Indian Antiquary Vol 57

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, Krishnaswami Aiyangar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 37

FEBRUARY, 1928)
MALABAR MISCELLANY
"Those who settle down in accordance with this arrangement have (i.e., need pay) neither booth-tax24 nor washerman-tax26. Agreeably to this arrangement they are bound to pay customs duty, and paddy for the Ônam (festival) and for military recruitment.
“The women and children who have settled down in conformity with the first 27 arrangement or the Vanmutalköyil-8 (temple) as well as the site pertaining to that arrangement, by which washerman-tax and customs duty have to be paid, will conform to the (present)29 arrangement."
We give below Mr. M. P. Varkki's interesting account of Talékkad, its church and the inscribed stone there.
"Talékkad means the lower forest. Not long ago it was more or less the undisputed domain of many kinds of wild animals, but man is either extirpating them or driving them farther inland. On the Cochin State Railway, extending from Shornur to Ernakulam, there is a station called Irinjalakkuda, which is five miles to the east of the town of that name. A mile south-west of the railway station is the Talékkad Roman Catholic Church, and close to it, say a hundred yards away, is the Talékkad Hindu temple.
"In olden times there flourished in Talêkkad a well-known, influential and affluent Syrian Christian family of the name of Talekkad. In fact the members of it were the lords of the place. For more than ten30 miles round there was no church, and the parish Church of the family was at Malikkulam in Travancore, which is twelve miles south-east of Talékkad. It may be noted in passing that within a radius of twelve miles from Talékkad there are at present at least thirty churches ! But at the time of which we are writing Můlikkulam was the nearest church in existence.
"The old lady of the house of Talékkad used invariably to go to Maļikkuļam every Sunday to attend divine service there. For this purpose a special conveyance called manchal in Malayalam was used. Being old she used to lean on the chancel rails for support. Once a few naughty boys were occupying the place usually occupied by the old lady. When asked by the lady's retainers to give room, they impudently replied that the church was the common property of all and that the lady, however eminent she might be, had no special claim to any portion of the church. This greatly irritated the old lady, who on her return home told her son the lord of Talékkad, that she would never again go to Malikkulam and that he should make the necessary arrangements so that she might attend Sunday service without interruption.
96 Booth-tax may be the tax on temporary sheds or pavilions put up in connection with marriage and other festivities.
35 Washerman-tax may be the tax for the new Christian settlers' utilizing the services of the washer men of Talakkad. The original word may also be translated goldsmith tax.
30 Opam from Sanskrit Sråvapam in a grand Malabar festival held in the month of Sravanain (July. August).
37 This very probably refers to previous colony of Christian merchants brought to the street near the Veņmutla temple.
18 The reading of this place-name is doubtful. 39 The words within brackets have nothing corresponding to thorn in the original.
30 That means that there was then no church at Cranganore, about 7 miles from Talékkåd. In 1510 Barbosa said that the St. Thomas Christians "have there a Church of St. Thomas, and another of Our Lady, sad aro very dovout Christians, only they are deficient in doctrine." Some years later the town of Cranganore was burned down, and the Christians fled to different places and settled down there. An old Malayalam song refers to this incident in these words:
"The plundering Nairs joined together, entered the town of Cranganore).
Set fire to the Church and destroyed it, and burned the town that day. That day three good princes were killed in battle. In distress we came to the good village, And by St. Thomas' grace built a church theroin (in Kafutturutto)
By the grace of God we settled down in Kagutturutti." Three Cochin princes died the same day in battle with the Zamorin in 1502, but the reference in the above song appears to be to similar death of three Cochin princes the same day in battlo on 27th January 1565.