Though people of the Tamil country were receptive to Christian missionaries, Ramanathapuram, known as Maravar Seemai, was less tolerant of the foreign religion. Kizhavan Sethupathi (1671 AD-1710 AD), considered the greatest ruler of Ramanathapuram, executed Jesuit priest John De Britto in 1693 for converting Tirya Devan, a prince, to Christianity.
Tirya Devan, according to J.H. Nelson, author of The Madura Country Manual, was stated to have been the rightful heir to the throne of Ramnad. Britto was canonized on June 22, 1947.
But Britto, who was born in Lisbon and called himself Arulanandar, was not the first martyr of Christianity in Ramanathapuram. More than a century earlier, Antony Criminali SJ (1520-1549) was killed when he sought to protect the converts from the attack of an alliance of Muslims and the Nayak Army. “The converts and the Portuguese were attacked by an army of Muslims of Nayaks. They vanquished the Christians. Those who survived the attack escaped to Hare Island. Antony Criminali, who tried to protect them, was killed at Vedalai. He was the first martyr of Christianity in Ramanathapuram,” writes S.M. Kamal, author of Ramanathapuram Mavattam: Varalattru Kuripukal (Ramanathapuram District: Historical Jottings).
Widespread attention
It was Britto’s killing that received widespread attention because he had succeeded in converting a member of the royal family. Britto, who had already been warned not to preach in Ramanatahpuaram, went there taking advantage of the permission given by Thirumalai Nayakar to the Christians to build nine churches between Tondi and Pamban. Kizhavan had already warned Britto not to enter the Maravar Seemai to preach his religion.
“The permission was granted to return a favour to the Portuguese who supported him in a battle with the Sethupathys in 1659. But it could not alter the environment for the missionaries. Jesuits Andrew Ropez and Gonsalves Beys, who tried to reach Kochi from Nagapattinam through Ramanathapuram, were captured and their release was secured only after a ransom was paid,” says Kamal. The animosity towards the missionaries resulted in an open confrontation after the conversion of Tirya Devan.
Compelled to renounce polygamy
Col. Nelson says that on his conversion, Tirya Devan was compelled to renounce polygamy and tell his wives that all, except one, must thenceforth be no more than sisters to him. It angered his wives and “resolved to revenge themselves on the author of their humiliation”.
“One of them named Kadalei, who was the niece of the Sethupathy, went off to Ramnad, and laid her case before her uncle with all the effect that could be produced by vehement entreaties, by tears and sobs and groans. What! Cried she, was it to be endured that she, a princess of a noble house, should be driven like a dog from her palace by a vile magician, a low imposter? And were the ancient Gods of her country to be openly disgraced by a stranger? Was the whole country to bow to the Parangis,” Nelson has recalled her as lamenting.
A furious Sethupathy, while ordering the arrest of Tirya Devan and Britto, also burnt down all the churches constructed by Britto. A company of soldiers was sent to the village of Muni, where Britto was residing. He was arrested with a Brahmin and two catechists on January 8. They were subjected to torture and humiliation. Britto, says Nelson, was ordered to call upon the name of Shiva, but refused. “He was buffeted; men spat on his face; his garments were torn into shreds; he was pricked with sword-points; he was beaten with sticks,” writes Nelson.
On January 11, they were taken to Ramanathapuram and thrown into prison, pending the arrival of the Sethupathy. Tirya Devan was also in Ramnad and exerted himself in every way to save his friends. Tirya Devan’s efforts and the existence of many Christian dominions capable of creating unpleasant disturbances swayed the mind of the Sethupathy. He banished Britto and sent him away under the escort of his brother, the Governor of Oriyur, where a church stands in his name.
A secret dispatch
“But with him there was a secret dispatch bearing the Sethupathy’s signature and containing an order to behead the foreign Sannyasi (Britto),” says Nelson. The execution was delayed because of the intervention of the wife of the Governor, who was a Christian. Nothing could save Britto, who was beheaded on February 4.
According to Kamal, the Sethupathy refused to change his mind because his relatives who had already embraced Christianity were working against his interests.
“Britto’s head and limbs were cut off and hung up as a warning to all Christians; and even after he was dead, the hatred of the enemies did not slumber. Burial was denied to his mutilated remains, which were given to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field,” writes Nelson. His followers succeeded in gathering his skull and a few of his bones.
“His killing evoked sympathy and love among many communities, including Udayars, Kadayars, and Adi Dravidars, and a substantial section of them converted to Christianity. Churches and educational institutions were established at many places,” says Kamal.
