Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 2.djvu/533

Rh Jews still have synagogues. Parūr, Chennan Manga1am, and Māla have each one synagogue, Ernākulam has two, and Cochin three, of which one belongs to the White Jews. The Parūr Jews have also the ruins of another synagogue marked by a Ner Tamid, which they say existed 400 years ago, when there were eighteen Botē Midrash (schools) and 500 Jewish houses. This tradition further confirms the importance of Cranganore before 1524. With the advent of the Dutch, better times ensued for the Jews. The Dutch were bitter foes of the Portuguese and their inquisition, and friends of their enemies. Naturally the Jews were on the side of the Dutch, and, as naturally, had to suffer for their temerity. In 1662 the Dutch attacked the Rānee's palace at Mattāncheri and besieged the adjoining town of Cochin, but had to retire before Portuguese reinforcements. The Portuguese therefore burnt the synagogue adjoining the palace, because they suspected the Jews, no doubt with justice, of having favoured the Dutch. In the following year, however, 'the Dutch renewed their attack on Cochin, this time with complete success. The port and town fell into their hands, and with it fell the Portuguese power in India. By a series of treaties, Cochin and Holland became close allies, and the Dutch settlement became firmly established in Cochin.' The Dutch helped the White Jews to rebuild their synagogue. The Dutch clock is still the pride of Cochin Jewry." It is well known that the Cochin Jews are generally divided into two classes, the White and the Black. Writing in the early part of the eighteenth century,* Baldæus states that "in and about the City of Cochin,