Day 14 OCTOBER 06 - Explore Cochin • Jew Town • St Francis Church • Synagogue
This morning we strolled the intensely aromatic streets of the old Jewish quarter, once the center of the spice trade and home today to spice shops that sell cardamom, ginger, turmeric, cloves, and cumin.
This area of Cochin, for centuries, is known as Jew Town, and is home to one of the world’s oldest Jewish populations.
Cochin Ferry to Mainland Cochin ranks among India's major seaports, partly due to being one of the safest harbors in the Indian Ocean. The junkar ferry for the shipment of vehicles and passengers between the islands are operated between Ernakulam and Vypin, and between Vypin and Fort Kochi. However, with the construction of the Goshree bridges (which links Kochi's islands), ferry transport has become less essential.
Chinese Fishing Nets The Chinese fishing nets (Cheenavala) are distinctly unique to Cochin. It is believed that traders from the court of the Chinese ruler Kublai Khan introduced the fishing nets to Cochin. Oddly, these nets are found only in Kochi, outside China! Many fishermen earn their livelihood by fishing using these massive nets. A whole stretch of the coast along Fort Kochi and Vypeen are dotted with these nets.
Jew Town This area of Cochin gained the name Jew Town after the Hindu Raja granted the Jews their own neighborhood during the Middle Ages. The Book of Esther mentions Jews in India when King Ahashverosh refers to the Jews dispersed across his wide empire from Hodu (Hebrew for India) to Kush (Ethiopia.) Today, only a handful of Jewish families remain in India. Since 1948 most Jewish families have moved to Israel. The few families who remain fear their Jewish community will soon be extinct and centuries of history forgotten.
St Francis Church It is the oldest church built by Europeans in India. On his 3rd visit to Kerala, Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese trader who reached India from Europe by sea, fell ill and died in Kochi. He was buried in the St. Francis Church. Later his remains were taken back to Portugal. In spite of that, his burial spot inside the church has been clearly marked out.
Pradesi Synagogue Jew Town dates back to the 2nd century AD when Palestinian Jews fled persecution by the Romans. More Jews came from Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries, particularly from Spain and Portugal after the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion in 1492 and 1497. In the mid 1500's the Jews of the area sought protection from the Hindu king against Muslim oppression. The king let them build their own quarter in Cochin. They became prosperous bankers and spice traders and spoke a language called Judeo-Malayalam. Today there is still a Jewish community, but it is small as many Jews have left to go to Israel. Jew Town was the center of the Kochi spice trade. The Paradesi Synagogue, built in 1568, is magnificently decorated by hand-painted Cantonese tiles decorating the floor and Belgian chandeliers. Traditional spice shops located in old, dilapidated buildings fuse the air with the aroma of ginger, cardamom, cumin, turmeric and cloves. These days, the passages around the Dutch Palace and the synagogue are being filled with antique and tourist curio shops.
- Southern India
Southern India Photo Page 14