Puthenthope

History

There is little written historical record of Puthenthope's development but a strong oral tradition.

In the 15th century, the Portuguese were looking for a strategic point to place their cannons, aiming at the Dutch ship movements in the Arabian Sea. They found a suitable place with tall coconut palms on the coastal area and dense forest throughout the inland. If they could build hills in between and place the cannons there, the ships could not see it but the people in the land could easily monitor. So to build the hills, Portuguese brought a group of Kusavans (potters) from Ambalappuzha, a place in the present Alappuzha district. They made the hills for the cannons to be placed. The Kusavans who came from Amplapuzha stayed back and continued with their occupation of pot making. The occupation of pot making was not suitable for many reasons–the unavailability of clay, the long walk through the forest to the nearest market, presence of notorious thieves on the forest way etc. They turned to another profitable occupation–fishing.

A journey through the coastal lines of Thiruvananthapuram reveals that there are no historical landmark sites as old as the Puthenthope mounds. The Portuguese influence can also be seen in the language spoken here. However, the Ambalapuzha link remained a mystery till the excavation of sand mounds in the late 1970s. During excavations, huge quantities of earthenware, believed to be used by the then people were discovered.

St. Francis Xavier came to India in the early 16th century and walked through the western cost of India preaching Christianity and converting people to Christianity. There is a strong assumption that he placed a cross near Njaramukham (Old name of Puthenthope) and prayed (present Pallimukku area). There is another belief that St. Francis heard about the death of his teacher St. Ignatius Loyola while he was near Njanramukham and so he placed the cross in his name.

There is a common belief that, some ladies from the family of the famous Ettuveettil Pillai, the Kazhakuttam Pillai, was given to the Mukkuva’s of the area, after he being executed by Marthanda Varma. There are conflicting references but the most reliable historical reference points that these ladies from the eight families (ettu veedu) were gathered together and given to the mukkuva’s on the northern border of Travancore kingdom, far away from the capital – a coastal area in the present Kayamkulam Taluk.

Fishing, once, might have been a profitable venture. The two pandakashalas, built close to the seashore, one near the Church and the other at Njaramugham, for processing and storing fish, have disappeared, but their remains account for the then flourishing fish trade.

During the heyday, people had established trade relations with Ceylon. The British East India Company had started its industrial expansions in Malaya and turning Singapore into a flourishing free port by the dawn of 19th century and there was a big flow of human resources from China and India to these areas. That might have been a possible reason for Puthenthopians’ first journey out from his secluded land. Malaya and Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1941 and the Puthenthopinas who joined INA might have been those who were already in Singapore, rather than they going out from Puthenthope to join INA (INA was supported by Japan – it was not easy to join INA in British India and British Singapore). It was during the Second World War that our people joined British army as koolipattalam.The traveling of Puthenthopians to other parts of the world was purely on job hunt rather than any other social inevitability. Many people from Puthenthope have traveled to Malaysia and Singapore before and after the Second World War. It might have been from there that some Puthenthopians moved on to England, after the independence of these countries in 1957. British must have allowed some of their civil servants to accompany them on their withdrawal (a possible reason).

Occupation

Latin Catholic

Christian Catholic community. Parish of Puthenthope belongs to the Latin Archdiocese of Trivandrum. The center of all the religious and social activities are the Church, St.Ignatius Church.

Church

St Ignatius Church Puthenthope is the center of all religious and social activities. The present church was built in 1989. The foundation stone was blessed by His Holiness Pope John Paul II during his visit to India in 1986. The church is the replica of St.Joseph's Cathedral, Palayam. A groto of Mama Mary is also built in front of the church and the statue of Mama Mary in the groto was brought from Lourde by a native of Puthenthope. A parochial house, which shows the typical architecture of Kerala is also situated nearby the church. St.Ignatius Parish community hall is another building situated along with the church in the junction of Puthenthope.

Library

Jaihind Vayanasala was Founded in 1946, at the time of the non-violent independence movement in India. The name says it all. Jai- Victory, Hind - India. Proudly remains as the cultural center of Puthenthope.

Schools

Hospitals

Banks

Offices

Accessibility

Puthenthope is 3 km towards west from National Highway 47(Kaniyapuram) by road and 2.5 km from Kaniyapuram railway station. It is 16 km away from Trivandrum International Airport.

Events and Celebrations

Attractions

Interesting facts