Q1.
Observe the pictures below. What are the clues you get about the integration of the Syriac Christian community into Indian society?
Answer
The faith in these pictures is Christian; almost everything else in them is Kerala. The ceremony takes place in a church, led by a priest — and the bride is dressed and married in the way brides of Kerala are.
| In the pictures | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| The bride’s clothes — a gold-and-yellow silk sari with a broad red and gold border | Not a Western wedding gown. This is South Indian silk, worn as a sari |
| Her ornaments — gold jhumka earrings, a gold necklace and chain, bangles | The standard jewellery of an Indian bride |
| The white veil pinned over her hair, edged with gold embroidery | This one is Christian. It sits on top of the sari — the two traditions worn together, literally |
| The groom ties a thread with a small gold pendant around her neck (top right picture) | Tying a thread or chain around the bride’s neck is a marriage custom of South India. Here it has been taken into the church service |
| A red-and-gold silk is draped over the bride’s head by the groom, with the priest holding it (lower pictures) | Another local wedding custom, again performed inside the church, in front of the congregation |
| The priest in a black head-cap and a red-and-gold embroidered vestment | The Church’s own tradition, kept — the community “used the ancient Syriac language in their worship and traditions” |
| The groom in a grey suit and tie; guests in shirts and saris | Ordinary modern Indian wedding clothes |
So what is the clue? That the community did not have to choose. It kept a Christian faith carried from West Asia in the 4th century CE, and it married the way its neighbours in Kerala marry. A Syriac Christian wedding is a Kerala wedding held in a church.
Why it happens: worship and custom are different layers of life. Worship — the language of prayer, the priest, the belief about Christ — is what the community fled West Asia to protect, so it was guarded carefully. Custom — dress, jewellery, food, the shape of a celebration — is shared with the people you live among, work with and celebrate beside. After sixteen centuries on the Malabar coast, the customs are simply Malayali. That is why the chapter says these Christians are called ‘Syrian Christians’ in India: the name records where the tradition came from, while the life around it is Indian.