Thoma Parvam (or Ramban Pattu)
Standard abbreviation: Song Thom.
Other titles: none
Clavis numbers: ECCA 519
Category: Apocryphal Acts
Related literature: Acts of Thomas, Passion of Thomas
Compiled by Tony Burke, York University
Citing this resource (using Chicago Manual of Style): Burke, Tony. “Song of Thomas.” e-Clavis: Christian Apocrypha. Accessed DAY MONTH YEAR. https://www.nasscal.com/e-clavis-christian-apocrypha/song-of-thomas/.
Created May 2024.
1. SUMMARY
The Song of Thomas is a Malayam poem in 448 lines documenting the apostle Thomas’ missionary activities and martyrdom in India. Other oral and written accounts from the Thomas Christian (also called Nasrani) community in Kerala exist, but Song Thom. is the most widely known and accessible. The poem was set to writing in 1601 by Thoma Ramban (ramban, derived from the Hebrew rabban, means monk or master), who is said to be a descendant of one of Thomas’ first disciples in India (Maliyekkal Thoma).
After a brief introduction, the text tells how Thomas (said to be the son of Mariyam) boarded a ship on the Arabian coast accompanied by Chola Perumal (Chola is a clan name; Perumal is the man’s surname). He lands on the Malabar Coast at Malyankara (in modern day Kerala) in 51 CE. After preaching there, Thomas moves on to other locations, including Mylapoor where he distributes gifts given to him by Perumal to the poor. He returns to Kerala and is then convinced by the son-in-law of the king of Thiruvanjikulam to sail by ship to Malyankara where he converts 40 Jews to the faith and establishes a church. Anthrayose (Andrew) is introduced (a disciple of Thomas or perhaps the ruler of Malyankara); his son-in-law Keppa (Cephas) is appointed as a teacher and occasionally accompanies Thomas in his travels.
From Malayankara Thomas travels throughout the region establishing seven major churches in Kodungallur, Palayur, Kottakkavu, Kokkamangalam, Nilakkal, Niranam, and Kollam, and the “half-church” (or maybe “royal church”) in Thiruvanjikulam. Much of the remainder of the text provides detailed dates of Thomas’ movements and the numbers of Indians who become believers in each location. Occasionally an anecdote is presented, such as the cursing of the village Trikpaleswara, and the recruitment of Pathrose (Peter) and Paulose (Paul) in Chandrapuri. Of particular significance is an episode parallel to act 3 of Acts of Thomas: the story of Gundaphorus. In Song Thom., a Chola man asks Thomas about the building of a mansion; when Thomas reveals that the mansion cannot be seen, he is imprisoned. The brother of the king dies and sees the mansion in heaven. He returns to life and informs the king, and both men come to the prison, where they ask Thomas questions and are baptized.
Thomas departs Kerala, appointing Keppa as his successor, and journeys to the east coast of India where he performs numerous miracles (healing the blind, the paralyzed, etc.) and baptizes converts from each of the four castes, though the leaders of the church are appointed only from the Brahmin caste.
Finally, in the year 72, Thomas meets his end in Mylapoor (modern Chennai); elements of this account are similar to the Passion of Thomas. As he journeys to the city, he meets travellers on their way to worship Kali Devi. They begin to argue with Thomas because the apostle refuses to worship the goddess. When they reach the city, Thomas strikes the statue of Kali with a cross, and the goddess flees. For his impunity, Thomas is tortured and impaled with a spear. Pathrose and Paulose place his body in a church. Some time later, Keppa is brought to the church by angels; there he has a vision of Thomas who promises blessings on those who remember his death and worship at his tomb.
Named historical figures and characters: Anthrayose (disciple of Thomas), Kali Devi, Keppa (disciple of Thomas), Maliyekkal Thomas, Pathrose (disciple of Thomas), Paulose (disciple of Thomas), Perumal, Simon (disciple of Thomas), Thomas (apostle).
Geographical locations: Chandrapuri, Chennai, India, Kerala, Kodungallur, Kokkamangalam, Kollam, Kottakkavu, Malyankara, Mylapoor, Nilakkal, Niranam, Palayur, Thiruvanjikulam, Trikpaleswara.
2. RESOURCES
2.1 Web Sites and Other Online Resources
“Kerala Syrian Christian, Apostle in India, The tomb of the Apostle, Persian Church, Syond of Diamper – Coonan Cross Oath, Subsequent divisions and the Nasrani People.” Nasranis. Posted 13 February 2007.
“Parangimalai.” Wikipedia (St. Thomas Mount, the location of Thomas’ death).
Perczel, István. “The Saint Thomas Christians in India.” Project for Preserving the Manuscripts of the Syrian Christians in India.
“Saint Thomas Christians.” Wikipedia.
“Saint Thomas Cathedral Basilica, Chennai.” Wikipedia (location of relic of Thomas and the spear that killed him).
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY
3.1 Manuscripts and Editions
3.1.1 Malayalam
Hosten, Henri. The Song of Thomas Ramban. Darjeeling: St. Joseph’s College, 1931 (with a translation by T. K. Joseph and a discussion of manuscripts).
Curtin, D. P. and Nithul Nath, trans. The Ramban Pattu: The Song of St. Thomas in Kerala. Philadelphia: Dalcassian Press, 2017 (interlinear text and English translation, pp. 13–50).
Koonamakkal, Malpan Thoma. Ramban Pattu (Malayalam text).
3.2 Modern Translations
3.2.1 English
Curtin, D. P. and Nithul Nath, trans. The Ramban Pattu: The Song of St. Thomas in Kerala. Philadelphia: Dalcassian Press, 2017 (interlinear text and English translation, pp. 13–50).
3.3 General Works
Andrade, Nathanael J. The Journey of Christianity to India in Late Antiquity: Networks and the Movement of Culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
Bernard of St. Thomas. A Brief Sketch of the History of St. Thomas Christians. Tiruchirapalli: St. Joseph’s Industrial School, 1924.
__________. Marthoma Christianikal (The History of the St. Thomas Christians). Palai: Mar Thoma Sleeha Press, 1916.
Bosch, Lourens P. van den. “India and the Apostolate of St. Thomas.” Pages 125–48 in The Apocryphal Acts of Thomas. Edited by Jan N. Bremmer. Studies on Early Christian Apocrypha 6. Leuven: Peeters, 2001.
Brock, Sebastian P. “Thomas Christians.” Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Edited by In Sebastian P. Brock et al. Gorgias Press, 2011. Online: https://gedsh.bethmardutho.org/Thomas-Christians.
Brown, Leslie W. The Indian Christians of St Thomas: An Account of the Ancient Syrian Church of Malabar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1956.
Bussagli, Mario. “The Apostle St. Thomas and India.” East and West 3.2 (1952): 88–94.
Dognini, Cristiano, and Ilaria Ramelli. Gli Apostoli in India. Nella patristica e nella letteratura sanscrita. Milano: Edizioni Medusa, 2001.
Fernando, Leonard, and G. Gispert-Sauch. Christianity in India: Two Thousand Years of Faith. New Delhi: Penguin International, 2004.
Frykenberg, Robert E. Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Gillman, Ian, and Jans-Joachim Klimkeit. Christians in Asia Before 1500. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 1999.
Hosten, Henri. Antiquities from San Thomé and Mylapore. Mylapore: Diocese of Mylapore, 1936.
Karttunen, Klaus. “On the Contacts of South India with the Western World in Ancient Times , and the Mission of the Apostle Thomas.” Pages 189–91 in South Asian Religion and Society. Edited by Asko Parpola and Bent Smidt Hansen. London: Riverdale, 1986.
Koonammakkal, Thomas. “Acts of Thomas re-examined in the light of the Song of Thomā Rambān.” The Harp 33 (2018): 103–44.
Kurikilamkatt, James. First Voyage of the Apostle Thomas to India. Bangalore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2005.
Mathew, K. S., Joseph Chacko Chennattuserry, and Antony Bungalowparambil. St. Thomas and India: Recent Research. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2020.
Mukalel, Byju Mathew. “St. Thomas Traditions in Ancient Christian Folk Songs.” Pages 89–114 in St. Thomas and India: Recent Research. Edited by K. S. Mathew, Joseph Chacko Chennattuserry, and Antony Bungalowparambil. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2020.
McDowell, Sean. The Fate of the Apostles: Examining the Martyrdom Accounts of the Closest Followers of Jesus. Abingdon: Ashgate, 2008. Repr. London and New York: Routledge, 2015 (pp. 157–73).
McLees, Nectarias. “Witness for an Apostle: The Evidence for St. Thomas in India.” Road to Emmaus 6 (2005): 60.
Medlycott, A. E. India and the Apostle Thomas. London: Ballantyne, 1905.
Menachery, George. The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India. 3 vols. Trichur: St. Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India, 1982–2010.
Mingana, Alphonse. “The Early Spread of Christianity in India.” BJRL 10.2 (1926): 435–514.
Moraes, George M. A History of Christianity in India: From Early Times to St. Francis Xavier: A. D. 52–1542. Bombay: Manaktalas, 1964.
Mundadan, A. M. and Joseph Thekkedath. History of Christianity in India. 2 vols. Bangalore: Church History Association of India, 1982–1984.
Nedungatt, George. “The Apocryphal ‘Acts of Thomas’ and Christian Origins in India.” Gregorianum 92.3 (2011): 533–57.
__________. The Quest for the Historical Thomas, Apostle of India: A Re-reading of the Evidence. Bangalore: Theological Publications in India, 2008 (esp. pp. 358–67).
Nicholl, Charles. “The Other Thomas.” London Review of Books 34.21 (8 Nov. 2012). Online: https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v34/n21/charles-nicholl/the-other-thomas.
Neill, Stephen. A History of Christianity in India: The Beginnings to AD 1707. 1984. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
Palackal, Joseph J. “The Survival Story of the Syriac Chants among the Saint Thomas Christians in South India.” Pages 340–60 in The Oxford Handbook of Music and World Christianities. Edited by Suzel Ana Reily and Jonathan M. Dueck. Oxford University Press, 2013.
Perczel, István. “Syriac Christianity in India.” Pages 653–97 in The Syriac World. Edited by Daniel King. New York: Routledge, 2018.
Podipara, Placid J. The Thomas Christians. London: Longman & Todd, 1970.
Tisserant, Eugène. Eastern Christianity in India: A History of the Syro-Malabar Church from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Translated and edited by E. R. Hambye. Westminster, MD: Newman Press, 1957.
Vadakkekara, Benedict. Origin of Christianity in India: A Historiographical Critique. Delhi: Media House, 2007.
Van der Ploeg, J. P. M. The Christians of St. Thomas in South India and their Syriac Manuscripts. Rome: Center for Indian and Inter-Religious Studies and Bangalore: Dharmaram Publications, 1983.
Verghese, Paul. “A Brief History of the Syriac Study Centers in Kerala.” Harp 10.1–2 (1997): 65–70.
__________, ed. Die syrischen Kirchen in Indien. Stuttgart: Evangelisches Verlagswerk, 1974.