Before we embark on the topic of Hindu conversions
to other faiths at Kumbalam Islands and other delta regions in the State of
Cochin; it is significant to note the history in brief about the people and the
faith that reached Muzurius and the hilly regions of the Malabar Coast during
the early period of Chera Empire. In B.C., the Chera Empire (Kerala) had
contacts with countries of the outside world. The Arabs, the Egyptians, the
Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Finicians, the Greeks, the Jews, the Romans and
the Chinese were among the foreign people who had contacts with the Malabar
Coast. In Persian language “Malabar means a mountainous country.”
These earlier foreign contacts were mainly
commercial. The Greek book ‘Periplus’ lists the goods which were exported from
Muziris. The export items were pepper, pearl, ivory, nice cloth (Putt), ‘Jadamanchy,’ Indian spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi) from the banks of Ganges,
areca-nut, various precious stones (Diamond), shell of tortoise from Tamil Islands,
The goods imported were coins, ‘Pushparagam’,
a yellow gem namely Topaz, varieties of cloth, flower printed clothes, ‘Anjanam’, an eye ointment, white
mirror, tin, lead, copper, brass (mixture of copper and zinc), small quantity
of liquor, vermillion and ‘Pashanam’,
arsenic. That was a golden era and the glory and splendour of Malabar (Kerala)
was beyond imagination. Julius Caesar, the Roman emperor, presented a pearl
worth 48,457 Varahan to his friend Brutus’s mother, Survelia. The value of the
pearl on Cleopatra’s (the Queen of Egypt) ear ring was worth 161458 Varahan. The
Kings of Bible mentions, “In BC
1000, during the reign of King
of Israel, Solomon the great, sent his men in Finician ships from Cyden
and Tyre every three years and collected gold, silver, elephant tusk, peacock,
monkey and sandal wood from Malabar (Kerala) forest and took it through Muziris
(Kodungallur) Port.” ‘The doors of the tower gate in Cartage town were made of
Sandal wood brought from Malabar,” says Mester Bossarthsmith, a historian. It
is evidenced by the discovery of teak in the ruins of Ur. The magnificent teak
of the Malabar (Kerala) forest appears to have been used for the manufacture of
ships that fought in the battle of Trafalgar and brought victory to Nelson. “In
olden days foreigners especially Italians bought pearls from this country, they
say River Periyar is one of the places where it is available,” (See Kautilya’s
"Arthasastra, 4th century A.D.) The spices, valuable timber and
other resources attracted the Jews, the Arabs and later the Europeans to the
Malabar Coast.
They also lead, at a very early period of
history, to the introduction of such religions as Christianity, Judaism and
Islam into Port towns of this land and and some of the hilly regions nearby,
and helped to mould the culture of Malabar (Kerala) into a composite and
cosmopolitan one. The countries of the Europe were also benefited by these
contacts. In the words of Logan, “It is certain that Indian ideas and practices
contributed largely to the form in which Orthodox Christianity in the West
finally adopted monasteries, nunneries, rosaries, confession, celibacy and
abstinence from worldly pleasures, and all seem to have found their way to
Europe from Indian sources. And in return, the West seems to have given to the
East - arts and sciences, architecture, the art of coining money and in
particular, the high ideal of religion contained in Christianity.”
Excerpts from
MEMOIRS
An autobiography
by
Joseph J. Thayamkeril
Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.
josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com
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