The Cochin Jews form one of the earliest and the smallest religious communities in the Indian subcontinent. The first Jewish settlers are believed to have reached the shores of Kerala during the time of King Solomon (970–931 BC), lured by the lucrative spice trade in the region. Though they settled, initially, around Cranganore (now Kodungallur), a blend of geographic, economic and political developments in the subsequent centuries led them to relocate to Cochin (now Kochi) under the protection of the Cochin Raja. Consequently, the community established new enclaves in and around Kochi. Kochi and its surrounding areas continue to house the oldest synagogues in India, with the seven surviving synagogues remaining in various stages of decay as most of the community had elected to emigrate en masse to Israel in the 1950s. With no more than thirty-five members of the community residing in Kerala today, the Cochin Jews will become a memory in the coming decades, if the current trend holds.
This module aims to examine the seven synagogues of Kochi and its surrounding areas that form a cohesive group due to the synthesis of Kerala features and traditions with Jewish ones, making them as much Indian as Jewish.
