During our research, we discovered that our Base Family
(Vayalakombil) has branches in the Syro-Malabar, Knanaya Jacobite, and Knanaya
Catholic Communities.
The majority of Syrian Christians in Kerala are likely to be
of Jewish or Middle Eastern ancestry. The actual Syrian Christian refugees who
arrived in Malabar were most likely a small group. To survive during that time,
they intermarried with local Nairs and other Upper Hindu castes. They can be
divided into two groups: Thekkumbhagar (Judeo Tradition Christians) and
Vadakumbhagar (Persian/Chaldean/Assyrian Tradition Christians).
These two communities lived in the same areas of
Kodungalloor, across the street from each other on the same streets, and were
involved in trade, traditional medicine, administration, and military roles.
They were close to the Kings and were considered a noble class because they
performed 'Shudham Cheyal,' Visha Chikisa, Marma Chikilsa, Kalari Training, and
other rituals.
Certainly, previous generations intermarried within
Christian communities, Upper caste Hindu communities, and practiced polygamy.
During many periods of persecution and battles between kingdoms, Brahmin and Nair
communities (particularly Padakuruppu) sought refuge in the Nasrani community,
and we eventually adopted many upper caste Hindu religious customs, practices,
and heritage in order to maintain higher social class status and relations with
Namboothiri/Kshatriya rulers. Marriages of convenience (Business Family
Alliances, Marital Truce Alliances, etc.) were also common in the region
between different upper-class communities.
Inter-weddings between Thekkumbhagar (Southists) and
Vadakumbhagar (Northists) in previous centuries, as well as the separation of
the Malankara Nasrani community, followed by the Coonan Cross Oath, have
resulted in the phenomenon of branches of the same Pazhayakoor Christian family
in different Syrian Christian denominations.
To summarize, Syrian Christians originated in the Middle
East, sought refuge in the Southern Indian Continent during the persecution
period, and intermarried with the local population. We no longer have
Vamshashudhi (Racial Purity) in ethnicity, but we do preserve and practice our
Middle Eastern heritage, customs, and practices, which we mix with Hindu
traditions. We are Middle Eastern on the father's side and Indo-Aryan
on the mother's side.