Dr. George Kurukkoor speaks on the unique tradition of the Passover ceremony in Kerala

The preservation of the East-Syriac form of the Aramaic language among the St. Thomas Christians in Kerala may not be seen as an isolated historical coincidence. Rather, it is embedded in an overall historical pattern of continuing several Jewish religious practices among the Syriac Christians . One such practice is the observance of the Pesha meal which was adapted from the Jewish observance to the Kerala cultural and ecological settings. The unleavened bread is made of rice flour, and the milk is made of coconut milk. As in the Jewish tradition, the ceremony is led by the oldest male member in the family. The meal is shared at home on the late evening of Pesaha Wyazham (Passover Thursday) in remembrance of the Passover meal of Jesus on holy Thursday. The Hebrew/Aramaic word, Pesah ,was been adopted into the Malayalam parlance. The elaborate ceremonies associated with this ritual needs to be studied in reference to the histories of Christianity and the Aramaic language in Kerala. Dr. Kurukkoor offers a few interesting pieces of information on how even the Hindus in his neighborhood respected the tradition. This is a fascinating topic for further research.

Dr. Joseph J. Palackal
New York
6 June 2017