By Matters India Reporter
Vadayar, Jan 4, 2021: As attacks against Christians in different parts of India grab headlines during the Christmas week, a small Christian community in Kerala celebrated the annual feast of its with amity.
Build up to the five-day celebrations at Infant Jesus Church Vadayar started December 28, 2021, with panchavadyam by Elangav Kali temple Vadayar band and flag hoisting ceremony for the annual feast of parish patron Infant Jesus.
Elangav temple band considers playing for the inauguration of church festival their unchallenged privilege.
Panchavadyam literally means an orchestra of five instruments. It is basically a temple art form that has evolved in Kerala. Of the five instruments, four — timila, maddalam, ilathalam and idakka — belong to the percussion category, while the fifth, kombu, is a wind instrument.
Infant Jesus Church Vadayar under Vaikom Forane belongs to Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese today has as many as 280 families. During the invasions of Tipu Sultan (1789-1790) the administrative headquarters of Syro-Malabar Church was shifted from Kodungalloor to Vadayar.
The origins of 1,025-year-old Christian community in the predominantly Hindu area where Mahatma Gandhi in 1924 staged protest to demand entry for low caste people to the ancient Vaikom Shiva temple is historic.
Christians were first invited by local raja to make oil for Vadayar Bhadra Kali temple, popularly known as Elangavilamma. Situated on Kottayam-Ernakulam main road, the temple is a revered pit stop for all Sabarimala pilgrims.
Parish priest Father Johnson Koovely proposed to celebrate 1025th anniversary by providing each year a house for villagers living in shacks.
The next big event of the feast for Vadayar village was the solemn vespers and procession with the statue of Infant Jesus led by 20 piece band from Koothattukulam temple. The procession which winds its way along Muvattupuzha River goes all the way to the Kottayam-Ernakulam main road, almost 1,200 meters from church, and turns round in front of Elangav Temple.
The long standing local tradition is that both Christians and Hindus put up illuminations along the route and wait to have darshan of Infant Jesus riding the motorized chariot.
Along procession route, there was a strikingly old fashioned gate decoration with oil lamps of different shapes and sizes placed around the image of Infant Jesus.
It was the home of Thresiamma who retired as headmistress of St Louis parish school 36 years ago in 1985. Now aged 92 years, Thresiamma teacher was seated at the far end of her gate decorated with 20 earthen lamps and 10 brass oil lamps borrowed for the occasion from Mannanchery family who owns a family temple.
Matriarch Thresiamma who has five boys and four girls and grand children grew up with Hindu neighbors. Her two immediate neighbors, Mannanchery and Pallattu families had decorated their gates with typical oil lamps fixed on banana trunks and multi-layered lamp stands.
Thresiamma’s grandson Kiran Tom who reached from Melbourne Australia recalls when caparisoned temple tusker was used to lead the procession with image of Infant Jesus.
As the procession of some 500 masked people, each carrying ceremonial umbrella of various colors and maintaining social distance passed in front of the village office of Communist Party of India (Marxist) party workers distributed oranges and bottles of water. Incidentally, this year marks 50th anniversary of a Christian knifing a Hindu Communist activist at the same spot where a memorial to the slain party worker stands now
The people of Vadayar, irrespective of religious affiliation, continue to compete each other in expressing love and devotion to Infant Jesus.