A dark past, unkown to most, haunts many parts of Kochi. Centuries after African slaves were brought to these shores by the Portuguese, many stories and beliefs have evolved about them.
Several parts of Kochi are dotted with remnants of slavery. Although it is unclear how these slaves came to be called kappiri, it is believed that the word might have its roots in the term “kaffir”.
Historian KL Bernard’s book History of Fort Cochin is one of the few that has made attempts to engage with this aspect of Kochi’s history. Popularly known as Bernard master, the historian discusses what came to be called Kappiri mathil (Kappiri walls) and their role in the subsequent evolution of protective spirits called Kappiri muthappan.
He also chronicles that the skeletons were found in two wall niches – on kappiri mathils – on Rose Street, near Fort Kochi, close to 450 years after the enslaved men would have died.
Over time, local beliefs took over and the wall niches where these slaves were chained up began to be worshipped. The local people believe that the slaves turned into spirits which were called Kappiri Muthappans.
As the city changed, several of these niches were demolished and built over.
Possibly the only one that remains today, is the shrine in Mangattumukku in Mattancherry near Fort Kochi. There is just a simple black platform, without idols or symbols.
In Mattancherry, a practice of offering a piece of puttu (a rice dish made across Kerala) to Kappiri Muthappan evolved.
Lawrence says that some of the trees around the Fort Kochi area were called kappiri trees in the past because people believed that the spirits of the slaves inhabited the trees.
These oral narratives about slaves of African origin have also found mention in literature as well, says Edward A Edezath, in a paper published on academia.edu. In his 1981 Malayalam novel Ora Pro Nobis, Ponjikkara Rafi uses the story of the Portuguese chaining slaves to their treasures.
In George Thundiparambil’s English novel Maya, a kappiri or slave of African origin is the protagonist who narrates a 500-year history to a girl he meets at Fort Kochi in contemporary Kerala.
Edezath says that Anglo Indian writer Sandra Fernandez has written about tales of protective spirits passed on for generations.
(Published in arrangement with The News Minute.)
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