Panel: RELIGION AND SOCIO-CULTURAL TRANSFORMATION: PERSPECTIVES FROM VIENNA-BASED RESEARCHERS



742.3 - MAPPING CULTURAL CONVERGENCE: DIGITAL TOOLS UNVEILING THE CROSS-CULTURAL SCRIPT OF SYRIAC-MALAYALAM HERITAGE IN KERALA

AUTHORS:
Chandran S. (Central European University ~ Vienna ~ Austria)
Text:
Garshuni Malayalam, a script developed in Kerala in the 16th century, was used to write the Malayalam language by the Saint Thomas Christian community, whose native tongue is Malayalam but whose liturgical language is Syriac. This unique script, a fusion of twenty-two Syriac letters and ten Malayalam characters, is written from right to left, much like Syriac. It was primarily employed by Saint Thomas Christians and Jesuit missionaries, and most historical documents related to this community are written in this script. However, due to the Hindu-centric nature of Kerala's history and the limited understanding of this script, the rich heritage of this community remains underexplored. This paper introduces digital tools, such as Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) and an online Syriac-Garshuni Malayalam dictionary, currently under development as part of my PhD research at Central European University, aimed at uncovering the historical legacy of Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala.