T
Thomas48
Guest
Hey Guys,
Been a couple years since I‘ve posted on these forums and I wonder if anyone from back in the day is still around
. Nonetheless I wanted to share this post on a unique set of folk songs maintained by the Knanaya community of India. The Knanaya are a minority ethnic group found amount the St. Thomas Christians or Syrian Christians of Kerala. The Knanaya are the descendants of Syrian Jewish-Christian merchants from Asia Minor who settled in Kerala during the medieval era. They maintain a distinct set of ancient folk songs in which the oldest songs were written during the medieval era.
Link to Knanaya Folk Songs:
Introduction:
The folk songs of the Knanaya community are considered ancient in origins and are a surviving treasure in the heritage of Kerala. The songs themselves are a poetic amalgamate of Jewish-Christian, Hindu, and Syriac culture representing both the centuries the Knanaya have lived as a minority ethnic-group in Kerala and their origins as a foreign community.
History and Structure:
The oldest Knanaya folk songs were first written down in the 16/17th centuries. The songs were written in Old Malayalam but contain diction and lexemes from Sanskrit, Syriac, and Tamil indicating their antiquity. In the modern age the Knanaya community maintains two existing palm leave sets, an older set dated to the 16/17th centuries in the possession of Kottayam Knanaya Archdiocese and a newer 19th century set archived by the Knanaya Jacobite Family Puthiamattathil.
Though the songs were first written down in these periods, it is commonly believed they are much older in their origins, possibly of the medieval era. The oldest song which can be surely dated is attributed to 1456, while others are speculated to be older. Being folk songs in nature, the songs themselves were originally passed down orally and for this reason it is deduced that they are apart of an ancient tradition that was only later written down.
Analytically the songs sing of the heritage of the community and expound on numerous topics such as the history of the communities arrival to Kerala under Knai Thoma, historical recordings of the erection of churches, wedding songs and instructions for wedding rituals, songs of biblical figures both of the New and Old Testament, songs accompanying circle dances, and songs of other historical events and figures.
Cross-Cultural Correlations Jewish-Christian Context:
Numerous third-party scholars have studied the songs of the Knanaya and noted that they are strikingly similar in their structure and lyrics to that of the Cochin Jews of Kerala, some songs even having the same exact lyrics. One of the most fascinating aspects of these compared songs is the fact that a number of Knanaya songs sing and or allude to the 11th century Cochin Jewish leader Joseph Rabban. One song of the Cochin Jews mentions Knai Thoma as well. Scholars believe that these correlations reflect the Jewish-Christian heritage of the Knanaya and suggest the Knanaya and Cochin Jews may have been two close-knit ethnic groups within the environs of Cranganore and for that reason maintain these such cultural similarities.
Been a couple years since I‘ve posted on these forums and I wonder if anyone from back in the day is still around
. Nonetheless I wanted to share this post on a unique set of folk songs maintained by the Knanaya community of India. The Knanaya are a minority ethnic group found amount the St. Thomas Christians or Syrian Christians of Kerala. The Knanaya are the descendants of Syrian Jewish-Christian merchants from Asia Minor who settled in Kerala during the medieval era. They maintain a distinct set of ancient folk songs in which the oldest songs were written during the medieval era.Link to Knanaya Folk Songs:
Introduction:
The folk songs of the Knanaya community are considered ancient in origins and are a surviving treasure in the heritage of Kerala. The songs themselves are a poetic amalgamate of Jewish-Christian, Hindu, and Syriac culture representing both the centuries the Knanaya have lived as a minority ethnic-group in Kerala and their origins as a foreign community.
History and Structure:
The oldest Knanaya folk songs were first written down in the 16/17th centuries. The songs were written in Old Malayalam but contain diction and lexemes from Sanskrit, Syriac, and Tamil indicating their antiquity. In the modern age the Knanaya community maintains two existing palm leave sets, an older set dated to the 16/17th centuries in the possession of Kottayam Knanaya Archdiocese and a newer 19th century set archived by the Knanaya Jacobite Family Puthiamattathil.
Though the songs were first written down in these periods, it is commonly believed they are much older in their origins, possibly of the medieval era. The oldest song which can be surely dated is attributed to 1456, while others are speculated to be older. Being folk songs in nature, the songs themselves were originally passed down orally and for this reason it is deduced that they are apart of an ancient tradition that was only later written down.
Analytically the songs sing of the heritage of the community and expound on numerous topics such as the history of the communities arrival to Kerala under Knai Thoma, historical recordings of the erection of churches, wedding songs and instructions for wedding rituals, songs of biblical figures both of the New and Old Testament, songs accompanying circle dances, and songs of other historical events and figures.
Cross-Cultural Correlations Jewish-Christian Context:
Numerous third-party scholars have studied the songs of the Knanaya and noted that they are strikingly similar in their structure and lyrics to that of the Cochin Jews of Kerala, some songs even having the same exact lyrics. One of the most fascinating aspects of these compared songs is the fact that a number of Knanaya songs sing and or allude to the 11th century Cochin Jewish leader Joseph Rabban. One song of the Cochin Jews mentions Knai Thoma as well. Scholars believe that these correlations reflect the Jewish-Christian heritage of the Knanaya and suggest the Knanaya and Cochin Jews may have been two close-knit ethnic groups within the environs of Cranganore and for that reason maintain these such cultural similarities.
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