We saw very little evidence of Christianity in the north, but a huge amount in Kerala. For one thing, this is where Portuguese, then Dutch then British ruled the land for many decades. For another thing, the apostle Thomas (the original "doubting Thomas" because he doubted Christ's resurrection when he first heard about it) is believed to have travelled here in 52AD and thus attracts a lot of pilgrims (just as Santiago de Compostela in Spain does because of St. James).
It was in the 4th century that a Syrian Christian merchant arrived with several hundred families and established a community in South India. Christians follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, as recounted and reflected by many hands in the religion's text, the Bible. Our western time is influenced by Christianity, as year O is represented by Christ's birth in Bethlehem, a few miles south of Jerusalem. Everything before it is annotated with BC ("before Christ") and after it with AD ("Anno Domini" which means "in the year of our Lord).
The church in Kochi where explorer Vasco de Gama was first laid to rest still has the stone he lay under before being returned to Portugal 15 years later. It is probably due to his presence and influence that there are dozens of elaborate Roman Catholic school and churches throughout Kerala, as well as Franciscans, Jesuits, Dominicans and Protestants, despite India's Christian population being about 2.5%, most of which is in the south.
 |
| Dutch architectural influence at the Dutch cemetery |
 |
| where Vasco de Gama lived in Kochi - now a guesthoue |
 |
inside St. Francis Church in Kochi,
originally built in 1503 by Portuguese Franciscans |
 |
a carved wood and fabric punkah, a fan that is operated by a walluh,
who pulls on cords to move the fan and cool the air |
 |
| Vasco de Gama's burial marker |
 |
and where he lay for 15 years after he died
on Christmas Eve in 1524 |
No comments:
Post a Comment