Lanean...
HE SEPHARDI DIASPORA IN COCHIN, INDIA
The influx of Sephardim into the ancient Jewish community of Cochin, in south India, resulted in a pattern of social organization unique in the Jewish world: the infamous white Jew/black Jew/brown Jew system. The Jews of Cochin organized themselves in patterns derived from their Hindu social context...
| Egile nagusia: | |
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| Formatua: | Printed Book |
| Argitaratua: |
Jewish Political Studies Review
1993
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| Gaiak: | |
| Sarrera elektronikoa: | http://10.26.1.76/ks/005071.pdf |
| Gaia: | The influx of Sephardim into the ancient Jewish community of Cochin,
in south India, resulted in a pattern of social organization unique in the
Jewish world: the infamous white Jew/black Jew/brown Jew system. The Jews
of Cochin organized themselves in patterns derived from their Hindu social
context, a system known in the West as the caste system.
The "white" or Paradesi ("foreign") Jews were Sephardi immigrants
together with a few Jews from Iraq, Europe and Yemen, who joined with an
indigenous elite. The "black" Jews, better known as Malabari Jews, were an
ancient community which may have originated at the time of the destruction
of the Second Temple. Each of these groups were slave-holders, and
manumitted slaves fmeshuchrarim) from the Paradesi community were
commu
called "brown" Jews, while manumitted slaves from the Malabari
were
the
known
orumakers.
(local
term,
nity
by
Malayalam
language)
Paradesi Jews would not count any of the other groups for their minyan,
would not allow them synagogal honors, would not marry them, and would
not eat meat slaughtered by their ritual slaughterers.
Ever since the 1520 responsa by the eminent Sephardi halakhist Rabbi
ibn Zimra, foreign Jews had been unanimous in condemning this discrimi
natory behavior, and Paradesi Jews in Cochin had been uniform in ignoring
these
admonitions.
Yet while Indian culture may have been the source of the problem, it was
also the inspiration for its solution. A.B. Salem, known as the "Jewish Gandhi" 98
led sit-ins, hunger strikes, and other forms of "civil disobedience"
an end only
(satyagr |
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| Deskribapen fisikoa: | 5:3-4 (Fall 1993) |