Malayattoor Kurishumudi
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A backgrounder
As in 2024
Disney Tom, March 10, 2024: The Times of India
As Easter approaches, you can see them in droves, streaming down the roads of central Kerala. Barefeet devotees raising solemn chants, many of them clad in saffron robes. It’s easy to mistake them for pilgrims headed to Sabarimala, but you can’t miss the wooden crosses they carry with themselves or the rosaries in their hands. These pilgrims are headed to a hill shrine, though not to the one dedicated to Ayyappan in south Kerala. They are making the trek to Malayattoor Kurishumudi – literally, hill of the cross – located inside the forested Western Ghats. As Lent progresses, thousands of Christians in south India will head to the hilltop shrine on a pilgrimage that can easily be dubbed as the Sabarimala of Christians.
A 2,000-Year-Old Tradition
The faithful believe the Malayattoor hilltop bears the footprints of St Thomas the Apostle, the ‘Doubting Thomas’ of biblical fame. According to the vicar of Malayattoor Church, Fr Varghese Manavalan, the legend goes that St Thomas prayed atop the hill after he arrived here in the first century CE. An apparition of St Mary is said to have appeared before him. “Later, a golden cross became visible where St Thomas had prayed. But when those who’d seen the radiant cross tried to pry it out, blood oozed from the spot,” says Fr Manavalan.
Kurishumudi now has a golden cross and the hilltop also has footprints and the marks of knees etched into the rock where St Thomas is thought to have prayed. A stream where St Thomas drank is another important spot. “The stream is still here. Later, relics of St Thomas, too, were brought to Malayattoor,” says Fr Manavalan.
The pilgrimage started in the first century, says Fr Ignatius Payyappilly, archivist and the author of the book ‘Malayattoorum Nazranikalum’. “The apparition of St Mary on the hilltop is what turned the site into a pilgrimage spot,” he says. But he also refers to accounts of some hunters finding the golden cross on the hilltop in sixth century CE. A 16th-century Portuguese document also mentions a hilltop where a cross was seen.
“This document says thousands go on pilgrimage to the spot, believing that St Thomas’ footprints were found there. Its author, a foreigner, visited the place in 1585,” Fr Payyappilly says, concluding that what must’ve been a trickle between the first and sixth centuries CE slowly turned into a tide of pilgrims after the golden cross was said to have been spotted on the hilltop.
Confluence Of Cultures
Fr Payyappilly does not rule out local influences driving the Malayattoor pilgrimage and says it could have shared roots with the Sabarimala pilgrimage. “St Thomas brought the Christian faith and sowed it here. But the culture is similar since both are part of Dravidian culture.”
“As the saying goes, especially for Syrian Christians, though Christian by faith, they are Hindu by culture. Christian festivals here have ‘Kodiyettu’ (flag hoisting) just like a Hindu temple festival. ‘Thalikettu’, the Hindu marriage ceremony, is followed among Syrian Christians, too. There are many Syrian Christian traditions that are similar to Hindu traditions. So, these pilgrimages may have similar connections as well,” says Fr Payyappilly.
He also talks about a possible Buddhist connection. The chant for the Malayattoor pilgrimage, ‘Ponnum Kurishumala Muthappo Ponnmala Kayattam’ (climbing the golden hill to visit the Lord of the golden cross), is linked to Buddhist traditions, Fr Payyappilly says. “Even the word Ponnmala (golden hill) is related to Buddhist traditions,” he says.
Pilgrims’ Progress
The millions of members of the major churches of Kerala – Syro Malabar Church, Jacobite Church, Malankara Orthodox Church, Malankara Mar Thoma Church, Syro Malankara Church – all identify themselves as St Thomas Christians or Malankara Nazranis, descendants of those who were baptised by none other than the disciple of Christ himself. At the Malayattoor shrine, there is a steady footfall throughout the year though the biggest crowds are seen during the Lent pilgrimage.
Pilgrims adopt an austere routine, abstaining from meat, drinks, and other pleasures. They meditate on the crucifixion of Jesus before starting their trek. Pilgrims carry wooden crosses to the hilltop to mark Christ’s passage to the site of crucifixion. The route also recreates the ‘14 stations’ or stops that lay along Christ’s path.
Many pilgrims come with huge crosses that they carry together from the base of the hill to its top. The faithful believe that the trek of atonement can provide supernatural relief. Though most travel by cars and buses till Adivaram, the base camp for the trek, there are many who do the entire pilgrimage on foot.
Bags Of Black Pepper
Jose Joseph, a Malayattoor regular, walks more than 65km every year to reach the hill shrine from his church in Vallakom. Blisters on the feet are common for those who choose to walk, he says, adding that “it is a time of atonement... an experience of divine grace”.
Many pilgrims perform the sacrament of confession after completing the trek. “There are a few priests on the hilltop throughout the day to hear confessions. A mass is held at the hill shrine every morning all through the year and the trek is allowed from 6 am till 4 pm. But during the peak pilgrimage season – March 1 to May 10 – pilgrims keep arriving round the clock. The church festival happens on the Sunday following Easter. Apart from Kerala, there are several pilgrims from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu who prefer to visit in May,” says Fr Manavalan.
“Traditionally, the major offerings at Malayattoor have been ellu (sesame) and kurumulaku (black pepper). The most valuable thing that people had back in the day was not gold but black pepper. They used to carry bags of black pepper on their backs to offer it at Malayattoor. The money earned from the sale of black pepper was much higher than cash offerings,” says Fr Payyappilly.
