Folklore, Ritual and Cultural Memory: A Microhistory of St Mary's Jacobite Syrian Cathedral, Manarcad

Every September, St Mary's Jacobite Syrian Cathedral in Manarcad draws hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, Hindus and Christians alike. They fast, make vows, process together and seek healing at a shrine whose sacred presence extends beyond the boundaries of the church. Local memory even remembers the deities of the neighbouring temple and the church as siblings.How did this remarkable relationship come to exist?Through the history, folklore, rituals and memories of Manarcad, this book traces the making of a shared sacred landscape. It asks what happens when religious communities inhabit the same stories, places, and rituals without becoming the same.Moving between archive and lived memory, it reveals a history that cannot be found in official records alone and invites us to reconsider how religious difference is remembered, negotiated,and sustained.