RELIGIONS IN KERALA
Main Religion in Kerala: Hinduism
Other Religions: Islam, Christianity, Jewism and Buddhism
The
ancient Keralites followed a Dravidian way of life and their religion was
a strong mixture of animism, totemism and spiritual worship. Tree worship
and animal worship were also common.
The advent of Aryan religions like Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism from
the north changed this Dravidian way of life. The liberal natives welcomed
the new religions, leading to a synthesis of Aryan and Dravidian religious
practices.
Buddhism And Jainism
Jainism was the first to come to Kerala. It arrived even before the
Christian era. The Koodalmanikyam
Temple of Irinjalakkuda is believed to have originally been a Jain
temple. Jainism started declining in Kerala around the 8th century and
nearly disappeared around the 16th century.
Jain shrines still survive in Wayanad,
Kasargod, Alappuzha
and Kochi. Buddhism came to Kerala around
the 3rd century BC during the reign of emperor Ashoka and held sway in
Kerala for a few centuries.
The Vadakkunnatha
Temple of Thrissur and the Shiva
Temple at Madavurpara at Kazhakkoottam near
Thiruvananthapuram show
evidence of having been Buddhist shrines at one time. The temple
architecture, the 'sastha' cult, 'naga' (serpent) worship and the festival
processions evince shades of Buddhist influence.
The Malayalam Language too shows the
influence of Buddhism in the sizeable content of Pali words in it.
Buddhism started declining by around the 8th century AD. It was the Hindu
reform movement that hastened the decline of both religions.
Christianity
The
Syrian Christians of Kerala believe that St. Thomas, one of the direct
disciples of Christ landed near Muziris in 52 AD and established 7
churches, of which 4 exist even today.
There is recorded evidence of a theologian from Alexandria coming to
Kerala to preach the gospel in 180 AD and the migration of about 400
people from the Middle East in the 4th century and yet another exodus at
the beginning of the 9th century.
The Portuguese who arrived in 1498 AD introduced Latin rites. Later,
during the British rule, the Church Mission Society of London began its
work in the country.
Today, there are five distinct branches of Christianity in Kerala, the
Roman Catholic Church following either Syrian, Latin or Malayalam
liturgies, the Orthodox Syrian Church, the Mar Thomas Syrian Church, the
Church Of South India and the Nestorian Church.
Islam
The Arabs had a long relationship with Kerala, dating back to several
centuries, probably even before the Christain era. It was around the 8th
century AD that Islam came to Kerala from over the seas.
Legend has it that the last of the great monarchs of the Chera empire,
Cheraman Perumal, embraced Islam and set sail to Mecca. His conversion
served as a fillip to the spread of Islam in Kerala.
The Zamorins of Kozhikode also
encouraged the Muslims. In later years, the invasions of Hyder Ali and
Tipu Sultan of Mysore spawned an increase in the number of Muslims in
north Kerala.
Hinduism
One
of the pioneers of the Hindu renaissance was Sankaracharya or Adi Sankara
(7th century AD), who founded a school of Vedic studies. His philosophy of
'Advait Vedanta' stressed the oneness of the individual soul with the all
pervading cosmic force, 'brahmin'.
Sankara's preaching combined the best of Hinduism and Buddhism. This
philosopher-saint set up 'mutts' (religious centres) in the four corners
of India, Badrinath
in the northern Himalayas, Puri in the east, Dwarka in the west and
Sringeri in the south.
In effect, he laid the foundations of a cultural synthesis, which
constitutes the religious history of India. Since the Hindu gurus imparted
their philosophy in Sanskrit, the language of scholars, they wielded
little influence over the masses.
The saints and savants of the Bhakti cult, by popularising simple Hindu
devotional literature in local dialects, generated intense religious
enthusiasm among the masses and this eventually precipitated the decline
of Jainism and Buddhism in Kerala.
The Jew Of Kerala
The Jews reached Kerala in the 1st century AD they came to Muziris
fleeing the Pogroms in their homelands and settled in places like Parur
and Mattancherry.
They became a prosperous trading community under the patronage of Hindu
rulers like Bhaskar Ravi Varman, whose grant of privileges can be seen in
the 1000 AD copper plated preserved in the Mattancherry Synanogue.
Under Portuguese duress, the Jews shifted to Kochi,
where they established the now famous Jew town. With the formation of
Israel, most of Jews in Kochi migrated home,
leaving behind barely a hundred members of the community.
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