Syrian Christian Marriage in India | Documentary Film on the Knanaya of Kerala | 1985

The Knanaya community of Kerala descend from Syriac Judeo-Christian merchants (early Syriac Christians) from Persian Mesopotamia. Led by the merchant magnate Knai Thoma, they settled in the Chera Dynasty of Kerala’s capitol city of Kodungallur between the 4th and 8th century. After 1524, they left Kodungallur and migrated to the interior of Kerala to places such as the Kingdom of Vadakkumkur, Thekkumkur, and Kochi. The following documentary film was created by scholars Dr. Jacob Vellian, Dr. Jacob Kollaparambil, and Chummar Choondal in 1985. The film takes place mainly in the Kaduthuruthy and Kaipuzha regions of Kerala and exhibits the wedding culture of the Knanaya community.