternal grandfather's name
First female child will get paternal grand mother's name
Second male child will get maternal grand father's name.
Second female child will get maternal grand mother's name
Thereafter children will get uncle's or aunt's name.
In short names in the family are preserved for generations.
4. Moreover the Syrian Christians use names from Old Testament and apocryphal books. They don't use names from gospels like Jairus, Lazar, Simeon, Zebedee, Titus, Philemon, Salome even though they are good Christians. None of the names from Pauline epistles is used (eg Silas, Barnabas, Jason). Names from general epistles like Jude, from the acts of apostles like Ananyas, Lydia, Annas, Mattiyas are never used. The nazranis are not following the " Christian" tradition in naming; they follow the Jewish system.
5. Thareessapally cheppedu (Kollam/Quilon plates) in which four Jews signed as witnesses. Only in Jewish system you need witness of four Jews for a legal contract. The plates are given to Christians who landed at Kollam. This is an evidence to say that they were Jewish Christians.
6. Funeral rituals.
Ceremonial bathing of the dead (rechitzas) ,covering of the eyes and head, use of fragrance like frankinsence.
Old tombs are made in a triangular chevron fashion like a Jewish tomb with a headstone. East facing tombs.
There may be many more if you watch the Syrian Christian community closely.
G T George 29/9/16
Agreed,
Then why the Sunday Worship, SUN GOD Worship copied by RC? Could any of the Syrian Christian can change back to Saturday as written in the Bible in both old and new Testament?
You know why.
https://www.catholicforlife.com/the-question-of-the-sabbath-day-for-christians-the-change-from-saturday-to-sunday
Son worship is not practiced by Nazranis. Even for Christmas , they give more importance to importance to Denha (Jan 6) to Yelda (Dec 25) in worship. Even the service of Dec 25 clearly says it is Denha (manifestation) not Yelda (rising) they are celebrating. 100 years ago the festival was a single festival on Jan 6- Pindi perennial or Rakkuli Perunnal.
Please don’t write about beliefs and rituals of the community without studying it in detail.
GT George
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