Introduction
The tradition of endogamy (marriage within the community) among the Knanaya community is traditionally believed to have originated with the very beginnings of the community. However, documentary references to this tradition are available only from the period following the arrival of Europeans in Kerala. This article, together with the following article, presents documentary references to the practice from 1603, beginning with the Jornada written by Father Antonio de Gouvea after the Synod of Diamper, a landmark in the history of the Kerala Christian Church, up to 1911, when the Apostolic Vicariate of Kottayam was established.
1. Fr. Antonio de Gouvea (1603)
“They (the Thekkumbhagar) could not tolerate entering into relationships with others through marriage, remaining in the churches of others, or having clergy belonging to other communities in their churches.”
Fr. Antonio de Gouvea, Jornada do Arcebispo de Goa Dom Frei Aleixo de Menezes (The Journey of Archbishop Dom Frei Aleixo de Menezes of Goa), Coimbra, 1606, fol. 4 verso.
The work was written in 1603. This passage is quoted in the article “Sources on Knanaites” by Jacob Kollaparambil, published in Symposium on Knanaites, edited by Jacob Vellian and printed by Kottayam Catholic Mission Press in 1987, p. 12. In the references that follow, this work will be cited simply as Sources on Knanaites.
2. Fr. John Campori, S.J. (1604)
“Those belonging to one caste (the Thekkumbhagar) do not enter into marriage relationships with people of other castes. In the market towns, each group has its own churches. Each group goes to its own community’s churches. Moreover, differences and rivalry have always existed among them.”
Letter of Fr. John Campori, Secretary to Bishop Francis Roz, S.J., to Fr. Claudio Acquaviva, Superior General of the Society of Jesus, dated 9 January 1604. Jesuit Archives in Rome, Goa 48, fol. 92 recto. (Sources on Knanaites, p. 21).
Fr. John Campori served as the secretary of Bishop Francis Roz.
3. Archbishop Francis Roz, S.J. (1604)
“Nevertheless, the descendants of Thomas Cananeo have always maintained a position superior to the others, unwilling to marry or associate with other Christians. Therefore, even to the present day, there are two lineages among them.”
Archbishop Francis Roz, Relação della Serra (Report on the Serra / Account of Kerala), British Museum Library, MS Additional 9853, fol. 88 recto. (Sources on Knanaites, p. 18).
4. Friar Paulo da Trindade, O.F.M. (1630–1636)
“Therefore, one group (the Thekkumbhagar) has in no way become mixed with others through marriage. They neither tolerate nor permit others, or clergy belonging to other groups, to enter their churches. … The descendants of the sons of slave women are far more numerous than the descendants of the legitimate wife. This is because the latter do not intermarry with people of other lineages, whether Christians or non-Christians. The former group, however, does not observe this rule. In order to increase their numbers, they purchase Nair women and give them as wives to their daughters’ sons. Consequently, of the sixty settlements of the Syriac Christians in all, scarcely ten belong to the noble descendants born of the legitimate wife; all the rest belong to the descendants of slave women.”
Friar Paulo da Trindade, O.F.M., Conquista Espiritual do Oriente (Spiritual Conquest of the East), Vol. II, edited by Félix Lopes, O.F.M., Lisbon, 1964, p. 322. (Sources on Knanaites, p. 18).
5. Fr. Giuseppe Sebastiani, O.C.D. (1657)
“Evidence of the great rivalry between these two communities is found in the following practices, which continue to exist even today despite the efforts of the great Menezes to resolve them: one group (the Thekkumbhagar) does not enter into kinship relations with others; they have no churches in common; and clergy who do not belong to their own group are not permitted.”
Fr. Giuseppe Sebastiani, Prima Speditione alle Indie Orientali (First Mission to the East Indies), Rome, 1666, p. 109. The work was written in 1657. (Sources on Knanaites, p. 33).
6. Fr. Vincenzo Maria, O.C.D. (1672)
“The Christians of St. Thomas are divided into two groups: one, called Baregumphagam, or the Northern group, which has a very large population; and the other, called Tegumphagam, or the Southern group, which has only a few churches, such as Udayamperoor, Kottayam, Thodupuzha, and Kaduthuruthy. The former are said to be darker in complexion and the latter fairer. Because of the ethnic rivalry between the two groups, they do not unite with one another through marriage. They have no churches in common, and vicars are not permitted except from their own people. Nevertheless, in the universal teachings of Christianity, they remain undivided, being of one heart and one spirit.”
Fr. Vincenzo Maria di Santa Caterina da Siena, O.C.D., Viaggio alle Indie Orientali (Journey to the East Indies), Rome, 1672, p. 143.
7. MS Slovane 2748-A (1676)
“All these churches belong to the Thekkumbhagar, the St. Thomas Christians of lower blood. Although both groups are good and obedient, the Thekkumbhagar do not marry among the people of the Vadakkumbhagar, nor do the Vadakkumbhagar marry among the Thekkumbhagar.”
British Museum Catalogue, MS Slovane 2748-A, attributed to Fr. Matteo di San Giuseppe, O.C.D., fol. 9 recto. (Sources on Knanaites, pp. 38–39).
14. Rev. Wilhelm Germann (1877)
“Unlike the others, the Thekkumbhagar married only among themselves. Moreover, their churches were not common to all. They did not admit outsiders into their community, whereas all converts were incorporated among the Vadakkumbhagar.”
Wilhelm Germann, Die Kirche der Thomaschristen: Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der orientalischen Kirchen (The Church of the Thomas Christians: A Contribution to the History of the Oriental Churches), Gütersloh, 1877, p. 94.
15. Fr. Joseph Kariyattil (1782)
“Among kings and other people, both groups enjoyed equal recognition and respect; nevertheless, their nobles did not marry one another, because each claimed to be nobler than the other. This is an invention of the devil intended to greatly weaken this people.”
Fr. Joseph Kariyattil, Notícias do Reino do Malabar (News from the Kingdom of Malabar), manuscript written in 1782 and preserved in the Portuguese National Library, Lisbon, MS No. 536, fol. 7 recto. (Sources on Knanaites, p. 39).
16. Mar Leonardo Mellano (1887)
“They are divided into two castes or classes, called the Vadakkumbhagar and the Thekkumbhagar. The former are known as the Northern group and the latter as the Southern group in the language of Kerala. The former are found throughout this mission. Since converts from all castes are incorporated among them, they are also much greater in number. God alone knows how many thousands of those taught and baptized at Varapuzha are among them.
The latter group considers that their ancestors came from Chaldea and regards themselves as the noblest. From their appearance and manner of dress, it must certainly be said that they are descendants of foreigners and belong to a different caste. Fearing the loss of their traditional nobility, they never admit newly converted people into their group. They never marry the Vadakkumbhagar. They do not allow them to eat with them. Nor do they accept a Vadakkumbhagar priest as vicar in their churches. Conversely, however, the Thekkumbhagar are permitted to enter the churches of the Vadakkumbhagar.”Letter from Archbishop Leonardo Mellano, Archbishop of Verapoly, to the Apostolic Delegate Monsignor Andrea Aiuti, dated 24 October 1887: Archives of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, Acta Congregationis 20 (1889), 14, p. 285, Appendix I.
17. Cardinal Gaetano Aloisi Masella (1889)
“They are divided into two groups, the Vadakkenbattukar, or Vadakkumbhagar, and the Thekkenbattukar, or Thekkumbhagar. In the two vicariates together, there are about 200,000 Vadakkumbhagar, while the Thekkumbhagar number between 15,000 and 20,000. They believe that their ancestors came from Chaldea in Mesopotamia and consider themselves the noblest. Fearing the loss of their traditional nobility, they never admit newly converted people into their community. They never enter into marriage relationships with the Vadakkumbhagar. They do not allow them to eat with them, nor do they accept a Vadakkumbhagar priest as vicar in their churches.”
Study report presented by Cardinal Gaetano Aloisi Masella at the meeting of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith for Oriental Rites on 15 July 1889: Archives of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, Acta Congregationis 20 (1889), 14, pp. 280–282, Appendix I.
It was on the basis of the decision arising from this study report that the Holy See granted the Thekkumbhagar community a special administrative structure consisting of a Vicar General with pontifical status and two consultors.
18. Mar Charles Lavigne, S.J. (1893)
“Among the Christians under my jurisdiction there is a group numbering between fifteen and twenty thousand, known as the Thekkumbhagar. They claim to be Jews of the tribe of Judah, converted during the time of the Apostles, and to have come to India under the leadership of Thomas Cana in the middle of the fourth century. Their numerical growth was very slow because they never married outside their own community.”
Mar Charles Lavigne, article on the Syrian Christians published in The Illustrated Catholic Missions, London, 1893, Vol. 7, No. 83, p. 161.
