Manuscript Wall Calendar for 5623 (1862–1863), Cochin: [1862]

(23 5/8 x 19 ¼ in.; 600 x 485 mm). Written on blue paper in brown ink in rabbinic semicursive Hebrew script; headings in square Hebrew script; framing elements in brown and red inks; Paper repairs to marginal losses, affecting text only in lower compartments; ink biting at some headings; minor tears at creases; some spotting and fading of ink to lower section.

See Nathan Katz, Who Are the Jews of India?, Oakland: UC Press, 2000, p.107. See also Writing on the Wall: Broadsides from The Valmadonna Collection, forthcoming, 2015.

AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE HANDWRITTEN CALENDAR FROM THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF COCHIN IN INDIA

At the top of the page, a paragraph lists important dates and historical events beginning with the Exodus from Egypt. Of particular note are the references to dates relevant specifically to the Jews of Cochin: their arrival in Cranganore (also known as Shingly) in the same year that the Second Temple was destroyed in Jerusalem; the Portuguese conquest of Cranganore; and the subsequent destruction of the Jewish community in Cochin seven years later. Among these dates of local significance is found an important historical curiosity concerning the observance of festivals among the Jews of Cochin. The note refers to the present year (1862) as the nineteenth year since “the taking of the lulav.” This interesting addition refers to the reintroduction of the Sukkot holiday among the Jews of Cochin in the mid-nineteenth century; before that time, they observed a festival called Khiricha San (Pudding Holiday), centered around corn and coconut milk that in some ways paralleled Sukkot’s harvest theme.  A similar manuscript Cochin wall calendar, for the year 5636 (1875-76) is in the collection of the Valmadonna Trust Library (Val P6).