Thoothoor

Last updated

Thoothoor, தூத்தூர்
Thoothoor, தூத்தூர்,തൂത്തൂർ
Village
தூத்தூர், Thoothoor, തൂത്തൂർ
India Tamil Nadu location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Thoothoor, தூத்தூர்
Location in Tamil Nadu, India
India location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Thoothoor, தூத்தூர்
Thoothoor, தூத்தூர் (India)
Coordinates: 8°15′40″N77°08′35″E / 8.260998°N 77.143094°E / 8.260998; 77.143094
Country Flag of India.svg  India
State Tamil Nadu
District Killiyur Taluk Kanyakumari
Government
  TypeFirst Grade Municipality Village Panchayat and Thoothoor Gram Panchayat
  BodyKollencode Municipality and Thoothoor Gram Panchayat
Population
 (2011)
  Total 8,000 +
Languages
  Official Tamil, Malayalam, English
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
Area code 04651
Vehicle registration TN - 75
Nearest city Thiruvananthapuram, Nagercoil
Climate Tropical, Coastal (Köppen)
Website www.thoothoor.com

Thoothoor is a coastal Village located in the southern district of Tamil Nadu, called Kanyakumari, Taluk Killiyur, bordering the state of Kerala in India.

Contents

Etymology

The name Thoothoor has its roots in the Tamil words தூ/தூய்மை (Cleanliness/immaculateness) and ஊர் (town/place) meaning a "Clean place." The region was filled with white sands everywhere and people used to live in a very small area, so most of the region was vacant and covered with white sands, leading to its name.

History

The Catholic Church plays a conspicuous role in the day-to-day life of the fishermen of Thoothoor village. The conversion of the fishermen of this village to Christianity may be traced back to A.D. 1544. The event cumulated in the works of St. Francis Xavier, who is said to have converted 10,000 Mukkuva fishermen living in thirteen villages along the coast (from Pallam to PoovarNeerody, Marthandanthurai, Vallavilai, Eraviputhenthurai, Thoothoor, Poothurai, Thengapattanam, Enayam, Midalam, Vaniyakudy, Colachel, Kadiapattanam, Muttom and Pallam) in December 1544.

In 1600, the Thoothoor Parish Church was brought under the Padroado. Subsequently, this Parish came under the Diocese of Cochin. In 1838, St. Thomas Church, Thoothoor and other adjacent coastal Churches from Pallithura to Erayumanthurai were brought under the Diocese of Varapuzha. This unification brought the Padroado Propaganda dispute to a crucial stage. Ultimately, St. Thomas Church, Thoothoor was brought under the Diocese of Cochin with its revival in 1850. [1]

The Diocese of Thiruvananthapuram was founded on 1 July 1937. In 1952 all the coastal Churches from Pallithura to Erayumanthurai were temporarily added to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum or Thiruvananthapuram Diocese. The annexure was made permanent on 20 May 1955. Thus at present Thoothoor Parish Church is one of the Foranate Churches of Trivandrum Diocese. [2]

Geography

Thoothoor is a coastal village situated on the Arabian Sea coast. It is the headquarters of Thoothoor panchayat, consisting of five villages, namely Thoothoor, Chinnathurai, Eraviputhenthurai, Poothurai and Erayumanthurai. These five villages together are commonly called Thoothooor. Thoothoor is geographically located in Killiyoor Taluk, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located 45 km (28 mi) west of Nagercoil, the headquarters of Kanyakumari District and 40 km (25 mi) southeast of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala State. Thiruvananthapuram Airport is the nearest airport and nearby railway stations are Parassala and Kuzhithurai.

Thoothoor is almost exclusively a fishing village, even though a little group of people are involved in agriculture, especially in coconut plantations, besides their primary occupation in other professions. The fishing operation in this village is most often restricted to a coastline the length of one kilometer. Its total population is about 6,000. This village is bounded in the north by the Paalamadam, south by the Arabian Sea, east by Poothurai village and west by Chinnathurai village.

Demographics

Economy

As of 2007, Thoothoor is the home of several significant economic sources. The main business is Shark catching, using modern types of equipment such as GPS and other Navigation tools. The average cost of one fishing boat is 3060 lakhs in Indian currency. Fishermen usually go fishing in the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. Boat owners travel in and around Tamil Nadu state and neighboring states such as Kerala, and the more distant state of Maharashtra. Now a few boat owners have moved to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands for deep sea fishing. The sweat of our boat owners and fishermen working with them make wonders for their generation. Fisherman supports their families by fishing and hence their families are able to afford higher education. Thus, just like in modern cities most of the kids are getting higher education in a good atmosphere with a tremendous amount of good energy.

The main road is the centre for the shark business and shark merchandise, as well as some other fish on a small level. In terms of jobs, in Thoothoor there are a few main sectors, a large number of people from this place are working in industries such as IT, manufacturing, education, educational management, the medical field, business management, mechanical engineering, marine engineering, electrical engineering, lawyers, etc. All such people are trained professionals, graduates, and a few PhD holders in mathematics, history, Tamil and physics. There are masters in IT professional, fish merchandise, teachers in education sectors and a few health services.

A few hundred people are working in the Persian Gulf in countries such as UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, etc. A fewer number of people working are in the UK, the US, Canada and New Zealand. Mechanical engineers and marine engineers work on international and local ships. Some MBAs are working at the south Indian bank. Some marine engineers work in international ships in the deep sea. They travel to various countries. There are a few hundred natives of Thoothoor working in Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, and Thiruvananthapuram. The few people working locally work in small businesses and agriculture.

Agriculture crops are coconuts, bananas, mangos, neem trees, and other tropical fruits and vegetables.

Transportation

Education

St. Jude's College St Judes College Entrance Thoothoor Mar24 A7C 10084.jpg
St. Jude's College

Education plays a vital role in Thoothoor. The Government Primary School provides education to the poor. The private schools include:

The above educational institutions serve students from Thoothoor and neighbouring villages and towns.

Sports

The main sport of the region is football, the passion for football in thoothoor spans several decades, but Thoothoor had very little to show for it in terms of churning out professional footballers until recent times.

In 2012, a team representing Kanyakumari district with 13 of its 16 members from Thoothoor lifted the inaugural Chief Minister's Trophy bringing home a whopping Rs. 1 lakh per player.

Thoothoor Forane Football Academy is the only academy to be established in the region and is set to begin functioning on September 27. TFFA will train 40 young Thoothoor footballers in the U-14 and U-16 categories.

Three from Thoothoor — Reagan Albarnas, A Jacksan Dhas and S Shinu — were part of the Tamil Nadu Santosh Trophy squad. and Around 20 footballers from the region have gone on to play for department sides like Indian Railways, ICF - Chennai, Chennai Nethaji Club, Indian Bank and Mumbai Hindustan Limited.

NLT (Netaji Library & Sports Club Thoothoor) was started in the year 1957. NLT which started its journey as a simple newspaper reading room has evolved as a giant organisation today with district level reputation as a library and multinational recognition as a sports club, particularly football.

NLT conducts the popular " One day Football tournament " every year on Easter Sunday, with prize money of 100,000 INR and thousands of people attending. The game is conducted in group stage and playoffs. As a result, NLT is recognised as a symbol of pride for people in Thoothoor region.

Religion

St. Catherine's Church, Eraviputhenthura Front Catherine Church Eraviputhenthurai Mar24 A7C 09985.jpg
St. Catherine's Church, Eraviputhenthura
St. Jude's Church, Chinnathurai Front Facade Judes Church Chinnathurai Mar24 A7C 09994.jpg
St. Jude's Church, Chinnathurai

The territory is a Catholic Christian community. This region was converted to Christianity during Saint Thomas the Apostle period. Thoothoor Forane church was built by the Dutch in about 1600 and renovated in 2010. Thoothoor Forane contains 8 Parishes belonging to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum. [3]

Roman Catholic Parishes in Thoothoor
ParishLocation
St. Thomas Forane ChurchThoothoor
Our Lady of Dolours ChurchMarthanadanthura
St. Catherine's ChurchEraviputhenthura
St. John the Baptist ChurchPoothurai
St. Jude's ChurchChinnathurai
St. Lucia's ChurchErayumanthurai
St. Mary's ChurchVallavilai
St. Nicholas ChurchNeerody

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanacherry</span> Eastern Catholic archeparchy in Kerala, India

The Archeparchy of Changanacherry is a Syro-Malabar Catholic archeparchy with an area of 24,595 km2 comprising the districts of Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, and also Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the largest Catholic dioceses in India in terms of area. Joseph Perumthottam is the current Metropolitan Archbishop, serving since 2007. Thomas Tharayil has been the auxiliary bishop since 2017. Suffragan eparchies of the Changanassery archeparchy includes Palai, Kanjirappally-Nilackal, and Thuckalay-Thiruvithancode.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edathua</span> Village in Kerala, India

Edathua is a small village in Kuttanad, Alappuzha district, Kerala, India. It is located 12 km from Thiruvalla city center, National Highway 183 and the Thiruvalla railway station.

Thuckalay or Thakkalai is a town in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, India. Thuckalay comes under the Padmanabhapuram Municipality, and is the administrative headquarters of Kalkulam Taluk. The Revenue Divisional Office is located in Mettukadai.

Kuzhithurai is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Vilavancode Taluk. It is located 26 km (16 mi) north of the Nagercoil city and 42 km (26 mi) south of Kerala's capital city Trivandrum along NH66. It has a historical seaport where ancient merchants came from across the Arabian sea in ancient times. It is mentioned in ancient Indian maps. As of 2011, the town had a population of 21,307.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eraviputhenthurai</span> Village in Tamil Nadu, India

Eraviputhenthurai is a village on the coast of the Arabian Sea, in Thoothoor Village Panchayat, Vilavancode Taluk, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muttom, Kanyakumari</span> Village in Tamil Nadu, India

Muttom is a village in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu, India. It is a well-known beach with rocks and caves. The major occupation of people in Muttom is fishing. Due to the natural beauty of the beach, It attracts tourists from all over India. Many people come to the beach every day and spend their time on the seashore. This beach is known as the best sunset point in the district. Muttom Harbor work has been under construction for the last 3 years and was expected to be completed before the end of 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum</span> Latin Catholic archdiocese in Kerala, India

The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Trivandrum is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church. Its episcopal see is Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. It shares its see with the major archeparchy of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, the Major Archeparchy of Trivandrum. The archdiocese a metropolitan see of an ecclesiastical province with four suffragan dioceses.

Thoothoor - Chinnathurai is a small village in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, at the southern tip of peninsular India Under the Parent village of Thoothoor. The two major towns nearby are Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala state to the west and Nagercoil to the east. The town is located on the coast and is historically a fishing village, specializing in catching sharks and other large fishes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Tamil Nadu</span>

Christianity in the state of Tamil Nadu, India is the second largest religion in the state. According to tradition, St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, landed in Malabar Coast in AD 52. In the colonial age many Portuguese, Dutch, British and Italian Christians came to Tamil Nadu. Priests accompanied them not only to minister the colonisers but also to spread the Christian faith among the non-Christians in Tamil Nadu. Currently, Christians are a minority community comprising 6% of the total population. Christians are mainly concentrated in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu - Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eraniel railway station</span> Railway station in Tamil Nadu, India

Eraniel Railway station is an NSG–5 category Indian railway station in Thiruvananthapuram railway division of Southern Railway zone. It in Eraniel is the most important railway station of Kallkkulam taluk of Kanyakumari district in the Tamil Nadu state of India. All daily trains passing through the station halts in Eraniel station. The famous Mandaikadu Bagavathi Amman Temple, Colachel Port, I.R.E Industries in Manavalakurichi and Padmanabhapuram Palace are situated nearby the station. The station also is the nearest railhead for two municipalities – Padmanabapuram, Colachel and for 25 villages.This Railway station is very useful to go work in morning time.

Kappukad/Kappukadu is an ancient village in southern Tamil Nadu in Kanyakumari District in Southern India. The village is also known as Kappiyankadu due to the belief that the ancient Tamil poet Tholkappiyar, the disciple of Agasthya, was born 1 May in the Tamil month of Chitirai on a pournami day in 865 BC.

Madichel is a village in Vilavancode taluk, Kanniyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India. The village is near Kuzhithurai, a historical seaport where merchants came from across the Arabian sea in ancient times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Territories of Catholic dioceses in India</span>

This article gives a list of the territories of the dioceses of the Catholic Church in India.

Marthandanthurai is a coastal village on the shore of the Arabian Sea in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India, near the border with Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The village is part of the Kollemcode panchayat. It belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum from 1967. Prior to joining with the Trivandrum Latin Archdiocese, this village was a part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cochin. The village is known for its beauty and versatility. It is a pilgrimage centre of Our Lady of Lourdu and is dedicated to the patronage of Our Lady of Dolours. The historical AVM Canal flows through this village. Its golden sand beach is the attraction of this tourist village. Being the part of Kollemcode Town Panchayat, this is the prime centre of trade and transportation for the neighboring villages. The 30% of people live in Marthandanthurai speak Malayalam as their major spoken language and the remainder speak a mixture of Tamil and Malayalam. In short, it can be said that people have their own colloquial way of talking and language. This language slang has big difference among neighbor regions and villages. Marthandanthurai the name sometimes referred as "Land of Marthanda Varma" because the king who did a lot of favors to this village. The villages of Vallavilai and Neerody are located near the village Marthandanthurai. This Village is located nearly 70 km from Kanyakumari and 30 km from Trivandrum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chemmanvilai</span> Village in Tamil Nadu, India

Chemmanvilai is a village in Chadayamangalam Panchayat, Kalkulam Taluk in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India. St. Antony's church stands in the middle of the village.

The St. Therese of Child Jesus Church, Kandanvilai is the first church which is dedicated to St. Therese after her beatification and blessed on 7 April 1924. Kandanvilai is a village in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is on the Nagercoil–Monday Nager Highway, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from Nagercoil. The nearest railway station is Erainel, and the nearest airport is Trivandrum. Kandanvilai Church has three substations; Eraniel, Chithanthopue and Pandaravilai.

Mary Matha Shrine is a Roman Catholic church located at Thiruvithamcode in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu in India. The church is also called the Church of the Ascension of our Lord or the Ascension Jesus Church and is believed to have been established by St Francis Xavier. The shrine of Mary at Thiruvithamcode is rich with its own historical significance and importance. The fact that many saints have sanctified this soil by their visit to this place also adds more importance to this place. Thiruvithamcode was previously part of the Kingdom of Travancore.

Enayam is a village in Killiyoor Block, located within the Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu State of India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Lady of Presentation Church, Mathapuram</span> Church in Tamil Nadu, India

Punitha Kanikkai Matha church is situated in the south end of Tamil Nadu in a village called Mathapuram, which is near the town of Karungal in Kanyakumari district, India, and belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kuzhithurai.

References

  1. Albaris, J. (2012). "History of Thoothoor Area". Thoothoor.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  2. "History: Formation of Trivandrum Latin Diocese". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum . 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  3. "Parishes (Search: Thoothoor)". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum . 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2024.