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Tuesday 31 March 2020

1) JEWISH BUNGALOW IN VETTACKAL, ALAPUZHA (CURRENT PRIMARY HEALTH CENTRE OF VETTACKAL)

Let me start with perhaps the least known Paradesi Jewish Bungalow in Kerala. The monument is not located in any of the traditional Jewish settlements of Kerala (Cochin, Ernakulam, Mala, Chendamangalam or Parur), but in a small coastal village in Alapuzha district called Vettackal, 30 km south of Kochi (Cochin). The Jewish angle of Vettackal is far the most least heard off, but it is located only 7 km from Muttom, a former Jewish settlement. Today, there is nothing Jewish in Muttom, but a Jewish colony functioned there until mid-19th century, or a little before that. The Paradesi Jewish connection to Vettackal is associated with the vast amount of land they had in the area. The Rajah of Cochin is said to be responsible for bringing Jewish families of Mattancherry to Vettackal. The history of Vettackal and Jews of Mattancherry are closely linked. The name Vettackal itself is owed to this Jewish connection and interesting proposals suggested for the etymology of the word are: 1) Vetti (=cut down) as Jews reclaimed the land by cutting down and cleaning the vegetation; 2) Vettam (=light)-from the light provided by Jews to the royal wedding ceremonies and the King allotted Vettackal as a reward; or 3) from a combination of both words, thus, the land was brought to light (Vettam) by cutting down (Vetti) and cleaning the area by Jews. 
Location of Vettackal (2); Mattancherry (1), Muttom (3), Cherthala (4); Alapuzha (5)

The Halleguas and Koders owned large acres of area in different parts of Kerala, and Vettackal was one of them. In the words of Ruby Daniel (1995), former member of Cochin Jewish community, when Halleguas were the main landowners in Vettackal, agricultural produce such as fruits, vegetables, and palm leaves needed for Succoth festival were brought from these estates to Cochin on valloms (boats). Vettackal Jews introduced modern agricultural practises and adopted scientific methods, the results were promising, they had bumper yields even at such saline coastal areas. Coconut and rice were the major crops cultivated, and coir was another produce they tried successfully in the village. The overall outcome not only improved the status of Vettackal, but also helped in the development of nearby Cherthala town. Shimon Koder, one the descendants from the line of Koders, who migrated to Israel from Cochin, has investigated on the farming practises and the farmer-owner relationships in the agricultural lands owned by the Halleguas in Vettackal, a study which might shed more light on this topic, but, unfortunately, as far as I know the results are not published. Soon after India's independence and before the 1957 land reformation under the communist government of Kerala, Jews sold out most of their lands in Vettackal.

 Jews had private residences in the village from where they managed their business. One such Jewish bungalow in the heart of Vettackal is turned into the primary health centre now. Although, the building is a functional hospital today, the old architecture of the building has remained unaltered, inside are the original furniture, staircase, wooden floor, ceiling etc. all built in strong teak wood. The staff were very welcoming and despite being a hospital, they gave me permission to explore and photograph the interior. I was informed that the bungalow has been carefully preserved without harming its structural integrity, and it was not an easy task due to the limited funding from the government. Sadly, not much about the Jewish history of the monument is known. Jews are known 'Kocha' in Vettackal and everyone agrees that the building belonged to Vettackal Kocha. One theory is that the mansion was built about two and a half centuries ago by the Koder family. According to Ruby Daniel, it was the Hallegua's who were prominent in Vettackal, in her memoir (1995), Vettaka was an island owned by Shelomi Hallegua Mudaliar (Solomon Isaac Hallegua) where he lived with his wife Hannah (Annochimuthi), one of the matriarchal ancestors of the Salem family (Hannah's son Avraham (Avo) was the grandfather of A. B. Salem). Another name, that popped out from my discussion with the staff was 'Mary Aleva' who is said to be the owner of the compound surrounding the hospital, and according to them due to incomplete ownership transfer, the land is still in Jewish hands, at least technically. However, the bungalow was acquired by the government from the Jewish owner(s) somewhere in 1970s after completing all the legal formalities. I believe Mary Aleva is an anglicised form of Miriam Hallegua (d. 1979), sister of S. S. Koder and wife of Haim I. Hallegua (d. 1977). However, this has to be verified independently, the land registration records from the village office could be an option. 


Portraits inside Jewish Bungalow/Primary Health Centre, Vettackal

A special mention has to be made about two old portraits hanging on the walls inside the building. The identity of the individuals remain anonymous. The artist has supposedly used natural pigments for the portraits which still remain vibrant and colourful. The hospital staff believes that they were former British officers or could they be the Jewish residents of the building from Hallegua or Koder families? What is the actual history of Vettackal bungalow, when was it built and which Cochin Rajah donated the land? Did Solomon Hallegua build the mansion or was it by the Koders who were also active in the same period (early 19th century)? We will have to invest more time and energy to find answers to many such questions.Thanks to the efforts of Thoufeeq Zakariya, we now know that the portraits belong to Isaac Elias Hallegua (1863-1948) and his wife Esther Hallegua (1870-1957), who was also his cousin sister. Isaac Elias Hallegua is the great grandson of Solomon Isaac Hallegua (Shelomi Mudaliar) who according to Ruby Daniel owned the Vettackal Island.  

Exterior of Jewish Bungalow/Primary Health Centre, Vettackal

Interior of Jewish Bungalow/Primary Health Centre, Vettackal 

Views from Vettackal Village 
All photographs: December, 2019
Posted by CONTACT ME (Dr. Laju Paul K.) at 10:50

1 comment:

  1. Donpeter1 March 2023 at 21:22

    I have some detail about these, and map also but that map is too much old , better call me 8075376338

    ReplyDelete

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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)