Malabari Jewish Cemetery of Mattancherry
Not many know about the existence of a non-Paradesi Jewish cemetery in Mattancherry. Known as ‘Malabari Cemetery’, ‘Black or Brown Jew Cemetery’ or ‘Kadavumbagam Cemetery’, today the only evidence for its existence is a lone tomb standing in the midst of a much congested neighborhood. After the 'Land Reform Acts' was passed in 1957 by the communist government in Kerala , the entire cemetery was demolished by the locals and converted into a colony called ‘Chakkamadom’. Since most of the Malabari Jews had left for Israel by early 1950s and the locked property had no claimants, it was easy for the encroachers to raze the cemetery to ground and build a colony.
Rabbi Louis Rabinowitz who visited Cochin in 1952 blames the local Jewish leaders equally responsible. He observes the synagogue trustees easily renting cemetery plots to non Jews to build houses and calls them corrupt and autocratic. "Grave after grave was raised to ground, of some of which
the masonry was entirely demolished. On the cemetery itself were a number of
Hindu houses with cement foundations and bamboo and rush superstructure.
Incredible though it may sound, the trustees of the cemetery had rented plots
in the graveyard to Hindus on which to build houses, and the tenants were using
the masonry of the graves to form the cement foundations", reports Rabinowitz (Far East Mission, p. 138).
Gradually, all the tombs in the cemetery were destroyed or dismantled except for that of a 17th century Yemenite Jewish sage called Nehemiah ben Abraham Mota. Locally revered as ‘Namia Mootha’ (‘Namia the elder’ in Malayalam) by Jews and non-Jews, his tomb survived the damage. A local legend is that when the villagers tried to raze Nehemiah Mota's grave, a great fire broke out and the earth shook. Since then his tomb is venerated not only by the Jews of Cochin but also by the local Christian, Muslim and Hindu communities.
The Malabari Cemetery of Mattancherry is believed to be at least 400 years old as compared to the 250 years old nearby Paradesi Cemetery. Late Ruby Daniel records in her memoir about the cemetery being 700 years old (Ruby of Cochin, 2001, p. 147)! Don't miss this rare photograph of an old Jewish cemetery taken in 1937 from Cochin. This rare photograph has appeared in the Yiddish language weekly, 'Yidishe Bilder' for the year 1937. It is perhaps one of the earliest known images of the Malabari Jewish Cemetery of Mattancherry. The white pointed structure near the left corner adjacent to the thatched house (yellow arrow) is the tomb of Nehemiah Moota.
Gradually, all the tombs in the cemetery were destroyed or dismantled except for that of a 17th century Yemenite Jewish sage called Nehemiah ben Abraham Mota. Locally revered as ‘Namia Mootha’ (‘Namia the elder’ in Malayalam) by Jews and non-Jews, his tomb survived the damage. A local legend is that when the villagers tried to raze Nehemiah Mota's grave, a great fire broke out and the earth shook. Since then his tomb is venerated not only by the Jews of Cochin but also by the local Christian, Muslim and Hindu communities.
The Malabari Cemetery of Mattancherry is believed to be at least 400 years old as compared to the 250 years old nearby Paradesi Cemetery. Late Ruby Daniel records in her memoir about the cemetery being 700 years old (Ruby of Cochin, 2001, p. 147)! Don't miss this rare photograph of an old Jewish cemetery taken in 1937 from Cochin. This rare photograph has appeared in the Yiddish language weekly, 'Yidishe Bilder' for the year 1937. It is perhaps one of the earliest known images of the Malabari Jewish Cemetery of Mattancherry. The white pointed structure near the left corner adjacent to the thatched house (yellow arrow) is the tomb of Nehemiah Moota.
Nehemiah ben Abraham Mota or Namia Mootha:
Life of the spiritual leader and patron saint of Malabari Jewish community of Cochin is shrouded in mystery. Nehemiah Mota was born some where between 1570 and 1580 and died in 1615, as indicated on his tomb in Mattancherry. Majority accept he is from Yemen, but alternate opinions claim he was from Iraq, Turkey, Morocco, Italy or Poland. He is said to have married a woman from the Malabari Jewish community. Mota had a sister named Saidi who made a large contribution in building the Paradesi Synagogue, but not much is known about her either. The Jewish Encyclopedia (1907) calls him a false messiah from the Cochin Jews!
After Namia Mota’s death, he was gradually transformed into a kind of cult figure or a village deity who was attributed several miracles and healing powers. There is even a folklore that he could fly in the air to reach home in time for Sabbath prayers! Jews and non-Jews alike make oaths and light candles before his tomb for specific needs and rejoice after fulfilling their desires. Nathan Katz records in “Who are the Jews of India” an interesting legend about him: “In Jew Town folklore, if some of piece of jewelry is missing from a house-hold, the mistress of the house says within earshot of the suspected servant, “I’m going to Namia Muta’s tomb to get his help in returning my bracelet”. If the servant had in fact pilfered the bracelet, he or she fearing Nehemiah Mota’s presence, immediately returns it”.
The Malabari Jews still honor his death anniversary on the first day of Chanukkah with a special banquet, followed by singing his Sephardi memorial prayer (Hashkavah). 1757 edition of the Shingli Macḥazor (Jewish prayer book for holiday ceremonies) contained about twenty of Nehemiah's songs which, for reasons unknown, were deleted from the 1769 edition. They have reappeared in recent Israeli editions of the Shingli rite (Nathan Katz, Who are the Jews of India”; 2000, pp 52-55). The legacy of Nehemiah Mota is not confined to India alone. More recently, in 2010 when the Kerala Jews (who had emigrated from Chendamangalam) built Eliahu Motta Synagogue at Givat Koach near Lod where the Ben-Gurion airport of Israel is located; it was named in honour of the great Kabbalist. A large crowd of Cochin Jews from all over Israel came to Givat Koach for the inaugural event: records Shalva Weil in cochinsyn.com. Here is a youtube link about the tomb of Nehemiah Mota (see the later half of the video).
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