Kadamattathu Kathanar - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Kadamattathu Kathanar also known as Kadamattathachan (Father Kadamattom) is a legendary priest who is believed to have possessed supernatural powers and whose legends are closely related to the beginning of the Kadamattom Church

Kadamattom Church

Kadamattom Church is one of the ancient churches in India. The church is situated near to Kolenchery town near Cochin, India.The church is believed to have established in the 9th Century AD. Kadamattom church is an integral part of the syrian Orthodox Church in India...

, one of the oldest church buildings that still exists in Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

the land of Saint Thomas Christians

Saint Thomas Christians

The Saint Thomas Christians are an ancient body of Christians from Kerala, India, who trace their origins to the evangelical activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. They are also known as "Nasranis" because they are followers of "Jesus of Nazareth". The term "Nasrani" is still used by St...

. The church stands on a hill about 30 km from Ernakulam

Ernakulam

Ernakulam refers to the downtown area or the western part of the mainland of Kochi city in Kerala, India. The city is the most urban part of Kochi and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Ernakulam is called the commercial capital of the state of Kerala and is a main nerve of business in...

on the Moovattupuzha road. The history of this church was not written down, but lives through legends. The stories about Kadamattathu Kathanar embody the exaggerated experience of the people in that area giving expression through magic

Magic (paranormal)

Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...

and sorcery

Magic (paranormal)

. The stories relating to him tells that he had supernatural powers and being a Christian priest used his magic

Magic (paranormal)

for the common good.

In medieval legends, history and fables were combined inextricably. The story of Kadamattathu Kathanar might be a mixture of history and fables. Currently there is no certain proof that he really existed, but the fact that a real priest lived in that area in the ninth century cannot be expelled. Tradition points out the existence of Christians in that area from the beginning of Christian Era.

The story of Kadamattathu Kathanar is as follows:

Childhood

Poulose was born in a very poor Syrian Christian family in Kadamattathu, a small village in North Travancore

Travancore

Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...

. (now part of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

). People fondly called him Kochu Poulose. He had no siblings and his parents died when he was a child. He was taken care of by his mother for a short period before her death after which he came under the patronage of the Persian priest Mar Abo. Living in a small cottage with no one to look after, he felt depressed, left his home and went to a nearby church. The parish priest who passed that way saw this boy crying and praying on the door steps of his church. He took him to his house gave him shelter and food and cared for him like his own child.

Soon the parish priest had realized that this boy was religious, intelligent and efficient. So he was given a good education under a famous teacher. The priest himself took time to teach him Syriac and liturgy. In due course he was ordained as a deacon and people began to call him Deacon Poulose.

Mastering of Magical Powers

The priest had a herd of cattle. Every day a servant boy took them to the nearby hills for grazing. One day while he was out with the cattle on the hills, a tiger came and killed one of them. Afraid of the tiger the boy ran to the village and told the priest what had happened. The priest and Deacon Poulose, immediately summoned the people in the village and they went out in different directions searching for the cattle. By sunset all the cattle returned, except the one that was killed by the tiger.

But soon the priest realized that Deacon Poulose, who went in search of the cattle, did not return. Search parties went out in different directions that night. But there was no sign of the deacon. Days passed by, still he had not returned. Though the villagers thought that he was killed by the tiger, the priest believed that he was still alive somewhere.

Paulose had actually lost his way in the deep forest which eventually led him to a group of ancient tribals. It is believed that he mastered his magical powers from these cannibal tribals known as Mala Arayas living in subterranean abodes. Their leader who became fond of Paulose, allowed him to stay with them for many years during which he learned the strange secrets of magical performances.

Paulose later escaped from there after which the Mala Arayas searched for him in vain. It is believed that Kathanar escaped by staying in the church when the cannibal tribals created a storm in their effort to destroy the church and capture him. The scars said to be generated by the storm are still visible on the walls of the church.

It is not possible to describe all the great deeds of Kadamattathu Kathanar. He has written a number of books on sorcery

Magic (paranormal)

but his writings are not legible and is not possible for the common man to understand.

Last days

Neither his date of birth nor date of death are known. Till the end of his life, he did not reveal from where or from whom he received lessons on sorcery

Magic (paranormal)

. His body was buried in Kadamattom Church

Kadamattom Church

In Media

A popular TV series Kadamattathu Kathanar was telecasted by Asianet in which actor Prakash Paul played Kathanar.
A similar TV series was produced by Jai Hind television channel and by Surya TV (titled Kadamattathachan). Prakash Paul played the title role in both.
In the 1966 film Kadamattathachan, Prem Nazir
Prem Nazir
Abdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema...

played the lead role.

Childhood

Mastering of Magical Powers

Last days

In Media

Further reading