Effigies, religion and reversals in the celebration of Purim by Cochin Jews

This paper discusses the role of the effigy in the celebration of the festival of Purim as enacted by the Cochin Jews of south India in three major periods: under Portuguese conquest in the sixteenth century, in Cochin in the twentieth century, and in a different topography in Israel. Cochin Jews at their peak only numbered 2400 prior to Indian Independence; they never suffered antisemitism except under the Portuguese and lived in harmony with their Hindu, Christian and Muslim neighbours. On the festival of Purim, role reversals took place to protest hierarchical social structures inherent in caste and religion, thereby enabling peaceful relations between members of different religions, communities and quasi-castes (jati) during the year. The inversions were expressed in the construction of effigies of the adversary, as well as in special songs, which represented symbolic protests against hegemonic domination, which addressed other daily injustices, based on gender. Today, the majority of Cochin Jewry live in Israel, where they celebrate Purim, embracing globalization and identification with world Jewry. The physical presence of the Cochin Jewish community, its very embodiment, like the effigy, has been almost totally eroded in India, while the body politic lives on in another world, Israel.