-- by Tom Phillips
In a "A Passage to India," E.M. Forster describes a Hindu festival re-enacting the birth of Lord Krishna. This includes a game in which the nobles of the state slide pats of butter down their noses, only to have them stolen and eaten by each other. "By sacrificing good taste," he writes, Hindu worship "has achieved what Christianity has shirked: the inclusion of merriment."
Forster never mentions Indian Christianity, but here in the south Indian state of Kerala it is a prominent faith. Tradition holds that the Apostle Thomas sailed to Kerala in 51 CE and converted Hindus to the Way. And to this day, many of these Christians have kept up their Hindu customs.
This was the procession after Sunday's feast day at St. Joseph's Syrian Catholic Church in Allapuzha -- even more colorful and noisy than the local Hindu festival.
Those umbrellas are not a sign or symbol, they're just for beauty and fun. Hindu tradition is full of these, and so is its Christian offshoot in India.
Praise God and pass the butter!
-- Copyright 2019 by Tom Phillips
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| Syrian cross in lotus |
Forster never mentions Indian Christianity, but here in the south Indian state of Kerala it is a prominent faith. Tradition holds that the Apostle Thomas sailed to Kerala in 51 CE and converted Hindus to the Way. And to this day, many of these Christians have kept up their Hindu customs.
This was the procession after Sunday's feast day at St. Joseph's Syrian Catholic Church in Allapuzha -- even more colorful and noisy than the local Hindu festival.
Those umbrellas are not a sign or symbol, they're just for beauty and fun. Hindu tradition is full of these, and so is its Christian offshoot in India.
Praise God and pass the butter!
-- Copyright 2019 by Tom Phillips
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