Benyamin - Yellow Lights of Death

Meljo looked at me. I nodded, meaning he could trust us.

‘If I talk about the ceremony without giving an idea about Villarvattom Swaroopam, you probably won’t understand. The same thing had happened to Christy.’ Meljo began, taking us outside to a bench on the verandah.

Villarvattom

‘THE VILLARVATTOM THOMA kings were a Nasrani dynasty that has a history and tradition of about 1000 years. The estate was a vassal of the Chera kings, and it had its capital at Mahadevapatanam for a long time. Later it was shifted to Udayamperoor when the Arabs invaded the island.’

‘This is a myth we have kept hearing for ages. Do you have any concrete proof to show that such a dynasty existed?’ I asked Meljo.

‘The first proof is the Udayamperoor church which is still there, and the cemeteries of the Thoma kings. The Udayamperoor Old Church was a royal cathedral built by the Chaldean bishops, Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, who came from Persia in 510 AD. For a long time, the church was known after the Chaldean bishops, but with the arrival of the Portuguese, their names were removed since they were seen as anti-Christs, and the church came under the Catholic priests of Mar Gervasius and Protasius. Another strong proof is a letter written by Pope Eugene IV in 1439, before the advent of the Portuguese. The pope accepted this dynasty as the real Christians, and sent the letter through an envoy. Unfortunately, the messenger couldn’t reach here, but a copy of the letter is still in the Vatican records.

‘“To my most beloved son in Christ, Thomas, the Illustrious Emperor of the Indians, Health and the Apostolic benediction. There often has reached us a constant rumour that Your Serenity and also all who are the subjects of your Kingdom are true Christians.” That was the content of the letter.

‘Then what changes did the Portuguese make to the Villarvattom Swaroopam?’

‘Actually, the first group of Christians from Europe were cordially welcomed by the Nasrani king, Thoma. When they landed in Kochi, King Thoma received them, along with Unniramavarma Koyi Thampuran. He expressed his joy by handing over his royal sceptre to Vasco da Gama. He also helped them set up trading facilities in Kochi. It was the scholars of Villarvattom who taught Malayalam to Andrew Pereira. But when they came to know that the Thoma kings were Chaldean, the mentality of the group, including Vasco da Gama’s, changed. They wanted the entire authority of Villarvattom to be handed over to the Portuguese. Da Gama interpreted the handing over of the sceptre as transfer of power. So, in the first visit itself, the Portuguese were at odds with King Thoma. That’s how they made the trade deal with only the Kochi kings, and returned. Later on, at every visit of da Gama and Cabral, there were attempts to invade the Villarvattom Swaroopam. But King Thoma held on to his fort. When the attempts to seize the land failed, they tried to invade with faith. That’s how the Roman Archbishop Alex de Menazis was sent here. It can be said that Menazis, to a certain extent, succeeded in imposing the Catholic faith over the Malankara Chaldean faith. Except four families, including ours, everyone was a willing convert from Chaldean to Catholicism. That’s how the Synod of Diamper was held in 1599 and the Malankara church fell under the control of the Pope. At that time, Menazis tried to burn all the Malankara prayer books and literature in the Pali language in front of the Udayamperoor church. He succeeded to an extent. And he stopped all prayers and ceremonies in the Pali language and initiated the Latin system. More than a difference of faith, it was a revenge on King Thoma.

‘That incident ignited the anger of the Malankara king, Thoma. “I would have forgiven everything, but these Parangis destroyed the language of my ancestors. I won’t forgive that. If it’s war, let it be war.” That’s how King Thoma responded to the destruction of the Pali books.

‘Since then, he defied every compromise move of the Portuguese and he organized the Malankara Nasranis against the Menazis, and declared war. An army of more than 50,000 Nasranis were his strength. King Thoma’s move succeeded in no time. That’s how in 1653, the Coonan Cross Oath, a public avowal by members of the St Thomas community and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Christians, excommunicated the Roman clergy. Without the leadership of a strong ruler like King Thoma, would the poor people of Malankara even have thought about such a fight against the Portuguese? But King Thoma could only free them from the clutches of the Romans. He couldn’t bring them back to their Chaldean faith. That’s how the Chaldean faith, which had been very strong in Kerala from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries, dwindled to a few people.

‘However, that ended the Portuguese’s yearning for the Villarvattom Swaroopam and they got edged out to the Kochi fort and surrounding areas. Unfortunately, the Villarvattom Swaroopam survived only for 50 years after the Coonan Cross Oath. On 9 February 1701, the last Thoma king passed away. You have already heard of what happened to his only daughter Mariam. A thousand years of rule by the Thoma kings ended with the betrayal by Paliath Achan.

‘Okay. But what is the relation between what we wanted to hear and this narration?’ I asked.

‘Paliath Achan could only steal power. But we retained our beliefs. We retained our tradition. We made sure the chain wasn’t broken. The bloodline of King Thoma’s daughter Mariam still lives on in Kerala! For us, the order of King Thoma has still not lost its power. From then till now, the first-born girl of every generation sits on the throne of Mariam and rules us. In that lineage, the latest queen was my sister Melvin! After her death, Merin took over. Villarvattom Swaroopam has transformed to become Valyedathu Veedu!’

‘Then, that ceremony was to crown Merin?’

‘Yes. That’s what had taken place that day. On the forty-first day after the death of a queen, the next one is enthroned. It’s a ceremony where only the elders in the family are invited. Every consecutive day of the year, there will be celebrations. In the generation before us, one of the sisters of my mother was on Mariam’s throne. But she didn’t have daughters. That’s how Melvin got the chance. But she was unlucky. In Thoma history, she probably held power for the shortest tenure. I pray that Merin is not that unfortunate.’

Suddenly, Meljo broke into tears. We were baffled. From the brave and bold Meljo, we had not expected this reaction. Anil approached him and patted him on his shoulder.

‘I just remembered my sister. We were very close. There was nothing we didn’t talk about,’ he said, wiping his tears.

‘We can understand that.’ Anil hugged him. In the comfort of that love, Meljo softened. I wondered if this was the same sombre guy who had done all those nasty things to us.

‘There is one thing that Andrapper has noticed and noted many times. The sign of the fish that’s at many places. What does that signify?’ I asked after he regained his composure.

‘That’s the symbol of Villarvattom Swaroopam. It is not a woman gulping fish, as Andrapper puts it, but a woman originating from a fish’s mouth. That’s Mariam!’

‘There is something strange in this story. The Portuguese had tried to sabotage this tradition. Then still, why were you willing to marry off your sister to one of their lineage? Or was it because you didn’t know his bloodline?’ Anil asked.

‘I’ll tell you. I had inquired about his family. Though da Gama, Kubral and Menazis had eyes on the Villarvattom Swaroopam, Christy’s forefathers — Andrew Pereira and Diego Pereira — were kind to our dynasty. You were asking what proof is there that the Villarvattom Swaroopam is the truth; come, let me show you one thing.’