MATTANCHERI

former township in Kerala state, southwestern India. It lies adjacent to the city of Cochin on the Arabian Sea coast. In 1970 Mattancheri township was incorporated with the Cochin urban agglomeration. The township is notable chiefly for the impressive Pardesi synagogue of the Jewish community as well as for the palace of the rajas of Cochin. The synagogue was built in 1568 and was restored after partial destruction by the Portuguese in 1664. It includes a Dutch-style clock tower built in 1761, Torah scrolls decorated in silver and gold, and many valuable ritual objects. Among the latter are ancient inscribed copper plates that were presented to the Jews by King Bhaskara Ravi Varma in the 4th century and are regarded by them as the charter of their community. Mattancheri's Jewish community has dwindled considerably in the second half of the 20th century because of emigration to the state of Israel. The palace, dating from 1555, was the residence of the rajas of Cochin. It houses exquisite mural paintings that depict the entire story of the Ramayana, the shorter of the two great epic poems of India.