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Friday 1 November 2019

TWO RARE PICTURES OF THE EXTINCT THEKKUMBHAGOM SYNAGOGUE OF MATTANCHERRY (EXTERIOR)

 Site of the former Thekkumbhagom Synagogue (January, 2011)

 Until the mid-20th century, there were 8 synagogues in Kerala. Today, only 6 remain intact, two of the synagogues in Mattancherry-the Kadavumbhagom is in ruins and the  Thekkumbhagom is extinct. In fact, it was Thekkumbhagom of Mattancherry, the first synagogue to be demolished in Kerala, and in the place a two-storied modern building was erected (for more details see here and here). Not a trace of the synagogue is left on the site that can relate to its existence. I had always wondered how the synagogue looked like, but there was no way to know due to the scarcity of finding a photograph of the sanctuary before it was destroyed, and what is more ironic is that the building was standing at least until the mid 1960s! However, there was a remote possibility that the synagogue could be captured accidentally by visitors who took photographs of the Jew Street because of it's location very near the Paradesi synagogue. See my earlier post where I discussed about an old photograph in this context, unfortunately it was clicked one step short of the Thekkumbhagom synagogue (see here). To my greater satisfaction, I was proved right, the synagogue was photographed by a visitor more than 100 years ago, and in the process of depicting the 'Main Street' of Cochin's Jew Town for an article in a periodical, he captured the Thekkumbhagom synagogue unintentionally! After a decade, in another periodical, a picture of the Jew Street in the form of a graphical sketch  appeared, and the synagogue was again included.

Picture 1:
Title: Main Street in the Quarter of the White Jews of Cochin
Author: Eliassof H.
Article: The White and the Black Jews of Southern India 
Periodical: The Sentinel, 1917


The Sentinel is a weekly paper for Chicago's Jewish community, published from 1911 to 1996. The author, Herman Eliassof (1849-1918) was a Russian born Reform Rabbi of Chicago's Jewish community in USA. He was the editor of the weekly "The Occident" and a frequent contributor on Jewish subjects to English, German, and Hebrew periodicals. The inspiration for writing this column is attributed to the author's interaction with Dr. Jaques Faitlovich (1881-1955), a famous Jewish explorer and expert on Ethiopian Jews. The article contains 4 photographs: family photographs of 1) Paradesi and 2) Malabari groups, 3) Interior of the Paradesi synagogue,  and 4) the Synagogue Lane, which is of interest to us. I couldn't confirm if Eliassof visited Cochin and personally took these photographs or it was provided by someone else. 
 Picture 1: Thekkumbhagom Synagogue of Mattancherry (1917)

Picture 2:
Title: Jews' Street
Author: Varghese E. A.
Article: Hindu Writes About Jews of India-Descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
Periodical: Forward (Forverts), 1930

The Forward (Forverts) formerly known as 'The Jewish Daily Forward' was founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily newspaper. Mr. Varghese is introduced as a graduate from the University of Madras and a practicing lawyer; pursuing Graduate studies in Columbia, USA; Hindu by nationality and a follower of Hindu religion; who lives a stone throw away from the large ancient synagogue (Paradesi) and all his neighbours are Jews. The article was especially written for 'Forward' and there are two photographs (1-portrait photograph of the author and 2-photograph of a Malabari Jewish family) and a sketch image of the 'Jew's Street' in the column. The photographs were taken at the author's request by a friend of his, but it is not clear if the drawing was done by the friend or the author himself. Varghese is a very typical 'Syrian Christian' name, and it seems unlikely that he is a Hindu by religion. 
  Picture 2: Thekkumbhagom Synagogue of Mattancherry (1930)

Where is the Thekkumbhagom Synagogue?
In Picture 1, the caption given by the author is 'Main Street in the Quarter of the White Jews of Cochin', which is the Synagogue Lane of the Jew Town. You can see the famous 18th century clock tower (3) of the Paradesi Synagogue at the end of the street. The continuously built houses in the street at the right side (West) have remained the same even after a century. The projections in the walls above the door and windows of the houses are outlets to let out rainwater from upstairs and the small protruding structures from the walls on one side of the main door are granite oil lamps used to light the Jew Street.  However, if you look to the street at the left side (East), there is a double-storey building (1) with a different architecture compared to all other houses in the photograph. This structure, which is absent in the modern 'Synagogue Lane' of Cochin is indeed the rarely photographed Thekkumbhagom synagogue of Mattancherry! The tall building (4) with open windows adjacent to this structure is most probably a residential home and not part of the synagogue complex. I believe what you observe in this picture is the two-storied gatehouse of the synagogue. The ground floor has an entrance flanked by two windows and the first floor appears as a long rectangular hall with 7 windows. The upper floor is also darker in appearance, may be  it is not whitewashed or the shade from the nearby vegetation is responsible for the variation. A little above the main door is perhaps a two-lined Hebrew inscription (?), unfortunately not legible. Just like in any typical synagogue of Kerala, the lower floor might have opened to the main sanctuary through an anteroom or Azara, and the upper floor supposedly functioned as a Hebrew school. It is said that the synagogue was almost a copy of the Paradesi synagogue, so a breezeway, women's gallery etc. are highly plausible.  The author, Eliassof also hints this by stating that the Black Jews' synagogue resembled the one of the White Jews', but are of poorer decoration. See also the comments of Thoufeek Zakriya on my previous post here. At those times, a camera in the street would have brought much attention as evident from the crowd of the curious onlookers in the photograph. 

Picture 2 captioned 'Jews' Street' is a drawing, but upon careful observation you would notice that it is  a graphical representation of Picture 1. Drawn from the same angle, the street at the left side begins with the synagogue itself. Except for the absence of the building adjacent to the synagogue and the woman standing at the right end, the figure is identical to Picture 1 in every aspect. For instance, the people in the crowd, the bamboo split curtains draped over the main outer doors, and the position of the window shutters are exactly the same in both images. Compare theses pictures with the photograph taken recently: the building (John Jacob & CO) covered with the blue plastic sheets is the site of the former Thekkumbhagom synagogue and the first house from the right is that of late A. B. Salem's.

Site of Thekkumbhagom Synagogue of Mattancherry in October, 2019

In both pictures, the Thekkumbhagom synagogue is followed by an open area (2) with thick vegetation. A close-up view of the region is available in the photograph of 1913 (see below). Why is there an open space protected by high boundary wall deep inside the densely packed continuous houses of Jew Town is quite intriguing. May be it was part of the Thekkumbhagom synagogue complex or since there was an old burial ground behind the synagogue, the site was left undisturbed. Enlarge this photograph and you can see an entrance to the compound immediately after the lamp hanging on the wall.
*
The Synagogue Lane of Mattancherry (1913)-Courtesy, https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Cochin_Jews, see also my previous post.

Today, the open area is filled with a few antique and handicraft shops. The stretch between the white board (John Jacob & CO) and the yellow building with conical gable is the area where the boundary wall was located. See the following picture for a comparison.
 The Synagogue Lane of Mattancherry (October, 2019)
(Pictures 3 and 5 taken on 30 October 2019)
These old pictures are not only important for our understanding of the structure of the Thekkumbhagom synagogue, but also provide valuable information regarding the existence of a historic monument that has almost vanished from our memory. 
Posted by CONTACT ME (Dr. Laju Paul K.) at 01:41

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INTRODUCTION

The monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam arrived India much before they reached the West. For instance, it is widely believed that Christianity reached the subcontinent only after Portuguese, the first European colonists arrived India in the 15th century. However, long before Christianity reached many parts of Europe, it came to India. According to strong, continuous and unanimous traditions among the ancient Syrian Christians of Kerala, Christianity was introduced to India by St: Thomas, the Apostle of Jesus Christ in 52 AD, who established seven churches in Kerala. Contrary to popular belief that Islam came to India through the 11th century Muslim invasions in the northern parts of the country, it first arrived Kerala via the Arab merchants from 7th century onwards at the earliest. Similarly, Judaism the oldest continuously practiced monotheistic religion has an Indian presence from very early times. If traditional accounts are to be accepted,India had a Jewish colony from the time of King Solomon (10th century BC)! Most importantly, all the three religions trace their arrival in India to the Malabar region of Southern India which is currently the modern State of Kerala. Since ancient times Kerala has been the center of the Indian spice trade where Greeks, Romans, Jews, Arabs and Chinese came for grabbing their part of share. To be specific, the first Jewish, Christian and Islamic settlements of India claim their origin to a place called Cranganore (modern Kodungallur) in Kerala.

Much has been written on Indian Jews, their unique culture and traditions. Among the three major Jewish communities in India, the “Kerala Jews” popularly known as“Cochin Jews” are the most ancient followed by the “Bene Israel” of Maharashtra and the “Baghdadi Jews” of West Bengal. Recently two more communities have claimed Jewish ancestry viz. “Bene Menasheh” (1970s) from North East India and “Bene Ephraim or Telugu Jews” (1980s) from Andhra Pradesh. A small population of Jews had migrated to India during the Mughal, Portuguese, Dutch, French and British rule as well. Perhaps the Jewish refugees from Hitler’s Anti-Semitic Europe were the last Jews to arrive India. In other words, Jews weren’t a single emigration to India. At different times they arrived and settled peacefully in India where they never experienced any anti-Semitism from the native Indian community. Although Jews supposedly reached Kerala as early as 1st century AD, there were many different waves of emigrations later as well. Gradually, Jews of Kerala became organized into three distinct groups, but the different communities interacted very less among themselves. 1) Malabari Jews: the largest and most ancient group considered to have arrived in India as merchants during the period of King Solomon (1000 BC). 2). ‘Paradesi’ (foreigner) Jews: the second largest and recent group (from 16th century onwards) who migrated mainly from Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Spain and Germany. 3). ‘Meshuhararim’ (released): the smallest group believed to be the slaves held by both Malabari and Paradesi communities who were converted to Judaism and later on released from their status as slaves. The Malabari Jews were called the ‘Black Jews’, the Meshuhararim-the ‘Brown Jews’ and the ‘Paradesi’-the ‘White Jews’-terms considered derogatory and racist today. The arguments on who came first and who are more pure were often fought vehemently and each sect defended their claims. The Jewish population of Kerala numbered 2,400 at the height of their “mass” emigration to Israel in 1954. Today (2011), less than 40 Jews remain in Kerala-9 Paradesi Jews comprising of 6 women and 3 men; and less than 30 Malabari Jews.

In a strong caste-based Indian society, fair skinned Paradesi Jews managed to win a privileged position although they were a minority and newly arrived. Their European background, influence and wealth managed to push the majority of relatively poor Malabar Jews into an inferior position in colonial India. Unfortunately, even today for many in the west and to a great extent in India too, the existence of Kerala’s ancient Malabari Jewish community and their heritage is far unknown. The famous Paradesi Synagogue in Cochin is perhaps the only monument that comes into the mind of many as far as Judaism in Kerala is concerned. Often mistakenly acclaimed to be the oldest (built 1568) synagogue in British Commonwealth, the Paradesi Synagogue however, is the only functional one in Kerala today (2011). Did the Jewish community of Kerala leave anything more than this famed synagogue? The answer is a big yes. Judaism in Kerala is not only about the Paradesi Jews of Cochin and their synagogue in Mattanchery. In fact, the Malabari Jews have seven synagogues and six cemeteries, and several aretfacts and monuments that are also part of Kerala’s rich Jewish heritage! This does not include the few existing Jewish homes and the many earlier Jewish residences converted into non-Jewish owned business buildings and private villas.

This blog will be an attempt to help people both inside and outside India to locate and learn about the known Jewish monuments of Kerala, that include synagogues, cemeteries and former Jewish residences. It will be equally pictorial and textual in format. One of the objectives of this blog is to help people in identifying all known Jewish monuments of Kerala through maps and photographs. Their left out synagogues and cemeteries are the physical landmarks that still stand in testimony to the vibrant and glorious heritage of Jews who claim at least 2000 years of strong and continuous bond with India. The big question is about the accessibility and identification of these monuments. Some of the cemeteries for example are so overgrown with weeds and turned into garbage dumping yards that even the locals have no clue about their existence. Most of the sites have no sign boards or maps available to pin point their exact location. The information from internet and other sources are also limited or at times misinformed when locating the monuments are concerned. I will try to get as many photographs as needed to help people understand these monuments and the blog will not be confined to the heritage of Paradesi Jews alone. For those synagogues that are disputed properties or lie in ruined state and are not accessible for the public I will only add photographs of the exterior. Some of the original Jewish artifacts from Kerala are preserved in Israel and what left here are the duplicates. In such cases, I will trace and append online links having the original photographs. Regarding the dates associated with the history of ‘Kerala Jews’, I have tried to incorporate the most popular views and need not always be the scholarly accepted ones. I shall be much glad if any one can contribute or provide details of additional monuments, sites or artifacts you think can be classified as part of Jewish heritage of Kerala.

Being also a photoblog, I will be concentrating more on the photographs taken from various Jewish monuments in Kerala. Not many sites are available online that go deep into the structural and historic details of these heritage units with photographs. However, we are lucky to have a few very enlightening resources. The“Friends of Kerala Synagogues 2011”(Prof. Jay A. Waronker, USA; Prof. Shalva Weil, Israel; Marian Scheuer Sofaer, USA; Isaac Sam, India and Tirza Muttath Lavi, Israel) maintain an excellent site on the synagogues of Kerala. I strongly recommend anyone interested in ‘Jewish synagogues of Kerala’ to go through their highly informative links. Whenever, I refer to their site, it will be acknowledged as ‘www.cochinsyn.com’. The other very important site I recommend is the beautiful photo collection by Jono David in his ‘Ha Chayim Ha Yehudim Jewish Photo Library’. He has photographs from many Jewish monuments of India. Although he has got wrong one of the synagogues (Mattancherry Kadavumbagam Synagogue) the site has largely helped me to identify the Jewish cemeteries in Kerala.

JEWISH MONUMENTS & ARTIFACTS OF KERALA

The most important Jewish heritage structures in Kerala are the synagogues (Juda Palli in Malayalam), cemeteries and residences.

A. Synagogues

Today, there are 35 synagogues in India and 7 of them are in Kerala. The architectural style of Kerala synagogues differs from those in the west. These synagogues are strongly influenced from earlier Hindu religious buildings on its design and construction. They are characterized by high slope roofs, thick laterite-stoned walls, large windows and doors, balcony and wood-carved ceilings. A Kerala synagogue consists of a ‘Gate House’ at the entrance that leads through a Breezeway to the Synagogue Complex. The synagogue complex is made of a fully enclosed Azara or Anteroom and a double-storeyed sanctuary-the main prayer hall. Inside a typical double-storeyed sanctuary of a ‘Kerala Synagogue’ are:

1) A Tebah/Bimah: Located at the center of the sanctuary, Tebah is usually an elevated wooden platform or pulpit from which Torah, the holy book of Jews is read. 2) A Heichal (Ark): Represents the altar. It is a chest or cupboard in the synagogue where the Torah scrolls are kept. It is usually carved intricately and painted/gilded with teak wood. Unlike in the European Synagogues, where the ark is placed on the eastern wall, the synagogues in Kerala have the arks on the western wall facing Jerusalem. 3) A Balcony/Second Tebah: It is unique to the synagogues of Kerala. The balcony has two portions one for men and the other for ladies. Women’s seating area is placed directly above the azara. 4) A Staircase: Leads to the balcony and is generally spiral in shape and made of wood. At times there are two staircases, one for men from the main hall inside the synagogue and the other for the ladies from a staircase room outside the synagogue; 5) A Jewish School: Is actually a classroom for Jewish children usually located behind the women’s section on the first floor.

B. Cemeteries

Resting place of ancestors means a lot to the Jewish community. Sometimes they even carried tombstones from their old settlements while migrating to a newer place. The oldest Jewish tomb in India (dated 1269 AD) preserved in front of Chendamangalam synagogue is one such transferred from Kodungallur. Unlike Christian tombs in Kerala with Malayalam and English engravings, the Jewish graves have mostly Hebrew inscriptions. The Jewish year can be converted into modern Gregorian date if one can read the Hebrew letters. ‘Reading Hebrew Tombstones’ is an interesting site to read the Jewish tombs.

C. Jewish Residences

Today, most of the early Jewish homes sold to non-Jews are substantially modified or refurbished. However, there are a few features that still make them identifiable. Sometimes you can trace Jewish symbols like Menorah (candlestick) and Magen David (Star of David) on the walls, windows and roof tops. For example, a few residences in Mattancherry still maintain the Star of David (Magen David) despite being converted into shops or warehouses. The best way to locate the home of a residing Jew is to look for the Mezuzah on the door post. Nailed to the doorpost of a Jewish home, Mezuzah is a small container made of wood, plastic or metal having a piece of parchment with the most important words from the Jewish Holy Book, Torah. It is customary among religious Jews to touch the mezuzah on entering or leaving the home. A few homes in the Synagogue Lane of Mattancherry with mezuzah are the residences of the remaining 9 Paradesi Jews.

The Jewish monuments and artifacts I will be discussing in this blog are:

I Synagogues

1. Pardesi Synagogue, Mattancherry (1568)

2. Kadavumbagam Synagogue, Mattancherry (1130 or 1539)

3. Thekkumbagam Synagogue, Mattancherry (1647, only the building site known)

4. Kadavumbagam Synagogue, Ernakulam (1200)

5. Thekkumbagam Synagogue, Ernakulam (1200 or 1580))

6. Paravur Synagogue (750 or 1164 or 1616)

7. Mala Synagogue (1400 or 1597)

8. Chendamangalam Synagogue (1420 or 1614)

(The various speculated dates of establishment in parenthesis are taken from www.cochinsyn.com, coutesy Prof. Jay A. Waronker)

II Cemeteries

1. Pardesi Jewish Cemetery, Mattancherry

2. Malabari Jewish Cemetery, Mattancherry

3. Old Jewish Cemetery, Ernakulam

4. New Jewish Cemetery, Ernakulam

5. Paravur Jewish Cemetery

6. Mala Jewish Cemetery

7. Chendamangalam Jewish Cemetery

III Jew Streets

1. Jew Street Mattancherry (Jewish residences with Mezuzah and Magen David)

2. Jew Steet, Ernakulam (today all shops in non-Jewish hands)

3. Jew Street, Paravur (Twin Pillars)

4. Jew Street, Mala (Gate House and Breezeway of synagogue turned into shops)

5. Jew Street, Chendamangalam (used to be a Jewish Market or Judakambolam)

6. Jew Street, Calicut (identified in July 2011 as Jootha (Jew) Bazar)

IV Other Monuments & Artifacts

1. Tomb of Sarah (1269 AD), Chendamangalam

2. Kochangadi Synagogue Corner-stone, Mattancherry

3. Jewish Children’s Play Ground, Mattancherry

4. Clock-Tower, Mattancherry

5. Sarah Cohen’s Embroidery Shop, Mattancherry

6. Jew Hill/Judakunnu/Jewish Bazar, Palayur

7. Jew Tank/Judakkulam, Madayi

8. Koder House, Fort Kochi

9. Grand Residencia, Fort Kochi

10. Jewish Summer Resorts, Aluva

11. Jewish Copper Plates, Mattancherry

12. Syrian Copper Plates, Kollam

13. Torah Finial, Palayur

V Lost Jewish Colonies

1. Kodungallur (Thrissur)

2. Palayur (Thrissur)

3. Pullut (Thrissur)

4. Kunnamkulam (Thrissur)

5. Saudhi (Ernakulam)

6. Tir-tur (Ernakulam)

7. Fort Kochi (Ernakulam)

8. Chaliyam (Kozhikode)

5. Pantalayani Kollam (Kozhikode)

9. Thekkepuram (Kozhikkode)

10. Muttam (Alappuzha)

11. Kayamkulam (Alappuzha)

12. Dharmadom (Kannur)

13. Madayi (Kannur)

14. Quilon (Kollam)

15. Pathirikunnu, Krishnagiri (Waynad)

16. Anchuthengu (Thiruvananthapuram)