THE OPEN-SPACE CROSSES OF THE SAINT THOMAS CHRISTIANS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE WORSHIP PATTERNS OF THE ANCIENT DRAVIDIANS AND THE SAINT THOMAS CHRISTIANS
(This paper was presented at the Aram 53rd International Conference on Syriac Christianity 10-12 July 2023 at Aram Society for Syro-Mesopotamian Studies at the Oriental Institute, University of Oxford and has been published in Aram Periodical, ARAM 35:1&2 (2023)pp 245-257 )
Abstract
Open-space free-standing crosses are unique to the Saint Thomas Christians of South India. These crosses are commonly found near ancient Thomas Christian Churches and communities. Even though the cross became a public symbol of Christians only in the 4th century[1], the Thomas Christian tradition states that the Apostle Thomas erected crosses in the communities he founded. When early Portuguese travellers arrived in the 15th century, open-air crosses were prominently visible in public places within the Thomas Christian settlements. The famous account of “Joseph the Indian”, the priest from Malabar who travelled to Europe and in 1502 was interviewed by Catholic clerics in Rome and the signoria of Venice, also confirms the presence of these open-air granite crosses among Thomas Christians. There are a few ancient inscriptions still extant that describe the erection of these open-space granite crosses well before the construction of a church building. Antonio Gouvea, in the 16th century, describes Archbishop Menesis of Goa celebrating a Pontifical Mass in front of one of these crosses in the middle of the city of Cranganore. The unique ‘Purathu namaskaram’ liturgy outside the church, still extant, associated with the three-day fast of Nineveh (Bavoothsa d Nineveh) among the ancient Knanaya community of Thomas Christians in Kerala, is a living example of the ancient mode of worship in front of an open-air granite cross. Thus, these crosses were the initial places of worship among the early Thomas Christians, and later church buildings were erected for worship near these crosses. This parallels the ancient South Indian Dravidian worship culture where unusual trees, such as banyan or palm trees, or standing stones, were used as foci for worship in open spaces. Such places of worship still exist near traditional Hindu temples even today.
Open-space granite crosses were the most ancient places of worship among the primitive Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, which parallels the practice of worship among the South Indian Dravidian people. This is a pictorial presentation of the evolution of the worship pattern of Saint Thomas Christians, who imbibed many South Indian religio-cultural practices and effectively Christianised them in the ancient multicultural and tolerant community of South India.
THE SAINT THOMAS CHRISTIANS OF INDIA AND THEIR CROSSES
The Saint Thomas Christians of India are among the most ancient Christian communities in the world. The Apostle Thomas founded Christianity in India: numerous patristic writings and ancient documents connect the Apostle Thomas to ancient Christianity in India. The Acts of Thomas, the third-century AD apocryphal work which narrates the preaching of the Apostle Thomas in India, in the country of Gondophares, has been validated by numismatic and epigraphic evidence such as the recent discovery of coins with the name Gondophares from the middle of the first century AD and a mention of the name of King Gondophares on the Takhi-i-Bahi inscription[2][3].
Recent excavations at ‘pattanam’ near Kodungalloor (Cranganore) in Kerala also provide archaeological and palaeo-botanical evidence to shed light on the existence of a widespread ancient spice trade from the port of Muziris to Mediterranean and Roman ports from the first century BC to the fourth century AD[4], validating the journey of Apostle Thomas to South India as both possible and probable.
According to the living tradition of the Saint Thomas Christians of South India, the Apostle Thomas erected crosses among the Christian communities he founded[5]. The Acts of the Apostles or other books of the New Testament do not describe such acts by any apostles, and it is possible that the tradition could be a retrojection of later events to the apostolic period. The cross became a symbol of Christianity only in the fourth century; earlier, the cross was considered a symbol of punishment. Primitive Christians used the image of fish as their secret symbol[6].
But the Acts of Thomas, an apocryphal book of the third century, describes the Apostle Thomas as performing miracles with the sign of the cross[7]. For Judeo-Christians, the cross was not a symbol alluding to crucifixion but derived from the Hebrew letter Taw (X or +), which signifies the name of God or the protection of God according to the vision of Ezekiel (Ezekiel 9: 4-6)[8].
Ramban Pattu, a ballad among the Saint Thomas Christians of India, narrates the activities of the Apostle Thomas in South India in a song. This was passed down the generations as an oral tradition in the form of a song to ensure that Thomas Christians did not forget their past during a time when documentation of history was difficult. The ballad was written down during the Portuguese period. Ramban Pattu describes the Apostle Thomas erecting crosses in the communities he founded[9].
There is no documentary or epigraphic evidence that Apostle Thomas erected crosses in these communities. Still, we can assume that the Apostle might have felt the need to set up some visible emblem of Christian worship similar to the non-Christian symbols like that of the phallic cult in South Indian culture[10].
Crosses were very important among the Saint Thomas Christians. Many of the most ancient churches were named after the cross, or Mar Sleeva. Examples include Mapranam (928 AD), Cherpunkal (1096 AD) and Alleppey (1400AD). Many of these Mar Sleeva churches were renamed later. For example, Muttuchira Ruha D Khudsha Church was a Mar Sleeva Church intially. Thazhekkad Saint Sebastian’s Church was a Mar Sleeva Church (Holy Cross) renamed Saint Sebastian’s after the Roman Catholic contact[11].
OPEN-SPACE GRANITE CROSSES
Open-space granite crosses are very common among Saint Thomas Christian settlements. They are very tall obelisks erected on a cross-shaped granite base. These are commonly seen in and around ancient Christian settlements, such as near ancient churches and marketplaces. They could be considered a Christianised form of the stambhas of Buddhism, Jainism, Vaishnavism, etc[12].
These crosses have facilities for worship and for offering sacrifices, such as the breaking of coconuts, at the base. Breaking coconuts is a typical method of non-animal sacrifice among South Indian Dravidian people even today. The coconut is thrown onto the sacrificial stone and breaks open; the coconut water flows out as the blood and the kernel of the coconut as the flesh of the sacrifice. Crosses also became socio-cultural foci in marketplaces, where all communities venerated them. They acted even as “lamp houses” (vilakkumadams)[13] on the street with facilities for lighting a lamp to provide light at night and also acting as a source of fire in ancient times.
The famous historical figure Joseph the Indian, the Malabar Kathanar (Priest), in his interview at the Signoria of Venice during his travels to Europe in AD 1502, mentions the crosses of the Saint Thomas Christians, such as crosses inside churches and in courtyards[14]. The seventeenth-century Portuguese author Antonio Gouvea talks about the open-air crosses that are commonly found in Malabar, even in remote places, with facilities for lighting lamps: both Christians and non-Christians venerate them, he says, and offer their vows and offerings[15].
Until the arrival of Portuguese missionaries, the ancient Christians of Apostle Thomas venerated crosses in their churches and also in marketplaces and open spaces. This is a parallel religo-cultural development to the ancient Dravidian worship focused on certain stones and particular trees, etc.
Even though there are no definite datings available, such as inscriptions, we can assume that these crosses could be the most venerable antiquities of the Saint Thomas Christians of the Malabar coast of South India due to their simple design and less fine finish. Some of the modern replicas are finer in finish. Inscriptions on some of these later crosses date them back to the 17th century (Muttuchira) and the 12th century (Champakulam).
Open air crosses could thus be the most ancient places of worship among the Saint Thomas Christians. Ramban Pattu describes the Apostle Thomas erecting crosses for worship among the communities he founded. Even if, for the sake of argument, we were to agree that these crosses are not apostolic in origin, the ancient ballads still describe crosses as places of worship, not church buildings. This seems parallel to the general worship pattern in South India in the period of the first century.
Figure 1: Open-space granite cross, Ruha D Khudsha Forane Church, Muttuchira, Kerala
THE ANCIENT WORSHIP PATTERN OF DRAVIDIAN COMMUNITIES
South Indian communities are Dravidian in origin; Aryans migrated to South India later. The ancient Dravidians of South India worshipped animals, trees and inanimate stones.[16] Even the Vedic Aryans worshipped rivers, trees, bows, arrows, the war drum, etc[17].
Megaliths
Ancient megaliths in the form of menhirs (simple stones or tall crude obelisks erected in commemoration of the dead), cromlechs (circles of menhirs), dolmens (3 or 4 standing stones covered with a capstone in the form of a chamber), and cistavans (a stone chamber underneath the ground covered with a top slab as a stone coffin with menhirs on the surface) are seen in South India. These are seen among the Mala Arayan community in the Western Ghats of Kerala, which has facilities for religious rituals and ceremonies and even sacrificial altars.[18]
Anthills
Anthill worship is another ancient cult and is still extant in South Indian cultures[19]. Anthills are termite mounds found in open spaces. They grow as the termite colony grows and accumulates more soil. These sacred anthills are identified as village Goddesses. Worshippers perform ritual circumambulation (pradakshinam)and make offerings in the form of food, drink and flowers[20].
Kavukal – Sacred Groves
Kavukal (singular- kavu)are sacred groves still extant in south India. These are patches of forest in villages and family estates with a representation of a snake deity or other sacred figure on the ground under the shade of a tree for worship[21]. These kavukal do not include any temple or building for worship. There may be a stone slab on which offerings, including animal sacrifices, are made[22]. Cobra stones are usually seen as the deity in South Indian kavukal. Cobras are carved on a stone and placed on a small platform on the base of a tree like a pala (Frangipani) or aal (Banyan)[23]. An inscription at Banavasi in Kanara narrates the erection of a cobra stone in the first century AD[24].
Figure 2: A Kavu or Sacred Grove at Thatharappalli Vaisiambhagom, Champakulam, Kerala
This is a clear instance of open-air worship. Many of the present-day Hindu temples are named kavu,[25] suggesting they were kavukal initially and that temples were built around these groves[26] with a later change in culture. There are several examples: for instance the moolasthanam (original seat) of Chottanikkara Bhagavathi temple in Kochi has a tree and effigy of a calf in stone[27]. Mannarassala Sri Nagaraja temple also has figures of yakshi and serpents at the base of a tree[28].
Figure 3: Tree worship in Valanjavazhi, Alleppey, Kerala
Figure 4: Open-air worship: a Kavu or Sacred Grove
Tree Worship
Some specific trees were also worshipped, and this practice is still extant.[29] People believe that demons inhabit some trees, like the Palmyra palm, due to the shape of its huge leaves. These trees are worshipped to keep the demons away.
Hero Stones
Hero stone worship was common in South India. Hero stones are called Natukallu/veerakallu. These are memorial stones erected in open spaces for those who fell in battle. These are mentioned in Sangam literature like Akananuru, Purananuru, Puraporul Vembaimalai, Tolkapium etc[30].
From these examples, it is evident that ancient worship patterns of South Indian Dravidian culture were open-space worship in nature, focused around certain stones, termite mounds, trees, etc. The use of buildings for worship evolved later.
OPEN-SPACE CROSSES OF SAINT THOMAS CHRISTIANS: THE EARLIEST PLACES OF WORSHIP
The early Thomas Christians of South India were Dravidian converts and converts from the Jewish mercantile community. From historical and archaeological evidence, this community remained an enculturated community that followed Christianized versions of traditional customs.
The living tradition of the Saint Thomas Christians and the Ramban pattu describe the Apostle Thomas erecting crosses in the communities he founded for worship. Ramban pattu is a ballad composed by the first disciple of the Apostle Thomas in Malabar. This was handed down through the generations as a song sung on auspicious and religious occasions. Its present form was written down, possibly in the sixteenth century, by one Thomas Ramban Maliakkal, the 48th in a hereditary line of priests[31]. The song could simply preserve a legend, but it may have subsumed historical elements down the centuries and suggests that the primitive Christian communities used the cross for worship. In the South Indian Dravidian religio-cultural milieu, one can assume that the early Christians of South India followed the Dravidian practice of worship around these stone crosses erected in open spaces, parallel to the worship around cobra stones, hero stones, other megalithic objects or even trees. Church buildings evolved later.
The still extant Purathu namaskaram, the liturgy outside the church around the open-air cross on occasions like Moonnu noyambu at the famous Kaduthuruthy Church, could be a vestige or memory of the ancient practice of worship around the open-space crosses. It has to be noted that it was the minority and endogamous Knanaya community who kept alive many of the ancient practices of Saint Thomas Christians. Purathu namaskaram is a ceremonial prayer conducted outside the church around the open-space cross every year during the moonnu noyambu celebration. There is documentary evidence that Purathu namaskaram was also performed in the Pulincunnu church in the past but was lost. Now many Churches are reviving the Purathu namaskaram.
The practice followed by Thomas Christians when building a church structure involved erecting a cross in the ground several months before. This is evidenced by the famous Muttuchira lithic inscriptions of 1528 AD and 1581 AD, which narrate the erecting of a cross in the new place before the construction of a church building[32].
There is another piece of documentary evidence for the practice of erecting a stone cross as a preliminary to the erection of a church building at Thazkekkadu near Irinjalakkuda.[33]
Discussing a cross at Cranganore, Antonio Gouvea reports the tradition that this cross was erected there by the Apostle Thomas himself and was therefore venerated by Christians and non-Christians alike. The Archbishop of Goa, Alexis De Menesis celebrated a Pontifical Mass in front of this Cross after visiting the Church at Cranganore. This cross was kept in the middle of a chapel enclosed with walls on three sides and open on one side. Therefore, we can assume that the chapel was built around this open-air cross.[34]
There is a church in the city of Kottayam called Kottayam Kurishupally (Church dedicated to the Holy Cross). This church was built around an open-space granite cross, and the open-space cross is still retained within the church in the sanctum sanctorum[35]. Usually, when a church is built, rather than one of these open-space crosses, an altar cross is installed in the sanctum sanctorum. The Pahlavi-inscribed altar crosses are more complex, with detailed carvings, and can be considered as three-dimensional icons.
We can see numerous open-space crosses in and around the Thomas Christian churches, which evolve from plain, crude obelisk crosses with a minimal artistic finish to more complex structures with more detailed carvings and niches to place icons. Later, we can see chapels and church buildings attached to them, and at Kottayam Kurishupally (Church dedicated to the Holy Cross), a church was built around the cross.
Figure 5: Pedestal of open-space cross, Koratty, with facilities for worship at the base
Figure 6: Open-space cross, Koratty, with facilities for worship at the base
Figure 7: Open-space cross with niches for icons, St George’s Church, Kadamattom
Figure 8: Open-space cross with niches for icons, St Mary’s Church, Kudavechoor
Figure 9: Open-space cross with an annexed chapel, St Antony’s Chapel, Muttuchira
Figure 10: Open-space cross in the middle of the sanctum sanctorum, with church built around the cross
Figure 11: Purathu namaskaram, the prayer ceremony around the open-space cross, at St Mary’s Church, Kaduthuruthy
CONCLUSION
A study of these crosses with analysis of archaeological, documentary, and traditional practices shows the complete story of the evolution of the worship pattern of the Saint Thomas Christians from open-space Dravidian worship around a granite cross, to an open-space structure with a cross in the centre with facilities for placing icons, to a more specific Christian church building with definite liturgical architecture. In the initial period, early Christian groups followed the local custom of worship in open spaces around these granite crosses. Later in the evolution of Christian faith and liturgical practices, these crosses developed facilities for placing icons around them. With the evolution of liturgies with a need for liturgical space and architecture, which happened in the third to fourth centuries, church buildings developed with defined liturgical spaces and architecture based on the evolution of liturgical prayers. It is still very interesting to note that liturgical prayers around open-space crosses are still extant, such as the purathu namaskaram of churches at Kaduthuruthy and Pulincunnu, and are even now practised among diaspora communities, such as at the Marth Alphonsa Cathedral at Preston in Great Britain.
[1] Bruce W. Longenecker, The Cross before Constantine: The Early Life of a Christian Symbol, Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 2015, pp. 2-5.
[2] Percy Gardner and Reginald Stuart Poole, The coins of the Greek and Scythic Kings of Bactria and India in the British Museum, British Museum, London, 1886, pp. xliii-xliv.
Pius Malekkandathil, ‘Saint Thomas Christians: A Historical analysis of their origin and development up to 9th century AD’, in Bosco Puthur (Ed.), Saint Thomas Christians, and Nambudiris, Jews and Sangam Literature, LRC Publications, Kochi, 2006, p. 2.
[3] ‘Inscription of Gondophares’, The Indian Antiquary, Vol. 2, Aug 1873, p. 242.
[4] P. J. Cherian, ‘Pattanam Archaeological Site: The Wharf Context and the Maritime Exchanges’, in M. Staniforth, (Ed.), Proceedings on the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage: November 8-12, 2011, Asian Academy for Heritage Management, Manila, 2011, pp. 131-144.
[5] Fr Bernard Thoma TOCD, Keralathile Marthoma Christianikal (mal), Mar Thoma Sleeha Press, Palai, pp. 62-79.
[6] Tuomas Rasimus, ‘Revisiting the ICHTYS: A suggestion concerning the origins of Christological fish symbolism’, in C. H. Bull, Liv Ingeborg Lied and John D Turner (Eds.), Mystery and Secrecy in the Nag Hammadi Collection and Other Ancient Literature: Ideas and Practices, Brill, Leiden, 2012, pp. 327-328.
[7] A. F. Klijn, The Acts of Thomas,Brill, Leiden, 1962, pp. 67, 91, 93, 167, 248.
[8] Thomas E Schmidt, ‘The Letter Tau as the Cross: Ornament and content in Hebrews 2,14’, Biblia, Vol. 76, No. 1, 1955, p. 77.
[9] Bernard Thoma, Mar Thomma Christianikal (Mal): The History of Saint Thomas Christians, Mar Thoma Sleeha Press, Palai, 1916, pp. 62-79.
[10] P. J. Thomas, ‘Saint Thomas in South India’, The Indian Antiquary, Vol. 57, Jan 1928, p. 9.
[11] T. K. Joseph, ‘Malabar Miscellany: V. A Rajasimha inscription at Thalekkad in Cochin’, The Indian Antiquary, Vol. 57, 1928, p. 28.
[12] James Menacherry, ‘Thomas Christian Architecture’, in George Menacherry (Ed.), The Thomapedia, Pallinada, Ollur, Kerala, 2000, p. 139.
[13] Pius Malekkandathi (Ed.), Jornada of Dom Alexis De Menezes: A Portuguese account of the Sixteenth Century Malabar, 2003, LRC Publications, Kochi, p. 188, note 159.
[14] Antony Vallavanthara, India in 1500 AD, Georgias Press, p. 97.
[15] Pius Malekkandathil, opus cit., p. 187.
[16] R. C. Gaur, ‘Non Aryan Protohistoric Cultures of India’, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 30, 1968, p. 38. https://www.jstor.org/stable/44141439, accessed on 14 April 2024.
[17] R. Shamsastri, ‘Dravidian culture’, Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 11, No. 4, 1930, p. 337.
[18] K. Mammen, ‘Survivals of Heliolithic culture in Kerala’, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 5, 1941, pp. 116-117.
[19]; David Shulman, ‘The Serpent and the Sacrifice: An Anthill Myth from Thiruvarur’, History of Religions, Vol. 18, No. 2, Nov 1978, p. 107.
[20] John C. Irwin, ‘The Sacred Anthill and the Cult of the Primordial Mound’, History of Religions, Vol. 21, No. 4, May 1982, p. 339.
[21] J. R. Freeman, ‘Gods, Groves and the Culture of Nature in Kerala’, Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 33, No. 2, 1995, p. 261; Krishnan S. Navneeth, ‘Revisiting the Endangered Folk Religion of Kerala’, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 79, 2018-19, p. 330.
[22] C. Anupama, ‘Ecological Studies on Select Sacred Groves of Malabar’, Doctoral Thesis Submitted to the University of Calicut, 2009, p. 4. http://hdl.handle.net/10603/6349, accessed on 14 April 2024.
[23] Krishnan S. Navneeth, ‘Revisiting the Endangered Folk Religion of Kerala’, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 79, 2018-19, p. 331.
[24] K. Mammen, ‘Survivals of Heliolithic culture in Kerala’, Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, Vol. 5, 1941, p. 113.
[25] See https://www.keralatemples.net/kaavu.html, accessed on 14 April 2024. A list of temples is given here.
[26] Gilles Tarabout, ‘Spots of Wilderness: Nature in the Hindu temples of Kerala’, Rivista degli studi orientali, Nouva Serie, Vol. 88, Sup. No. 2, 2015, pp. 30-33.
[27] Gilles Tarabout, ‘Spots of Wilderness: Nature in the Hindu temples of Kerala’, Rivista degli studi orientali, Nouva Serie, Vol. 88, Sup. No. 2, 2015, pp. 30-33.
[28] Gilles Tarabout, ‘Spots of Wilderness: Nature in the Hindu temples of Kerala’, Rivista degli studi orientali, Nouva Serie, Vol. 88, Sup. No. 2, 2015, p. 29.
[29] J. R. Freeman, ‘Gods, Groves and the Culture of Nature in Kerala’, Modern Asian Studies, Vol. 33, No. 2, 1995, p. 273.
[30] N. Vanamali, ‘Herostone Worship in South India’, Social Scientist, Vol. 3, No. 10, 1975, pp. 40-46. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3516159, accessed on 14 April 2024.
[31] Susan Viswanathan, ‘The legends of Saint Thomas in Kerala’, India International Centre Quarterly, Vol. 22, No. 2/3, 1995, p. 27.
[32] Martin Thomas Antony, ‘Muttuchira Sliva and Lithic Inscriptions: Landmark Monuments of Saint Thomas Christians of India’, The Harp, 2016, pp. 294-295.
[33] T. K. Joseph, ‘Malabar Miscellany: V. A Rajasimha inscription at Thalekkad in Cochin’, The Indian Antiquary, Vol. 57, 1928, p. 28.
[34] Pius Malekkandathi (Ed.), Jornada of Dom Alexis De Menezes: A Portuguese account of the Sixteenth Century Malabar, 2003, LRC Publications, Kochi, p. 216.
[35] See https://kurishupally.org/history.html, accessed on 14 April 2024.