Misplaced Pages

#194805

90-629: The Kollam (Quilon) Syrian copper plates , also known as the Kollam Tarisappalli copper plates , are Indian copper plate inscriptions which document a royal grant of Ayyan Adikal, the chieftain of Kollam , to a Syrian Christian merchant named Mar Sapir Iso in Kerala , issued in approximately 850 CE. The inscription is engraved on six copper plates in Old Malayalam or early Middle Tamil , using Vattezhuthu script with some Grantha characters. It

180-545: A 9th-century Nestorian bishop. Historian Dr. Jacob Kollaparambil calls Assemani's assertion a “counterfeit” creation not in line with earlier source work and native tradition. The native tradition places Thomas’ arrival in 345 A.D.; Reports by colonial officials give varying dates from 345 to 811 A.D. Thomas is said to have been a Syrian merchant, distinct from Thomas the Apostle , who preceded him in evangelizing in India. According to

270-806: A Christian merchant, the native Nasrani of Kerala venerated him as a saint. Thoma was officially canonized by the patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church , Ignatius Zakka I , in March 1990. The meaning of the Cana epithet is unclear; it may refer to the town of Cana or the land of Canaan in the Bible, or it may be a corruption of a Syriac term for merchant ( Knāyil in Malayalam). However, scholar Richard M. Swiderski states that none of these etymologies are entirely sound. Scholar Dr. Jacob Kollaparambil argues that

360-455: A Syriac Christian in religion but “Armenian” in nationality. In the 18th century Lebanese scholar J.S. Assemani expressed that the Portuguese likely interpreted the term Aramean (another term for Aramaic or Syriac Christian) as Armenian and dubbed him as such. Scholar Dr. Jacob Kollaparambil notes that while Assemani's rationale is plausible a more concrete explanation may be associated with

450-513: A brief of the arrival of Thomas of Cana (Knai Thoma). However, the presently available Quilon plates do not mention this episode (the second half of the 4th Quilon plate is missing today). It is generally assumed that this was a notation of the previous rights bestowed upon the Christians by the Chera king (and the above said plate was missing). Translation by A. H. A. Duperron (1758): “The history of

540-598: A canceled grant was overstruck with a new inscription. These records were probably in use from the first millennium. A group of nine inscribed copper plates has been identified by Shinde in 2014 as the oldest such objects in the Indian subcontinent. They date to the Mature Harappan era, and contain inscriptions up to 34 characters long. Their place of origin unknown. They are thought to have been used for copper plate printing. The Sohgaura copper-plate inscription, inscribed in

630-567: A church dedicated to St. Thomas, and a bazaar were built on the land Thoma acquired from the Perumal. Furthermore, Ros expresses that the manner of reckoning (calendar system) used during the granting of the Thomas of Cana copper plates is long lost because for the last 779 years the inhabitants of Kerala have been using the Coulao Era or Kollam calendar (Kollavarsham). Ros states that the "copper original" of

720-488: A family from a Nayar woman converted Christian as slave. Furthermore, Gouvea notes that Northist and Southist did not ally in marriage and that they had separate churches and priests. Gouvea explains the division further in the following citation: "This Marthoma who received these last mentioned privileges lived among these same Christians, and as he was very powerful and carried on trade and business in many parts of Malabar, had for this purpose two houses and families, one on

810-617: A lost set of copper-plate grants issued by an unidentified Chera Perumal king to the Christian merchants in the city of "Makotayar Pattinam" (present day Kodungallur ) at some point between 345 and 800 CE. Translations of the Quilon plates made by the Syrian Christian priest Ittimani in 1601 as well as the French scholar A. H. Anquetil-Duperron in 1758 both note that the 4th Quilon plate mentioned

900-544: A professor of Syriac at Vaipicotta Seminary. Ros was elevated as Archbishop of Angamaly (the See of the St. Thomas Christians) in 1600 by the King of Portugal. In 1604 he wrote a long report on the history and traditions of the Christians of Kerala. Ros called Knai Thoma "Thomas Cananeo" a rich "Armenian" merchant native to Babylon. Ros writes that before the coming of Knai Thoma there existed in India

990-526: A relationship. On the other hand everything goes to show that it was a happy working arrangement. Their being in dire straits early on in their history and the arrival on the scene of the progenitors of the present-day "Southists" as benefactors, appears to coincide with the Community's acceptance of fellowship with the East Syriac Church.” Through his copper plate grant, Thoma is noted to have acquired for

SECTION 10

#1732854522195

1080-408: A single set of plates). Perczel notes the possibility that the Christians of Knai Thoma kept their part of the unified grant at Kodungallur, while the Christians of Marwan Sapir Iso kept theirs at Kollam. Indian copper plate inscriptions The copper plates can survive intact indefinitely: copper , being a non-ferrous metal , does not rust or otherwise deteriorate when exposed to oxygen

1170-455: A standard formula of identifying the royal donor and his lineage, followed by lengthy honorifics of his history, heroic deeds, and his extraordinary personal traits. After this would follow the details of the grant, including the occasion, the recipient, and the penalties involved if the provisions were disregarded or violated. Although the profusion of complimentary language can be misleading, the discovery of copper plate inscriptions have provided

1260-540: A way that the descendants of the legitimate children settled in Cranganor, Kaduthuruthy, Kottayam, Diamper and other places; and the bastards multiplied themselves in other parts. Thus the Christianity began growing with the descendance and family of Thomas Cana; but with this growth, developed a discord among the descendants of the legitimate children and those who had marriage alliance with them, and those (the descendants) of

1350-477: A wealth of material for historians. Tirumala Venkateswara Temple have a unique collection of about 3000 copper plates on which the Telugu Sankirtans of Tallapaka Annamacharya and his descendants are inscribed. Tamil copper-plate inscriptions are engraved copper-plate records of grants of villages, plots of cultivable lands or other privileges to private individuals or public institutions by

1440-554: A young deacon of St. Kuriakose Church wrote a summary of the Church of Malabar and its relationship to the Church of the East archived today as Vatican Syrian Codex 22 , the oldest surviving Syriac manuscript from India. Subsequent sources of the township are exhibited in 16th-17th century Portuguese records. In 1578, missionary Francisco Dionisio noted that the St. Thomas Church built by Knai Thoma

1530-490: Is archived as ARSI, Goa 12 II, ff. 521-524 , later published by Fr. Joseph Wicki in the text Documenta Indica XI (1970). Fr. Antonio De Gouvea :In 1602-1603, Augustinian priest Fr. Antonio De Gouvea visited Kerala and took upon the role of secretary to Archbishop Alexio De Menezes of Goa. Gouvea recorded the journey of the Archbishop in India and documented information on the Christians of Kerala. Gouvea noted that Knai Thoma

1620-462: Is archived as Amario Jesuitico, cod. 28, ff.34-38 , later published by Fr. Wicki SJ in the text Documenta Indica Vol XII Fr. Antonio Monserratte : In 1579, Fr. Antonio Monseratte, a missionary in Kerala wrote a report on the St. Thomas Christians. On the ethnic division of the Christians, Monseratte notes that some Christians claim descent from St. Thomas the Apostle while others descend from Mar Thoma

1710-522: Is archived as CVR. No. 164. at Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo, Lisbon. Mar Jacob Abuna : In 1525, Mar Jacob Abuna, a Chaldean bishop in Kerala, wrote a letter to the King of Portugal requesting his aid after Kodungallur had been destroyed during a battle between the Kingdom of Kochi and the Kingdom of Kozhikode in 1524. Mar Jacob notes that the Christians were in an impoverished position and that there churches and homes had been burnt down. Abuna states that

1800-503: Is considered the oldest known inscription from the Chera Perumal dynasty . The charter is dated to the fifth regnal year of Chera Perumal ruler Sthanu Ravi Kulasekhara , around 849–850 CE. The sixth plate contains signatures of witnesses to the grant in Arabic ( Kufic script), Middle Persian (cursive Pahlavi script ), and Judeo-Persian (standard square Hebrew script ). Until 2013, it

1890-603: Is the one the Portuguese now have." - Francisco Dionisio (1578), Amario Jesuitico, cod. 28, ff.34-38 Decades later in 1604, Francisco Ros, a Catholic bishop in Kerala, noted that he had read in old Chaldean texts in Kerala about the existence of the three churches of Kodungallur built by Knai Thoma: ..."I found written at the end how the said book was made and written at Cranganore, where it says there were three churches, one of St. Thomas, another of Our Lady, and another of St. Cyriac" - Francisco Ros (1604), MS. ADD. 9853. British Museum Library A number of Portuguese authors noted

SECTION 20

#1732854522195

1980-624: The Brahmi script , may date to the 3rd century BCE Maurya Empire and is likely a precursor to the later copper-plate inscriptions. It is written on a small plaque of bronze (a copper alloy). The Taxila and the Kalawan copper-plate inscriptions (c. 1st century CE or earlier) are among the earliest known instances of true copper plates being used for writing in the Indian subcontinent. These plates are not proper charters , unlike later copper-plate inscriptions. The oldest known copper-plate charter from

2070-457: The India's Portuguese period . Alvarado Penteado : In 1518, the Portuguese missionary Alvaro Penteado wrote a letter to the King of Portugal describing the traditions and origins of the Christians of Kerala. After giving an account of the arrival of St. Thomas the Apostle to India, Penteado notes that the Christians of Kodungallur descend from two quarrelling sons of an "Armenian" merchant, hinting at

2160-511: The Malabar Coast granted special rights and concessions to the community known as Nasrani ( Saint Thomas Christians ) which were recorded on copper plates referred to as Cheppeds or Sasanam ("Royal Grants"). As legal documents, historians liken Indian copper plate engravings to a modern-day license or property deed , and suggest that the party claiming ownership of or rights to donated resources would be obligated to show their plates to

2250-495: The manigramam ) as the tenants of the nagara (the karanmai). The Six Hundred of Venad , the militia of the chiefdom, was entrusted with the protection of the nagara and the church. The charter also granted serfs to the nagara and the church. This included personnel like agricultural laborers (the vellalars), carpenters (the thachar), traders (the ezhavar) and salt-makers (the eruviyar). The charter granted Sapir Iso several titles, rights and aristocratic privileges. All revenues from

2340-631: The "Cana" form is a corruption formalized by European scholars in the 18th century based on the Malayalam form Knāi and its variants (Kynāi, Kinān) found in the folk tradition of the Knanaya and the common parlance and literature of the people of Malabar. This may be a reference to the Christian community of Kynai, in Bét Aramayé in Persia (Southern Mesopotamia). A number of Portuguese era sources labeled Knai Thoma as

2430-468: The 17th century, after which point they were lost. The Kollam Syrian plates of the 9th century historically mentioned a brief of the arrival of Knai Thoma. This is believed to have been a notation of the previous rights given to the Kerala Syrian Christians. Scholars state the arrival of Thomas of Cana reflects a historical migration of East Syriac Christians to India. This may have been

2520-531: The 4th century BCE and the 3rd century CE. Epigraphic attestation of Tamil begins with rock inscriptions from the 3rd century BCE, written in Tamil-Brahmi , an adapted form of the Brahmi script . The earliest extant literary text is the Tolkāppiyam , a work on poetics and grammar which describes the language of the classical period, dated variously between the 5th century BCE and the 2nd century CE. Between

2610-712: The Chera Empire's capital city of Kodungallur: the Thomas Christians having initially lived on its northern side and the Knanaya having arrived and settled on its southern side. The Oxford History of the Christian Church states the following about the division: "In time, Jewish Christians of the most exclusive communities descended from settlers who accompanied Knayil Thomma (Kanayi) became known as ‘Southists’ (Tekkumbha ̄gar)...They distinguished between themselves and ‘Northists’ (Vatakkumbha ̄gar). The ‘Northists’, on

2700-485: The Christians have a copper plate grant (the Thomas of Cana copper plates) which gave them "power to pronounce sentence of death and all other rights". Abuna's letter is archived as ANTT -CVR. No. 99 , later published by Fr. Silva Rego in the text Documentao India II (1949). Abuna : In 1533 Portuguese King John III ordered thirteen witnesses to give testimony on the tomb of St. Thomas the Apostle in Mylapore, India. Among

2790-454: The Christians land in Kodungallur upon which three churches dedicated to St. Mary, St. Thomas, and St. Kuriakose were built. It is noted that the native St. Thomas Christians had inhabited the northern side of Kodungallur centuries before the arrival of Thoma, while the Knanaya arrived and inhabited the southern side. Evidence of this township first emerged in the 14th century, when Zacharias,

Quilon Syrian copper plates - Misplaced Pages Continue

2880-552: The Christians of Malabar happened to be descendants of the ones or of the others, and so the whole Christianity (Church) is divided into these two sides, except those of Travancore and Thodamala where they did not go..." Antonio De Gouvea's account is archived in his published work Jornada do Arcebispo de Goa Dom Frey Aleyxo de Menezes (1604). Archbishop Francisco Ros : In 1585, the Jesuit missionary Francisco Ros arrived to Kerala and learned Malayalam as well as Syriac, later becoming

2970-600: The East Syriac bishops in Kerala with Armenia, out of their own ignorance they likely extended this same nationality to Knai Thoma as well. In the native traditions of Kerala as well as the early 16/17th century recordings during the Portuguese era, Thomas of Cana is always noted as a merchant. Lebanese scholar J.S. Assemani argued that Thomas of Cana was a 9th-century bishop, published in his text “Bibliotecha Orientalis” (1719-1728). In an attempt to trace Thomas’ origins, Assemani labeled Thomas of Cana as Bishop Thomas of Hadud,

3060-461: The Factor of Cochin when the Portuguese made the factory there, in order that, when necessary to them, the Christians might from there make use of them, and they were for many years in the factory, to be kept in the house, until through carelessness they disappeared, which these Christians greatly chafe at, not having writings whereby to defend themselves before the infidel kings..." Gouvea also writes on

3150-752: The Indian subcontinent is the Patagandigudem inscription of the 3rd century CE Andhra Ikshvaku king Ehuvala Chamtamula. The oldest known copper-plate charter from northern India is probably the Kalachala grant of Ishvararata, dated to the late fourth century on palaeographic basis. Some of the earliest authenticated copper plates were issued by the Pallava dynasty kings in the 4th century, and are in Prakrit and Sanskrit . An example of early Sanskrit inscription in which Kannada words are used to describe land boundaries, are

3240-513: The Knanaya avoided marriage with other St. Thomas Christians and had their own churches at Udiamperor, Carturte (Kaduthuruthy), Cotete (Kottayam), and Turigure (Thodpuzha/Chunkom): "So that, already long before the coming of Thomas Cananeo, there were St. Thomas Christians in this Malavar, who had come from Mailapur, the town of St. Thomas. And the chief families are four in number: Cotur, Catanal, Onamturte, Narimaten, which are known among all these Christians, who became multiplied and extended through

3330-459: The St. Thomas Christians and the Knanaya. Scholar Dr. Mathias Mundadan expresses the following about the two-wives legend: “Other details of each version and the reciprocal imputations as legitimate and illegitimate children of Thomas Cana might have been invented to express the odium and hatred each community bore against the other” - Sixteenth Century Traditions of St. Thomas Christians (Mundadan, 1970) Written accounts of Knai Thoma date to

3420-521: The St. Thomas Christians in India who were in a deprecated position. Monseratte states that Knai Thoma made his seat in Kodgunallur and had two wives, one free and the other a slave woman. Furthermore, Monseratte notes that Christians of India adopted the Syrian tradition because of Knai Thoma and expresses the importance they give to him: "...Hence it happened that these Christians took the rite and customs of

3510-504: The St. Thomas Christians who had come to Kerala from Mylapore the shrine of St. Thomas the Apostle in India. Ros more clearly explains the ethnic division of the Christians of Kerala by stating that the Southist (Knanaya) are also St. Thomas Christians but are a minority known as the "Thomas Cananeo Party" and the Northist are descended from the older native St. Thomas Christians. Ros states that

3600-570: The St. Thomas Christians, but also exhibits that the native Christians were not entirely isolated from foreign Christian centers: “Related with East Syriac Church: The spatial separateness of the St Thomas Christians from Christian centres in other lands was not in every way absolute, as at an early stage of their history they found themselves in rapport with the East Syriac Church. Neither their traditions nor their posterior documents exhibit any sign of constraint or bad blood occasioned by such

3690-577: The Syrian (Thomas of Cana): “My chief occupation has been with the Christians of Sierra, who commonly call themselve of St. Thomas. As regards the origin of these Christians, there are two opinions: one is that all are descended from the disciples of the Apostle St. Thomas: others say only from one Mar Thoma the Syrian. This word Mar is in Chaldean design of honour, and means the same as don and Saint in Spanish, and

Quilon Syrian copper plates - Misplaced Pages Continue

3780-708: The Syrian Church, because this Quinai Thoma procured that Bishops might come from his country, for whom these peo¬ple have great respect for three reasons: 1. Because in them they recognize the nation and caste of their ancestor; 2. Because they have heard that Christ our Lord spoke Syrian as it was spoken in Jerusalem after the captivity of Babylon; and 3. Because most the Bishops and Priests (whom they call caxija in Syriac) come from these parts through Jerusalem." Monseratte's report

3870-468: The Syrians use this word Mar in both meanings: for they call St. Thomas Mar Thoma and [they use it] for any honourable and noble person, Mar Jacob, Don Diego. Monseratte expresses his opinion that the Christians of Kerala not only descend from St. Thomas the Apostle and Knai Thoma but also Nairs who regularly converted to Christianity. On Knai Thoma's arrival, Monserratte expresses that the merchant had found

3960-431: The Thomas of Cana copper plates composed of two plates strung together with a thick copper wire and were written in the three languages of "Chaldean, Malabar, and Arabic". The account of De Goes is published in the text Cronica do Felicissmo Rei D. Manuel (1566). Fr. Francisco Dionisio : In 1578 Fr. Francisco Dionisio, a Jesuit missionary, wrote a report to his superior documented as "On the Christians of St. Thomas". On

4050-637: The Tumbula inscriptions of Western Ganga Dynasty , which have been dated to 444 according to a 2004 Indian newspaper report. Rare copper plates from the Gupta period have been found in North India. The use of copper plate inscriptions increased and for several centuries they remained the primary source of legal records. Most copper plate inscriptions record title-deeds of land-grants made to Charanas and Brahmanas , individually or collectively. The inscriptions followed

4140-403: The bastards, which continues until today, considering the ones being legitimate to be more honorable than the others. Hence, they do not tolerate to ally oneself with the others by marriages, nor even to continue in the church of the others; nor to have in ones churches priests belonging to the caste of the others. As in the course of the time they multiplied very much by marriage and alliances, all

4230-525: The chiefdom (the adhikarar, the prakrithi, the punnathala padi, and the pulakkudi padi) and the representatives of merchant guilds anjuvannam and manigramam . The charter grants land to Mar Sapir Iso , the founder the Kollam trading city (the nagara), to build the Church of Tarisa at Kollam . The land, evidently a large settlement with its occupants, is donated as an "attipperu" by Ayyan Adikal. Sapir Iso also recruited two merchant guilds (the anjuvannam and

4320-612: The copper-plates and rock-inscriptions have been compiled and published by the Archaeological Survey of India during the past century. The copper plate is approximately 9 3 ⁄ 4 inches long × 3 1 ⁄ 4 inches high × 1/10 (to 1/16) inches thick. The Sohgaura copper-plate is a Maurya (322–185 BCE) record which refers to a famine . It is one of the very few pre- Ashoka Brahmi inscriptions in India. Thomas of Cana Thomas of Cana ( Malayalam : K'nāi Thoma or Tomman Kinān , Syriac : K'nānāya Thoma )

4410-518: The division of Northist and Southist to the two wives of Thomas of Cana. These versions generally present the Southern wife as a Syrian woman and the Northern as a native St. Thomas Christian woman. Additionally they portray one wife as superior and the other inferior and their children as legitimate or illegitimate. In 1579, Fr. Antonio Monserratte, a missionary in Kerala wrote that the stories associated with

4500-495: The donated land and its occupants were 'exempted' (which perhaps meant that these were to be made over to the church). The vertical plate contains a number of signatures of the witnesses to the grant in Arabic (Kufic script), Middle Persian (cursive Pahlavi script) and Judeo-Persian (standard square Hebrew script). Arabic signatures ― Kufic script Middle Persian signatures ― Pahlavi script Judeo-Persian signatures ― Hebrew script The Thomas of Cana copper plates are

4590-667: The eighth and tenth centuries, rulers on the Malabar Coast awarded various rights and privileges to Nazranies ( Saint Thomas Christians ) on copper plates, known as Cheppeds, or Royal Grants or Sasanam. One of the most important sources of history in the Indian subcontinent are the royal records of grants engraved on copper-plates ( tamra-shasan or tamra-patra ; tamra means copper in Sanskrit and several other Indian languages). Because copper does not rust or decay, they can survive virtually indefinitely. Collections of archaeological texts from

SECTION 50

#1732854522195

4680-407: The era in which the region's relationship with the Church of the East developed. Stephen Neill suggests that East Syriac Christians may have come to India specifically because there was already an established Christian community, to whom they imparted East Syriac traditions. Historian Dr. Benedict Vadakkekara notes that the arrival of Thoma and the Knanaya community was not only a turning point for

4770-423: The ethnic division of the Christian community as Northist and Southist. Penteado notes that Knai Thoma made his first son the "patron and inheritor" of his lands and incomes while he made his second son the "administrator of justice" to the pagan men and women whom he had converted to Christianity. Furthermore Penteado expresses that the Christians of Quilon (Kollam) do not descend from the merchant. Penteado's account

4860-400: The ethnic division of the St. Thomas Christians into Northist and Southist (Knanaya). Gouvea states that because Knai Thoma was powerful and had businesses in many parts of Malabar he had two wives and families, one on the northern side of Kodungallur and the other on the southern. According to Gouvea, Knai Thoma had his own wife and children on the southern side while on the northern side he had

4950-474: The existing ethnic division of the Syrian Christians of Kerala as the majority St. Thomas Christians or Vadakkumbhagar (Northist) and the minority Knanaya or Thekkumbhagar (Southist). These designations traditionally associate the Northist as early converts of St. Thomas the Apostle in India and the Southist as the migrants who arrived with Thomas of Cana. Additionally, the designations are in reference to

5040-529: The fables they have in this matter. The St. Thomas Christians descending from Thomas Caneneo are few. They are at Udiamper, and at the great Church of Carturte and at the great Church of Cotete, and at Turigure. Additionally, Ros states that "Thomas Cananeo" arrived in 345 C.E. and received a copper plate grant along with 264 elephant cubits of land from the Chera Perumal who reigned "more than one thousand two hundred years ago". Ros notes that seventy-two houses,

5130-529: The fact that many of the East Syriac Christian bishops who arrived to Kerala in the 15th and 16th century such as Mar Yohannan, Mar Thomas, and Mar Jacob Abuna were originally citizens of the territory known as Greater Armenia in the Middle East. The Portuguese labeled these bishops as citizens of Armenia in their own writings as well. Dr. Jacob Kollaparambil notes that because the Portuguese associated

5220-435: The forest, and the same king surrounded the whole forest and he called in haste for Thomas, who came and stood before the king in a lucky hour, and the king questioned the soothsayer. And the king afterwards spoke to Thomas saying that he would build a city in that forest. And he answered to the king first making reverence and said: "I desire this forest for myself". And the king granted it to him and gave it forever. And at once,

5310-766: The founding of the town of Cranganore when Pattanam was the City, (he) visited, revered and requested the Emperor and the Minister at Kolla Kodungalloor for a marsh where thickets grow. Measured by Anakol (elephant kol) 4,444 kols of land was granted in the year of the Jupiter in Kubham, on the 29th of Makaram, 31 the Saturday, Rohini and Saptami (7th day of the moon),' the palace, great temple and school at Irinjalakuda also were founded. The same day that place

5400-499: The honors, and to speak and walk like a king and that at the weddings the women might give a certain signal with their finger to their mouth, and he granted him distinct weight, and to adorn the ground with cloths, and he granted them royal fans and to double the sandal (mark) on the arm, and a tent and a royal canopy in every part of the kingdom for ever, and besides five tributes to Thomas, and to his lineage, and to his confederates, for men, and for women, and for all his relatives, and to

5490-409: The king of Cranganor, who, as we saw above, was the most powerful of Malavar. From him he received many privileges and honours for the Christians among whom he lived, and a very spacious ground where to found a big Church, in keeping with the founder's power and wealth, all which he caused to write on copper-plates. One Mar Jacob, Bishop of these Christians, fearing they might be lost, entrusted them to

SECTION 60

#1732854522195

5580-477: The king's palaces and offered him presents, and afterwards he asked the king to give that land to him and to his descendants; and he measured two hundred and sixty-four elephant cubits, and gave them to Thomas and his descendants for ever: and the same time seventy-two houses which immediately were erected there, and gardens, and trees with their enclosures, and with their paths and boundaries and inner yards. And he granted him seven kinds of musical instruments, and all

5670-440: The king. And the king himself came and saw and called said chief man Thomas and he disembarked and came before the king who spoke graciously to him; and to honor him he gave him in surname his own name, calling him Coquarangon Caneneo. And he received this honor from the king and went to rest in his place. And the king gave him the city of Magoderpatanam forever. And the said king, being in his great prosperity, went one day to hunt in

5760-426: The kings of all times.” Some recent studies suggest that the original text of the Thomas of Cana plates and the Quilon plates were re-engraved together as a unified grant giving witness to the historic rights of the Christians. Scholar István Perczel theorizes that at one time the Quilon plates and the Thomas of Cana plates, or parts of them, were re-engraved together (and thus the text of both grants were present on

5850-567: The members of the various South Indian royal dynasties. The study of these inscriptions has been especially important in reconstructing the history of Tamil Nadu . The grants range in date from the 10th century C.E. to the mid 19th century C.E. A large number of them belong to the Chalukyas , the Cholas and the Vijayanagar kings. These plates are valuable epigraphically as they give us an insight into

5940-526: The merchant "Quinai Thoma" arrived to Kerala and helped the dwindling Church to prosper and grow. Dionisio affirms that knowledge of Knai Thoma is known due to "a sheet of iron which the Portuguese found in the possession of these Christians". Scholar Istvan Perczel tentatively supports Dionisio's claim that Knai Thoma came after Mar Sapor and Proth. Christian tradition in Kerala however is not concordant with Dioniso, stating instead that Knai Thoma arrived before bishops Sapor and Proth. Francisco Dionisio's report

6030-586: The migrants who arrived with him are known as the Knanaya or Tekkumbhagar (Southist) Christians, found among the Saint Thomas Christian community of Kerala, India. Scholars associate Thoma's migration with connecting the Church of Saint Thomas in India with the East Syriac liturgical tradition of the Persian Church of the East . Portuguese sources of the 17th century note that due to Thoma's deeds as

6120-770: The neighbouring states where early inscriptions were written in Sanskrit and Prakrit, the early inscriptions in Tamil Nadu used Tamil along with some Prakrit. Tamil has the extant literature amongst the Dravidian languages , but dating the language and the literature precisely is difficult. Literary works in India were preserved either in palm leaf manuscripts (implying repeated copying and recopying) or through oral transmission, making direct dating impossible. External chronological records and internal linguistic evidence, however, indicate that extant works were probably compiled sometime between

6210-412: The next day he cleared the forest and cast his eyes on it in the same year, on the eleventh of April, and gave it as an inheritance to Thomas at the time and day aforesaid, in the King's name, who laid the first brick for the church and for the house of Thomas Caneneo, and made there a city for all (of them) and entered the church and there made prayer the same day. After these things, Thomas himself went to

6300-461: The other hand, claimed direct descent from the very oldest Christians of the country, those who had been won to Christ by the Apostle Thomas himself. They had already long inhabited northern parts of Kodungallur. They had been there even before various waves of newcomers had arrived from the Babylonian or Mesopotamian provinces of Sassanian Persia." - Historian of South Asian Studies Dr. Robert E. Frykenberg (2010) Some Portuguese authors also associated

6390-418: The plates were taken to Portugal by the Religious of St. Francis, who only left a copy of the plates in Kerala. Ros gives the following summarized account of the copper plate grant: "Before the full moon, the same king Coquarangon being in Carnelur, there arrived in a ship Thomas Caneneo, a chief man, who had resolved to see the uttermost part of the East, and some men, seeing him as he arrived, went to inform

6480-490: The poverty felt by the Christians of Kodungallur after its destruction in 1524. De Sequeria states that he had befriended Mar Jacob, whom on his deathbed, requested that he retrieve the plates for him. De Sequeria sent his servant and a priest of Mar Jacob with money to reacquire the copper plate grant. After retrieving the plates, De Sequeria gave the plates to the Portuguese governor of India Martim Afonso de Sousa who ordered their contents translated. According to De Goes document

6570-602: The presence of Jewish and Muslim communities in Kerala, as seen in the sections written in Arabic, Middle Persian, and Judeo-Persian scripts. The grant is dated the 5th regnal year of king Sthanu Ravi, 849-50 CE (old Malayalam: Ko Tanu Ravi). It was drafted in the presence of Chera Perumal prince Vijayaraga , Venad chieftain Ayyan Adikal Thiruvadikal, junior chieftain Rama Thiruvadikal, other important officers of

6660-486: The royal seal, a profusion of which have been found in South India. Originally, texts were recorded on palm leaves, but when the records were legal documents such as title-deeds they were etched on a cave or temple wall, or more commonly, on copper plates which were then secreted in a safe place such as within the walls or foundation of a temple, or hidden in stone caches in fields. Plates could be used more than once, as when

6750-596: The social conditions of medieval South India; they also help us fill chronological gaps in the connected history of the ruling dynasties. For example, the Leyden grant (so called as they are preserved in the Museum of Leyden in Holland ) of Parantaka Chola and those of Parakesari Uttama Chola are among the most important, although the most useful part, i.e., the genealogical section, of the latter's plates seems to have been lost. Unlike

6840-513: The southern side of Cranganor and the other on the northern side. On the southern side he had his own wife and children: on the northern side he had a Nair woman converted Christian as slave, from whom also he had children. At his death he divided his possession among all; leaving to the legitimate children all that he had on the southern side, and to the bastards his possessions on the northern side. With that each remained in places of one's own inheritance, and all of them marrying began to multiply such

6930-478: The state authorities if challenged. As an additional indicator of the legitimacy of the endowment, it was not uncommon for donors to clasp the plates together with a ring bearing the donor's personal seal . As instruments of state expansion, the durability and easy retrievability of the copper plates was crucial to consolidating newly settled lands. Indian copper plate inscriptions ( tamarashasana ), usually record grants of land or lists of royal lineages carrying

7020-423: The tradition of origin of the Christians of Kerala, Dionisio notes that St. Thomas the Apostle arrived to Kerala and converted many to the faith. Dionisio states that this tradition is accepted by both the Christians as well as the "Pagans" of Kerala. Dionisio notes that after St. Thomas, two Syrian Bishops by the names of Mar Sapor and Mar Proth arrived to Kollam. After Mar Sapor and Mar Proth, Dionisio expresses that

7110-653: The traditions, Thomas of Cana led a group of 72 families, as well as clergymen, to the port city of Kodungallur in the Malabar coast. There they met and supplemented the Saint Thomas Christians, who had been evangelized by Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. Thomas was granted a copper-plate grant by the Chera Dynasty which gave his party and all native Christians socio-economic privileges. The Thomas of Cana copper plates are noted to have existed in Kerala until

7200-512: The two-wives legend were the “lie of the land”. In 1611, Archbishop Francisco Ros, a Latin Catholic clergymen in Kerala, called the two-wives legend a "fable" and instead accounts the division to some Christians descending from the missionary work of St. Thomas the Apostle and others from Knai Thoma. Syrian Christian scholars generally view the two-wives stories as odious, stating that they emerged due to ethnic and or socio-economic tension between

7290-485: The way iron does, but rather develops a protective patina . As primary historical documents and archaeological artifacts , the copper plates are invaluable tools for scholarly research in the general history and society of the Indian subcontinent in the 1st millennium CE, and in particular to the early history of Christianity in Asia and the subcontinent. For instance, between the 8th and 10th centuries CE, authorities on

7380-408: The whole of this Malavar, also adding to themselves some of the gentios who would convert themselves. However, the descendants of Thomas Cananeo always remained above them without wishing to marry or to mix with these other Christians...Whence there arose between the St. Thomas Christians and the others great discord, and there were anciently among them great disputes: wherefore at Carturte and Cotete it

7470-419: The witnesses was a Chaldean bishop known by his title of Abuna . After giving an account on the arrival and martyrdom of St. Thomas in India, Abuna mentions the arrival of the merchant "Thomas Canane". He states that Thomas Canane went to Kodungallur and bought land there upon which he built a church, which Abuna states is "still standing" today. Furthermore, Abuna notes that Thomas Canane died from an illness and

7560-520: Was a Syriac Christian merchant magnate who arrived to the Chera Dynasties capital city of Kodungallur between 345 A.D. and 811 A.D. Thoma brought with him Jewish-Christian families (early East Syriac Christian merchants) and clergymen from Persian Mesopotamia . Thoma received copper-plates of socio-economic rights known today as the Thomas of Cana copper plates . The descendants of Thoma and

7650-435: Was an "Armenian" merchant who was also called "Marthoma" or Lord Thomas by the Christians of Kerala and that he procured for them privileges in the form of his copper plate grant. Gouvea gives information on the plates and states that they were entrusted to the Portuguese by Mar Jacob in the following citation: "As he (Thomas of Cana) was noble and rich, and carried on a great trade, he was shown much favour and hospitality by

7740-580: Was buried at Kodungallur. Abuna's testimony is preserved at Archivum Romanum Societas Iesu as document Goa 31, ff.18-19. Damio De Goes : In 1566, Portuguese official Damiao De Goes recounts the information given to him by treasurer of the Portuguese Depot of Cochin Pero De Sequeira on the Thomas of Cana copper plate grant. De Sequeria states that the copper plates were in the possession of Mar Jacob Abuna who had pawned them for twenty crusados due to

7830-456: Was called Makothevar pattanam (the town of the Great God), and it was made the city (capital). From there privileges such as drawbridge at gates, ornamented arches, mounted horse with two drums, cheers, conch blowing, salutes were granted in writing to the Christian foreigner called Knaye Thoma with sacred threat and libation of water and flower. The sun and the moon are witnesses to this. Written to

7920-489: Was necessary to make different Churches, each party keeping aloof from the other. And those of the Thomas Caneneo party went in one Church, and the others in the other. And last year, 1603, the same was the cause of the quarrels between those of Udiamper and Candanada, each one holding out for his party. And it is wonderful to see the aversion which one party has for the other, without being able to forget their antiquities and

8010-460: Was still in existence and was currently in the possession of the Portuguese: "After that came a Christian by name Quinai Thoma, native of Babylon, a merchant, who disembarked at Cranganor and began negotiating his merchandise. Being rich and known in the country, he became a friend of the King of Cranganor who gave him a plot of land of 500 square yards to build a Church in honour of St. Thomas, which

8100-736: Was thought that the plates represented two separate grants issued by Kerala rulers to Syrian Christian merchants. One part of the copper plates (four plates) is preserved at the Devalokam Aramana of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church , while the other two smaller plates are kept at the Poolatheen Aramana in Thiruvalla , belonging to the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church . The copper plates also refer to

#194805