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June, 1928)
THOMAS OANA.
105
20 The ship sails through the waves of the red sea and the black sea; Mahôdêvard1 of the Malabar king was sighted and forth with the sails were furled.
Strophe VIII. The foreigner (Thomas Cana) saw the king and received land; The poble city and church were finished.
Those who heard of this came and entered the fort, 25 Saw the good abunan (=bishop) and received his blessing.
Literal Translation of Malayalam Documents (No. 5) (On Mar Josoph.)63 In the good city of Jerusalem,84 In the land where emeralds and pearls grow, Of the lord, resplendent as a dancing peacock, The complexion, I may say, resembles gold of ten and a half carata.66. He speaks like a Chinese flute; He is not lacking at all in religious zeal. That noble lord wants to go and govern Malabar. He started by Bava's (the Father's)*6 command ; He obtained his permission and forthwith set out on his journey.
(Another tune.) 10 He was given high social rank.
He was given the several privileges of a Catholicos, And he was fittingly sent off with regal musical instrumente. In his holy hand he received the Book,67 The holy Catholicos, according to the custom instituted by St. Thomas.
(Another tune.) 15 He went to Esra 68 and obtained permission,
He received the good signet ruby. In his wish he was in Cochin,69 in excellence he was in Romero.
(Another tune.) Together they?1 started and embarked in a ship,
Set sail in the direction of Malabar, 20 And landed in Cranganore.
On their sighting the Cochin 7 harbour,
61 The city of Mahadevar Pattanam (Cranganore).
69 (The remaining lined have no bearing on Thomas Cana.) Abun, dbanan, and aband wro from Syriac, and mean 'our father.' The Lord's prayer in Syrisc begins with Abin, Our Fatber. Bishops also are addressed as abun. Abin in related to Abha in "Abba, Father of Mark, 14 : 36.
63 Mor Joseph, Bishop of Edessa, was the person who saw a vision in the night about the pitiablo stato of the Malabar Christians, and prevailed on the Catholicos of the East to send him to Malabar along with body of Christians under the leadership of Thomas Cana in A.D. 345.
S. Mar Joseph of Edessa is here said to be in Jerusalem. Was ho a native of Edessa, consecrated bishop of Jerusalern?
65 Gold of 10 carats is regarder es pure gold. Bodies of the colour of pure gold are regarded in Malabar as the most beautiful. To acquire that colour kings and other rich persons take every day & mixture of Bandalwood and gold made into a paste.
88 The Catholicos of the East. B&vá is now generally applied to Patriarchs and Catholicoi. 67 The Bible.
68 This is presumably the seat of the Catholicos of the East. Which place is this? Is it Otroëne, the district of which Edessa was the capital ?
*He was so eager to be in Malabar that he transported himself thero (to Cochin) in imagination. TO He was equal to the Pope in grandeur.
71 Mar Joseph, Thomas Cana and others. 11 Cochin harbour is close to Cranganore, where they are said to have landed.
