Saint Thomas Christian music - Revision history

MohammadMullen: update intro per standard format and added references

2025-11-12T23:31:01Z

update intro per standard format and added references

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:01, 13 November 2025
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	==History==		==History==
	The [[Saint Thomas Christians]] trace their origins to the evangelical activity of [[Thomas the Apostle]] in the 1st century. The community grew under the influence of migration from Syrians, members of the [[Church of the East]]. The community's modern musical traditions may be derived from this connection.<ref>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|pages= 83–85\|publisher= University of Texas Press\|jstor= 833968}}</ref> Into the 20th century, Saint Thomas Christian liturgy was performed and sung in the [[Syriac language]], though today this largely has been replaced with the local language, [[Malayalam]].<ref name=Ross85>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|page= 85\|publisher= University of Texas Press\|jstor= 833968}}</ref> Due to the community's resistance to outside influence and isolation, the music of the Saint Thomas Christians may preserve elements of the earliest forms of Christian music.<ref name=Ross80>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|pages= 80–98 \|publisher= University of Texas Press\|doi= 10.2307/833968 \|jstor= 833968}}</ref>		The [[Saint Thomas Christians]] trace their origins to the evangelical activity of [[Thomas the Apostle]] in the 1st century. The community grew under the influence of migration from Syrians, members of the [[Church of the East]]. The community's modern musical traditions may be derived from this connection.<ref>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|pages= 83–85\|publisher= University of Texas Press\|doi= 10.2307/833968 \|jstor= 833968}}</ref> Into the 20th century, Saint Thomas Christian liturgy was performed and sung in the [[Syriac language]], though today this largely has been replaced with the local language, [[Malayalam]].<ref name=Ross85>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|page= 85\|publisher= University of Texas Press\|doi= 10.2307/833968 \|jstor= 833968}}</ref> Due to the community's resistance to outside influence and isolation, the music of the Saint Thomas Christians may preserve elements of the earliest forms of Christian music.<ref name=Ross80>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|pages= 80–98 \|publisher= University of Texas Press\|doi= 10.2307/833968 \|jstor= 833968}}</ref>

	Scholar Israel G. Ross compares Saint Thomas Christian music to that of the [[Jews]] in Kerala. [[Jewish music]] influenced the early Christian music ancestral to the Saint Thomas Christian forms, and Jews have lived in similar conditions to the Thomas Christians in [[Kerala]] for centuries.<ref name=Ross80/> As such, Christian and Jewish music and culture in Kerala feature many parallels and similarities.<ref>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|pages= 80–81 \|publisher= University of Texas Press\|doi= 10.2307/833968 \|jstor= 833968}}</ref> For example, a Saint Thomas Christian blessing given by a dying father to his children is similar to the Jewish [[Amidah]].<ref name=Ross82>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|page= 82\|publisher= University of Texas Press\|jstor= 833968}}</ref> These similarities may reflect a common origin in the ancient Middle East.<ref name=Ross88>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|pages= 88 \|publisher= University of Texas Press\|jstor= 833968}}</ref>		Scholar Israel J. Ross compares Saint Thomas Christian music to that of the [[Jews]] in Kerala. [[Jewish music]] influenced the early Christian music ancestral to the Saint Thomas Christian forms, and Jews have lived in similar conditions to the Thomas Christians in [[Kerala]] for centuries.<ref name=Ross80/> As such, Christian and Jewish music and culture in Kerala feature many parallels and similarities.<ref>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|pages= 80–81 \|publisher= University of Texas Press\|doi= 10.2307/833968 \|jstor= 833968}}</ref> For example, a Saint Thomas Christian blessing given by a dying father to his children is similar to the Jewish [[Amidah]].<ref name=Ross82>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|page= 82\|publisher= University of Texas Press\|doi= 10.2307/833968 \|jstor= 833968}}</ref> These similarities may reflect a common origin in the ancient Middle East.<ref name=Ross88>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|pages= 88 \|publisher= University of Texas Press\|doi= 10.2307/833968 \|jstor= 833968}}</ref>

	{\| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" align="center" width="40%"		{\| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" align="center" width="40%"
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	==Structure==		==Structure==
	Saint Thomas Christian music derives from archaic Syriac forms, with little discernible influence from [[Indian classical music]] or other local traditions.<ref name=Ross80/> [[Liturgical music]] is performed in two [[mode (music)\|modes]]: ''kadmoyo'' and ''hamisoyo''. These are similar to the [[Arabic language\|Arabic]] ''[[maqama]]t'' and may be derived from an ancient [[Syriac sacral music\|Syriac system]] that existed in the Middle East in the early centuries of Christianity, and which may be related to the system known as [[oktoechos]].<ref name=Ross85/> Intonation is similar to the Syriac standard, featuring no [[augmented second]] or [[microtonal]] alteration characteristic of Indian music.<ref>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|pages= 86 \|publisher= University of Texas Press \|jstor=833968}}</ref>		Saint Thomas Christian music derives from archaic Syriac forms, with little discernible influence from [[Indian classical music]] or other local traditions.<ref name=Ross80/> [[Liturgical music]] is performed in two [[mode (music)\|modes]]: ''kadmoyo'' and ''hamisoyo''. These are similar to the [[Arabic language\|Arabic]] ''[[maqama]]t'' and may be derived from an ancient [[Syriac sacral music\|Syriac system]] that existed in the Middle East in the early centuries of Christianity, and which may be related to the system known as [[oktoechos]].<ref name=Ross85/> Intonation is similar to the Syriac standard, featuring no [[augmented second]] or [[microtonal]] alteration characteristic of Indian music.<ref>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|pages= 86 \|publisher= University of Texas Press \|doi= 10.2307/833968 \|jstor=833968}}</ref>

	The [[organum]] singing style is common in Saint Thomas Christian music. It appears in [[antiphons]], [[responsory\|responsories]], and [[hymn]]s. Ross notes that this is found among three other disparate and isolated cultures: the nearby [[Cochin Jews]], the [[Yemenite Jews]], and the [[Samaritans]]. Organum may be sung in either duplum or triplum. In the former it is sung in the [[Perfect fifth\|fifth]] when the boys and men sing together with the [[cantus firmus]] in the upper voice, or in the [[perfect fourth\|fourth]] when the groups sing alone. In triplum it is sung in the fourth and octave.<ref name=Ross88/>		The [[organum]] singing style is common in Saint Thomas Christian music. It appears in [[antiphons]], [[responsory\|responsories]], and [[hymn]]s. Ross notes that this is found among three other disparate and isolated cultures: the nearby [[Cochin Jews]], the [[Yemenite Jews]], and the [[Samaritans]]. Organum may be sung in either duplum or triplum. In the former it is sung in the [[Perfect fifth\|fifth]] when the boys and men sing together with the [[cantus firmus]] in the upper voice, or in the [[perfect fourth\|fourth]] when the groups sing alone. In triplum it is sung in the fourth and octave.<ref name=Ross88/>
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	==Chant accentuation==		==Chant accentuation==
	Traditional chant accentuation derives from the Syriac standard, which was instituted by the scholars known as the [[Masoretes]] in the Middle Ages. The form is similar to that codified by the [[Hebrew]] [[Linguist\|grammarians]] of [[Tiberias]] for Jewish cantillation of the Bible. It features dot notation above, below, and to the side of words in the text. The names of the notations are expressive, reflecting the style of Syriac Bible reading and chant in general.<ref name=Ross83>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|pages= 83\|publisher= University of Texas Press\|jstor= 833968}}</ref>		Traditional chant accentuation derives from the Syriac standard, which was instituted by the scholars known as the [[Masoretes]] in the Middle Ages. The form is similar to that codified by the [[Hebrew]] [[Linguist\|grammarians]] of [[Tiberias]] for Jewish cantillation of the Bible. It features dot notation above, below, and to the side of words in the text. The names of the notations are expressive, reflecting the style of Syriac Bible reading and chant in general.<ref name=Ross83>{{cite journal \|last1= Ross \|first1= Israel J. \|year= 1980 \|title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala \|journal= Asian Music \|volume= 11 \|issue= 1 \|pages= 83\|publisher= University of Texas Press\|doi= 10.2307/833968 \|jstor= 833968}}</ref>

	==Thoma Parvam==		==Thoma Parvam==
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	{{Reflist\|2}}		{{Reflist\|2}}

	[[Category:Kerala ~~society~~]]		[[Category:Society of Kerala]]
	[[Category:Christian liturgical music]]		[[Category:Christian liturgical music]]
	[[Category:Music history]]		[[Category:Music history]]
	[[Category:Saint Thomas Christians]]		[[Category:Saint Thomas Christians]]

imported>Mike Peel: Removing Commons category link that does not match this article (:commons:Category:Saint Thomas Christians) (Commons category belongs at Saint_Thomas_Christians)

2021-05-04T10:32:58Z

Removing Commons category link that does not match this article (commons:Category:Saint Thomas Christians) (Commons category belongs at Saint_Thomas_Christians)

New page

{{Nasrani people}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
'''Saint Thomas Christian music''' refers to the [[music]]al traditions of the [[Saint Thomas Christian]] community of [[Kerala]], [[India]]. It is chiefly [[liturgical music|liturgical]] and is derived from ancient [[Syriac Christian]] music from the [[Middle East]], with remarkably little influence from local Indian styles. Of particular significance is the prevalence of the [[organum]] singing style. As a result of the community's isolation and conservatism, these traditions may retain elements of the earliest forms of [[Early Christian music]].

==History==
The [[Saint Thomas Christians]] trace their origins to the evangelical activity of [[Thomas the Apostle]] in the 1st century. The community grew under the influence of migration from Syrians, members of the [[Church of the East]]. The community's modern musical traditions may be derived from this connection.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Ross |first1= Israel J. |year= 1980 |title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala |journal= Asian Music |volume= 11 |issue= 1 |pages= 83–85|publisher= University of Texas Press|jstor= 833968}}</ref> Into the 20th century, Saint Thomas Christian liturgy was performed and sung in the [[Syriac language]], though today this largely has been replaced with the local language, [[Malayalam]].<ref name=Ross85>{{cite journal |last1= Ross |first1= Israel J. |year= 1980 |title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala |journal= Asian Music |volume= 11 |issue= 1 |page= 85|publisher= University of Texas Press|jstor= 833968}}</ref> Due to the community's resistance to outside influence and isolation, the music of the Saint Thomas Christians may preserve elements of the earliest forms of Christian music.<ref name=Ross80>{{cite journal |last1= Ross |first1= Israel J. |year= 1980 |title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala |journal= Asian Music |volume= 11 |issue= 1 |pages= 80–98 |publisher= University of Texas Press|doi= 10.2307/833968 |jstor= 833968}}</ref>

Scholar Israel G. Ross compares Saint Thomas Christian music to that of the [[Jews]] in Kerala. [[Jewish music]] influenced the early Christian music ancestral to the Saint Thomas Christian forms, and Jews have lived in similar conditions to the Thomas Christians in [[Kerala]] for centuries.<ref name=Ross80/> As such, Christian and Jewish music and culture in Kerala feature many parallels and similarities.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Ross |first1= Israel J. |year= 1980 |title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala |journal= Asian Music |volume= 11 |issue= 1 |pages= 80–81 |publisher= University of Texas Press|doi= 10.2307/833968 |jstor= 833968}}</ref> For example, a Saint Thomas Christian blessing given by a dying father to his children is similar to the Jewish [[Amidah]].<ref name=Ross82>{{cite journal |last1= Ross |first1= Israel J. |year= 1980 |title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala |journal= Asian Music |volume= 11 |issue= 1 |page= 82|publisher= University of Texas Press|jstor= 833968}}</ref> These similarities may reflect a common origin in the ancient Middle East.<ref name=Ross88>{{cite journal |last1= Ross |first1= Israel J. |year= 1980 |title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala |journal= Asian Music |volume= 11 |issue= 1 |pages= 88 |publisher= University of Texas Press|jstor= 833968}}</ref>

{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" align="center" width="40%"
|- style="border: solid 1px"
|-
! colspan="4" style="background:#fafad2;"|The Saint Thomas Christian father's blessing, as compared to the Jewish [[Amidah]]
|-
! colspan="1" style="background:#fafad2;"| Saint Thomas Christian blessing
! colspan="1" style="background:#fafad2;"| [[Amidah]]
|-
| God gave his blessing to Abraham, Abraham gave that blessing to Isaac, Isaac gave that blessing to Jacob, Jacob ...to my forefathers, My forefathers...my parents, And my parents...to me, Now, dear son (daughter), I give that blessing to you.
|| Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, and God of our fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, the great, mighty and revered God...
|-
! colspan="4" style="background:#ffffe0;"| Ross 1979
|-
|}

==Structure==
Saint Thomas Christian music derives from archaic Syriac forms, with little discernible influence from [[Indian classical music]] or other local traditions.<ref name=Ross80/> [[Liturgical music]] is performed in two [[mode (music)|modes]]: ''kadmoyo'' and ''hamisoyo''. These are similar to the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] ''[[maqama]]t'' and may be derived from an ancient [[Syriac sacral music|Syriac system]] that existed in the Middle East in the early centuries of Christianity, and which may be related to the system known as [[oktoechos]].<ref name=Ross85/> Intonation is similar to the Syriac standard, featuring no [[augmented second]] or [[microtonal]] alteration characteristic of Indian music.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Ross |first1= Israel J. |year= 1980 |title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala |journal= Asian Music |volume= 11 |issue= 1 |pages= 86 |publisher= University of Texas Press |jstor=833968}}</ref>

The [[organum]] singing style is common in Saint Thomas Christian music. It appears in [[antiphons]], [[responsory|responsories]], and [[hymn]]s. Ross notes that this is found among three other disparate and isolated cultures: the nearby [[Cochin Jews]], the [[Yemenite Jews]], and the [[Samaritans]]. Organum may be sung in either duplum or triplum. In the former it is sung in the [[Perfect fifth|fifth]] when the boys and men sing together with the [[cantus firmus]] in the upper voice, or in the [[perfect fourth|fourth]] when the groups sing alone. In triplum it is sung in the fourth and octave.<ref name=Ross88/>

[[File:CommonOriginJewishandKeralaNasrani.JPG|Similarities in traditional liturgical music of Kerala Jews and Nasranis (Syrian Christians)]]

The [[Margam Kali]] is a traditional Saint Thomas Christian dance. The accompanying music is performed by a choir singing in Syriac chant, with a ''sleeyankolu'' ([[Triangle (musical instrument)|triangle]]) maintaining rhythm. Another traditional instrument is the [[violin]] or ''revekka''.<ref name= Choondal>Chummar Choondal (1983). "Christian folk songs". ''Kerala Folklore Academy'', p 56.</ref>

==Chant accentuation==
Traditional chant accentuation derives from the Syriac standard, which was instituted by the scholars known as the [[Masoretes]] in the Middle Ages. The form is similar to that codified by the [[Hebrew]] [[Linguist|grammarians]] of [[Tiberias]] for Jewish cantillation of the Bible. It features dot notation above, below, and to the side of words in the text. The names of the notations are expressive, reflecting the style of Syriac Bible reading and chant in general.<ref name=Ross83>{{cite journal |last1= Ross |first1= Israel J. |year= 1980 |title= Ritual and Music in South India: Syrian Christian Liturgical Music in Kerala |journal= Asian Music |volume= 11 |issue= 1 |pages= 83|publisher= University of Texas Press|jstor= 833968}}</ref>

==Thoma Parvam==
One important Saint Thomas Christian song is the "Thoma Parvam", or "Song of Thomas".<ref>{{cite book |title= Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present |last= Frykenberg |first= Eric |year= 2008 |publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn= 978-0-19-826377-7 |page= 92}}</ref> The song contains a [[colophon (publishing)|colophon]] claiming it was first written in 1601 by a certain Maliekel Thoma Ramban, though the manuscripts are of a much later date. The words give an account of [[Thomas the Apostle]]'s purported evangelical work in India in the 1st century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Thoma |first1= P. J. |year= 1984 |title= The South Indian Tradition of the Apostle Thomas |journal= Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |volume= 56 |pages= 83–85|url= http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayFulltext?type=1&fid=5702828&jid=JRA&volumeId=56&issueId=S1&aid=5702820}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

[[Category:Kerala society]]
[[Category:Christian liturgical music]]
[[Category:Music history]]
[[Category:Saint Thomas Christians]]