Freemason Hall of Cochin or Lodge Cochin
I get queries often regarding the lost Jewish settlements of Kerala. Saudi in Cochin is one of the most frequently asked sites, after I wrote a few years ago about the 'Lost Synagogue of Saude or Saudi (1514-1556)' . Most requests are about the name of the place, such as if it can be linked to Saudi Arabia. However, many would be surprised to learn that the name “Saudi” used here has in all probability a Portuguese Christian than an Arab Muslim connection. Saudi is derived from the Portuguese word, "Saúde" which means health. The Portuguese had a 16th century church named "Nossa Senhora de Saude" (Our Lady of Health) here and hence the name of the region. The modern Roman Catholic church in Saudi is also named after "Our Lady of Health". The original Portuguese church does not exist and it is believed to be destroyed by the sea. As per traditional accounts, the Portuguese church was located around 3.5 miles west of the present-day church. The first church in the current location was established in 1804 only. According to certain local traditions, the St Thomas Christians had a 9th-century church in Saudi before the Portuguese arrived, the humble structure made of wood and stone was also carried away by the sea, and if so, the one founded in 1804 was the third church. This church underwent several renovations over the course of time, such as in 1966, side wings were added to the sanctuary and the main altar was refurbished. The current modern church in Saudi is consecrated in December, 2006.
Early Records on Saudi
Are there any historical records for the existence of a church or place called Saudi in Cochin during the Portuguese or the Dutch periods? One of the earliest references I have come across is from the accounts of Urbain Souchu de Rennefort, an agent of French East India Company, in his “Histoires des Indes Orientales”, published in 1688, the site appears as “Nostra Seignora de la Sauda”, a mazure (hovel?) near the sea coast. In the Memoir of Governor Adriaan Moens written in the year 1781 (“The Dutch in Malabar”), he lists 20 Latin churches and chapels subjected to the VOC (the Dutch East India Company), the church of “Senhora de Saude” and its chapel was one among them. Francis Day (1863) reproduces Moens' list in "The Land of the Permauls", but he quotes the church as “Senhora de Sande”. In 1781, when Moens handed over charge to his successor Van Angelbeck, he enumerated 69 gardens and pieces of land as the property of the Dutch, one among them was at Senhora de Saude, containing 1,222 fruit-bearing coconut and other trees, 29 Parras of cultivated land (c. 7 acres).
A Map of Cochin in 1687. Extracted from the Dutch Map, NL-HaNA_4.VEL_229
Antiquities of Saudi Church
Today, none of these early Portuguese churches exist, the structures built in present locations are of relatively recent origin. We know for certain that a church existed in Saudi at least in the 17th century, but there is little left in the modern Saudi church from the Portuguese era. In the previous post, we saw two tombstones in Portuguese script, but they are from the early 19th century. The Silver Jubilee Souvenir of Alleppey Diocese (1977) mentions of a Portuguese inscription in front of the altar, but no such tablet exists today. The beautiful 6 ft tall statue of the Virgin holding Infant Jesus is perhaps the only relic from the Portuguese era preserved in the church, however, according to Bernard (History of Fort Cochin, 1995) it was discovered accidentally from the Santa Cruz Maidan (Playground) in Fort Kochi by the British in 1901.
Exterior of the Church of Our Lady of Health, Saudi.
A
replica of the granite statue of Virgin and Infant Jesus is installed
in a niche on the facade. Enlarged view of the statue is given in the
right side photograph. The original statue is inside the church.
Interior of the Church of Our Lady of Health, Saudi.
Jewish Connection of Saudi
Coming back to Saudi's Jewish connection, the earliest reference to a Jewish colony in Saudi appears in the "Letters of Malabar" by Jacobus Canter Visscher, a Dutch priest who lived in Cochin
for a six years (1717-1723). In letter XVIII, written not later than
1723, Visscher comments that the White (Paradesi) Jews established a
colony near Cochin Rajah's palace (i.e. Mattancherry) and dwelt there
for 202 years, and before that they lived in a place called “Sinhora
Savode”, about half a league (c. 2 km) distant from the town of Cochin
for 50 years. Putting these dates to context, it would mean that Jews
arrived in Saudi or Sinhora Savode from Cranganore in the year 1471 {1723-(202+50)}. The
other dates suggested for the arrival of Jews in Saudi are: 1481
(Segal, 1983; Jussay, 2005), 1514 or 1524 (Katz and Goldberg, 1993),
between 1471 and 1525 (Zetlaoui, 2000) etc. Now, there was a synagogue
in Savode (Saudi), according to Bar Giora (1958) which was established
at in 1514 and continued until 1556. There are others who claim
that Jews shifted their residence from Sinhora Savode to Cochin by
1521-1523 (Malekandathil, 2017), between 1521 and 1565 (Katz and
Goldberg, 1993), 1531 (Segal, 1983) etc. In short, there are no
consensus among modern scholars regarding the arrival and departure of
Jews to and from Saudi, but it is generally accepted that a small Jewish
settlement existed there from the late 15th to early 16th century. What
is strange, though, is that Jewish Saudi does not appear in any other early records. It is absent in David Rahabi’s Hebrew letter of 1676.
Mosseh de Paiva who wrote the famous 1687 report, 'Notisias dos Judeos
de Cochim' after staying with the Paradesi Jews, is also silent about
Saudi; he however, records Jewish presence in Mattancherry as early as
1512, when the Paradesi synagogue is dated only to 1568. The same is the
case with other European visitors or Jewish members of the community
from the 18th century, such as Van Dort (1757), Rahabi (1768),
Du Perron (1771), S'Gravezande
(1778), Moens (1781), Abraham (1790) etc., who otherwise are very diligent in
recording the Paradesi origin myths in detail. However, late S. S.
Koder, prominent Jewish leader of Cochin held the view that the Paradesi
Jews had an intermediate stop at Saudi for 50 years before shifting to
Cochin (Mattancherry) from Cranganore (Kodungallur). K. L. Bernard who
wrote about the Jewish connection of Saudi was strongly influenced by
Koder’s Interpretations, the same may be the case with other modern
scholars like Bar Giora, Segal etc.
The Koder Hall and the Jewish Connection
I proposed a few years ago, the location of the synagogue near the present church of Our Lady of Health. This was because, at that time, I assumed the Jewish colony might have existed near the historic Portuguese church. Unfortunately, there is nothing Jewish to be shown near the modern church. This was the case until I came across a building not far from the church with a Jewish family name. The white, pillared building is the Freemason Hall of Cochin or the Lodge Cochin. This interesting building is also named "Koder Hall" after one of the most illustrious Jewish families in Cochin. We have seen the "Koder House", "Koder Villa", "Koder Lane" and a "David Hall" associated with the Koder Family in Kerala. One of Cochin's famous Chinese Fishing Nets (Cheenavala) is also named after the family-the "Koder Vala". Now, here is another monument named after the Koders, situated only 1.5 km north of Saudi Church. You can see the Freemason symbol of the “Square and Compasses” on the pediment of the building; “Lodge Cochin” inscribed on the entablature; and the name “Koder Hall” written on top of the main door. Why would a Freemason Hall have named after a Jewish leader? Shabdai Samuel Koder (1907-1994) was a leading member of Cochin's Freemason Society, he joined the organization in 1935 and was invested as Deputy District Grand Master twice in 1980 and 1981. The Lodge Cochin was warranted in 1921, however, I am not aware if the land where the Hall is situated was donated by the Koders.
Koder Hall (1), Holy Face Pilgrim Chapel (2) and Holy Face Pilgrim Church (3), St John Pattom.
Enlarged Views of the Freemason Symbol, 'Square and Compasses'; names 'Lodge Cochin' and 'Koder Hall' inscribed on the Freemason Hall of Cochin, St John Pattom.
St John Pattom and the Church of St John
The place where Koder Hall is located is known as "St John Pattom", a name also derived from a former Portuguese church. The church is variously known as St Jean, St Joan, St Juan, St Joao, St Jan etc., all referring to “Saint John”. In the memoir written by Adriaan Moens on Dutch Malabar (1781), there is mention of a chapel named “St Janquebrado” belonging to the Church of Senhora de Saude, which I believe is the same as “St John”. The second word, “Pattom” (പാട്ടം) is Malayalam for “leaseholds”. The place is also written “സാഞ്ചോൺ പാട്ടം” (Sanjon Pattom), probably associated with the outlying Pattams or leaseholds attached to the landed properties possessed by the Dutch Company (VOC) from which they received rents. When we analyse early records, St John appears as “Igreja de S. João (Church of St John) outside the city belonging to the Recoletos/Franciscans (Friar Paulo da Trindade, 1630s), “Klooster van St. Jan” (Monastery of St. John) near the sea shore (Johan Nieuhof, 1682) etc. The location of St John just outside the city of Cochin, but near the sea shore had strategic importance, and it was used by the Dutch in 1663 to invade the Portuguese Fort from the south. Today, the structure does not exist, and different theories are put forward to explain its absence. Some suggest that the Portuguese in their desperation set fire to the convent of St. John to prevent the Dutch occupying it, whereas to others believe the church was destroyed by sea erosion. The more plausible explanation could be that the Dutch might have destroyed or transformed the building for commercial purpose after the siege of Fort Cochin was over, which they did with other Portuguese churches of the region.
St John Pattom and the Holy Face Pilgrim Centre
The Jewish angle of St John Pattom is scrutinized in more detail by the local historian, late K. L. Bernard Master in a Malayalam article published in the Silver Jubilee Souvenir of Alleppey Diocese (1977). In this article, while discussing about the antiquity of Saudi, he carefully records a tradition that the Jewish colony was located on the western side of the Koder Hall. On the east side of the Koder Hall is a church and a chapel known as "Emmanual Church-Holy Face Pilgrim Centre". The small chapel is associated with a modern miracle story of a couple seeing the image of the face of Christ (resembling the Shroud of Turin) in the abdomen of the statue of Jesus in 4 September, 1998. What is more interesting is that, the Pilgrim Centre traces its origin to the old Portuguese church of St John. Bernard concludes, “The Emmanuel Chapel points out the old St John Church...while the Koder Hall is in memory of the old Jewish Colony in Saude” (History of Fort Cochin, 1995).
Another View of the Holy Face Pilgrim Chapel and Church, St John Pattom.
Inside the Holy Face Pilgrim Chapel, St John Pattom.
Enlarged View (right) of the abdomen region of Crucified Jesus where the Holy Face is said to have appeared.
Signboards in front of the 'Church of Our Lady of Health', Saudi and Holy Face Pilgrim Chapel, St John Pattom. 
Concluding Remarks
Taking into consideration all these factors, and assuming that Jews had landed properties in St John Pattom, it is more reasonable to believe that Jewish Saudi was near the former "Church of St John" and not the "Church of Our Lady of Health" in Saudi. However, if the location of the old Saudi church, 3.5 miles west to the modern church is a valid tradition, the church has gone beneath the sea. From the Dutch map (1687), you can easily observe that 4 churches are positioned close to the sea and arranged in a stretch, and hence if the Saudi church is taken away by sea, same must be the fate of the remaining churches including St John. Similarly, it is well evident from the maps below (1 and 2) that Koder Hall is less than 100 meters from the beach, so if there was a Jewish colony on the west side, it could have been also taken away by the sea a long time ago.
Map- 1: Saudi and St John Pattom
Map-2: St John Pattom
- Abraham, Samuel (1790)- In Jackson, S. H., The Jew-being a Defence of Judaism, 1824
- Bar Giora, Naphtali (1958)-A Note on the History of the Synagogues in Cochin (Le'Toledot Battei haKnesset be'Cochin)
- Bernard, K L (1995)-History of Fort Cochin
- Day, Francis (1863)-The Land of the Permauls
- da Trindade, Frei Paulo (1630s)- Conquista Espiritual Do Oriente, Parte-II. 1958 ed.
- de Paiva, Mosseh Pereira (1687)-Notisias dos Judeos de Cochim-English Translation by Monsignor F. Fegueiredo, Published by S. S. Koder under the title, "Saga of the Jews of Cochin" in 'The Cochin Synagogue Quatercentenary Anniversary Souvenir, 1968
- de Rennefort, Urbain Souchu (1688)-Histoires des Indes Orientales
- du Perron, Anquetil Abraham Hyacinth (1771)-Zend Avesta, Volume 1
- Jussay, P M (2005)-The Jews of Kerala
- Katz, Nathan and Goldberg, Ellen S. (1993)-The Last Jews of Cochin: Jewish Identity in Hindu India
- Malekandathil, Pius (2017)-Circulation of People and Patterns of Maritime Migrations in the Indian Ocean During the Pre-Modern Period; In Migrations in Medieval and Early Colonial India, edited by Vijaya Ramaswamy.
- Moens, Adriaan (1781)-In Galletti, A. van der Burg, A. J. and Groot, 'The Dutch in Malabar', 1911
- Nieuhof, Johannes (1682)-Gedenkweerdige Brasiliaense Zee- en Lant-Reise
und Zee- en Lant-Reize door verscheide Gewesten van Oostindien
- Segal, J B (1983)-White and Black Jews at Cochin, the Story of a Controversy
- S'Gravezande, Adrianus (1778)-Historical Narratives, Concerning the White and Black Jews of Cochin (Dutch)
- Rahabi, David (1676)-In The History of the Works of the Learned, 1699
- Rahabi, Ezekiel (1768)-In Koder, S. S.,-'A Hebrew Letter of 1768', 1949
- The Silver Jubilee Souvenir of Alleppey Diocese (1977)
- Van Dort, Leopold Immanuel (1757)-English Translation in 'The History of the Jews of Cochin', Published in the 'Voice of Jacob', 1846
- Visscher, Jacob Canter (1723)-'Letters from Malabar', English Translation by Major Heber Drury, 1862
- Zetlaoui, Monique (2000)-Shalom India-Histoire des Communautés Juives en Inde
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