political rights were affirmed in a copperplate inscription struck around the
late eighth century by a local Hindu monarch. In this inscription, we learn
that Jewish settlers were given economic property rights, apparently
including land grants such as were commonly given to groups which a local
monarch wanted to include under his hegemony. The inscription affirms
the right of Jews to hold public festivals and declares that one Joseph Rabbani
(who may have been an adviser in the royal court) was the leader of the
community.^2
The community came to be comprised of “white” Jews and “black”
(literally, “copper”) Jews. The “black” Jews were those who had been there
from the earliest days and whose number had been increased by inter-
marriage or conversion. Extant synagogues, dating from the twelfth century
CEwere associated with these Jews. “White” Jews were apparently descended
from Spanish Jews migrating around the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries;
early generations of those immigrants spoke Spanish and were Sephardim
in orientation.^3
When Cranganore was razed in 1524 by Islamic marauders, the Jews
scattered, most of them settling in Cochin. There, they were caught in the
colonial battles between the Portuguese and the Dutch. The Dutch were
generally supportive, and hence received Jewish cooperation; however, when
the Portuguese captured Cochin, Jews were generally harassed. Cochin is
the site of the oldest extant synagogue associated with the “white” Jews. It
was built in 1666 with Dutch help and with products imported from many
sources, including tiles of Chinese origin (these tiles had been imported by
the local ruler, but were rejected for building purposes because they were
said to have been made at the cost of bullocks’ blood!).^4
The customs retained by these Jews were a mix of local and traditional
Jewish practice. The “black” Jews, for example, were said to dress like local
Muslims – wearing a turban in the temple and skullcap outside; they
dressed in multicolor tunics, a waistcoat, white trousers, and wooden sandals,
spoke Malayalam (the local vernacular), and used Hebrew liturgically.
Their adaptations of “Hindu” customs included the practice of tying a ta ̄li
(marriage cord) around the neck of the bride at the time of marriage and
locating the synagogue at the center of streets populated by Jews, a practice
emulating brahman tradition.
The communities practiced a number of Jewish rituals: circumcision on
the eighth day; Sabbaths; Passover with its distribution of unleavened bread;
the festivals of Pentecost, Trumpets, and Tabernacles (perhaps the most
elaborate of all their festivals). Fasts were held on the day of atonement
and the remembrance of the destruction of the temple. “White” Jews cele-
brated seven days for marriage, culminating on a Sunday; “black” Jews
celebrated fifteen days of marriage, culminating after sundown on a Tuesday.
164 Streams from the “West” and their Aftermath