Letters to The Faithful: Women, Marriage and The Catholic Church in Malabar

Abstract

Kerala though the ages had seen migrations of people, from the ancient period but the causes of these migrations varied. Within Kerala the most important internal migration that took place from Travancore to Malabar which occurred from 1920-1960. In Malabar the migrants were the first to establish the church. Thalassery Diocese of Syrian Catholics of Malabar was established in 1954. The pastoral letters of these Dioceses reflected the patriarchal values of the church and sometimes tried to mould women. The image of ‘ideal women’ in the context of this migrant community changed according to times. In the early periods of migration, women would be standing shoulder to shoulder with the men to work in the fields and to clear forest to establish themselves in the new environment but by the end of the phase of migration her role was now reversed and in keeping with the pattern of a patriarchal society