Chendamangalam is a small town and a panchayat in Paravur Taluk, Ernakulam district in the state of Kerala, India.
Ernakulam is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala, and takes its name from the eponymous city division in Kochi. It is situated in the central part of the state, spans an area of about 2,924 square kilometres (1,129 sq mi), and is home to over 9% of Kerala's population. Its headquarters are located at Kakkanad. The district includes Kochi, also known as the commercial capital of Kerala, which is famous for its ancient Churches, Hindu temples, synagogues and mosques. The district includes the largest metropolitan region of the state: Greater Cochin. Ernakulam is the district that yields the most revenue and the largest number of industries in the state. Ernakulam is the third most populous district in Kerala, after Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram. The district also hosts the highest number of international and domestic tourists in Kerala state.
Cochin Jews are the oldest group of Jews in India, with roots that are claimed to date back to the time of King Solomon. The Cochin Jews settled in the Kingdom of Cochin in South India, now part of the state of Kerala. As early as the 12th century, mention is made of the Jews in southern India by Benjamin of Tudela. They are known to have developed Judeo-Malayalam, a dialect of Malayalam language.
Kodungallur is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the Malabar Coast in Thrissur district of Kerala, India. It is 29 kilometres (18 mi) north of Kochi (Cochin) by National Highway 66 and 38 km (24 mi) from Thrissur. Kodungallur, being a port city at the northern end of the Kerala lagoons, was a strategic entry point for the naval fleets to the extensive Kerala backwaters.
Fort Kochi, Fort Cochin in English, Cochim de Baixo in Cochin Portuguese creole, is a neighbourhood of Cochin (Kochi) city in Kerala, India. Fort Kochi takes its name from the Fort Manuel of Cochin, the first European fort on Indian soil, controlled by the Portuguese East Indies. This is part of a handful of water-bound islands and islets toward the south-west of the mainland Kochi, and collectively known as Old Cochin or West Cochin. Adjacent to this is the locality of Mattancherry. In 1967, these three municipalities along with a few adjoining areas, were amalgamated to form the Kochi Municipal Corporation.
Mattancherry, is a historic ward of Kochi, Kerala. It is about 9 km south-west from the city center. Mattanchery is home to many sites of historical and cultural significance, including the Paradesi Synagogue- which was the centre of life in the Jewish Quarter. In addition to the Cochin Jews and Paradesi Jews, Mattanchery is also home to Konkanis and Gujaratis, with the Gujarati street in Mattancherry being a cultural icon for Keralite Gujaratis.
North Paravur. formerly known as Paravur or Parur, is a municipality and suburb in Ernakulam district in the Indian state of Kerala. It is a northern suburb of the city of Kochi and is situated around 20 km from the city centre. It is also the first place in India to use electronic voting machine during the by-elections in 1982.
The Mattancherry Palace is a palace popularly known as the Dutch Palace, in Mattancherry, Kochi, in the Indian state of Kerala which features Kerala murals depicting portraits and exhibits of the Rajas of Kochi. The palace was included in the "tentative list" of UNESCO World Heritage Site and hence it's yet to be in UNESCO. Despite the name Dutch Palace, the palace was built by the Portuguese Empire as a gift to the Kingdom of Cochin.
There are many synagogues in India, although many no longer function as such and today vary in their levels of preservation. These buildings dating from the mid-sixteenth through the mid-20th century once served the country's three distinct Jewish groups—the ancient Cochin Jews, and Bene Israel communities as well as the more recent Baghdadi Jews.
Abraham ben Barak Salem was an Indian nationalist and Zionist, a lawyer and politician, and one of the most prominent Cochin Jews of the twentieth century. Popularly known by his epithet of "Jewish Gandhi", he was known as "Salem Kocha" to the resident Jewish community of Cochin. A descendant of meshuchrarim, he was the first Cochin Jew to become an attorney. He practised in Ernakulam, where he eventually used satyagraha to fight the discrimination among Paradesis Jews against Malabari Jews. An activist in the trade union and Indian national causes, he later was attracted to Zionism. After visiting Palestine in the 1930s, he later helped arrange the migration of most Cochin Jews to Israel by 1955. He stayed in Kochi for the remainder of his life.
Jewish copper plates of Cochin, also known as Cochin plates of Bhaskara Ravi-varman, is a royal charter issued by the Chera Perumal king of Kerala, south India to Joseph Rabban, a Jewish merchant magnate of Kodungallur. The charter shows the status and importance of the Jewish colony in Kodungallur (Cranganore) near Cochin on the Malabar Coast.
The Mala Synagogue is one of the oldest extant synagogues in India and was built by the historic Malabar Jews of Kerala. It is located at Mala, a small town in Thrissur district of Kerala state in south India.
The Kochangadi Synagogue, or Misro Synagogue was a historic synagogue located in Kochangadi, south of Jew Town in Kochi, in the coastal state of Kerala. It was built in 1344 A.D by the Malabari Jews after fleeing from Cranganore, making it the oldest synagogue in India in recorded history. It was lost and never rebuilt. The subsequent Kadavumbhagam Synagogue and Thekkumbhagam Synagogue were built after this congregation was established. The name "Kochangadi" is an abbreviation of "Kocha Angadi" or "Jew Market", as jews were addressed as Kocha in colloquial Malayalam.
The Chendamangalam Synagogue is one of the oldest known synagogues built by the Malabar Jews, in Chendamangalam, a village in the Ernakulam district of the coastal state of Kerala. It is dated to 1100 A.D, though the synagogue structure itself dates to 1420 A.D or 1614 A.D., making it the oldest synagogue in the Commonwealth of Nations. A tombstone recovered from Kodungallur was stored in this synagogue and is presently on display in the frontyard. This tombstone with the inscription of Sarah bat Israel is the oldest Jewish epitaph found in India, dating to 1269 A.D.
The Paravur Synagogue aka Parur Synagogue is one of the largest and most complete among the Jewish synagogues in Kerala, located in North Paravur (Parur). Built by the Malabar Jews, it has undergone successive phases of destruction and reconstruction. The present synagogue complex dates to 1616 A.D., but it was built on top of a much older building speculated to have been constructed as early as 750 A.D or 1105 A.D., making it one of the oldest synagogues in India and the Common Wealth of Nations. It is currently non-operational as a synagogue for worship. It has been renovated by the Government of Kerala and is open to public visits as the Kerala Jews History Museum.
The Thekkumbhagam MattancherrySynagogue aka Thekkumbhagam Synagogue was a synagogue located in Mattancherry Jew Town, a suburb of Kochi, Kerala, in South India. It was built in 1647 AD. by the Malabar Jews, on land donated by the Maharajah of Cochin and was one of the oldest known synagogues in India. It was the fourth to be built in Mattancherry after they fled to Cochin from Muziris and it was one of three in the area, the others being the Kadavumbhagam Mattancherry Synagogue and the Paradesi Synagogue of the Paradesi Jews of Cochin.
Kadavumbhagam Mattancherry Synagogue aka Kadavumbhagam Synagogue is a Jewish synagogue located in Mattancherry, a locality in Kochi, in the coastal state of Kerala. It is one of the oldest extant synagogues in India, built in 1544 A.D. It was built by the Malabar Jews who are the oldest jewish settlers in India, believed to have arrived as traders in the ancient port city of Muziris. It was the second to be built in Mattancherry, after the Kochangadi Palli in 1344 A. D., and is one of three synagogues in the area. The others being the Thekkumbhagam Mattancherry Synagogue (extinct) and the Paradesi Synagogue of the Paradesi jews of Cochin.
The Kadavumbhagham Ernakulam Synagogue is the restored oldest synagogue of the Malabar Jews, with a Sefer Torah scroll and offering occasional services. It was established in 1200 CE and restored several times through the centuries on the same site. It is modeled on the earliest synagogue of the Malabar Jews at Muziris from the ancient times of Mediterranean sea trade with Kerala. The earliest synagogue of the ancient Malabar Jews is today submerged in the sea following the gradual rise of sea level over several millennia. Although the Chendamangalam Synagogue is the oldest surviving synagogue structure in Kerala and the Indian subcontinent, its Torah scrolls were taken to Israel by it congregation in 1952. This makes the Kadavumbhagham Ernakulam synagogue the oldest Malabar Jewish synagogue today with a Torah scroll that is occasionally used for services. The Paradesi Sephardic synagogue at Mattancherry also has Torah scrolls but it was established much later in 1568 CE.
