Knanaya
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| c. 300,000 (Kerala, India; Chicago; elsewhere) | |
| Languages | |
| Malayalam; local languages | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Saint Thomas Christians, Malayalis |
The Knanaya, also known as the Southists or Tekkumbhagar, are an endogamous group in the Saint Thomas Christian community of Kerala, India. They are differentiated from another part of the community, known in this context as the Northists. Today there are about 300,000 Knanaya in India and elsewhere.
The origins of the division of the Saint Thomas Christians into Northist and Southist groups are unclear. Various traditions trace it back to the arrival of the Syrian merchant Thomas of Cana in the 4th or 8th century. Another legend traces their origin to Jews in the Middle East. The rift in the community was noted through the period of European colonization.
Today the majority of Knanaya are members of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and the Malankara Churches. They became increasingly prominent in Kerala in the late 19th century. Many Knanaya migrated away during the 20th and 21st centuries, largely westward, forming communities in non-Malayalam speaking areas, with a large expatriate community currently living in Chicago.
The term Knanaya is derived from the name Thomas of Cana, an important figure in Saint Thomas Christian tradition. The ultimate derivation of Thomas' epithet Cana is not clear: it may refer to the town of Cana, which is mentioned in the Bible, or it may instead refer to the land of Canaan. Alternately, it may be a corruption of a Syriac term for merchant (Knāyil in Malayalam). However, scholar Richard M. Swiderski states that none of these etymologies are convincing. The Knanaya are also known as Tekkumbhagar in Malayalam; this is generally translated into English as "Southist", or sometimes "Southerner" or "Suddhist". This is in reference to the historically significant geographical division between them and other Saint Thomas Christians, who are known as Vadakumbhagar or Northists in this context.
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