A study by Prof. Shalva Weil from the Seymour Fox School of Education at the Hebrew University reveals that the unique Purim traditions of the Cochin Jewish community, particularly the use of effigies as symbols of resistance and social inversion, have disappeared following their migration to Israel. Once deeply embedded in their communal identity in India, these traditions faded as the community integrated into the broader global Jewish experience. While Cochin Jewry no longer exists as a significant presence in India beyond positive memories, their cultural legacy persists in Israel, albeit in a transformed and assimilated manner.
[Hebrew University]– A new study on the unique Purim traditions of the Cochin Jewish community by Prof. Shalva Weil, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain, from Hebrew University, published in the Journal of Modern Jewish Studies, examines the historical and cultural significance of effigies in Purim celebrations among Cochin Jews, tracing their evolution from the sixteenth century under Portuguese rule to their transformation in modern-day Israel.
The Cochin Jewish community, numbering no more than 2,400 at its peak in 1948, lived in harmony with their Hindu, Christian, and Muslim neighbors. Unlike other Jewish communities, they never experienced antisemitism in India, except during the Portuguese conquest of the sixteenth century. Their unique Purim celebrations featured role reversals that symbolically challenged societal hierarchies based on caste, religion, and gender. This inversion of power structures was most vividly expressed through the construction and destruction of effigies representing adversaries, a practice embedded in the communal and ritualistic fabric of Cochin Jewry.
By the twentieth century, Cochin Jews increasingly aligned themselves with the global Jewish community. Following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the majority of Cochin Jews emigrated to Israel by 1954, leaving behind only a small number of Paradesi and Malabar Jews scattered across the state of Kerala. Today, the once-thriving Cochin Jewish community on the Malabar Coast is nearly extinct, and traditional Purim celebrations have all but disappeared. No longer do the streets of Jew Town, Mattancherry, or Fort Cochin witness the parading of Haman’s effigy. With only one Paradesi Jew remaining there and a handful in other former Cochin Jewish locations, synagogue services now rely on visiting Jewish tourists, and the once-vibrant Purim revelry has faded into history.
In stark contrast, in Israel, where an estimated 15,000 descendants of Cochin Jews now reside, Purim is celebrated in ways that reflect broader Jewish and Western cultural traditions. Children dress up as superheroes, soldiers, and biblical figures; they participate in school parties and exchange the iconic hamantaschen pastries. Observant Jews continue to read the Book of Esther in synagogue and hold festive meals, incorporating their heritage into mainstream Jewish customs.
Prof. Weil. who has been awarded this year’s “Yakir Yerushalayim” honour as a distinguished citizen of Jerusalem due to her life-long research into ethnicity and gender, highlights in her research the transition of Cochin Jewry from a localized, community-bound identity to an integrated and globalized Jewish experience. The effigy, once a potent symbol of resistance and communal identity, has faded along with the physical presence of Cochin Jewry in India. Yet, as Freud aptly noted in relation to transference theory, “When all is said and done, it is impossible to destroy anyone in absentia or in effigy.” While their presence in India has nearly vanished, the legacy of Cochin Jews continues to thrive in Israel and beyond.