Kuthenkully (also called Kuthenkuli, Kuthenkuzhi, ''Kūttaṉkuḻi'') is a village in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. 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 Indi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. It is in the Radhapuram taluk of Tirunelveli district. The village got its name from the Tamil word for

Nataraja Nataraja (/ n̪əʈəɾɑd͡ʒᵊ/ ,, ; , ''Naṭarājar'' Telugu: నటరాజు,''Naṭarāju''), also known as Adalvallan (), is a depiction of Shiva, one of the main deities in Hinduism, as the divine cosmic dancer. His dance is ca ...

, ''Kūttaṉ''). Even before the arrival of

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus ...

in 1542, the inhabitants were Christians as they belong to the Paravar community which embraced

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

as the result of their contact with the Portuguese. By the end of 1537, the entire community had declared itself to be Catholics which is well known as the mass conversion. Kuthenkuly is one among the villages of the Pearl Fishery Coast. The village belongs to the Diocese of Tuticorin, whose

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

is Francis Xavier. Kuthenkuly was known for the large number of teachers. The people are engaged in various occupations and living in different cities and countries and fishing is one of the major occupations.https://cesah-communication.ehess.fr/newsletter/winter-2022/newsletter-CEIAS-winter-2022.html Kuthenkully has a Catholic church under the patronage of

Saint Quiteria Quiteria was a second-century virgin martyr about whom little is certain except her name, the day and the place of her death, and her cult. She is listed under the date of 22 May in the ''Roman Martyrology''. She is one of the patron saints of T ...

and one dedicated to the

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: Psychology * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany seaso ...

. People of the village celebrate

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

, Epiphany, the feast of Saint Quiteria ''(Kitheri ammal)'' in May and also the

Nativity of John the Baptist Nativity or The Nativity may refer to: Birth of Jesus Christ * Nativity of Jesus, the Gospel stories of the birth of Jesus Christ * Nativity of Jesus in art, any depiction of the nativity scene ** ''Nativity'' (Barocci), a 1597 painting by Fed ...

Notable people

* Ignaci Siluvai, priest and educator

Religion

The residents of this village belong to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Notable church buildings are: * Holy Epiphany Church * St. Quiteria Shrine Kuthenkuly * Holy Cross Church * St. Michael's Church Kuthenkuly has numerous Kurusadis dedicated to various saints.

References

Villages in Tirunelveli district {{Tirunelveli-geo-stub

Notable people

Religion

See also

References