Fr.Caussanell who wrote on the Paravas lists out a number of inland villages in the erstwhile Tinnevely district to which the Paravas had migrated for different reasons .No scientific study is still made about different reasons for this migration in Tinnevely District. I wish some youngster does this.

There had been migrations of this sort in the neighbouring Ramanathapuram district also.

Kamuthy is one such place where the Paravas had moved; but none knows when and from where exactly, though there is a verifiable proof of the existence of the church prior to 1852. There still exists inscriptive evidence in a grave of a priest that bears the date 1852.

It is reported in the chronicles that between 1832 and 1838 , the French missionaries had spiritually administered the Parava Christians of this village, by frequent visits and halts. The Madurai mission Jesuits subsequently had spiritual supervision over the Kamuthy Paravas and the names who did this spiritual service include Fr. Canoes, Fr. Puchchinelli, Fr. Certuria. It is Fr. Certuria’s grave situated within the church compound that bears the year 1852. He fell a victim to cholera and is being venerated even today as the Holy man who rides on a white horse in the dead of the night protecting the remnant of Parava population that still stay in Kamuthy.

Kamuthy Parava settlement was originally, a substation of Rajakambberam, and thereafter of Madurai, and lastly of Ramanathapuram Parish and became a fullfledged parish in 1868 at the time of Fr. Daniel. I remember to have read in the archives of Kodaikanal that Fr. Trincal s.j used to visit from Ramanathapuram and minister the Paravas .It is also known that Fr. Trincal had organized and celebrated the parish titular feast of St. Antony every June 13, between 1863 and 1873. During the famine of 1876 and 1878 , Fr. Trincal and Fr. Lapport converted a number of people of other communities in and around Kamuthy.

The exact year in which the church dedicated to St, Antony was constructed is not known. But there had been an old church which had strong resemblance to the façade of St. Antony’ s church in the first line beach of Nagapattinam . It was Fr. Veaux s.j in 1954 who built a Mandapam by pulling down the façade and constructed a tall spire in addition which can be spotted from a distance of eight kilometers in 1954. He also imported a huge and a loud bell to be fixed inside the spire whose clang could be heard from miles away. The church had undergone two renovations in my memory once in 1982 and later in 1990s . The old alter, the brass candlebras the huge cross that was within the alter the Legion of Mary – all had gone regrettably and the church looks devoid of its ancientness. The old has given way to the new.

There were and still are only two streets of Paravas in Kamuthy though with migrations of many to pastures new , a few of other communities and religion had gained foothold in the streets now. The first street was St. Xavier’s street and the second one was St.Antony’s street. Though the dwellers in the streets were Paravas they had little connection with fishing as such as there was no sea closeby, But a few families were dealing in dry fish in bulk in various shandies in and around Kamuthy. There was a Karuvattu pettai , a sort of a store house for Dry fish owned by the Paravas. A few families had extensive land holdings and a few other families had cotton business. A few had transport vehicles. Many families were in Ceylon doing very well until Ceylon independence struck them off Ceylon rolls. A few families were rural industrialists with Rice mills and Ice factories and a few others were bakers and toffee makers. The first permanent Cinema hall in Kamuthy (1954) was owned by a Parava and he owned The Frankland hotel in Hutton in Ceylon in addition.The A.S.I. Fernando and Sons in Kadugannawa was a leading textile and general merchants who owned extensive lands and ricemill in Kamuthy and villages around .In recent times another thetre called Sahaya theatre is owned by S.M. Savarimuthu. Many went into Police , Railways, and State government and Kamuthy could boast of a lawyer and founder Of Christian Democratic Party—all thanks to Jesuits push to St. Mary’s school , Madurai and St.Joseph’s college , Trichirappalli.

Kamuthy had Seven Dolourous Convent from 1912 – from the days of Fr. Soettler. The convent had been in the vanguard of spiritual guidance of young girls and had been of great help in developing skills in embroidery and sewing , cooking and were of solid support to the poor and widows of the village.True to Xaviers’ tradition there had been regular manthira class every week conducted by the sisters..If the older generation of women of Kamuthy could read and write, the credit for this literacy should be given to the innumerable sisters who had toiled in Kamuthy. It is unfortunate that the seven dolorous are not any more there. A set of new congregation has come and they are continuing the services. The school which was run by the sisters would be celebrating 100 years this year.

A few traditions which I had witnessed during my brief visits to the village I wish to record lest by the vicissitude of time they get obliterated.

Though I was born and baptized in Kamuthy I had hardly lived there. My stay at Kamuthy had been only during school holidays and during the feast of St .Antony,– only when I was a small boy. After joining the service I had visited Kamuthy thrice in forty years. Nevertheless I remember mychildhood friends and events, places very well and I feel I should document these as during my latest last visit I got to know from the parish priest, many of the old traditions are fading.
*First –The Flags during the Funerals.*

The church had a dozen flags – to be exact double pennants. Whenever there was any death in any house invariably the men and women did visit and condole leaving their avocation of the day. There was no exception. Even those who were not in terms, forgot their enmity and participated in the loss. The flags would be brought from the church and all those who wished to write for the flag would contribute the tax and would take a flag to carry up to the cemetry. Though each flag charges would be two annas there would be many who would pay for many flags but would carry only one flag and thereby add to the kitty of the church. The Latin Libera was sung en route and the hand bell was chimed and the villagers irrespective of caste and religion paid respects to the departed soul by getting up and standing as the thumba passed by.

*The Second—the singing of Palais during May in honour of Mother Mary and during the Novena in honour of St. Antony.*

Palai is a mutated Tamil word for Pamalai. Written in chaste Tamil by local poets and composed to sonorous native tunes ,by village musicians ,these pamalais were exhortations to the holies loudly sung ,during the vespers at the end of which the segandi was clanged ,. The clanging and the exhortative cries that accompanied it almost beckoned the venerables to the church..Piety and prayer was explicitly evident.

*The Third is the pichai pattu sung during the Fridays of the lent .*

The young boys donning the alter boys black vestments would carry the Cross and candlebras and go round the streets accompanied by other youth, singing pichai pattu on every Friday of the lent which ran. “ irakkum yenrum surakkum divya /yesu nadha swamy/ , yelior saeida pavam yavaium irangi poruppirre—“ After the dirge has been fully choraled the youth would genuflect and get up and march forward, while one of the lads in the group would collect the pichchai arisi from the close by houses. The rice collected thus would be handed over to the parish priest to be disposed off in charity. I saw a reference to Pichai pattu in a write up by fr. Anslem Miranda of Manappadu. It is pertinent to note Fr. Soettler was parish priest in Manappadu and Kamuthy.

*The Fourth is the ceremony of Vittru koduthal.*

During the festival of St. Antony celebrated on June 13th, when the ther comes to a halt and the mass is said in the next morning ,the ceremony of vittrukoduthal would start. It is , I think , a remnant of slave trade the Portuguese specialized in the middle ages. Here the seller would invariably sell himself to St. Antony and would buy himself from St. Antony for the same cost at which he sold himself. The amount involved would be paid to the church. Cattle ,poultry, persons and children would thus be sold and bought. What was amusing was the manner and diction with which this holy transaction was made.
The announcer of the sale invariably was a man who has a booming voice.which could rise above the village shouts and chattel and happy banter of the just concluded mass crowd. He would begin thus. “” Kamuthil Yeluntharuli irukkum/
archista anthoniyarukku,
merpadi uriliruukuum,
santiaguvin magan sooasi i
anju panathukku,
vitruk kirayam seyya,
oppukondu yetru kolvarundo?’
After asking this he himself would say
‘Undu’
and pay the five panam to the church. !

The fifth is the reading aloud the Thirupadugal in the evenings in the pials of the houses by elders to the young pious ones in a musical manner.

I also distinctly remember Fr. Viaux coming with a sattai and lashing at children sleeping in the church during evening prayers.The sight of Fr. Viaux coming with Mariya Hirudayam Vathiar thatha with a bell in the hand and a Sattai in the other looking for the truants is familiar one. . But for Fr. Viaux and Vathiar Thatha many in Kamuthy would not have seen the last class in the high school. It is their push that made many to step into St. Mary’s Madurai and St. Joseph’s Trichy.

by A.X. ALEXANDER