Installation of the chief (from a correspondent)
Tuticorin Jan 7
yesterday morning Signor Don Manual Louis De Cruz Anasthus Motha Corera was formally installed as "Jathithalavamore" i.e Hereditary Christian of the Bharatha community at 7 a.m the "Jathithalavamore" re-elected dressed in his Forbes left his residence "Pandyapathy" and arrived on foot in procession at the church of our lady of snows, which was packed to overflowing. The Rev.Father. L. X. Fernandez, specially commissioned to represent the administrator of the mylapore diocese, assisted by six other fathers, celebrated a solemn high mass.
The celebrant preached a cermon appropriate for the occasion and invoked God's blessings on the new chief, his family and the community. The ceremonies of blessing, the age old gold neck chain and cross the very name presented by King John III of Portugal in 1530, to dom, the first catholic "Jathithalavamore", Don Juan De Cruz alias prince vikrama pandian, the only surviving prince of the illustrious pandyan dynasty, and the specially ornamented and bejewelled mitre insped headgear, were gone through, and the celebrant himself formally invented the "Jathithalavamore" by placing the chain and cross on the neck of the chief.
"TE DEUM" was sung followed by the benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
A move was then made to the mandapam infront, where father motha vaz paternal uncle of the jathithalavamore laid the bless head gear on the chiefs head the multitude made their obeisance to the chief in Eastern fashion, which was reciprocated the chief then took his seat on an ivory palanquin of exquisite design and workmanship carried by twelve bearers and preceded by two gaily caprisoned elephants and the gorgeous royal paraphernalia of the community, and other insignia of the pandyan royalty, with music and melam the procession of some 72,000 Bharathar's from malabar, tamilnadu and ceylon wented it's way through the gaily decorated streets of south town the procession returned of pandyapathy at about noon the chief took his seat on a richly carpeted and upholstered dais, surrounded by his large retinue of adherents in the spacious reception hall of his palace, congratulatory verses in Tamil and English were sung and in the midst of the customary service of betel and arecanut to those assembled, the jathithalavamore rose and read a long and appropriate message to his people immediately after a dinner was served to all Bharathar's in tuticorin and visitor's from out stations inrelay's of 250 over 3000 people taking part. This dinner terminated at about 3 pm A 6 pm a monster procession with the chiefs in the ivory palanquin with all royal emblems left 'pandyapathy' and visited the northern and western parts of tuticorin.
Pageants, Carole, silambam, kaftir dances, bhajana parties and fireworks were special features of this procession, an equal of which was never witnessed at anytime in shore parts. The crowd was so immense that the procession stretched for over four furlongs other communities viz velialas, thevars, nadars, muhammadans, konars, nayakars etc, called at "pandyapathy" and paid their respects and haulage to the Bharatha chief. The procession returned to "pandyapathy" at about 11 PM Hundreds of telegrams of congratulations and blessings were received This morning there is an extraordinary meeting of the executive committee of the mahajana sangam, and in the evening two "At Homes" to Indians and Europeans close the installation festivities. (By wire) .
- THE DAILY EXPRESS News dated on 8-1-1926
