Pappanji
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.jpg) Pappanji burning in 2011 | |
| Creature information | |
|---|---|
| Other name(s) | Papanji, Papanhi |
| Origin | |
| Country | India |
| Region | Fort Kochi, Cochin,Ernakulam district,Kerala |
Pappanji (IPA: [pɐpːaːɲːi], also spelled as Pappaanji, Papanji or Papanhi) is an effigy of a European old man, prepared as part of the New Year celebrations in Fort Kochi, Cochin. It is prepared in the form of a European old man as a symbol of the passing year. With Pappanji being burned at midnight on the last day of December, the concept is that the year is over. It is thought to have originated from the remnants of the Christmas and New Year celebrations of the Portuguese.
In many parts of Kerala, Santa Claus is sometimes referred locally as Christmas Pappanji.[1] But the carnival's organizers disassociate Pappanji with Santa Claus.[2][3]
Some historians says that the Pappanji burning ceremony in Kochi is thought to have originated from the remnants of the Christmas and New Year celebrations of the Portuguese who ruled Fort Kochi region from 1503 to 1663.[4] With the permission of the then Cochin king, they built a fort called Fort Emmanuel, which is thought to be the first European fort in India and established a small city called Santa Cruz around the fort.[4] Churches and other institutions were also built there. As Catholics, they celebrated Christmas and New Year magnificently. The Pappanji burning is believed to have originated from the remnants of this culture.[4]
Some other believes that the myth of Pappanji was originated from the Jewish culture of the coast of Kerala, which has a history of over two thousand years.[5] The historic Paradesi Synagogue at Mattancherry, near Fort Kochi, records the arrival of Jewish settlers in 70 AD.[6] On the eighth day of the Feast of Enoch, which commemorates the defeat of the Greek army and the recapture of their land, the effigy of the Greek general Bagris is burned after Torah reading.[5] Straw and dry grass are used for making the effigy. Salt and green leaves are inserted into it to create a small crack while burning.[5] It is believed that the burning of Pappanji in Kochi may have been borrowed from the ritual of burning the Bagris.[5] The Pappanji burning ceremony takes place on the eighth day after Christmas Eve, similar to the festival of Enoch.[5]
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