Historical PeriodEra
Varies by tradition
📷 Jewish Encyclopedia · Public domain · source
Deities
Cochin Jews
Cochin Jews — 2,000-year-old Kerala Jewish community
Cochin Jews — 2,000-year-old Kerala Jewish community
Jewish / Cochini
The Cochin Jews of Kerala trace arrival to 70 CE (after Second Temple destruction) per one tradition, or 3,000 years ago per another. The Paradesi Synagogue (1568) in Jew Town, Mattancherry, is the oldest active synagogue in the Commonwealth. The community was divided into "Black" (Malabari), "White" (Paradesi European-origin), and "Brown" (Meshuchrarim-manumitted). ~99% emigrated to Israel 1948–1970s; today only ~12 remain in Kochi. The synagogue operates with volunteer Israeli-Jewish oversight.
India's sacred landscape embraces all faith-traditions — Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Jewish, Zoroastrian, tribal, regional-folk — each with its own cosmology. This entry honors Jewish on its own terms.
