1. Mala Synagogue

2. Mala is a developing town which is situated in the southern part of
Thrissur district and lying near the north western side of the
Eranakulm district.
Jews have a very long history in Mala, located
in the Kerala State of India, near Cochin. Some
believe as early as 72 CE Jews immigrated to
Mala for trade and settlement, as it was an
important trading district before the time of
Christ. The name Mala may have originated
from the Hebrew word “Mal-Aha”, meaning,
“Center of Refuge.”

3. Jewish Community in Mattanchery

4. Ferry Service to Mala, The name ‘Mala’ was very popular as a water way for the
business to the Musiris which was an important port of the ancient India.

5. Mala Town

6. MALA SYNAGOGUE
Before Renovation

7. Since 1955, no Jews have lived in the city of Mala and that is when then Synagogue closed. On
December 20, 1954, 300 members of the Jewish community in Mala moved en masse to Israel.
Control of the Synagogue was given over to the local municipality, with the agreement that it
would be maintained, and not used as a slaughterhouse, or as a house of prayer. The building
has been readapted as a venue for cultural, educational and communal functions. The
furnishings and religious artifacts have been lost.

8. It was just a parking space for the local people

9. The Synagogue is a two-story structure with a gatehouse,
which served as a foyer with communal spaces downstairs
and a Jewish school upstairs. It was linked by a covered
breezeway (which is now filled-in) to the Synagogue. As is
traditional with synagogues in Kerala, Mala Synagogue
features a shallow wooden balcony in dark and teal wood,
which overlooks the two-story prayer room. The façade is
yellow downstairs and white upstairs, with three traditional
windows upstairs. Corners of the building, plaster over stone
and brick, are broken. Exterior steps (which have now been
sealed closed) led to the women’s gallery upstairs, which was
separated from the sanctuary by a latticed screen. The twostory women’s gallery is situated at the western end of the
prayer room, upstairs, and features balustrades in dark and
teal wood. It is accessed by a flight of stairs from inside the
sanctuary.

10. Women Gallery of Synagogue

11. A view from women gallery

12. Door of
Synagogue

13. Pepper drying in the Backyard of Mala Synagogue

14. Entrance to Mala Jewish Cemetery

15. Mala Jewish Cemetery

16. Ancient inscription on the tomb in Cemetery

17. Tombs in Jewish
Cemetery

18. Jews played a significant role in the spice trade as early as the biblical times of Solomon (10th
century B.C.E.). We know from I Kings (chapters 5 and 10) that King David bequeathed to
Solomon vast lands which gave him control of the major trade routes to
Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia as well as routes to the southern Arabian peninsula, where
the vast majority of spices were traded from the Far East

19. Ancient Trade Route to India

20. Jews and Jewish Synagogue History in Mala
72 CE: Jews immigrated to Mala for trade and settlement
1000 CE: The wood used for the synagogue was donated to Joseph Rabaan by the
Rajah of Cranganore.
1400AD: Apparently, the original 11th century synagogue was torn down for
unspecified reasons and a new building was built in
1817AD: In the beginning of 1817 Missionary Rev. Thomas Dawson visited the Mala
Synagogue and observed that it was still in ruins following Tipu Sultan’s attack during
the Second Anglo-Mysore War, which took place during the early 1780s.
1792AD: Again renovated
1909AD: The Synagogue was either upgraded or re-built upon the original
foundation.
1954 AD: December 20, 300 members of the Jewish community in Mala moved en
masse to Israel.

21. Synagogue Now Under Renovation Process
The Government of Kerala has been contemplating the
creation of the Muziris Heritage Project from 2006.
However, realizing its potential impact, the Government has
initiated and ambitious project to encompass a larger area
including North Paravur and Kodungallur Taluks, which have
various protected monuments.
In 1341, the profile of the water bodies in the Periyar River
basin, on the Malabar Coast in Kerala underwent a major
transformation. The prosperous city-port of Muziris, at the
mouth of the Periyar, overlooking the Arabian Sea, suddenly
dropped off the map, due to a flood or earthquake, or both.

22. Renovation of Mala Synagogue happened as the part of Muziris Excavation Project in
Kerala

23. Painting and Polishing of Interior

24. Painted Synagogue

25. After Renovation
Today, the interior is painted terracotta on the
lower half of the walls and white above, with
paned and shuttered windows, with a teal blue
ceiling, and teal woodwork. The sanctuary is
now empty, but once a central bema was built
on a stone base and the Aron Kodesh was
situated on the eastern wall.

26. Another Old Monuments Near Mala

27. Old Mosque in Mala, which is established in 640 AD (Hijra 60) is one of the oldest mosques
in India

28. Pambummekkattu Mana is the most famous Serpent worship centre in Kerala. The Pambu
Mekkattu (serving of snake) is spread over six acres of land with five "Serpant Kavus" (Kavu is
sacred garden). The Pambummekkattu land is kept in its virgin style with huge trees and thick
vegetation

29. THANKYOU
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