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.

A RARE PHOTOGRAPH OF THE GATE HOUSE OF KADAVUMBHAGOM SYNAGOGUE, MATTANCHERRY BEFORE IT'S DESTRUCTION (PRE-1960S)

The synagogue's gate house is the building on the left side of this photograph. For more photographs of the intact synagogue before it was destroyed a few decades before, see my previous blog entry here.

STARTING A NEW BLOG ON ST. THOMAS SYRIAN CHRISTIAN MONUMENTS OF KERALA

https://syrianchristianmonumentskerala.blogspot.com/

CRANGANORE AND THE SILVER TRUMPETS OF JERUSALEM TEMPLE

'Notisias dos Judeos de Cochim'-Mosseh Pereira de Paiva's famous Portuguese report from 1687 (English translation by Monsignor F. Fegueiredo and published by S. S. Koder, 1968), attributes the legendary origin of the Jewish community of Kerala to two waves of migration. Thus, the first batch arrives from Mayorca/Majorca (Modern Mallorca is the largest island in the Balearic Islands of  Spain in the Mediterranean) to the coast of Malabar in the year 4130 (370 AD) amounting to '70 to 80,000 souls (Israelites)', 15,000 of them settles in Cranganore with their leader Joseph Rabban and the remaining 'famous Rabbis, men with means and others settles down in Maday, Peryapatnam and Cherigandaram'; and the second group comes in the year 4250 (499 AD) from an unknown land.

JEWISH & CHRISTIAN SETTLEMENTS OF THIRTUR OR THURUTHUR

Thirtur, an island village in the outskirts of Cranganore (Kodungallur) had a small Jewish settlement in 18th century. The earliest document that supports the existence of a Jewish colony at Thirtur is the Hebrew letter of Ezekiel Rahabi in 1768 (Koder, 1949). The letter identifies a Jewish community there with one synagogue and 40 Jewish families. In fact, it is said that the whole island belonged to the wealthy Jewish merchant, Ezekiel Rahabi (Moens, 1781) or he purchased large acres of fields on the island, and used it during summer months as a retreat. Not only that, at Thirtur he settled a few Malabari Jewish families, and built a synagogue in 1750 or 1756 (Fischel, 1962), but for reasons unknown, it became dysfunctional in 1761. There is another narrative that Tipu's invasion and the subsequent migration of Jews to Cochin and other Jewish settlements resulted in the decline of Thirtur. However, if Tipu had attacked Thirtur, the event would have happened three decades later in the late 1780s or early 1790s.

JEWISH & CHRISTIAN SETTLEMENTS OF PALUR (PALAYUR), CHATTUKULANGARE (ARTHAT) & KUNNAN(M)KULANGARE (KUNNAMKULAM)

Palayur Church and the Jew Hill Monument (Photos: March, 2020)

1) Introduction

Palur or Palayur is considered one of the earliest Jewish settlements in Kerala along with Madai, Pullut, Quilon (Kollam) and Cranganore (Kodungallur). Unfortunately, none of the Jewish colonies have attained the popularity and the cult status of Cranganore or Shingly. Paradesis were the main proponents of Shingly legends. There is no doubt, Cranganore and the story of Paradesi Jews were the pet topics of western travellers who visited Cochin and wrote about Kerala's mysterious Jewish community from the 16th century onwards. Though numerically small, Paradesis played an important role in the socio-economic life of Cochin and most foreign visitors found language barrier was not a hindrance while interacting with them. Paradesi versions received much attention and were reported frequently. On the other hand, visitors and researchers never cared to go beyond Cochin and meet the other Jews whose settlements were located interior, and as a result the Malabari traditions remained generally unknown and neglected. No wonder why Palur, a Malabari Jewish settlement does not come into western narratives. The silence can also be attributed to the absence of a Jewish population in Palayur since the 18th century. Despite the scanty details available, there are a few historical documents mainly in the form of Jewish Malayalam Folk Songs, St. Thomas Christian traditions and village records that relate Palayur to Jews. Vestiges of Jewish history still remain in modern Palayur. Curiously enough, the Orthodox Syrian Christian community has a different candidate for Palayur in a village called Arthat, located 7 km north-east to the traditional (Catholic) Palayur, and it is interesting to note that both sites claim for a Jewish heritage! There are one or two important artifacts that directly link Palayur and Jews. Since Christian traditions of Palayur are relatively more abundant, I will discuss them in detail.

TOMBSTONES OF THE PARADESI SYNAGOGUE COURTYARD

Tombstones previously displayed at the courtyard of Paradesi Synagogue. Photos: March, 2017

TOMBSTONES FROM AN EXTINCT JEWISH CEMETERY IN MATTANCHERRY

In a previous post, I discussed about the remains of an old Jewish cemetery from Mattancherry. I promised to attach more photographs from the House IV (see the Map), so this is a continuation to the early upload. For reasons I am not aware of, tombstones from the old Jewish cemetery are preserved in the courtyard of this 3-storied private residence in Mattancherry. I could trace 11 tombstones inside the courtyard of the house. Nine of them are stacked in a slanting position and arranged in two rows of four and five each. The tombstones, except (2) and (7) have Hebrew inscriptions on them, and those without the inscriptions might be having the engravings on the opposite side. The remaining two tombstones (10 and 11) are stacked horizontally with concrete slabs inserted in between, to form a stone block for washing clothes. Tombstone-10 is large and thick, but I couldn't retrieve the inscriptions, as dismantling the heavy stack single-handedly inside a private property was not a pleasant task. Anyway, for photography purposes, I had to do do a bit of cleaning the mess and rubbing the inscriptions. It is not known how long the tombstones will remain in the site, so these photographs would be a backup for future references. The position of tombstones are labelled 1 to 11 (see photographs below).

FORMER PARADESI JEWISH BUNGALOWS

The Paradesi Jews of Kerala, especially the Koder and Hallegua families were influential and wealthy. They owned large estates and acres of land in central and southern districts of Kerala. Some of their palatial residences still exist, but are converted into boutique hotels, art cafes, private houses (non-Jewish) and even a hospital! In the upcoming posts, I will be discussing about six such residences, whose Jewish connection is not much known to the common public.

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. 

2) KODER HOUSE OF FORT KOCHI

Photo: August, 2015

The most famous Jewish Bungalow in Kerala is undoubtedly the Koder House of Fort Kochi. The distinctive red bricked 3-storied grand residence of late S. S. Koder (1907-1994) is today a boutique hotel known by the same name. Menorah, a multi-cuisine restaurant at the hotel serves Jewish delicacies on special order, advertises itself as 'the only restaurant in India to serve Jewish food' and lures the guests by a catchy line, 'You can dine in the Historical Building which had been a host to Presidents, Prime Ministers, Viceroys, Ambassadors, Nobel Laureates, Hollywood Directors and other prominent dignitaries'! The Tourism Department of Kerala describes Koder House as 'a supreme example of the transition from colonial to Indo-European architecture'. 

Unlike many hearsay statements floating around in online sites, the Koder house was not built in 1808 by Jewish merchant Samuel S. Koder, the patriarch of the prominent Koder family. As a matter of fact, he was not even born at that time! However, it is true that Samuel S. Koder (1864/68-1941), the father of S. S. Koder, bought the house from a non-Jewish owner or organization in 1905 and significantly remodelled the structure into the current form. In the opinion of Queenie Hallegua, the daughter of S. S. Koder, the house was bought from a Portuguese owner by her grandfather (Samuel Koder) between 1910-1915, and it was demolished to build the Koder House by a gentleman named Cohen. Anyway, it is generally assumed that the building was originally constructed as a Portuguese style mansion in the 1800s. There is also saying that Samuel Koder constructed the house across three floors-one for each of his sons (Elias, Shabdai (S.S. Koder) and Cecil), and the Portuguese style building was structured and gabled in Europe, and then shipped to Cochin. In Jewish hands, Koder house hosted many prominent dignitaries including ambassadors and celebrities or heads of state. Their Friday night "open house" dinners were very popular when the Koders were around, for more details see this interesting article. The lower floor of the house functioned as a departmental store for some time, the Koders had multiple such stores in different parts of Kerala. The Koder House was later sold to a non-Jewish buyer by Queenie Koder, ending a long chapter and a century-old Jewish connection to the building. Nevertheless, the new owners are careful in preserving the Jewish heritage and traditions of the site. Since 2006, every December, the Koder House celebrates Hanukkah, the 8-day Jewish festival of lights by lighting the traditional menorah (lamp). Photographs and portraits of S. S. Koder are well preserved and kept on the ground floor.

3) LILY KODER HOUSE & THE HANGING BRIDGE OF FORT KOCHI

Photo: November, 2019

Another Jewish mansion, formerly owned by the Koders is the current luxury hotel Forte Kochi. Located on the popular Princess Street in the center of Fort Kochi, it was originally the house of Lily Koder, spinster and sister of S. S. Koder. Before the 'Paul John Resorts & Hotel Group' started Forte Kochi recently, it was a different heritage hotel by the name Spice Fort, maintained by the Dune Eco Group. The hotel offers 27 luxury colonial-style rooms and assures all the modern luxury amenities. Their official website says, "Originally built by the Portuguese, the mansion presents a medley of Portuguese, Dutch and British influences and was converted to a magnificent home in the late 1800s. This ancient structure was once part of the palatial home of an eminent Jew family". More reliable accounts estimate that the Jewish ownership and recasting of the building occurred only in the early 1900s. 

4) DAVID HALL OF FORT KOCHI

Built in 17th century by the Dutch East India Company, 'David Hall' is considered the residence of the Dutch governor, Hendrick Adrian Van Rheede whose 12-volume (with 794 copper plate engravings), the Hortus Malabaricus is a pioneering study on the flora of Kerala published from 1678 to 1693. The exact date of David Hall's establishment is not known, but dates 1665 and 1695 have been proposed. Similarly, there is an opinion that the Hortus Malabaricus was written from this site. According to official website of David Hall, "The Dutch East India Company is believed to have erected three houses sometime between the late 1670s and 1690s using some of the material from demolished churches (i.e. Portuguese), and David Hall is what remains of the three houses. What purpose the structure served is not known today, though historical hearsay suggests it could have been the residence of Van Rheede or a military hospice for Dutch soldiers". However, the building gets its name from one of its later occupants, commonly identified as a Jewish businessman called David Koder. The fact, though, is that there is no person by the name David Koder! It is true that a Jewish family lived in the house, but not the Koders, instead the house was occupied by a David family. The crucial information is obtained from the sale deed of David Hall. The credit goes to 'TheLifeSutras' by Lakshmi Sreekanth, who provided these details and has a an informative video uploaded here. The sale deed executed on 30th November 1988 clearly specifies that the last Jewish owner of David Hall was Glady's Koder, the wife of S. S. Koder (d. 1994) and daughter of Elias David David (d. 1958). Thus, in a way, David Hall belonged to the Koders, but the David here is the family name of S. S. Koder's father in law. 

5) 'SHADY VILLA' or 'KODER VILLA' of ALUVA

The Koders and Halleguas had their holiday homes in Aluva (old Alwaye), 30 km north of Cochin on the banks of Periyar River. Located less than a km from the historic 'Aluva Palace' of the Travancore Raja, was a cluster of three Jewish bungalows. Aluva Palace, built in 1901, also on the Periyar shore, was the summer destination of the Royal family, but today it functions as a Government Guest House. Shalva Weil (2009) discusses in detail about these summer resorts in an article entitled, "The Place of Alwaye in Modern Cochin Jewish History", and notices: "Every year after the festival of Passover, when the monsoons were already threatening and many offices were on holiday for a month, the Paradesi community shifted temporarily lock, stock and barrel to the quieter and cooler environs of the summer resort". The most impressive bungalow was the one owned by the Koders, known as "Shady Villa". It was "a big one with a veranda, with mango trees and jackfruit trees all around" says Ruby Daniel (1995). Presently, the former Jewish Bungalow is owned by a Muslim, a Medical Doctor by profession. I understand it has been substantially modified, but the tree filled front courtyard and perhaps a section of the house facing away from the water, remain close to the original. According to Ruby, there were 32 steps from the Shady Villa directly to the river accessed privately. The other two houses that belonged to the Halleguas are beyond recognition and I believe they are completely replaced with modern residences. Today, the former Koder Villa stands on the banks of Periyar (near Aluva Metro Station, see Map), whose front view is fully blocked by a large bill board and thick vegetation. It is the nearest house to the old (1940) three-arched Marthanda Varma Bridge overlooking the famous Aluva Manappuram. The Koders even had a street named after them in Aluva and what is more interesting is that the name still survives in the region as "Koder Lane".

6) KRATHI VEEDU OR HALLEGUA HOUSE OF MATTANCHERRY

Photo: September, 2019

Anyone who has been to the Paradesi Synagogue will pass in front of this 18th century traditional Jewish house with yellow walls, grey windows and a tall door. The vintage home built in the Dutch architectural style with a steep gabled clay tile roof has the date “1761” inscribed on the top of the front door. The house, opposite to the Post Office building, sits on a T-junction in the Jew Town of Mattancherry which splits off to the right (north) to Paradesi synagogue; to the left (south) to the Kadavumbhagom Synagogue and Kochangady region; and to the east to Mattancherry Boat Jetty area. In fact, the famous ‘Synagogue Lane’ of Mattancherry starts from this particular Jewish house and extends till the Paradesi Synagogue. The home belonged to Joseph E. Hallegua (1922-2012) who was fondly called “Johnny” by his community. His wife Juliette and daughter Yael were the last Jewish residents of “Hallegua House” and as far as I understand they have migrated to Israel on 2019 and the house was sold to a non-Jewish buyer. An article that has appeared in the Hindu Newspaper (April, 2019) has more details and photographs here. According to the column, the house is known as “Krathi Veedu”, the Halleguas hosted parties for Jewish festivals such as Succoth (Feast of Tabernacles) and Simchat Torah (rejoicing of/with Torah scrolls) from here. Also, every Paradesi Bridegroom left for their wedding from the Hallegua House. It is said that Krathi Veedu will be converted into a museum, so let’s hope we will hear more about that in near future.

CHAKKAMPARAMBU-A JEWISH CEMETERY IN KODUNGALLUR?

In February, 2017, my search for the Joothakkulam (Jew Pond) ended at Kunnamkulam in the west Methala region of Kodungallur. Joothakkulam is the sole relic left from the lost Jewish settlement of Kodungallur (Crangannore), the legendary site of Shingly which supposedly became extinct in 16th century AD. There is also a Joothakunnu (Jew Hill) associated with the Joothakkulam, but the hill has been flattened out and do not exist anymore. I have discussed in detail about Shingly and its Jewish significance here. Not everyone agrees with a Jewish Kingdom in Shingly and they consider its antiquity from first century as a myth invented by the Paradesi Jews to promote their superiority over the Malabari Jews, but I don't think even the strongest critic would have serious objections in accepting the existence of a Jewish settlement at Kodungallur during the Middle Ages. The existence of a still surviving pond named after Jews in Kodungallur or the ritual of using soil from the region for Jewish funeral rites could be an indication that there are some shreds of truth in these legends.

MALA -A MODEL TOWN FOR RELIGIOUS HARMONY

So far we discussed about the Jewish monuments of Mala and their current status. However, Mala is not just about its Jewish heritage alone, the multi-religious culture and scenic beauty of the region are admirable. In a radius of one km, Mala has a synagogue (Jewish), a church (Christian), a temple (Hindu) and a mosque (Muslim), a unique feature very few sites in the world can boast about. In this context, a special mention should be made to the village of Chendamangalam in Kerala where also worshiping centers of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism exist within a short distance of each other. The major religious structures in Mala town are the Synagogue at the center, St. Stanislaus Forane Church at the north, Muhiyudheen Juma Masjid at the south  and Mukunda  Krishna Swamy Temple at the north-east directions. Suppose you measure the walking distance from Mala synagogue  to these monuments  using Google Map, the Masjid comes the nearest (180m) followed by the Church (350m) and the Temple (650m). Surprisingly, the distances are also identical in Chendamangalam when the Synagogue is used a central point to measure the distance to Juma Masjid-Kottayil Kovilakom (200m), Holy Cross Syro Malabar Catholic Church (350m) and Sree Krishna Swamy Hindu Temple (600m), but the settlements are older than Mala. The close coexistence of Mala`s religious centers is an ideal example of the multicultural harmony of the town. Historically, the gateway to Mala was through Malakadavu, the ferry slip which connected the town to  the backwater system of Kerala and through that to the prominent trade centers. The following map will give you a better idea of the location of these sites in Mala. 

THE LOST TOMBS OF MALA JEWISH CEMETERY

Traditionally, Mala had a Jewish population from the late 10th century onwards, but the first documented evidence to support a Jewish presence in the town is only from 1786 in the Hebrew letter of Ezekiel Rahabi, who estimates 50 families and one synagogue in the area. At the time of aliyah to Israel in 1950s, Mala's Jewish population was at the peak and the highest estimate puts their numbers to 300 distributed in about 50 families. Let us suppose that Mala had a Jewish presence from 18th century only, and even if we take into account of their minuscule number during late 18th to mid 19th century, there should still be around a thousand Jews who lived, died and were buried on the grounds of Mala cemetery. The irony being that, despite having the largest Jewish cemetery in India, the 4-acre Mala graveyard has only three tombs today! Where have all the graves gone? How many tombs were there at the time of transfer of the cemetery in 1955? I have come across various estimates, mostly online Malayalam articles and sites that have put forward their numbers from 20, 30, 34, 35, 40, 50 and 60. I don't know how these specific numbers are arrived, my own personal interactions with people in Mala who were old enough to remember the time of Jews, fail to recollect more than three tombs! 

Photo 1) Mala Jewish Cemetery in 1968. Photo Courtesy: Rabbi Bernard W. Kimmel, published in the 1968 volume of 'B'nai B'rith Messenger'. The tomb positions are marked 1 and 2.

THE SURVIVING TOMBS OF MALA JEWISH CEMETERY

Photos: August, 2015

There are only three tombs left in Mala Jewish cemetery and they are located in the 1.5-acre western half of the cemetery (see map here. 1, 2 and 3 in the map are the position of the tombs). The tombs are relatively well preserved, but one of the epitaph is not legible. The largest tomb (1) which unfortunately has the indecipherable tombstone is positioned around the middle of the western section of the cemetery. The other two tombs are located near the partition wall segregating the western and eastern parts of the cemetery. The middle tomb (2) has the best preserved epitaph with nicely engraved Hebrew inscriptions on a good quality marble slab. The easternmost tomb (3) has a grave marker (probably in cement base) with legible Hebrew inscriptions but the craftsmanship is average when compared to the second tomb. I have included photographs from my earlier visits as well since some of the inscriptions are more clear in old photographs.

JEWISH CEMETERY OF MALA-A TIMELINE OF EVENTS SINCE 1955.

I will be brief here and include only the important events and decisions associated with cemetery. Not all dates are accurate to my knowledge, so I would be happy to incorporate corrections as required and add if there is any relevant information that I have failed to mention. 

1954, December 20: A contract was executed by (1) Avarony Jew aged 77, son of Mosha of Vadama Village, Mukundapuram Taluk, (2) Pallivathukkal Eliacha Jew aged 75 Son of Kunjeli of Vadama Village Mukundapuram Taluk, (3) Chennamangalathukaran Eliabai Jew aged 50, Merchant Son of Aphraim of Vadama Village Mukundapuram Taluk-Trustees of the Mala Synagogue on behalf of the Synagogue (referred to as Donors) in favour of Athappilly Joseph Christan aged 37 Son of Devassy, Vadama Village, Mukundapuram Taluk the President of the Mala Panchayath for and on behalf of the said Panchayath (refererred to as Donee). The contract was the entrustment of all properties movable and immovable appertaining to the Jewish synagogue including the synagogue building and its premises (23 cents, valued Rs. 500) and the Jewish cemetery (400 cents, valued Rs. 500) as a deed of gift to the Panchayath, provided it was subjected to the conditions and obligations recited in the contract. There were six conditions to be fulfilled namely:

THE CURRENT STATUS OF MALA JEWISH CEMETERY

One can say without doubt, that the most controversial Jewish monument in Kerala is the Mala Jewish cemetery. The cemetery was handed over to the Panchayath (the Village Council) by the Jewish community in 1955 with the following conditions: "The Donee shall maintain at his own expense the Jewish Cemetery described in the B Schedule hereto annexed and hereby entrusted to his possession and shall preserve the same without trespass or molestation of the tombs. Nor any portion of the Cemetery be dug or unearthed. The compound wall bounding the cemetery on all sides and the gate in it shall also be preserved and the Donee shall meet the expenses, if any, necessary for the preservation in good repair. The B Schedule item shall not be alienated and shall ever be preserved in its present condition without being put to any other use: nor shall the right of any member of the Jewish Community to use the B Schedule item as Cemetery ever denied or questioned"

THE JEW STREET OF MALA

In Mala, if you walk half kilometre from St. Stanislaus Forane Church to Mohiyuddien Juma Masjid (north to south) and the same distance from the Synagogue to the Jewish Cemetery (west to east), you have essentially seen the whole town! The intersection of these streets where the north-south Kodungallur-Kodakara (State Highway 51) and the east-west Mala-Annamanada roads meet is the Mala Junction, the epicentre of the town. The Jew Street of Mala (marked by the yellow dotted lines in the map below) is a small stretch of about 200m of the Mala-Annamanada road beginning from the Synagogue (1) at Mala Junction (2), passing through the modern Post Office building (3), and extending almost up to the junction near the current Mala Private Bus Stand where the K Karunakaran street joins the main road (see Map). The Jewish Cemetery (4) is only 300 m further east to the Mala Private Bus Station. Most of Mala Jews were small vendors who maintained their shops in front of the house facing the Jew Street and their living quarters were at the backside of the building. 

THE JEWISH POPULATION OF MALA

Scholars do not reach a consensus on the date of Mala Synagogue's foundation. The earliest date attributed to the synagogue is 1000 AD, based on its association with Joseph Rabban (of the 11th-century Copper Plate fame), who according to an old Jewish folk song, obtained wood from the Rajah of Kodungallur to construct the building. Dravidian Judaist, Prem Doss Swami Doss Yehudi (1990) claims "The original Synagogue (11th century) was pulled down and a new building was erected in 1400 C. E. A Hebrew congregational school also used to function there. It was renovated in 1792 C. E." Yehudi however, does not cite the source on which he bases such an absolute date, some connects it to the great Periyar flood of 1341 which erased the port city of Muziris and may have led Jews to migrate from Kodungallur to Mala. The renovation date two years after Tipu Sultan's invasion (1792) makes sense, but historically we know that the synagogue was in a badly decayed state even three decades after Tipu's attack. David Sassoon (1932) dates the synagogue to a later period, to 1597, but he also fails to provide the evidence for arriving at such a specific date, probably the Portuguese attack on Kodungallur was responsible for a wave of  migration of Jews to Mala by the end of 16th century. The earliest documented evidence for a Jewish community in Mala is in the 1768 Hebrew letter of Ezekiel Rahabi, where he mentions 50 Jewish families and one synagogue. Later, his son David Rahabi (d.1791) also attests the same statistics. It is surprising that Mosseh de Paiva (1687) who records 9 Malabari synagogues from 6 localities in Kerala fails to mention a congregation in Mala, so do the Dutch Governor Adrian Moens who wrote less than two decades after Rahabi in 1781. Interestingly, though Moens states that Malabari Jews were spread over seven places, he lists only six, and for reasons unknown Mala is excluded. Nevertheless, in the same year (1781), we have a Hebrew manuscript entitled "Toldot Yehude Kuchin" by Saraf, Yahya Ben Abraham, where Mala reappears with one synagogue and 50 families. A few years later in another Hebrew letter dated 1790, by Samuel Abraham to a Jewish merchant in New York, the numbers remain firm at 50 families and 1 synagogue.

STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS IN THE PREMISES OF MALA SYNAGOGUE SINCE 1955

Earlier we discussed about the structural modifications done in the Mala Synagogue; in this post we will see the alterations carried out at the premises of the sanctuary. We learn from the Mala Contract (1955) that the synagogue had boundary walls on three sides and was bordered by privately owned (non-Jewish) buildings and compounds at East, South and West directions, and a Panchayath Road (CMS Road) running on the North side. Originally, the synagogue compound measured 32 cents (1294 sq m), but 9 cents (364 sq m) of land on the East side was sold already at the time of transfer (1955). After Jews left Mala, the synagogue was used for conducting classes for Lower Primary students and it also functioned as a Community Hall. The surroundings of the synagogue were heavily altered and a big share of land was misused. To get a better idea, one might look for old photographs taken from the premises. This is where the photographs taken in 1995 from Mala by the  Center for Jewish Art (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) under the Bezalel Narkiss Index of Jewish Art (http://cja.huji.ac.il) become much helpful. Despite taken relatively recently (40 years after Jews left Mala), these photos reveal how significantly the synagogue premises have changed within such a short span of time. We will compare some of these photographs with the latest images and see the depth of encroachment.

MALAYALAM-HEBREW INSCRIPTIONS IN THE UPPER GALLERY OF MALA SYNAGOGUE

The Bilingual Inscriptions of Mala Synagogue 

A casual visitor to Mala Synagogue need not necessarily identify the structure as a Jewish worship centre unless the inscriptions on the balcony are noticed. The writings in Hebrew and Malayalam do not convey the same message, but both agree on the date of establishment of the synagogue. The lengthy Malayalam inscription gives additional details about the predecessor synagogue(s), while the Hebrew line quotes a verse from the Bible. The only other Hebrew inscription was on the door lintel of the Breezeway, which unfortunately is lost over a demolition drive that took place on 2017 (see my previous post for more details).

STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS ON MALA SYNAGOGUE SINCE 1955

Typical to other Kerala Synagogues, Mala's Jewish worship centre also consisted of a two-story gatehouse, a two-level breezeway, and a double-height main sanctuary with an upper gallery and second Tebah. The upper floor of the gabled gatehouse functioned as a Hebrew School which also had an attic that was used as a store room. The second level of the breezeway was covered yet not fully enclosed and the ground level was open and likely supported by columns. The main entrances to the synagogue was at the eastern end through the lower level breezeway leading to the Azara and the upper passageway opening to the women's seating area behind the balcony. Time unknown, but probably soon after Mala Jews left in 1955, additional structures were added in front of the gatehouse. Similarly, the open section of the breezeway at the ground level was enclosed and filled in with concrete to make way for commercial buildings. The connections from breezeway to the original entrances of the synagogue through Azara and women's room were cut off and a 5 foot gap blocked its continuity to the main sanctuary. Architect Jay Waronker (2010) finds Mala Synagogue’s breezeway a quintessential example of Kerala timber vernacular architecture with its beautifully ventilated and diffusely lit “walls” made of struts with a latticework of interlinking laths giving a Venetian blind effect. Today, the Synagogue is surrounded by private commercial buildings (South and West) and public roads (East and North). The freestanding boundary wall in the southern border perhaps could be the original construction from pre-mid-20th century, but the current wall on the west is a later addition only. We know from the 1955 Mala contract that the Synagogue was surrounded by "compound wall on three sides". The current wall on the north is a modern construction built after demolishing an illegal commercial complex that existed on the spot.