JOSEPH RABBAN'S ARRIVAL STIMULATES JEWISH HEREDITY FOR KERALA CHRISTIANS
Curieux, à l'analyse d'événements dans l'histoire du Kerala (Inquisitve analysis of events in Kerala History)
Dr. Abraham Yeshuratnam
Abstract.
There are 5 distinct Jewish communities in India – the Cochin Jews, Bene Israel, the Baghdadi Jews, Bnei Menashe and Bene Ephraim. The earliest documentation of permanent settlement is that of the Cochin Jews. The Cochin Jews were known for their division into three caste- like groups—the Paradesis (White Jews), the Malabaris (Black Jews), and the Meshuchrarim (Brown Jews). The Cochin Jews have a written history that dates from about 1000 ce. Among the earliest-known Hebrew inscriptions in Kerala are those on a gravestone dated to 1269. Their Pardeshi synagogue, established in 1568, a heritage monument, celebrated its 400th anniversary in 1968. The famous Jewish copper plates given by king Bhaskara Ravi Varma (962 - 1020 CE) contains grants and privileges given to the Jews. The privileges included the right to be exempt from and to collect certain taxes and gifts including a palanquin, drum and trumpet (very significant at that time). From 1663 to 1795, during the Dutch rule of Malabar, the Jews of Cochin enjoyed a golden age. In Kerala there were eight active synagogues, located specifically in Kochi, neighbouring Ernakulam, and the villages of Parur (now North Paravur), Chennamangalam (Chendamangalam), and Mala. By the early 21st century, however, the only synagogue that remained active was the Paradesi Synagogue.
There are claims that there were Jewish colonies on the Malabar Coast from the days of King Solomon and that St. Thomas converted them to Christianity. There are some Kerala Christian groups who profess Jewish lineage on the ground they are the descendants of Jews converted by St. Thomas. In this paper I’ve examined critically their viewpoints and have given my findings on the basis of historical evidences.
JEWISH PRESENCE TO CLAIM JEWSIH HEREDITY FOR KERALA CHRISTIANS
Dr. Abraham Yeshuratnam.
I was intrigued by the observation in the New World Encyclopedia, “The apostle (St. Thomas) is said to have begun preaching the gospel to the already existing Jewish settlers on the Malabar Coast and to other local people. According to the Acts of Thomas, the first converts made by Thomas in India were Jewish people.”So this paper is prepared to investigate whether there were Christian Jews in Kerala in the 1st century. The Bible says that Solomon’s men and King Hiram’s experienced seamen “sailed to the land of Ophir, and brought back to Solomon more than fourteen thousand kilograms of gold.” The exact location of ‘Ophir’ is still under dispute. Logan attempts to link it with Beypore in Malabar and has observed, “But it may as well be pointed out that Beypore lies at the mouth of the river of the same name which brings down gold from the auriferous quartz region of South-East Wainad , their mines of which were well worked in pre-historic times.” Logan’s claim about Ophir and the place ‘ophir’ in the Bible have prompted many writers, including Jewish, to claim that there were Jews in Kerala from the time of King Solomon. As Nathan Katz says: “The first Book of Kings 10:22 describes the opulence of the court of King Solomon, an opulence that the Bible suggests derived from Indian trade. Israeli philologist Chaim Rabin found evidence in the Book of Exodus of trade between ancient Israel and India, direct or indirect, in no less than four Hebrew words of Indic origin, the terms for cinnamon, emerald, sapphire, and topaz. Trade, of course, existed, but Solomon did not send Jewish settlers to Kerala. He did not plant a Jewish colony on the Malabar Coast.
Most of the foreign writers did not go through primary sources to know about the time of the arrival of the Jews in Kerala. Some Jewish writers who came to Kerala gathered information from local Christians and some Jews who lived in Kochi. In the Wikipedia it is stated: “The 'black' Malabar component of the Cochin Jews, according to Shalva Weil, might have arrived in India together with Solomon's merchants. The Cochin Jews settled down in Kerala as traders.” Shalva Weil probably would have got the information not from any document but from the local Jews residing at Kochi and St. Thomas Christians. . It is common knowledge that such statements are unreliable because the story would have undergone many changes during the long period of time. P. M. Jussay, for instance, wrote without citing evidences that the earliest Jews in Kerala were sailors from King Solomon's time, and this Indian author’s view is cited in the works of many foreign, especially Jewish, writers. Even in Wikipedia it is shown: “Jews were living in Kerala from the time of Solomon. Later, large numbers of them arrived in 586 BC and 72 AD.” In all probability this false date would have been edited in the Wikipedia by an ethnic writer. This antiquity in the existence of Jews as early as Solomon’s times is projected to make the claim that there were Jews when St. Thomas visited Kerala. This stance is also used to claim Jewish pedigree for some local Christians on the alleged ground that that they are the descendants of the Jews converted by St. Thomas. The Bible which is considered by many to be the primary record of Jewish history clearly records the relationships in ancient history that Solomon's Kingdom had with the seafaring nations of the Eastern Mediterranean. Phoenicia, Sheba, Chittim, Tyre, Tarshish, Ophir and Egypt. Solomon did not establish Jewish colonies in these countries. Jewish pedigree claimed by some local Christian sects on the ground of an imaginary Solomon’s Jewish colony at Kodungalloor is deeply inconsistent, if not outright whimsical. As Cyrus Gordon says: “The nature of his empire was predominantly commercial, and it served him and friendly rulers to increase trade by land and sea.”
'Post-truth’ is a word of our times, according to Oxford Dictionary, and it refers to ‘circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’. What is different now, perhaps, is how rapidly false stories and fake news can circulate: social media allows the public as well as giant news organizations to be involved in spreading untrue or distorted tales. As for instance, Abraham Benhur asserts that families such as Sankarapuri, Pakalomattam, Kalli and Kaliyankal who were converted to Christianity by St Thomas were Jews. He further asserts that the burial chambers found in the early Christian centers of Kerala go to prove that they were of the Jews whom St Thomas had converted when he arrived by sea to the trading port of Kodungallur. What a ridiculous argument to claim Jewish descent from burial sites, for the burial of the dead was not exclusively reserved for Jews. Many tribes in Kerala had burial ritual from very early times. Even the sea route is debatable because most conquerors and traders of that period had used overland route through the passes of the North-West frontier of India.
Diasporas cited for Jewish pedigree
Jewish bloodline is claimed by some Christian sects using the historical Diasporas the Jews had experienced through the course of Jewish history. The Jewish Diaspora was established as a result of both voluntary and forced migrations of Jews out of their ancient homeland—Eretz Israel (the Land of Israel). Later, Jews were either exiled from their host countries (such as Spain and England in the Middle Ages and Middle Eastern states in the twentieth century) or voluntarily migrated to secondary and tertiary host countries. The year 586 B.C. is projected to make a spurious link with the Jews of Babylonian exile and the local Christians. In 587, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and deported the Jews to Mesopotamia. This period is called the exile (Golah).The Babylonian Jewish Diaspora served as a model because the Jews created there an “autonomous diasporic sociopolitical system,” in which the Diaspora, rather than the devastated homeland, became the national center and played the crucial role in the nation’s persistence, cultural development, and political influence. Although Cyrus the Great, the Persian conqueror of Babylonia, permitted the Jews to return to their homeland in 538BCE, a large section of the Jewish community voluntarily remained behind. During captivity the Jews were encouraged by the prophet Jeremiah from Jerusalem to take wives, build houses, plant gardens and take advantage of their situation because they were going to be there for seventy years. There is no reference to Jews migrating Kerala during Babylonian Diaspora in any of the documents of that period, including the Bible.
It was Dr. Buchanan who first assumed that the Black Jews of Cochin would have come to Kerala during the Babylonian exile. Buchanan’s opinion is based on mere guess and speculation without any documentary evidence. He says “it is only necessary to look at their countenance to be satisfied that their ancestors must have arrived many years ago before the white Jews. Their Hindoo complexion, and their very imperfect resemblance to the European Jews, indicate that they have been detached from the parent stock in Judea many ages before the Jews in the West. To this may be added as an additional proof of their very early separation from the Jewish nation, that they appear not to have had copies of the Prophetic Books among them originally, but to have been supplied with them, and other parts of the Scriptures by the White Jews. There seems, therefore, every reason to believe that the Black Jews of Malabar are a part of the remains of the first dispersion of the nation by Nebuchadnezzar; and that the text of the Pentateuch, preserved in the synagogues, is derived from those copies which their ancestors brought with them to India.” Buchanan, without verifying original documents or artifacts, had merely gathered hearsay statements from some Jews he met at Kochi to write about their ancestry. Every Jewish synagogue founded by migrants in Malabar and other places in India had the Pentateuch, and external generalization on the basis of a book, complexion of skin and appearance cannot be used to evaluate the reliability of proof, and therefore, his findings are irrational and illogical.
The historical existence of Jews in Cochin is being used by ethnic groups to claim antiquity for their community by stretching the arrival of the Jews to a gargantuan length. Foreign writers and visitors are also carried away by their oral statements and without following the procedure of fact- checking, this misinformation is being transmitted to research journals, Wikipedia and encyclopedias. Their views about both White Jews and Black Jews were based on the oral statements made by local Christians and Jews residing at Kochi to inquisitive historians and journalists. But if we verify contemporary historical events that happened in the Middle East at that time, it is easy to discover that their oral statements are fabricated. Exaggerated antiquity for the coming of Jews was also given by Christians who were tempted by the desire to have Jewish presence in Kerala at the time of the alleged arrival of St.Thomas. Historical evidence, like judicial evidence, is founded on the testimony of credible witnesses. Unless those witnesses had personal and immediate perception of the facts which they report, their evidence is not entitled to credit. There is no authentic evidence, literary, inscriptional, to confirm the exact date of arrival of both White and Black Jews. Biblical account and Jewish records are quite lucid that both the White and Black Jews had nothing to do with Babylonian Diaspora. White Jews apparently are the descendants of Joseph Rabban’s entourage and later migrants. In all probability, Black Jews were the children of the Malabar concubines or maids of White Jews. Without the White Jews there would not have been Black Jews. One solid fact that is to be stressed in this context is that there was absolutely no Jewish migration to Kerala during Babylonian Diaspora, as falsely claimed by ethnic Christian writers. As the authors of Ancient Jewish History point out: “However, when Nebuchadnezzar deported the Judeans in 597 and 586 BC, he allowed them to remain in a unified community in Babylon……. Thus, 597 is considered the beginning date of the Jewish Diaspora.” The salient feature of the exile, however, was that the Jews were settled in a single place by Nebuchadnezzar. While the Assyrian deportation of Israelites in 722 BCE resulted in the complete disappearance of the Israelites, the deported Jews formed their own community in Babylon and retained their religious practices, and philosophies. Overlooking these historical events, in research journals, blogs, encyclopedias and books, ethnic writers vociferously assert that there was a migration of Jews to Kerala during Babylonian captivity. These were shrewd and calculated attempts to affirm that there were Christian Jews in Kerala in the 1st century to sustain the bogus Jewish descent for local Christians. Quite surprisingly, many foreign journals, encyclopedias and writers have also reproduced this view without verifying primary sources and other evidences. Just read Barbara Johnson’s assessment: “Varied traditions about the origin of the Cochin Jews appear in travelers’ accounts and in Hebrew chronicles from Malabar, some written as early as the seventeenth century. Some records say the first Jews sailed to South India on the ships of King Solomon; others say they came during the Babylonian exile; others that they fled to Malabar after the destruction of the Second Temple; and others refer to a fourth -century migration from Majorca.” Jeremiah was a witness to the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar, the destruction of the city and the Temple. Nowhere has he said in his books that Jews escaped from Babylonian captivity and migrated to Kerala.
The Persian Emperor Cyrus conquered Babylon and let the Jews return home to Jerusalem from their exile in Babylon. There were more than 40,000 Jewish people held in captivity in Babylon at the time. The Jews built the second Temple on the ruins of Solomon's Temple on the Temple mount. The Roman army led by Titus conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE. Jewish people were then exiled and dispersed to the Diaspora. During this exile also there was no reference in the contemporary records about the coming of Jews to Kerala. But in Wikipedia it is written: “Only after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE are records found that attest to numerous Jewish settlers arriving at Cranganore, an ancient port near Cochin.” What are the records? Who was the Kerala king who allowed the Jewish settlers? Such primitive and fanciful ideas are not backed by any evidence. The documented Jewish Diaspora during this period extended from Cyrene and Rome in the west to the south coast of the Black Sea, and south to Yemen and Ethiopia, Morocco, Carthage (Tunis) and Spain.“By the first century BCE, the largest populations were in Syria, Babylon, Persia and Egypt, each of which probably held a population of one million or more.” Destruction of the Temple put an end to Temple worship. In the previous Diasporas, only Jews had to flee to other countries. But in 70 C.E. there were Christian Jews also in Jerusalem. Ethnic and parochial writers claim that Christian Jews came to Kerala and they are using this episode in history to claim Jewish descent for themselves. In a blog of Asian American Press Rachel Paulose says: “About the time of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., as many as 10,000 Jews may have come from the Middle East to Kerala.” This is also a fictitious narration to claim Jewish ancestry for local Christian converts. In his book The Jewish War, Josephus has given a first-hand account of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., and there is absolutely no indication of Jews fleeing to Cochin. The fourth-century church historian Eusebius of Caesarea tells that Christians escaped to Pella (in present-day Jordan) from Jerusalem just before the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. Pella is specifically mentioned as the place where Christian Jews found refuge, and there is absolutely no reference to Kerala. This view is confirmed by the discovery of a church at the time of excavation at Pella. “One of several Byzantine churches at the site seemed to hold promising evidence of the supposed Christian refugees.” This archaeological evidence exposes the lie that Christian Jews came to Malabar after the destruction of the second Temple.
Lifestyle and rituals quoted to claim Jewish lineage.
Jewish and foreign writers are made to believe by some Christian sects that they are the descendants of Jews and to establish this phony claim some religious rituals, food habits and stray instances of lifestyle are cited instead of giving documentary, physical or material evidences. “To understand the Cochin Jews story” Nathan Katz says, “one has to view it in the context of their neighbors’ legends.” So legends and marriage folk songs which were produced only in the 19th century were disclosed to inquisitive foreign and Jewish writers to substantiate their Jewish descent. Edna Fernandes makes a sweeping statement: “The connection with Israel and the Jews continued and after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E, Kerala was one of the natural safe havens that the Israelites turned to in their renewed period of banishment and persecution.” Even eyewitness Josephus has not mentioned the exodus of Jews in 70 C.E. to Kerala. Foreign writers were misled by the oral statements of local Christians about the exaggerated date of the arrival of the Jews. Apparently their arguments to authenticate Jewish ancestry are flimsy and frivolous. Twenty-first century technology confronts historians and students with a bewildering proliferation of information—some of it accurate and too much of it dubious. But in this case, the claim for Jewish ancestry for local Christians born and brought up in Kerala is dubious and flippant. Instead of producing solid evidences such as historic documents, inscriptions, coins and artifact, customs and beliefs are quoted which, quite surprisingly, are common to all caste groups in Kerala. Nathan Katz says: “The Knanai Christians share the Jews’ high-caste status as well as many customs, including taboos about women in their menses and a hereditary priesthood. The latter may well reflect their purported Hindu Brahmin pedigree or Jewish kohenite (priestly) origin and has been used as evidences for both. The Christians marry under a canopy, or pantal, analogous to Jewish chuppati. Prior to wedding, the bride immerses herself in a kuli, similar to the Jewish miqveh(ritual bath). The Christians sing folk songs very similar to those of the Jews, describing their arrival in India and referring to such observances as Yom Kappur. Virtually all of their home observances are preceded by the ceremonial lighting of a lamp, vilakku, and they eat unleavened bread at a special ritual meal held after nightfall on Maundy Thursday, during which the father ceremoniously washes his hand twice, as is done at a Passover Seder. They also eschew any efforts at converting others to their religion, the apostolic original evangelical mission notwithstanding.” This line of reasoning by Katz may probably due to his superficial understanding of the socio-cultural environment of Kerala. There exists a set of beliefs, customs, practices and behavior in Kerala society and they are common to all castes. His statement that ‘Brahmin pedigree’ and ‘Jewish origin’ are “used as evidences for both” is totally void of substance and truth. There are no evidences to prove “Brahmin pedigree” and ‘Jewish origin.” Logan, an authority on Kerala history, says: “The final Brahmin immigration seems to have occurred in or about the eighth century A.D.” This view is corroborated by foremost Kerala historians such as Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai and M.G.S.Narayanan. So the claim of these Christians that they are the descendants of Brahmins converted by St. Thomas alleged to have come in the 1st century C.E. is unhistorical and erroneous. How could this claim of ‘Brahmin pedigree’ acceptable when there were no Brahmins in the 1st century? In the same manner, the claim for ‘Jewish kohenite (priestly) Jewish origin’ is wacky. . A Jewish priest is called a "Kohen." Those who gain this title are considered to be descendants of Aaron the priest. Kohens are not to be confused with rabbis, who are simply religious educators in the Jewish religion. But in Knanya church, anybody who is theologically qualified from a seminary can become a priest. Katz was also misinformed about ‘taboos about menses.’ In Hindu society there are many menstrual rituals. Menstruation is stigmatized in Hindu society. No wonder Christians are also observing some of these rituals because they are all descendants of Hindu converts. A menstruation ritual cannot link them to Jewish ancestry. The kuli (bath) quoted by Katz has no bearing on descent because even lower caste girls have to take a bath after the period and before wedding. The Cherumars are the lowest of the lowest castes in Kerala. Edgar Thurston, an authority on castes and tribes, tells about the menstruation ritual of a Cherumar girl: “At dawn, the mother of the girl gives oil to the seven Pulaya maidens, and to her daughter for an oil-bath. They then go to a neighboring tank (pond) or stream to bathe, and return home. The girl is then neatly dressed, and adorned in her best. Her face is painted yellow and marked with spots of various colors” Marriage under a canopy (pandal) cited by Katz is not an evidence, for most marriages of all Christians and Hindus are conducted in a pandal because a house cannot accommodate all relatives and guests. Nowadays people prefer posh marriage halls in cities to have wedding functions. Katz may probably unaware of the fact that folk and wedding songs are not exclusively reserved for Knanai Christians alone, for most communities have their traditional songs. Pulayas, a low caste, are also famous for their folk songs. “Their oral traditions include folk-songs sung by both men and women, to the accompaniment of percussion and string instruments. Both sexes participate in their folk songs.” Jussay, in his1978 paper, claimed that the wedding songs of Cochin Jews and Knanites were mostly identical except for some minimum differences in the verses. This identity of songs cannot be cited for claiming Jewish descent for local Christians. When societies are very small, such as small villages in traditional societies, then all people may share a common culture or way of life. This common culture has been highlighted by Scaria Zachariah, Herman Gundert Chair at the Tubingen University, Germany. He points out that the Christian, Muslim and Hindu folk songs of Kerala of the 14th and 15th centuries have an uncanny similarity with that of the Jews. These communities have coexisted in the state for centuries and this tradition appears in the folk literature maintained by the Jews. The Old Testament is the first of the two major sections of the Christian Bible, and Christians of all denominations believe that God sent Moses to lead the Hebrews out of captivity and into the Promised Land of Israel and, as Katz was made to believe, it is not an event reserved for Knanites alone to be remembered in church services. And again, the Old Testament personalities are remembered by all Christian denominations and there are hymns sung at the time of wedding ceremony linking the couple with Jewish characters. Here is a stanza from a hymn sung in Protestant churches during wedding service:
As Isaac and Rebecca gave
A pattern chaste and kind
So may this married couple live
And die in friendship.
So Isaac, Rebecca and other biblical characters are revered by all Christian denominations, and not by Knanites alone to claim Jewish link, as Katz was made to believe.
It is also claimed that the Knanaya Christians historically practiced endogamy, as the website says: “Knananites did not intermarry with native Christians and maintained their endogamous Jewish tradition originating from Abraham. To this day, the Knananites continue as an endogamous community.” But in the matrimonial column in the popular paper in Kerala, Malayala Manoroma, it can be seen proposals are being invited for Knanya Christians from all denominations. Katz refers to vilakku as an evidence for Jewish lineage claimed by Knanai Christians. The vilakku is confused with the Jewish nine lights of the Menorah. In Kerala the traditional light is Kuthuvilakku and this oil lamp can be seen in all Hindu houses even today. With the introduction of electricity, most Christian homes have dispensed with this oil lamp, although some people keep it as a part of interior decoration. Even low castes pulayas have Kuthuvilakku in their houses and the possession and lighting of it will not give Jewish or Brahmin status. Katz was made to believe that the unleavened bread eaten as “a special ritual meal held after nightfall on Maundy Thursday,” is another evidence for their Jewish descent. The Bible says that the Jews observed the Passover to remember how God delivered His people from Egyptian bondage and they used unleavened bread because there was no time to put yeast into the bread dough before they swiftly left Egypt. To commemorate this event Jewish people today eat unleavened bread called Matzah. The Seder plate on the table consists of a lamb bone, a roasted egg, a green vegetable to dip in salt water, bitter herbs made from horseradish, Charoset (a paste of chopped apples, walnuts and wine). All these items are conspicuously absent in the Knayana Maundy Thursday communion, except the unleavened bread in a different form. The use of unleavened bread is the most ancient attested practice of the Church and it is being observed by most Christians.. The Council of Florence approved the use of either kind of bread in 1439, so the use of leavened or unleavened bread is a question of licitness, not validity. In the past it was easy to make unleavened bread for few people who attended Maundy Thursday service. But in most churches today there are hundreds of communicants queuing up to take part in the Lord’s Supper and there are two or three worship services on the same day. So to avoid a messy situation, in almost all churches today (catholic and protestant) wafers are made with unleavened paste, without yeast. Using unleavened bread cannot be cited as evidence for Jewish ancestry as it is being used in most of the churches. In this context Christians who claim Jewish ancestry should realize that Holy Communion is different from Jewish Passover because Christians observe this as commanded by Jesus; “Do this in remembrance of Me,” and Jews do not recognize this sacred celebration by Christians. To give additional proof to establish Jewish identity for local Christians, Katz writes: “Israel sociologist Shalva Weil, who studied Christian-Jewish parallels in Kerala cited several other similar customs, including ‘the position of the bride standing on the right of the bridegroom … the bridal veil … burial of the dead to face Jerusalem … the priest’s black velvet cap which is supposed to be similar to the Jews head gear .. and the ‘Kiss of Peace’ ceremony which … was copied from the Jews. … the ululatory sounds uttered by women known as kuruva, the unique Knanyi betrothal ceremony, and the symbolic six-pointed star which appears on the sleeve of the bridegroom’s long velvet coat’ On deathbed these Christians bless their children and grandchildren.” Bride’s position, bridal veil and burial of the dead are all common features in a cultural group living in the same geographical sphere. In this age of feminism, Christian brides prefer a single layer transparent veil which makes their faces quite visible and thereby debunks the very rationale of wearing veils to cover faces. Dating back to Biblical times, the preference for Christians of all denominations has been earth burial, not cremation, and that custom remains strong today. Lower castes Pulayas and others make ululatory sounds at the time of family functions like marriage, attaining age and birth of a child. What is more, making of ululatory sound during family functions is a trait of lower castes and tribals in India, and many cultured and Westernized Christian families disgust it. Kiss of peace is not reserved exclusively for Knanai Christians. St. Paul used the kiss of peace as a sort of formula of farewell, "Salute one another in a holy kiss" ( en philemati hagio),for which St.Peter (1 Pet., v, 14) substitutes "in a kiss of love" (en philemati agapes). Kiss of Peace is observed in almost all churches. It is a ceremonial gesture, such as a handclasp, used as a sign of love and union during celebration of Eucharist. These extraneous factors cited by Shalva Weil are not scientific proof for establishing Jewish identity for local Christians. Katz has quoted “Hindu Brahmin pedigree or Jewish kohenite (priestly) origin” for these Christians to be termed Jewish Christians. ‘Hindu Brahmin pedigree’ in the absence of Brahmins in the first century makes the claim absurd. And again, the religious ritual of having sacred thread (ponool) for Brahmins and the Brahmin food habit of eschewing beef are solid instances to prove these Christians cannot claim ‘Hindu Brahmin heritage,’ because they have no poonool and most of them eat beef. As regards e claim of kohenite origin, the religious ritual of circumcision and revulsion for pork by Jews deny these Christians ‘Jewish kohenite origin,’ because they are not circumcised and pork is liked by many. Attempts are being made to produce DNA tests to confirm this fake claim of Jewish ancestry. Manipulated DNA database produced for a group cannot establish ethnic purity. Medical Daily reports: “Genealogy tracking has become big business, with many companies charging up to $300 to trace your DNA to specific historical figures or ethnic groups in the distant past by analyzing ancestry tests. A group of scientists now offers a public warning that these ancestry tests have little scientific backing, and are often so unreliable and inaccurate that they amount to genetic astrology.”
Thomas of Cana conundrum
Dr.A.Mingana in The Early Spread of Christianity in India says:"What India gives us about Christianity in its midst is indeed nothing but pure fables." Here is another fable about the much touted arrival of Jewish Christians under the leadership of one Thomas of Cana to Cranganore. In the website of the Archparchy of Kottayam, it is stated: “The Knanaya Community traces its origin back to a Jewish-Christian immigrant community. They migrated from Southern Mesopotamia to the Malabar (present Kerala) Coast of Cranganore (Kodungalloor ) in AD 345 under the leadership of an enterprising merchant Thomas of Cana ( Knai Thomman )” This view is shared by other Syrian Christian denominations also. This imaginary account has no historical relevance because events in Persia during this period were so turbulent and terrifying that metropolitan of that time (Archbishop) of Ctesiphon, Shem'on (Simeon) bar Sabba'e, (Mar Shimun) was in a totally helpless position to send a bishop or missionaries to any country. The Persian king Shapur II forced the Archbishop Simeon to worship the Sun and when he refused, he ordered Simeon and others to be beheaded. “So on Good Friday, (but more likely on September 14), in the year 344, he was led outside the city of Susa along with a large number of Christian clergy. Five bishops and one hundred priests were beheaded before his eyes, and last of all he himself was put to death.” For the next two decades and more, Christians were tracked down and hunted from one end of the empire to the other. It was during this period the "cycle of the martyrs" began during which "many thousands of Christians" were put to death. “The martyrdom of Simon and the years of persecution that followed wiped out the beginnings of the central national organization the Persian church had only so recently achieved. As fast as the Christians of the capital elected a new bishop after Simon, the man was seized and killed.” Without a central organization, how could the Eastern Church send Thomas of Cana and others to Malabar? Knanya Christians claim that “in the group there were also priests, deacons and their bishop, Uraha Mor Ouseph (Bishop Joseph of Uraha/Urfa). Knai Thoma and his people were welcomed by Cheraman Perumal, the Emperor of Kerala, and were given permission to settle down in Kodungalloor”. This claim is historically inaccurate because Cheraman Perumal was not the ruler in 345 C.E. - With the ending of the progressive Sangam Age that was beamed with the literary advance in South Indian literature, the light faded and Kerala underwent a dark phase that lasted almost for four centuries. This epoch is known as 'Kalabhra Interregnum' and has been referred as the Dark Age in the history of Kerala. These bold Kalabhra Kings ruled with an upper hand, inexorably for almost three hundred years from 300 CE to 600 CE. The reign of Kalabhras of South India finally came to an end in the 8th Century CE when the Pallavas, Pandyas, Chalukyas and the Rashtrakutas extirpated them from South India. It is clear from these historical events both in the Middle East and Kerala that the alleged visit of Thomas of Cana and Jews was a mere figment of imagination. This fictitious history, which ignores all historical documentation and established historical methods, is based on systematic distortions of both ancient and modern history with the aim of appropriating Jewish lineage for local converts. This craze for appropriating another’s identity has made the perpetrators to steal historical events to glorify their communal ethos. As for instance the incident of Bhaskara Ravi Varma granting specific rights and privileges inscribed in copper plates to Joseph Rabban, the Jewish leader who came to Kochi with his followers, has been reproduced by inserting Thomas of Cana into this historical event. But the non-traceability of the copper plates cited by the authors who invented the story has exposed their lie. In 1806 at the suggestion of Rev. Claude Buchanan, Colonel Macauly, the British resident, ordered a careful search for them and they turned up in the record room of Cochin town. The tables then contained (1) the grant to Irani Cortton of Cranganore, and (2) the set of plates of the grant to Maruvan Sopi Iso of Quilon, but those of the grant to Thomas Cana were not among them. How could they find the tables when there was no Cheraman Perumal in 345 CE to give copper plates to fictitious Thomas of Cana?
Inquisitive foreigners were made to believe by local Christians and Jews that Jews from Spain and Yemen also came to Kerala to increase the existing Jewish Christian population. Alyssa Pinsker says “in 1492, a group of Sephardic Jews expelled from the Iberian Peninsula came to Cochin; and since then the community has continued to assimilate incredibly successfully.” Barbara Johnson says: “Beginning in the early 16th century there was a new migration of Jews to Kerala. Some of the newcomers were Sephardic Jews, direct and indirect refugees from the Spanish and Portuguese expulsions, who came to India by way of Aleppo, Constantinople, and the Land of Israel. Others were from Iraq, Persia, Yemen, and Germany.” But these views contradict the original statements of contemporary historians and records in archives. Estimates place the number of Jews who left Spain at anywhere from 50,000 to 250,000. Jewish records show .that they did not flee to Cochin but “to lands in what was then the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey, Greece, and the Balkans), Portugal, and Italy (especially northern Italy) IKt is recorded in Modern Jewish History: “The Spanish Jews who ended up in Turkey, North Africa, Italy, and elsewhere throughout Europe and the Arab world, were known as Sephardim - Sefarad being the Hebrew name for Spain.”
But the story is different in Yemen. In the 4th and early 6th centuries C.E. Yemen was occupied by the Christian Abyssinian kingdom (Ethiopia). Jews from Yemen came to India as traders and settlers. As Margariti says: “From 4th/16th century onward, Aden served as a major entre pot on the main axis of the trade system that linked the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean, the “India trade.” .It was “India Trade” that brought Joseph Rabban and his associates to Kerala and not to seek asylum as refugees. In 1000 C.E. (date contested),the then Chera Dynasty king, Bhaskara Ravi Varma, bestowed a gift of copper plates to Rabban and other Jews , giving 72 privileges to the community, including the freedom to practice their religion and tax exemption “as long as the world and the moon exist”. After the immigration of Joseph Rabban and his team, Kerala’s Jewish population steadily increased. Historically, the presence of Jews in Kerala can be traced only to the arrival of Joseph Rabban.
My key findings in this dissertation are (1) the alleged missionary activity of St.Thomas did not produce Christian Jews in Kerala because Solomon did not plant a Jewish colony in Kerala (2) there was no migration of Jews during the earlier Diasporas which occurred when in 722 BCE the Assyrians conquered the kingdom of Israel and in 586 BCE when Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon overthrew the kingdom of Judah, and again,(3) when in 70 C.E. the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed and looted by Roman legions, (4) there was no migration of Christian Jews from Jerusalem or Edessa to Kerala, since no document was found in Jerusalem and Edessa church and Synod minutes about migration to Kerala and (5) Jews came to Kerala only after the arrival of Joseph Rabban, and this event alone has documentary evidence in Kerala history. Yemenian records also show trade links between Yemen and Kerala, using the Aden port.
Curieux, à l'analyse d'événements dans l'histoire du Kerala (Inquisitve analysis of events in Kerala History)
Dr. Abraham Yeshuratnam
Abstract.
There are 5 distinct Jewish communities in India – the Cochin Jews, Bene Israel, the Baghdadi Jews, Bnei Menashe and Bene Ephraim. The earliest documentation of permanent settlement is that of the Cochin Jews. The Cochin Jews were known for their division into three caste- like groups—the Paradesis (White Jews), the Malabaris (Black Jews), and the Meshuchrarim (Brown Jews). The Cochin Jews have a written history that dates from about 1000 ce. Among the earliest-known Hebrew inscriptions in Kerala are those on a gravestone dated to 1269. Their Pardeshi synagogue, established in 1568, a heritage monument, celebrated its 400th anniversary in 1968. The famous Jewish copper plates given by king Bhaskara Ravi Varma (962 - 1020 CE) contains grants and privileges given to the Jews. The privileges included the right to be exempt from and to collect certain taxes and gifts including a palanquin, drum and trumpet (very significant at that time). From 1663 to 1795, during the Dutch rule of Malabar, the Jews of Cochin enjoyed a golden age. In Kerala there were eight active synagogues, located specifically in Kochi, neighbouring Ernakulam, and the villages of Parur (now North Paravur), Chennamangalam (Chendamangalam), and Mala. By the early 21st century, however, the only synagogue that remained active was the Paradesi Synagogue.
There are claims that there were Jewish colonies on the Malabar Coast from the days of King Solomon and that St. Thomas converted them to Christianity. There are some Kerala Christian groups who profess Jewish lineage on the ground they are the descendants of Jews converted by St. Thomas. In this paper I’ve examined critically their viewpoints and have given my findings on the basis of historical evidences.
JEWISH PRESENCE TO CLAIM JEWSIH HEREDITY FOR KERALA CHRISTIANS
Dr. Abraham Yeshuratnam.
I was intrigued by the observation in the New World Encyclopedia, “The apostle (St. Thomas) is said to have begun preaching the gospel to the already existing Jewish settlers on the Malabar Coast and to other local people. According to the Acts of Thomas, the first converts made by Thomas in India were Jewish people.”So this paper is prepared to investigate whether there were Christian Jews in Kerala in the 1st century. The Bible says that Solomon’s men and King Hiram’s experienced seamen “sailed to the land of Ophir, and brought back to Solomon more than fourteen thousand kilograms of gold.” The exact location of ‘Ophir’ is still under dispute. Logan attempts to link it with Beypore in Malabar and has observed, “But it may as well be pointed out that Beypore lies at the mouth of the river of the same name which brings down gold from the auriferous quartz region of South-East Wainad , their mines of which were well worked in pre-historic times.” Logan’s claim about Ophir and the place ‘ophir’ in the Bible have prompted many writers, including Jewish, to claim that there were Jews in Kerala from the time of King Solomon. As Nathan Katz says: “The first Book of Kings 10:22 describes the opulence of the court of King Solomon, an opulence that the Bible suggests derived from Indian trade. Israeli philologist Chaim Rabin found evidence in the Book of Exodus of trade between ancient Israel and India, direct or indirect, in no less than four Hebrew words of Indic origin, the terms for cinnamon, emerald, sapphire, and topaz. Trade, of course, existed, but Solomon did not send Jewish settlers to Kerala. He did not plant a Jewish colony on the Malabar Coast.
Most of the foreign writers did not go through primary sources to know about the time of the arrival of the Jews in Kerala. Some Jewish writers who came to Kerala gathered information from local Christians and some Jews who lived in Kochi. In the Wikipedia it is stated: “The 'black' Malabar component of the Cochin Jews, according to Shalva Weil, might have arrived in India together with Solomon's merchants. The Cochin Jews settled down in Kerala as traders.” Shalva Weil probably would have got the information not from any document but from the local Jews residing at Kochi and St. Thomas Christians. . It is common knowledge that such statements are unreliable because the story would have undergone many changes during the long period of time. P. M. Jussay, for instance, wrote without citing evidences that the earliest Jews in Kerala were sailors from King Solomon's time, and this Indian author’s view is cited in the works of many foreign, especially Jewish, writers. Even in Wikipedia it is shown: “Jews were living in Kerala from the time of Solomon. Later, large numbers of them arrived in 586 BC and 72 AD.” In all probability this false date would have been edited in the Wikipedia by an ethnic writer. This antiquity in the existence of Jews as early as Solomon’s times is projected to make the claim that there were Jews when St. Thomas visited Kerala. This stance is also used to claim Jewish pedigree for some local Christians on the alleged ground that that they are the descendants of the Jews converted by St. Thomas. The Bible which is considered by many to be the primary record of Jewish history clearly records the relationships in ancient history that Solomon's Kingdom had with the seafaring nations of the Eastern Mediterranean. Phoenicia, Sheba, Chittim, Tyre, Tarshish, Ophir and Egypt. Solomon did not establish Jewish colonies in these countries. Jewish pedigree claimed by some local Christian sects on the ground of an imaginary Solomon’s Jewish colony at Kodungalloor is deeply inconsistent, if not outright whimsical. As Cyrus Gordon says: “The nature of his empire was predominantly commercial, and it served him and friendly rulers to increase trade by land and sea.”
'Post-truth’ is a word of our times, according to Oxford Dictionary, and it refers to ‘circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’. What is different now, perhaps, is how rapidly false stories and fake news can circulate: social media allows the public as well as giant news organizations to be involved in spreading untrue or distorted tales. As for instance, Abraham Benhur asserts that families such as Sankarapuri, Pakalomattam, Kalli and Kaliyankal who were converted to Christianity by St Thomas were Jews. He further asserts that the burial chambers found in the early Christian centers of Kerala go to prove that they were of the Jews whom St Thomas had converted when he arrived by sea to the trading port of Kodungallur. What a ridiculous argument to claim Jewish descent from burial sites, for the burial of the dead was not exclusively reserved for Jews. Many tribes in Kerala had burial ritual from very early times. Even the sea route is debatable because most conquerors and traders of that period had used overland route through the passes of the North-West frontier of India.
Diasporas cited for Jewish pedigree
Jewish bloodline is claimed by some Christian sects using the historical Diasporas the Jews had experienced through the course of Jewish history. The Jewish Diaspora was established as a result of both voluntary and forced migrations of Jews out of their ancient homeland—Eretz Israel (the Land of Israel). Later, Jews were either exiled from their host countries (such as Spain and England in the Middle Ages and Middle Eastern states in the twentieth century) or voluntarily migrated to secondary and tertiary host countries. The year 586 B.C. is projected to make a spurious link with the Jews of Babylonian exile and the local Christians. In 587, the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and deported the Jews to Mesopotamia. This period is called the exile (Golah).The Babylonian Jewish Diaspora served as a model because the Jews created there an “autonomous diasporic sociopolitical system,” in which the Diaspora, rather than the devastated homeland, became the national center and played the crucial role in the nation’s persistence, cultural development, and political influence. Although Cyrus the Great, the Persian conqueror of Babylonia, permitted the Jews to return to their homeland in 538BCE, a large section of the Jewish community voluntarily remained behind. During captivity the Jews were encouraged by the prophet Jeremiah from Jerusalem to take wives, build houses, plant gardens and take advantage of their situation because they were going to be there for seventy years. There is no reference to Jews migrating Kerala during Babylonian Diaspora in any of the documents of that period, including the Bible.
It was Dr. Buchanan who first assumed that the Black Jews of Cochin would have come to Kerala during the Babylonian exile. Buchanan’s opinion is based on mere guess and speculation without any documentary evidence. He says “it is only necessary to look at their countenance to be satisfied that their ancestors must have arrived many years ago before the white Jews. Their Hindoo complexion, and their very imperfect resemblance to the European Jews, indicate that they have been detached from the parent stock in Judea many ages before the Jews in the West. To this may be added as an additional proof of their very early separation from the Jewish nation, that they appear not to have had copies of the Prophetic Books among them originally, but to have been supplied with them, and other parts of the Scriptures by the White Jews. There seems, therefore, every reason to believe that the Black Jews of Malabar are a part of the remains of the first dispersion of the nation by Nebuchadnezzar; and that the text of the Pentateuch, preserved in the synagogues, is derived from those copies which their ancestors brought with them to India.” Buchanan, without verifying original documents or artifacts, had merely gathered hearsay statements from some Jews he met at Kochi to write about their ancestry. Every Jewish synagogue founded by migrants in Malabar and other places in India had the Pentateuch, and external generalization on the basis of a book, complexion of skin and appearance cannot be used to evaluate the reliability of proof, and therefore, his findings are irrational and illogical.
The historical existence of Jews in Cochin is being used by ethnic groups to claim antiquity for their community by stretching the arrival of the Jews to a gargantuan length. Foreign writers and visitors are also carried away by their oral statements and without following the procedure of fact- checking, this misinformation is being transmitted to research journals, Wikipedia and encyclopedias. Their views about both White Jews and Black Jews were based on the oral statements made by local Christians and Jews residing at Kochi to inquisitive historians and journalists. But if we verify contemporary historical events that happened in the Middle East at that time, it is easy to discover that their oral statements are fabricated. Exaggerated antiquity for the coming of Jews was also given by Christians who were tempted by the desire to have Jewish presence in Kerala at the time of the alleged arrival of St.Thomas. Historical evidence, like judicial evidence, is founded on the testimony of credible witnesses. Unless those witnesses had personal and immediate perception of the facts which they report, their evidence is not entitled to credit. There is no authentic evidence, literary, inscriptional, to confirm the exact date of arrival of both White and Black Jews. Biblical account and Jewish records are quite lucid that both the White and Black Jews had nothing to do with Babylonian Diaspora. White Jews apparently are the descendants of Joseph Rabban’s entourage and later migrants. In all probability, Black Jews were the children of the Malabar concubines or maids of White Jews. Without the White Jews there would not have been Black Jews. One solid fact that is to be stressed in this context is that there was absolutely no Jewish migration to Kerala during Babylonian Diaspora, as falsely claimed by ethnic Christian writers. As the authors of Ancient Jewish History point out: “However, when Nebuchadnezzar deported the Judeans in 597 and 586 BC, he allowed them to remain in a unified community in Babylon……. Thus, 597 is considered the beginning date of the Jewish Diaspora.” The salient feature of the exile, however, was that the Jews were settled in a single place by Nebuchadnezzar. While the Assyrian deportation of Israelites in 722 BCE resulted in the complete disappearance of the Israelites, the deported Jews formed their own community in Babylon and retained their religious practices, and philosophies. Overlooking these historical events, in research journals, blogs, encyclopedias and books, ethnic writers vociferously assert that there was a migration of Jews to Kerala during Babylonian captivity. These were shrewd and calculated attempts to affirm that there were Christian Jews in Kerala in the 1st century to sustain the bogus Jewish descent for local Christians. Quite surprisingly, many foreign journals, encyclopedias and writers have also reproduced this view without verifying primary sources and other evidences. Just read Barbara Johnson’s assessment: “Varied traditions about the origin of the Cochin Jews appear in travelers’ accounts and in Hebrew chronicles from Malabar, some written as early as the seventeenth century. Some records say the first Jews sailed to South India on the ships of King Solomon; others say they came during the Babylonian exile; others that they fled to Malabar after the destruction of the Second Temple; and others refer to a fourth -century migration from Majorca.” Jeremiah was a witness to the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar, the destruction of the city and the Temple. Nowhere has he said in his books that Jews escaped from Babylonian captivity and migrated to Kerala.
The Persian Emperor Cyrus conquered Babylon and let the Jews return home to Jerusalem from their exile in Babylon. There were more than 40,000 Jewish people held in captivity in Babylon at the time. The Jews built the second Temple on the ruins of Solomon's Temple on the Temple mount. The Roman army led by Titus conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE. Jewish people were then exiled and dispersed to the Diaspora. During this exile also there was no reference in the contemporary records about the coming of Jews to Kerala. But in Wikipedia it is written: “Only after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE are records found that attest to numerous Jewish settlers arriving at Cranganore, an ancient port near Cochin.” What are the records? Who was the Kerala king who allowed the Jewish settlers? Such primitive and fanciful ideas are not backed by any evidence. The documented Jewish Diaspora during this period extended from Cyrene and Rome in the west to the south coast of the Black Sea, and south to Yemen and Ethiopia, Morocco, Carthage (Tunis) and Spain.“By the first century BCE, the largest populations were in Syria, Babylon, Persia and Egypt, each of which probably held a population of one million or more.” Destruction of the Temple put an end to Temple worship. In the previous Diasporas, only Jews had to flee to other countries. But in 70 C.E. there were Christian Jews also in Jerusalem. Ethnic and parochial writers claim that Christian Jews came to Kerala and they are using this episode in history to claim Jewish descent for themselves. In a blog of Asian American Press Rachel Paulose says: “About the time of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., as many as 10,000 Jews may have come from the Middle East to Kerala.” This is also a fictitious narration to claim Jewish ancestry for local Christian converts. In his book The Jewish War, Josephus has given a first-hand account of the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., and there is absolutely no indication of Jews fleeing to Cochin. The fourth-century church historian Eusebius of Caesarea tells that Christians escaped to Pella (in present-day Jordan) from Jerusalem just before the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. Pella is specifically mentioned as the place where Christian Jews found refuge, and there is absolutely no reference to Kerala. This view is confirmed by the discovery of a church at the time of excavation at Pella. “One of several Byzantine churches at the site seemed to hold promising evidence of the supposed Christian refugees.” This archaeological evidence exposes the lie that Christian Jews came to Malabar after the destruction of the second Temple.
Lifestyle and rituals quoted to claim Jewish lineage.
Jewish and foreign writers are made to believe by some Christian sects that they are the descendants of Jews and to establish this phony claim some religious rituals, food habits and stray instances of lifestyle are cited instead of giving documentary, physical or material evidences. “To understand the Cochin Jews story” Nathan Katz says, “one has to view it in the context of their neighbors’ legends.” So legends and marriage folk songs which were produced only in the 19th century were disclosed to inquisitive foreign and Jewish writers to substantiate their Jewish descent. Edna Fernandes makes a sweeping statement: “The connection with Israel and the Jews continued and after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E, Kerala was one of the natural safe havens that the Israelites turned to in their renewed period of banishment and persecution.” Even eyewitness Josephus has not mentioned the exodus of Jews in 70 C.E. to Kerala. Foreign writers were misled by the oral statements of local Christians about the exaggerated date of the arrival of the Jews. Apparently their arguments to authenticate Jewish ancestry are flimsy and frivolous. Twenty-first century technology confronts historians and students with a bewildering proliferation of information—some of it accurate and too much of it dubious. But in this case, the claim for Jewish ancestry for local Christians born and brought up in Kerala is dubious and flippant. Instead of producing solid evidences such as historic documents, inscriptions, coins and artifact, customs and beliefs are quoted which, quite surprisingly, are common to all caste groups in Kerala. Nathan Katz says: “The Knanai Christians share the Jews’ high-caste status as well as many customs, including taboos about women in their menses and a hereditary priesthood. The latter may well reflect their purported Hindu Brahmin pedigree or Jewish kohenite (priestly) origin and has been used as evidences for both. The Christians marry under a canopy, or pantal, analogous to Jewish chuppati. Prior to wedding, the bride immerses herself in a kuli, similar to the Jewish miqveh(ritual bath). The Christians sing folk songs very similar to those of the Jews, describing their arrival in India and referring to such observances as Yom Kappur. Virtually all of their home observances are preceded by the ceremonial lighting of a lamp, vilakku, and they eat unleavened bread at a special ritual meal held after nightfall on Maundy Thursday, during which the father ceremoniously washes his hand twice, as is done at a Passover Seder. They also eschew any efforts at converting others to their religion, the apostolic original evangelical mission notwithstanding.” This line of reasoning by Katz may probably due to his superficial understanding of the socio-cultural environment of Kerala. There exists a set of beliefs, customs, practices and behavior in Kerala society and they are common to all castes. His statement that ‘Brahmin pedigree’ and ‘Jewish origin’ are “used as evidences for both” is totally void of substance and truth. There are no evidences to prove “Brahmin pedigree” and ‘Jewish origin.” Logan, an authority on Kerala history, says: “The final Brahmin immigration seems to have occurred in or about the eighth century A.D.” This view is corroborated by foremost Kerala historians such as Elamkulam Kunjan Pillai and M.G.S.Narayanan. So the claim of these Christians that they are the descendants of Brahmins converted by St. Thomas alleged to have come in the 1st century C.E. is unhistorical and erroneous. How could this claim of ‘Brahmin pedigree’ acceptable when there were no Brahmins in the 1st century? In the same manner, the claim for ‘Jewish kohenite (priestly) Jewish origin’ is wacky. . A Jewish priest is called a "Kohen." Those who gain this title are considered to be descendants of Aaron the priest. Kohens are not to be confused with rabbis, who are simply religious educators in the Jewish religion. But in Knanya church, anybody who is theologically qualified from a seminary can become a priest. Katz was also misinformed about ‘taboos about menses.’ In Hindu society there are many menstrual rituals. Menstruation is stigmatized in Hindu society. No wonder Christians are also observing some of these rituals because they are all descendants of Hindu converts. A menstruation ritual cannot link them to Jewish ancestry. The kuli (bath) quoted by Katz has no bearing on descent because even lower caste girls have to take a bath after the period and before wedding. The Cherumars are the lowest of the lowest castes in Kerala. Edgar Thurston, an authority on castes and tribes, tells about the menstruation ritual of a Cherumar girl: “At dawn, the mother of the girl gives oil to the seven Pulaya maidens, and to her daughter for an oil-bath. They then go to a neighboring tank (pond) or stream to bathe, and return home. The girl is then neatly dressed, and adorned in her best. Her face is painted yellow and marked with spots of various colors” Marriage under a canopy (pandal) cited by Katz is not an evidence, for most marriages of all Christians and Hindus are conducted in a pandal because a house cannot accommodate all relatives and guests. Nowadays people prefer posh marriage halls in cities to have wedding functions. Katz may probably unaware of the fact that folk and wedding songs are not exclusively reserved for Knanai Christians alone, for most communities have their traditional songs. Pulayas, a low caste, are also famous for their folk songs. “Their oral traditions include folk-songs sung by both men and women, to the accompaniment of percussion and string instruments. Both sexes participate in their folk songs.” Jussay, in his1978 paper, claimed that the wedding songs of Cochin Jews and Knanites were mostly identical except for some minimum differences in the verses. This identity of songs cannot be cited for claiming Jewish descent for local Christians. When societies are very small, such as small villages in traditional societies, then all people may share a common culture or way of life. This common culture has been highlighted by Scaria Zachariah, Herman Gundert Chair at the Tubingen University, Germany. He points out that the Christian, Muslim and Hindu folk songs of Kerala of the 14th and 15th centuries have an uncanny similarity with that of the Jews. These communities have coexisted in the state for centuries and this tradition appears in the folk literature maintained by the Jews. The Old Testament is the first of the two major sections of the Christian Bible, and Christians of all denominations believe that God sent Moses to lead the Hebrews out of captivity and into the Promised Land of Israel and, as Katz was made to believe, it is not an event reserved for Knanites alone to be remembered in church services. And again, the Old Testament personalities are remembered by all Christian denominations and there are hymns sung at the time of wedding ceremony linking the couple with Jewish characters. Here is a stanza from a hymn sung in Protestant churches during wedding service:
As Isaac and Rebecca gave
A pattern chaste and kind
So may this married couple live
And die in friendship.
So Isaac, Rebecca and other biblical characters are revered by all Christian denominations, and not by Knanites alone to claim Jewish link, as Katz was made to believe.
It is also claimed that the Knanaya Christians historically practiced endogamy, as the website says: “Knananites did not intermarry with native Christians and maintained their endogamous Jewish tradition originating from Abraham. To this day, the Knananites continue as an endogamous community.” But in the matrimonial column in the popular paper in Kerala, Malayala Manoroma, it can be seen proposals are being invited for Knanya Christians from all denominations. Katz refers to vilakku as an evidence for Jewish lineage claimed by Knanai Christians. The vilakku is confused with the Jewish nine lights of the Menorah. In Kerala the traditional light is Kuthuvilakku and this oil lamp can be seen in all Hindu houses even today. With the introduction of electricity, most Christian homes have dispensed with this oil lamp, although some people keep it as a part of interior decoration. Even low castes pulayas have Kuthuvilakku in their houses and the possession and lighting of it will not give Jewish or Brahmin status. Katz was made to believe that the unleavened bread eaten as “a special ritual meal held after nightfall on Maundy Thursday,” is another evidence for their Jewish descent. The Bible says that the Jews observed the Passover to remember how God delivered His people from Egyptian bondage and they used unleavened bread because there was no time to put yeast into the bread dough before they swiftly left Egypt. To commemorate this event Jewish people today eat unleavened bread called Matzah. The Seder plate on the table consists of a lamb bone, a roasted egg, a green vegetable to dip in salt water, bitter herbs made from horseradish, Charoset (a paste of chopped apples, walnuts and wine). All these items are conspicuously absent in the Knayana Maundy Thursday communion, except the unleavened bread in a different form. The use of unleavened bread is the most ancient attested practice of the Church and it is being observed by most Christians.. The Council of Florence approved the use of either kind of bread in 1439, so the use of leavened or unleavened bread is a question of licitness, not validity. In the past it was easy to make unleavened bread for few people who attended Maundy Thursday service. But in most churches today there are hundreds of communicants queuing up to take part in the Lord’s Supper and there are two or three worship services on the same day. So to avoid a messy situation, in almost all churches today (catholic and protestant) wafers are made with unleavened paste, without yeast. Using unleavened bread cannot be cited as evidence for Jewish ancestry as it is being used in most of the churches. In this context Christians who claim Jewish ancestry should realize that Holy Communion is different from Jewish Passover because Christians observe this as commanded by Jesus; “Do this in remembrance of Me,” and Jews do not recognize this sacred celebration by Christians. To give additional proof to establish Jewish identity for local Christians, Katz writes: “Israel sociologist Shalva Weil, who studied Christian-Jewish parallels in Kerala cited several other similar customs, including ‘the position of the bride standing on the right of the bridegroom … the bridal veil … burial of the dead to face Jerusalem … the priest’s black velvet cap which is supposed to be similar to the Jews head gear .. and the ‘Kiss of Peace’ ceremony which … was copied from the Jews. … the ululatory sounds uttered by women known as kuruva, the unique Knanyi betrothal ceremony, and the symbolic six-pointed star which appears on the sleeve of the bridegroom’s long velvet coat’ On deathbed these Christians bless their children and grandchildren.” Bride’s position, bridal veil and burial of the dead are all common features in a cultural group living in the same geographical sphere. In this age of feminism, Christian brides prefer a single layer transparent veil which makes their faces quite visible and thereby debunks the very rationale of wearing veils to cover faces. Dating back to Biblical times, the preference for Christians of all denominations has been earth burial, not cremation, and that custom remains strong today. Lower castes Pulayas and others make ululatory sounds at the time of family functions like marriage, attaining age and birth of a child. What is more, making of ululatory sound during family functions is a trait of lower castes and tribals in India, and many cultured and Westernized Christian families disgust it. Kiss of peace is not reserved exclusively for Knanai Christians. St. Paul used the kiss of peace as a sort of formula of farewell, "Salute one another in a holy kiss" ( en philemati hagio),for which St.Peter (1 Pet., v, 14) substitutes "in a kiss of love" (en philemati agapes). Kiss of Peace is observed in almost all churches. It is a ceremonial gesture, such as a handclasp, used as a sign of love and union during celebration of Eucharist. These extraneous factors cited by Shalva Weil are not scientific proof for establishing Jewish identity for local Christians. Katz has quoted “Hindu Brahmin pedigree or Jewish kohenite (priestly) origin” for these Christians to be termed Jewish Christians. ‘Hindu Brahmin pedigree’ in the absence of Brahmins in the first century makes the claim absurd. And again, the religious ritual of having sacred thread (ponool) for Brahmins and the Brahmin food habit of eschewing beef are solid instances to prove these Christians cannot claim ‘Hindu Brahmin heritage,’ because they have no poonool and most of them eat beef. As regards e claim of kohenite origin, the religious ritual of circumcision and revulsion for pork by Jews deny these Christians ‘Jewish kohenite origin,’ because they are not circumcised and pork is liked by many. Attempts are being made to produce DNA tests to confirm this fake claim of Jewish ancestry. Manipulated DNA database produced for a group cannot establish ethnic purity. Medical Daily reports: “Genealogy tracking has become big business, with many companies charging up to $300 to trace your DNA to specific historical figures or ethnic groups in the distant past by analyzing ancestry tests. A group of scientists now offers a public warning that these ancestry tests have little scientific backing, and are often so unreliable and inaccurate that they amount to genetic astrology.”
Thomas of Cana conundrum
Dr.A.Mingana in The Early Spread of Christianity in India says:"What India gives us about Christianity in its midst is indeed nothing but pure fables." Here is another fable about the much touted arrival of Jewish Christians under the leadership of one Thomas of Cana to Cranganore. In the website of the Archparchy of Kottayam, it is stated: “The Knanaya Community traces its origin back to a Jewish-Christian immigrant community. They migrated from Southern Mesopotamia to the Malabar (present Kerala) Coast of Cranganore (Kodungalloor ) in AD 345 under the leadership of an enterprising merchant Thomas of Cana ( Knai Thomman )” This view is shared by other Syrian Christian denominations also. This imaginary account has no historical relevance because events in Persia during this period were so turbulent and terrifying that metropolitan of that time (Archbishop) of Ctesiphon, Shem'on (Simeon) bar Sabba'e, (Mar Shimun) was in a totally helpless position to send a bishop or missionaries to any country. The Persian king Shapur II forced the Archbishop Simeon to worship the Sun and when he refused, he ordered Simeon and others to be beheaded. “So on Good Friday, (but more likely on September 14), in the year 344, he was led outside the city of Susa along with a large number of Christian clergy. Five bishops and one hundred priests were beheaded before his eyes, and last of all he himself was put to death.” For the next two decades and more, Christians were tracked down and hunted from one end of the empire to the other. It was during this period the "cycle of the martyrs" began during which "many thousands of Christians" were put to death. “The martyrdom of Simon and the years of persecution that followed wiped out the beginnings of the central national organization the Persian church had only so recently achieved. As fast as the Christians of the capital elected a new bishop after Simon, the man was seized and killed.” Without a central organization, how could the Eastern Church send Thomas of Cana and others to Malabar? Knanya Christians claim that “in the group there were also priests, deacons and their bishop, Uraha Mor Ouseph (Bishop Joseph of Uraha/Urfa). Knai Thoma and his people were welcomed by Cheraman Perumal, the Emperor of Kerala, and were given permission to settle down in Kodungalloor”. This claim is historically inaccurate because Cheraman Perumal was not the ruler in 345 C.E. - With the ending of the progressive Sangam Age that was beamed with the literary advance in South Indian literature, the light faded and Kerala underwent a dark phase that lasted almost for four centuries. This epoch is known as 'Kalabhra Interregnum' and has been referred as the Dark Age in the history of Kerala. These bold Kalabhra Kings ruled with an upper hand, inexorably for almost three hundred years from 300 CE to 600 CE. The reign of Kalabhras of South India finally came to an end in the 8th Century CE when the Pallavas, Pandyas, Chalukyas and the Rashtrakutas extirpated them from South India. It is clear from these historical events both in the Middle East and Kerala that the alleged visit of Thomas of Cana and Jews was a mere figment of imagination. This fictitious history, which ignores all historical documentation and established historical methods, is based on systematic distortions of both ancient and modern history with the aim of appropriating Jewish lineage for local converts. This craze for appropriating another’s identity has made the perpetrators to steal historical events to glorify their communal ethos. As for instance the incident of Bhaskara Ravi Varma granting specific rights and privileges inscribed in copper plates to Joseph Rabban, the Jewish leader who came to Kochi with his followers, has been reproduced by inserting Thomas of Cana into this historical event. But the non-traceability of the copper plates cited by the authors who invented the story has exposed their lie. In 1806 at the suggestion of Rev. Claude Buchanan, Colonel Macauly, the British resident, ordered a careful search for them and they turned up in the record room of Cochin town. The tables then contained (1) the grant to Irani Cortton of Cranganore, and (2) the set of plates of the grant to Maruvan Sopi Iso of Quilon, but those of the grant to Thomas Cana were not among them. How could they find the tables when there was no Cheraman Perumal in 345 CE to give copper plates to fictitious Thomas of Cana?
Inquisitive foreigners were made to believe by local Christians and Jews that Jews from Spain and Yemen also came to Kerala to increase the existing Jewish Christian population. Alyssa Pinsker says “in 1492, a group of Sephardic Jews expelled from the Iberian Peninsula came to Cochin; and since then the community has continued to assimilate incredibly successfully.” Barbara Johnson says: “Beginning in the early 16th century there was a new migration of Jews to Kerala. Some of the newcomers were Sephardic Jews, direct and indirect refugees from the Spanish and Portuguese expulsions, who came to India by way of Aleppo, Constantinople, and the Land of Israel. Others were from Iraq, Persia, Yemen, and Germany.” But these views contradict the original statements of contemporary historians and records in archives. Estimates place the number of Jews who left Spain at anywhere from 50,000 to 250,000. Jewish records show .that they did not flee to Cochin but “to lands in what was then the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey, Greece, and the Balkans), Portugal, and Italy (especially northern Italy) IKt is recorded in Modern Jewish History: “The Spanish Jews who ended up in Turkey, North Africa, Italy, and elsewhere throughout Europe and the Arab world, were known as Sephardim - Sefarad being the Hebrew name for Spain.”
But the story is different in Yemen. In the 4th and early 6th centuries C.E. Yemen was occupied by the Christian Abyssinian kingdom (Ethiopia). Jews from Yemen came to India as traders and settlers. As Margariti says: “From 4th/16th century onward, Aden served as a major entre pot on the main axis of the trade system that linked the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean, the “India trade.” .It was “India Trade” that brought Joseph Rabban and his associates to Kerala and not to seek asylum as refugees. In 1000 C.E. (date contested),the then Chera Dynasty king, Bhaskara Ravi Varma, bestowed a gift of copper plates to Rabban and other Jews , giving 72 privileges to the community, including the freedom to practice their religion and tax exemption “as long as the world and the moon exist”. After the immigration of Joseph Rabban and his team, Kerala’s Jewish population steadily increased. Historically, the presence of Jews in Kerala can be traced only to the arrival of Joseph Rabban.
My key findings in this dissertation are (1) the alleged missionary activity of St.Thomas did not produce Christian Jews in Kerala because Solomon did not plant a Jewish colony in Kerala (2) there was no migration of Jews during the earlier Diasporas which occurred when in 722 BCE the Assyrians conquered the kingdom of Israel and in 586 BCE when Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon overthrew the kingdom of Judah, and again,(3) when in 70 C.E. the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed and looted by Roman legions, (4) there was no migration of Christian Jews from Jerusalem or Edessa to Kerala, since no document was found in Jerusalem and Edessa church and Synod minutes about migration to Kerala and (5) Jews came to Kerala only after the arrival of Joseph Rabban, and this event alone has documentary evidence in Kerala history. Yemenian records also show trade links between Yemen and Kerala, using the Aden port.
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