Page "Cochin Jews" Paragraph 21

The early twentieth century Jewish Encyclopedia states, " Though they neither eat nor drink together, nor intermarry, the Black and the White Jews of Cochin have almost the same social and religious customs.

They hold the same doctrines, use the same ritual ( Sephardic ), observe the same feasts and fasts, dress alike, and have adopted the same language Malayalam.

...

The two classes are equally strict in religious observances ," and prominently featured is a black Cochin Jew with his entire head shaved, save for his very prominent payot.

According to Chemana, the Jews of Cochin " coalesced around the religious fundamentals: devotion and strict obedience to Biblical Judaism and to the Jewish customs and traditions ... Hebrew, taught through the Torah texts by rabbis and teachers who came especially from Yemen ...".