The Syrian Christian Backdrop of the Covenant of Water

Abraham Verghese’s book, “The Covenant of Water” has become a best seller. The Story begins in 1900, in the princely state of Travancore. The place is Parambil, a fictional village in Travancore, a princely state renowned for its unique cultural and historical identity. Today this is part of Kerala, the southern-most state of India. St Thomas Christians flourish here. Much of the novel’s events unfold against this backdrop.

Mariamma, a 12-year-old girl is being married off to a widower thirty years older than her. She grows to become the matriarch of the Parambil family. The family is haunted by a strange curse, which shows up in each generation when someone dies by drowning. Mariamma’s granddaughter, another Mariamma becomes a doctor and discovers that this “Condition” is actually a neurological disorder that makes members of her family lose their sense of orientation in water.

Covenant and the Syrian Christian Faith

The name “Verghese” is a Syriac-Malayalam variant of the Christian name George. It originates from the Aramaic Christian name Giwargis, which is related to the Greek name Georgios. The meaning of the name is “farmer” or “earth-worker”.

The Syrian Christian Church, founded by St Thomas in 54 CE and the Eastern Orthodox Churches share historical and theological connections. Both are linked to Antioch and the Eastern Mediterranean region. The Syriac Orthodox Church adhered to a united nature of Christ, both human and divine, unlike the “two natures” doctrine accepted by the Eastern Orthodox churches following the Chalcedonian Council of 451 AD. Both churches recognize the primacy of Saint Peter in different ways but do not share papal supremacy as understood by the Roman Catholic Church. The Syriac Orthodox Church values its historical and liturgical heritage in Syriac language and traditions.

A covenant is God’s sacred promise. Remember Noah after the flood. And water, of course, is central to baptism — the ritual that marks entry into the Christian community. So the phrase “covenant of water” carries layers of meaning: faith, family, and divine protection.

Many Syrian Christian traditions are touched upon in the book. The story begins with the child Mariamma’s marriage to a groom much senior to her. Until the early 20th century, child marriage was practiced among Syrian Christians, though less rigidly compared to upper-caste Hindus (like Namboothiris and Nairs).

The community followed many social customs of Kerala’s caste-based society, including dowries and arranged early marriages. The Travancore Christian Marriage Act (1872) and later reforms encouraged marrying after puberty. With the spread of education among women, especially in Syrian Christian families (who were among the earliest to embrace English education), marriage ages gradually rose. By the mid-20th century, child marriage had mostly disappeared among Syrian Christians.

Christians have always placed huge importance on family lineage, land, and tradition. Verghese’s multi-generational story mirrors this beautifully. The “covenant” here isn’t just God’s promise; it’s also the unspoken pact families make to hold on to faith and resilience, generation after generation.

Kerala is a land of water — rivers, monsoons, backwaters. It sustains life but also threatens it. In the novel, the hereditary drowning “Condition” makes this tension real: water can save, but it can also destroy. That’s very much in line with Christian theology too — water as both baptismal grace and flood judgment.

Historically, Syrian Christians had a unique spot in Kerala’s social fabric — they were landowners with influence, but also a minority navigating colonial and caste dynamics. Verghese taps into that tension. His “covenant of water” becomes a metaphor for how faith helps people carry suffering without breaking. It echoes the Christian belief in redemptive suffering — where burdens themselves become part of the path to God’s promise.

Syrian Christian Cooking in The Covenant of Water

The Covenant of Water is richly infused with the culinary traditions of Kerala’s Syrian Christian community, weaving food descriptions throughout the narrative that serve not just as flavor but as cultural touchstones connecting characters to their heritage and each other. This community developed a distinctive cuisine that blends ancient Christian traditions with the abundant spices and coconut-rich landscape of Kerala.

The Syrian Christian cuisine incorporates Jewish, Persian, Portuguese, Dutch, and British influences due to their long-standing connections with foreign traders, missionaries, and rulers. For example, appam and stew have clear Middle Eastern influences, while dishes like cutlets and certain stews derive from European cuisine. The use of coconut milk, curry leaves, and spices grounds the food in Kerala’s natural bounty while allowing for distinct syncretism.

Perhaps the most celebrated dish in The Covenant of Water is erachi olathiathu_ which appears multiple times throughout the narrative. This traditional Syrian Christian dish translates to “fried meat” and represents the community’s expertise in slow-cooking beef with aromatic spices and fresh coconut. The recipe involves marinating beef cubes with ground coriander, chili powder, turmeric, and black pepper, then cooking them slowly until the liquid evaporates and the meat becomes dark and caramelized.

Another iconic dish mentioned in the Covenant is Meen_ vevichathu. It is depicted as a fiery red fish curry, strongly associated with the Syrian Christian culinary heritage. The dish has inspired recipe songs and detailed explorations of its preparation, reflecting ingredients such as Kashmiri chili, turmeric, coriander, coconut oil, tamarind, and others that give the curry its distinctive flavor and vibrant red color. Before events like marriages, the entire family get together to prepare this dish.

Another frequently mentioned dish is kanji, known more broadly as congee. Verghese explains that “the word ‘congee’ is derived from the Tamil word ‘kanji’” and describes it as “essentially rice porridge”. This simple yet nourishing dish appears throughout the novel as comfort food, often prepared during illness or as an everyday meal. Toppings can include shredded chicken, scallions, bacon, roasted garlic, or steamed fish, with papads crumbled in like crackers. As Verghese notes, “Kanji is meant to be a simple affordable dish, a full meal”.

The novel also features cheera thoran_, a ubiquitous Kerala side dish that exemplifies the Syrian Christian approach to vegetables. This dish combines spinach (_cheera_ in Malayalam) with crushed coconut, green chilies, ginger, garlic, and shallots, creating a dry curry that perfectly complements rice-based meals.

One of the most poetically described beverages in the novel is the traditional spiced buttermilk, which Verghese calls “a better invention than penicillin”. The novel depicts this cooling drink being prepared when Mariamma returns home exhausted: “Anna Chedethi takes one look at her face” and whips together “chilled yogurt and water in a small bowl, adds a slice of green chili, chopped ginger, curry leaves, and salt, and serves it to her in a tall glass.” The immediate revival it provides demonstrates the drink’s practical importance in Kerala’s hot climate.

Verghese’s authentic portrayal stems from his collaboration with Lathika George, author of The Kerala Kitchen, which he used as “a resource for anything related to food”[1]. The cooking references in The Covenant of Water ultimately demonstrate how food functions as a form of cultural storytelling, preserving traditions while connecting past and present. Through dishes like erachi olathiathu_, kanji, and cheera thoran_, Verghese creates a sensory bridge between readers and the rich culinary heritage of Kerala’s Syrian Christian community.

So in the end, The Covenant of Water isn’t just a family saga. It’s a story that braids together Kerala’s history, the Syrian Christian way of life, medical science, food and the eternal pull of water. Everything is connected, just like the rivers and backwaters of Kerala.