THE JEWISH CEMETERIES OF KERALA

Recently, I have been posting images from different Jewish cemeteries, and with Paravur cemetery, I have covered all the extant Jewish graveyards of Kerala. I tried my level best to include as much details of these cemeteries as possible. Well I am sure by now you might have noticed that most of these graveyards are overgrown, hard to navigate and the tombs are dilapidated and crumbling. The only exceptions are the Paradesi cemetery in Mattancherry and the new cemetery in Ernakulam, but then these sites are not open to the common public. To sum up, there are six surviving Jewish cemeteries in Kerala-one in Mattancherry, two in Ernakulam and one each in Mala, Chendamangalam and North Paravur. I also discussed about at least four extinct Jewish cemeteries-two in Mattancherry, one in Fort Kochi and a graveyard hypothesized at Kodungallur. We also saw tombstones in Paradesi synagogue courtyard which are supposed to be brought from the extinct cemeteries of Mattancherry. Headstones are also exhibited in the courtyards of North Paravur and Chendamangalam synagogues.

THE NEW JEWISH CEMETERY OF ERNAKULAM REVISITED

My first visit to the cemetery was in January 2011 and since then I made two more trips to the site in November, 2016 and November, 2019. In 2011, I took photographs of the overgrown cemetery only from the south side, so the tombstones were not captured. Although, in none of the trips I could enter the locked cemetery, I managed to obtain more close-up photographs of the tombs and their headstones during my later visits. Today, it is the only functional Malabari Jewish Cemetery in Kerala. For more about the historical background of the cemetery see my earlier post here. The plaque installed at the main entrance will give you a brief introduction. The cemetery became functional only by mid 20th century. It is interesting to note that when the old cemetery of Ernakulam became defunct in 1945, the land for the new cemetery was allotted to Ernakulam's Jewish community (Thekkumbhagom and Kadavumbhagom) by the Municipal Council at a nominal price of Rs. 1! (Prem Doss Swami Doss Yehudi, 1989). As you can observe, most of the tombs have headstones facing west towards Jerusalem, but there a few of them installed in opposite direction. At the northern end of the cemetery are six poles with a concrete rectangular slab in the middle. This arrangement is to support a temporary canopy at the time of funeral services when the coffin is placed over the slab. In the Paradesi cemetery, there is a permanent open hall for this purpose. Jewish symbols of menorah and star of David are visible on the northern wall. The tombstones have both English and Hebrew texts unlike the older Jewish tombs of Kerala which have Hebrew inscriptions alone. The side path bordering the eastern boundary of the cemetery is called 'Chakkamadom Lane'. Interestingly, Chakkamadom is the area of former Malabari Jewish cemetery in Mattancherry and Chakkamparambu is a field in Kodungallur thought to be a Jewish graveyard by some.

THE JEWISH CEMETERY OF NORTH PARAVUR (PARUR) & TOMBSTONES IN THE SYNAGOGUE COURTYARD

 

North Paravur (Vadakkan Paravur) or Paravur/Paravoor (Parur) had once a flourishing Jewish community. Among the eight Jewish communities of Kerala that were active until mid-20th century, only Paravur was part of erstwhile Kingdom of Travancore and the remaining all [Cochin (3), Ernakulam (2), Chendamangalam (1) and Mala (1)] were under the Kingdom of Cochin. Paravur synagogue is the largest of Kerala's extant synagogues and architecturally the most complete. A Hebrew dedicatory inscription kept in the synagogue compound dates the structure to 1616 AD. Traditional accounts would assign an earlier date, according to which an older synagogue existed at Paravur in 1164 AD. Jewish historian Adv. Prem Doss Swami Doss Yehudi (1989) even asserts that the first Paravur synagogue may have been built in 750 AD! There was a time when the Jews of Paravur were the wealthiest and influential lot among the Malabari Jewish community. The prosperous community numbered 306 in 1948, and almost all of them lived near the synagogue. Naturally, one would expect to find a proportionally large Jewish cemetery used by the community over centuries. Ironically, Paravur cemetery is the smallest of the extant Jewish cemeteries in Kerala. Measuring a meagre 3 cents, this narrow piece of rectangular strip of land is obscurely positioned in an area where Paravur's many educational institutes  are  located. The densely overgrown cemetery is less than a kilometer east to the synagogue and situated adjacent to 'Excellent College' (see Map below). The graveyard is so overgrown with weeds and climbers that sometimes the entrance gate and the tombs would remain completely hidden and you would have no hint that a cemetery was anywhere in sight

TOMBSTONES DISPLAYED IN THE COURTYARD OF CHENDAMANGALAM SYNAGOGUE

There are a few tombstones displayed inside Chendamangalam synagogue's compound on the north-west corner of the boundary wall. It is not clear if they were brought from the Jewish cemetery or discovered from the synagogue premises while the restoration work was conducted. Seven tombstones with Hebrew inscriptions are exhibited along with a large granite slab which appears blank to me.

Photo: September, 2019

KOTTAYL KOVILAKOM, CHENDAMANGALAM JEWISH CEMETERY

In the following posts we will discuss about a Jewish graveyard located in a sleepy village of Kerala that has been rarely explored. The three-acre graveyard at Kottayil Kovilakom, Chendamangalam is the second largest Jewish cemetery in Kerala after Mala. Today, it lies in a dismal state located deep inside a remote corner of the village. Tourists who flock to the synagogue at Chendamangalam rarely visit the Jewish cemetery, partly because not many are aware about its existence and partly because it's accessibility is tricky. Other than a few Jewish tourists and a minuscule fraction of history enthusiasts, not many would put an effort visiting this important heritage site. 

LOCATION OF CHENDAMANGALAM JEWISH CEMETERY

The cemetery is accessed through a narrow dirt path running beside the Chendamangalam Juma Masjid (mosque ). At the end of the short path is a few flight of steps that will take you to the back side of the mosque and from there its only a 5 minutes walk to the unguarded cemetery entrance. During rainy season, it would not be wise to take this narrow footpath packed with thick vegetation.

THE TOMBSTONES OF CHENDAMANGALAM JEWISH CEMETERY

A few years ago when the cemetery was cleared, about 53 tombs (51 or 81 according to other estimates) were enumerated. I could manage to photograph around 25 tombs with headstones, but the Hebrew inscriptions were legible only in a few of them. This however does not include many tombs without grave markers, but they could be identified based on the laterite stone rubbles left out from the original structures. In certain cases, remains of two or three tombs were clubbed together as a pile and in other instances a few scattered stones partially buried beneath the ground were all that was left. There was one particular intact tombstone lying on the ground as if some one has intentionally removed it from the original monument. I believe some of these tombstones would be irrecoverably lost unless conservation measures are taken immediately. 

1-Abraham Nehemiah (d. 1964)-See more here

CRUMBLING & DILAPIDATED TOMBS OF CHENDAMANGALAM JEWISH CEMETERY-on the verge of extinction

WALKING THROUGH THE DIRT PATHS OF CHENDAMANGALAM JEWISH CEMETERY

CHENDAMANGALAM JEWISH CEMETERY-An overgrown graveyard

The eternal resting place of Chendamangalam Jews is located on the slope of a small hillside. The unprotected cemetery is uninviting due to the overgrown vegetation and lack of maintenance. A few tombs must be still visible, but you need to be a little adventurous to tackle the spiny bushes and heavily grown weeds. One should also be careful about snakes while walking over the leaf litter under trees. I managed to get a snap of one calmly crawling under the dried leaves. To be on a safer side, it is better to wait for the cemetery to get cleared up properly, but unfortunately this might not occur frequently. In a well maintained state, you can use narrow dirt paths across the cemetery to explore many hidden tombs which otherwise are hardly visible. The following photos will give you an idea how different the cemetery looks before and after cleaning.

A TOMB IN THE JEWISH CEMETERY OF KOTTAYIL KOVILAKOM, CHENDAMAMANGALAM

Photo: September, 2019

In the upcoming posts, I plan to upload photographs taken during my visits to the Jewish Cemetery at Chendamangalam. Like most other Jewish Cemeteries in Kerala, the Chendamangalam cemetery is also left unattended, concealed by thick vegetation and virtually inaccessible during most times of the year. However, if you are lucky to be on the spot at the correct time when the plot gets cleaned, and yes it does happen sometimes, that is the best opportunity to explore the tombs. The largest tomb in the cemetery and the only one usually traceable is that of 'Abraham Nehemiah' whose burial date is given as 1964 in Hebrew letters on a fine marble tombstone. The tomb is a large impressive funerary monument compared to the simple dome-shaped tombs of Malabari Jews which are usually devoid of any structural decorative elements other than a tombstone carved out of granite or sometimes marble slabs. There are a few exceptions though-the tombs of Kabbalist Nehemiah Motta (d. 1615) in Mattancherry and  Nehemiah Moshe (d. 1927) in Ernakulam old Jewish cemetery. As you can see from the 1995 photograph that the original structure had a pediment on the top  which is however lost now. It seems there was some sort of an engraving on the pediment as well. The marble headstone is flanked by triple engaged columns arranged in two tiers. The rear view of the tomb shows a small border on the top arranged in the form of small semicircular arches.The writings on the tombstone were quite legible earlier, but had faded significantly when I paid my first visit to the site on 2011. Currently, measures have taken to highlight specifically the name and the burial date of the deceased in black. I am sure descendants or relatives of Abraham Nehemiah in Israel can throw more light about him.