Did you know
One record of ancient religious toleration and trade in Kerala is the Jewish Copper Plate Grant (Juda Sasanam). The Chera king Bhaskara Ravi Varman I issued it at Cranganore (ancient Muziris). He gave it to the Jewish merchant-leader Joseph Rabban. Through this royal charter, the king gave hereditary leadership over the trading guild Anjuvannam. He also gave 72 princely prerogatives. Only royalty and high nobility typically held these rights. • The right to ride upon elephants and horses. • The privilege of having day-lamps (diva-deepam) carried before him, having cloth spread on the ground to walk upon, and traveling in a palanquin with a royal parasol. • The sounding of war trumpets, kettle-drums, and conch shells, and the right to construct ceremonial arched gateways. • Complete exemption from ground rent, tolls, and customs duties. The charter granted these rights in perpetuity. It said “as long as the sun shines upon the face of the earth”. It allowed inheritance through sons or nephews. This accommodated both patrilineal and local matrilineal customs. The original inscribed copper plates have survived over a thousand years. They remain preserved in the Paradesi Synagogue at Mattancherry, Cochin.
Synagogue
Paradesi Synagogue
Hundreds of hand-painted blue-and-white Chinese tiles, no two alike.
220 m from Jew Town
More about Paradesi Synagogue
9- Did you knowParadesi means foreigner in Malayalam.
- Did you knowThe Paradesi Synagogue was built in 1568.
- Did you knowThe Paradesi Synagogue and the Hindu temple of Mattancherry Palace share a wall.
- Did you knowThe Paradesi Synagogue’s Belgian glass chandeliers were imported in the 19th century.
- Did you knowVisitors are expected to enter the Paradesi Synagogue barefoot. Entry rules can change.
- Did you knowThe Portuguese destroyed the Paradesi Synagogue in 1662, and the Dutch rebuilt it two years later.
- Did you knowEzekiel Rahabi brought the Chinese tiles of the Paradesi Synagogue from Canton in the 18th century.
- Did you knowThe Paradesi Synagogue floor is paved with hundreds of 18th-century hand-painted Chinese porcelain tiles, and each tile is unique.
- Did you knowDuring the Portuguese plunder of Mattancherry’s Jew’s Town in 1662, the Jewish community hid its ancient Hebrew Pentateuch, or Torah scroll, to save it from destruction. After Dutch rule was established, they recovered it completely uninjured in 1668.