Vedha Muthu Mukandar (died 6 December 1855), (also known as Velu Muthu Mukandar), was the first

Protestant Christian Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

in the ''

Megnanapuram Megnanapuram (Neduvilai) lies in the southern side of Thoothukudi District, at about 10 km east of Sathankulam and 11 km south of Nazareth. This village is also known as Meignanapuram. Udangudi is the nearest town. The nearest railway ...

Circle''. He was a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

who converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

through the influence of

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

, the Rev. C. T. E. Rhenius. Vedha Muthu is buried at St Stephen's Church, Jebagnanapuram, Solaikudiyiruppu. Vedha Muthu Mukandar was born into the

Nadar caste Nadar (also referred to as ''Nadan'', ''Shanar'' and ''Shanan'') is a Tamil caste of India. Nadars are predominant in the districts of Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar. The Nadar commu ...

in Solaikudiriruppu, an oasis village in the Kudhremozhi Theri, part of the

Thoothukudi district Thoothukudi District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu state in southern India. The district was formed by bifurcation of Tirunelveli district on 20 October 1986. Thoothukudi is the district headquarters and largest city of the distric ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

state, and close to

Korkai Korkai is a small village in the Srivaikuntam taluk of Thoothukudi district in Tamil Nadu, India. It was called Pandya-Kavada in the Kapatapuram in Kalithogai. It is situated about 3 km north of the Thamirabarani River and about 6 km ...

, the site of the capital of the ancient Pandyan Kingdom. He became a ''Mukandar'' of Megnanapuram village, through his apparent prophetic intuition, and wisdom in solving disputes, an ancient title originally bestowed by Arab rulers of the Vijayanagar Empire.

Conversion to Christianity

The conversion of Vedha Muthu has an historical perspective. Before British supremacy was established in the region it had been part of the Vijayanagara Empire, whose appointed ''Nayaks'', (governors), had restricted the life of the members of Vedha Muthu's Nadar caste, regardless of status, and denied them access to the Thiruchendur Murugan Temple. Consequently, many Nadar's considered the arrival of the British as an opportunity to remove this discrimination, and had become receptive to Christianity. In 1823, after performing Christian conversions at

Sathankulam Sathankulam is a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Sathankulam town is located in the banks of the Karumeni river. It is from Tiruchendur and from Tirunelveli and from Thoothukudi and from Nagercoil a ...

, the Rev. C T E Rhenius, (the first

Church Mission Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

missionary in India), visited Solaikudiyiruppu. Through the encouragement and preaching of Rhenius, Vedha Muthu converted and was baptised with the new name, ''Velu Muthu'', becoming the village's first Protestant Christian. Rhenius converted many in Solaikudiyiruppu, and by 1825 had persuaded Vedha Muthu and his fellow converts to build a church. After the mysterious death of the Nadar Christians' leader Chinnamuth Sundaranandam David, Rev. Rhenius looked for another to share missionary work, and turned to Vedha Muthu to take the place of Sundaranandam David, whereupon Vedha Muthu joined an initiative to establish a Christian satellite village at Neduvillai. In 1830, Neduvillai's name was changed to ''Megnanapuram'', meaning a "Place of True Wisdom".

Schism and reconciliation

When the Church Mission Society terminated the services of Rev Rhenius in 1835, Vedha Muthu and his supporters stopped attending its Church at Solaikudiyiruppu, and the now Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Diocese of Tirunelveli at Palayamkottai. Alternative Prayer Halls were established, one by Vedha Muthu close to his home at Jebagnanapuram, Solaikudiyiruppu. This

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

continued after the death of Rev. Rhenius. Vedha Muthu's Prayer Hall was taken under the Tinnevelly Diocese by D. Navamani Gnanayutham, one of Vedha Muthu's great-grandsons, following a call for unification by Bishop V S Azariah, the First Indian Anglican Bishop. It was dedicated on 2 November 1940 by Anglican Bishop the Rt. Rev. Stephen Neill as St Stephen's Church, Jebagnanapuram, Solaikudiyiruppu. Currently the church is part of the M. Santhapuram

Pastorate A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

(Megnanapuram Circle) of the C.S.I. Nazareth-Thootukudi Diocese.

The tomb of Vedha Muthu Mukandar

Tomb of Vedha Muthu Mukandar and Thiravia Muthu Nadathi

Vedha Muthu married Thiraviyam Nadathi; they are buried together at St Stephen's Church, Jebagnanapuram, Solaikudiyiruppu. Tamil inscriptions state that Vedha Muthu died on the twenty first day of the Tamil month ''Karthigai'' in the year 1031 (Gregorian date 6 December 1855), and Thiraviyam Nadathi on the twelfth day of the Tamil month ''Avani'' in the year 1021 (Gregorian date 27 or 28 August 1845). The congregation of St Stephen's Church and the Christian ''Megnananapuram Circle'' considers Vedha Muthu Mukandar and Thiraviya Muthu Nadathi as its ''Patriarchal Parents''. Each year an ''Asanam'' (Love-Feast) is organised the day after Christmas in their memory. Their grandson, G Devasahayam, was better known as ''Challiyar''.

Conversion to Christianity

Schism and reconciliation

The tomb of Vedha Muthu Mukandar

References

Further reading