65
Songs as Theologizing
Annamma Mammen’s (1911–2002) Contribution in
Shaping the Kerala Pentecostal Imagination
Allan Varghese Meloottu
Keywords women, Indian, Kerala Pentecostalism, ministry, theology, songwriter,
songs, Malayalam, leadership
Abstract
In Indian Pentecostal theological and missiological literature, the role of Kerala
Pentecostals is well documented. However, the pioneering voices that are highlighted
are of men, sidelining women’s voices and contributions that shaped the grassroots
Kerala Pentecostal imagination. The preacher-songwriter Annamma Mammen
(1911–2002) is one such voice that impacted early Kerala Pentecostal growth.
Therefore, this article, in addition to bringing forth the sidelined story of Annamma
Mammen, emphasizes Mammen’s role as a songwriter and analyzes one of her early
songs to highlight how her theology encapsulates early Kerala Pentecostal theological
emphases (eschatological imagination, scriptural importance, contextual primacy,
and Jesus-centeredness). Although Mammen’s missionary life and itinerant preaching
were impactful for developing Kerala Pentecostalism, namely the Indian Pentecostal
Church of God (IPC), it was her role as a songwriter that carries Mammen’s legacy
in shaping the contemporary Kerala Pentecostal imagination.
Introduction
The historical growth and influence of South Indian Kerala Pentecostalism are well
documented. The Pentecostal faith that came to the southern Indian state of Kerala
with a series of revivals at the end of the nineteenth century,
1
to the missionary
1
According to the Indian theologian A. C. George, there were three notable revivals: “one in 1860,
another in 1873 and a third in 1895” (A. C. George, “Pentecostal Beginnings in Travancore, South
India,” Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies 4:2 [2001], 221). By the early twentieth century, with the rise of
indigenous reformers within the Syrian Mar Thoma churches and the arrival of Pentecostal missionaries
like George Berg (arrived in 1909), Robert F. Cook (arrived in 1913 from Los Angeles), and Mary
Chapman (arrived in 1915), the dawn of Pentecostalism as a new ecclesial institution was slowly emerging.
In 1926 the first indigenous Pentecostal ecclesiastical body was named South Indian Pentecostal Church of
God (SICG) (Allan Varghese, “The Reformative and Indigenous Face of the Indian Pentecostal
Movement,” Nidān 4:2 [2019], 11; K. E. Abraham Yeshuvinte Eliyadasen [trans. Humble Servant of God],
4
th
ed. [Arlington: Vijai & Shirley Chacko 2015], 159), which was eventually renamed Indian Pentecostal
Spiritus 8.1 (2023) 65–80
https://doi.org/10.31380/2573-6345.1297
© The Author(s) 2023
66 | Spiritus Vol 8, No 1
movement of South Indian Pentecostal missionaries to North India in the mid-
twentieth century, are highlighted in scholarly literature.
2
However, most scholars solely
highlight the voices of men, sidelining the active role of Kerala women in shaping
Kerala Pentecostalism and the Indian Pentecostal movement at large.
3
The preacher-
songwriter Annamma Mammen (1911–2002) is one such voice that not only impacted
early Kerala Pentecostal growth but also continues to shape the theological imagination
at a grassroots level. Mammen entered the male-dominated world upon receiving a call
from God and not only engaged in Pentecostal missionary activities, but also became a
fearless advocate for women’s leadership roles in Kerala Pentecostal ministry. Although
her teaching and preaching were phenomenal, it was her songs that became influential
in shaping the Kerala Pentecostal imagination.
4
Therefore, in this article, while bringing forth the sidelined story of Annamma
Mammen, I will argue that in the early twentieth century Mammen was not only active
in missionary work and advocating for women’s leadership in Kerala Pentecostal
ministry, but was also engaged in Pentecostal theologizing through her songs.
To arrive at this objective, I will first provide a brief biographical account of
Annamma Mammen. Second, in order to highlight Mammen’s theological
contribution, I will analyze one of Mammen’s songs, highlighting four theological
emphases of Mammen’s theology (eschatological imagination, scriptural allusions,
contextual primacy, and Jesus-centeredness) that are reflective of early Pentecostal
Church of God (IPC), “signifying its expansion in other geographical regions” (Varghese, “The
Reformative and Indigenous Face of the Indian Pentecostal Movement,”12). By the mid- to second half of
twentieth century, the influence of Kerala Pentecostal missionary endeavors led to the beginning of
numerous Pentecostal churches and denominations across India.
2
Shaibu Abraham, The History of the Pentecostal Movement in North India: Unfolding Its Social &
Theological Contexts (New Delhi: Christian World Imprints, 2017), 45–86; Yabbeju Rapaka, Dalit
Pentecostalism: A Study of the Indian Pentecostal Church of God, 1932 to 2010 (Lexington, KY: Emeth Press,
2013), 23–52; Wessly Lukose, Contextual Missiology of the Spirit: Pentecostalism in Rajasthan, India
(Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2013), 61–72.
3
Although in general women’s roles are sidelined in Indian Pentecostal historiography, some
scholars have begun to recognize women’s pioneering work. For example, V. V. Thomas provides a brief
overview of women’s roles in Indian Pentecostalism. Thomas locates the discussion within the wider
Indian context of how women are perceived in society. For further details see, V. V. Thomas, “Women’s
Contribution to the Indian Church with Special Reference to Women of the Pentecostal Churches,” UBS
Journal 5:1 (2007), 72–84. Another example is Dyron Daughrity’s and Jesudas Athyal’s work highlighting
some of the Pentecostal women pioneers like Mary Kovoor and Pandita Ramabai. For their full
biographical discussion, see Dyron Daughrity and Jesudas Athyal, Understanding World Christianity: India
(Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2016), 249–54. In global Pentecostal scholarship Pandita Ramabai’s name is
well-known and so has received more attention than any other Indian Pentecostal woman. For a
Pentecostal analysis of Ramabai’s life, see Allan H. Anderson, “Pandita Ramabai, the Mukti Revival and
Global Pentecostalism,” Transformation 23:1 (2006), 37–48.
4
Although Mammen preached throughout the Malayalam-speaking world, we do not have any of
Annamma Mammen’s sermons or writings, but are left to rely exclusively on her songs to understand her
theology.
Songs as Theologizing | 67
beliefs. Finally, I will also discuss the legacy of Mammen’s life and theology in providing
a new vision for women’s ministerial roles in Kerala Pentecostal churches.
Biographical Overview
Early Life, Conversion, and Call
Annamma Mammen was born on April 26, 1911, the first child of Syrian Mar Thoma
parents—K. M. Mammen and Mariamma in Kochuparambil house, Kumbanad,
Kerala.
5
Although Mammen enjoyed a relatively comfortable childhood, tragedy hit at
age 14 as Mammen’s mother passed away while giving birth to Mammen’s youngest
brother. As the eldest in the house, Mammen assumed the role of taking care of her five
younger siblings along with her grandmother. Through her daily household duties,
Mammen completed her education and went on to be a schoolteacher.
Her early responsibilities at home and relentless resilience made her, as Alyeamma
Abraham notes, “an adventurous woman.”
6
However, for Mammen, her Christian
faith was her strength, and having been raised in the Mar Thoma tradition she was
fervently active in her local Mar Thoma church. Although she was exposed to
Pentecostal teachings and revivals in her locality through the ministry of K. E.
Abraham, as a young child she felt no urge to join this emerging Pentecostal movement.
However, in 1927, when she was 16 years old, she had an encounter that changed
her life. In a 1992 interview she shared the story of her calling.
7
One afternoon, while
taking a nap at Thiruvalla Seminary,
8
where she often visited, she had a dream. In the
5
Aleyamma Abraham, “Pentecostal Women in Kerala: Their Contribution to the Mission of the
Church,” (PhD diss., Fuller Theological Seminary, 2004), 65. Although Saju (Kerala Pentekostu
Charithram [trans., History of Kerala Pentecostals] [Kottayam, Kerala: Sanctuary Word Media, 2011], 331)
and other authors (e.g., Saji Philip Thiruvanchur, “Annamma Mammen: Kurishinte Vazhiyile
Deeraporali” [trans., “Annamma Mammen: Courageous Fighter on Cross Way”], Good News Weekly 25:36
[2002]; and idem., “Andhraye Snehikunna Pentecostal Vanitha Raghnam” [trans., “The Pentecost Lady,
Who Loves Andra”), Good News Weekly 25:37 [2002]) list Mammen’s birth year as 1914, the interviews
the author of this article had with Mammen’s extended family confirm Aleyamma Abraham’s mention that
Mammen was the eldest in the family and she was born in 1911. The family also confirmed that it is
impossible for Mammen to have born in 1914 as one of her younger brothers was born in 1914.
6
Aleyamma Abraham, “Pentecostal Women in Kerala,” 65.
7
The autobiographical sketch in this paragraph is a summary version of Pastor James K. Eapen’s
interview with Annamma Mammen in 1992 in Malayalam. In the interview, Ms. Mammen recalls most of
her conversion experiences. All the quotations used in this section are taken from the interview and are
translated by the author. For the full interview in Malayalam, see James K. Eapen, “Sister Annamma
Mammen Testimony (1992),” 2002, YouTube video, 19:35,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H63rAtWWOz4 (22 May 2022).
8
Although in the interview Mammen mentions “Thiruvalla Seminary,” it is likely that Mammen
was referring to the Mar Thoma Vanitha Mandiram at Thiruvalla, which has been offering Bible studies
for women since 1925. The Mar Thoma church did not have any other theological institutions or
68 | Spiritus Vol 8, No 1
dream, she saw someone telling her that God had called her for a miraculous act.
Awakened from sleep, still trying to make sense of the dream, she dedicated her life to
God, not knowing what the call meant. Mammen assumed that God intended to use
her within the Mar Thoma church, and so she said, “I thought God might do
something through me at the Maramon Convention.”
9
However, that assumption
changed after another encounter where she experienced Spirit baptism and started to
speak in tongues. On this occasion, while on her way home from Thiruvalla to
Kumbanad when she reached Eraviperoor,
10
she said, “I felt like I was unable to speak,
and I began to feel distressed, I started to cry fearing I cannot talk. I sat at the roadside
in distress, and soon I started to speak in other tongues loudly. Some people heard and
thought it was strange.”
11
However, soon Mammen recognized that experience as being
filled by the Holy Spirit. Such an experience provided Mammen the confidence to
dedicate her life to “serve the Lord for the rest of her life, leaving behind her parents and
dear ones.”
12
According to Mammen, her Pentecostal experience and her decision to be a
missionary led her father to shun her from the family home.
13
For her family,
Mammen’s decision to be a missionary was a “prestige issue” as “in leading Syrian
Christian families in Kerala, women [were] not supposed to go out on their own.”
14
Unlike the Pentecostal men who left their Syrian churches, Pentecostal women adopted
visible lifestyle changes that aggravated the communal shame following conversion.
These lifestyle changes included denouncing jewelry and wearing white clothing. In the
Kerala context, where jewelry and expensive saris demonstrated social status and
seminaries in Thiruvalla, and the only seminary is situated in Kottayam, which would have been far for
Mammen to commute on a daily basis. For a concise history of Vanitha Mandiram, see
https://marthoma.in/organisations/mar-thoma-suvishesha-sevika-sangam/ (25 February 2023).
9
Since 1895 the Mar Thoma Evangelistic Association conducted their annual convention at
Marmon, near Kozhencherry. “It is held on the sandbanks of river Pampa, late in February or early in
March in the summer season, and lasts for a whole week, from Sunday to Sunday. During the last days in
the week, well above fifty thousand people attend the meetings and listen in pin-drop silence to the
addresses delivered” (C. P. Mathew and M. M. Thomas, The Indian Churches of Saint Thomas, rev. ed.
[Delhi: ISPCK, 2005], 102). Prominent Christian preachers like Thomas Walker, Sadhu Sunder Singh, G.
Sherwood Eddy, and E. Stanley Jones were guest preachers during its early years.
10
The distance between Thiruvalla and Kumbanad is approximately ten kilometers and
Eraviperoor is about three kilometers from Kumbanad.
11
James K. Eapen, “Sister Annamma Mammen Testimony (1992).”
12
Aleyamma Abraham, “Pentecostal Women in Kerala,” 65.
13
In the interview, Ms. Mammen remembered these painful experiences, saying, “They beat me
out of home.”
14
Aleyamma Abraham, “Pentecostal Women in Kerala,” 65.
Songs as Theologizing | 69
power,
15
Pentecostals taught that such symbols of power represented worldliness.
16
Consequently, women wore white saris
17
and denounced any ornaments, setting them
apart from other traditions and embodying the life of simplicity, often comparing
themselves to the early church.
18
For Pentecostal women, such a lifestyle change was a
public declaration of their allegiance towards Jesus Christ; for their extended family who
were not Pentecostals, it meant insult and public humiliation. Often such social
pressures led families to persecute Pentecostals and even shun them from their family
homes, which Annamma Mammen endured as she followed Christ in the Pentecostal
manner.
19
However, for Mammen, there was no turning back. “Since she had
experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit, her first commitment was to the Lord and
the direction of the Holy Spirit.”
20
Missionary Life as a Bible Woman, Advocate for Women Ministers,
and Songwriter
In the subsequent years, she became a gospel preacher while teaching, living with
distant relatives and other Pentecostal believers. K. E. Abraham, one of the pioneers of
South Indian Pentecostalism, recalls one such impact in his biography:
Annamma Mammen, who was a member of Kumbanad Pentecostal church, joined
a teaching job at Kirikode near Karthikapaly. She used to live at one of her
relatives’ homes. Her moral and upright living during her stay at their home
brought the entire family to the Pentecostal faith. As a result, a few members from
the village decided to organize a revival meeting there in which I was invited to
preach. Consequently, numerous people came to experience the Pentecostal
Christian faith . . . starting a Pentecostal church.
21
15
Often, wedding days are pivotal social occasions when such social powers are displayed. As
Stanley John writes, on the wedding day, “a woman’s adornment with jewelry . . . displayed the family’s
social and economic status” (Stanley J. Valayil C. John, Transnational Religious Organization and Practice:
A Contextual Analysis of Kerala Pentecostal Churches in Kuwait [Leiden: Brill, 2018], 106).
16
For further insights into how Kerala Pentecostals frame their theological rationale against
wearing jewelry, see P. J. Daniel, Wearing Ornaments, Is It Necessary? (Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala:
Unarvu Publications, 2001).
17
Aleyamma Abraham (“Pentecostal Women in Kerala,” 59) mentions that such an embrace of
white clothing is often supported by Rev 7:9, which says, “After this, I looked, and there was a great
multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing
before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands” (NRSV).
18
Aleyamma Abraham, “Pentecostal Women in Kerala,” 59.
19
Aleyamma Abraham, “Pentecostal Women in Kerala,” 59.
20
Aleyamma Abraham, “Pentecostal Women in Kerala,” 65.
21
K. E. Abraham, Yeshuvinte Eliyadasen, 508. The original quotation is in Malayalam and this is
the author’s translation.
70 | Spiritus Vol 8, No 1
However, soon Mammen resigned her job to be a full-time missionary in Eluru,
Andra Pradesh, joining P. T. Chacko and Mrs. Chacko in 1936.
22
In Andra Pradesh,
Mammen and other women engaged in mission activities, such as visiting houses,
conducting prayers and open-air meetings. “On street corners, they would sing; and
when people gathered, they preached the Word of God,”
23
a pattern similar to that of
the “Bible women” missionaries.
24
After her time in Andra Pradesh, Mammen also
spent some years in Tamil Nadu while visiting Kerala regularly.
25
By the mid-twentieth
century, Mammen had traversed most of southern India and beyond, preaching the
gospel, teaching, and helping start Pentecostal churches.
26
Despite Mammen’s missionary journeys around the world, Mammen also made it
a point to actively stand for empowering other Kerala women for full-time ministry.
One of the remarkable contributions in this regard was through providing leadership for
the Sangethems. In 1958, along with the help of other women,
27
Mammen provided
leadership in founding Sangethems (literally, “refuge”).
28
Sangethems, a ministry
affiliated with the Indian Pentecostal Church of God (IPC), was home for women “who
abstained from marriage for the sake of mission work.”
29
Luke writes further: “Miss.
Annamma Mammen, a well-known handmaiden of the Lord, motivated several sisters
to stay in Sankethams and be involved in the ministry.”
30
Although the number of
women staying at the Sangethems dwindled over the years, Sangethems are an example of
Mammen’s vision and leadership to encourage women (mainly single women) to take
22
One of the reasons Mammen decided to go to Eluru is because Mrs. Chacko was Mammen’s
cousin. See T. S. Abraham, A Brief History of the Indian Pentecostal Church of God (Kumbanad, Kerala:
K.E. Abraham Foundation, 2013), 143.
23
Aleyamma Abraham, “Pentecostal Women in Kerala,” 66.
24
The idea of women missionaries as Bible women was common by then in Andra Pradesh. For a
historical review on the early Bible women in the Rayalaseema area in Andra Pradesh, see Chakali Chandra
Sekhar, “Dalit Women and Colonial Christianity: First Telugu Bible Women as Teachers of Wisdom,”
Economic & Political Weekly 56 (2021), 57–63.
25
In 1955, Mammen was listed as a teacher at the Hebron Bible School, Kumbanad (K. E.
Abraham, Yeshuvinte Eliyadasen, 439).
26
While in Tamil Nadu, Mammen met Agnes Walsh, a Swedish missionary, through whom
Mammen received further opportunities to embark on various international journeys, including a one-year
teaching appointment at the Elim Bible Institute in New York. Mammen is also said to have spent some
significant time in Hong Kong planting a church (Aleyamma Abraham, “Pentecostal Women in Kerala,” 66).
27
One of the notable persons who helped to found this along with Mammen is Mary Amma, wife
of Astamudi Ummachen (Clara Mathew Shiju, Indian Christian Women Pioneers and Leaders Revealed: An
Exploration of Overlooked Women Voices in Socio-cultural & Religious Framework [New Delhi: Christian
World Imprints], 85).
28
Saju, Kerala Pentekostu Charithram, 331; Shiju, Indian Christian Women Pioneers and Leaders
Revealed, 85.
29
Starla Luke, “A History of Sodari Samajam: Handmaiden of The India Pentecostal Church of
God,” unpublished paper, 2021.
30
Luke, “A History of Sodari Samajam,” 6.
Songs as Theologizing | 71
ministerial leadership in building Pentecostalism in Kerala.
31
For Mammen, Holy
Spirit empowerment was the only needed sign required for ministry. When asked once
about her own thoughts of women’s roles in Pentecostal ministry, she answered, “God
does not show favouritism to men or women. God works with men as well as women.
Men need to accept this truth.”
32
Among Kerala Pentecostals, as Saju notes,
“Annamma Mammen was unique. To those who doubted women’s role in ministry, her
life, gospel preaching, and itinerary ministry was a terrifying reminder.”
33
On
November 21, 2002, Annamma Mammen died at the age of 90,
34
leaving behind
numerous inspirational stories
35
and, more importantly, songs that have since caught
the attention of the wider public.
In Kerala Pentecostalism, Annamma Mammen’s life undoubtedly stands out.
Mammen’s act of faith to leave her family for the sake of God’s call, choice to remain
single, itinerant missionary lifestyle, and leadership to establish Sangethems, set her apart
among other men and women in early Kerala Pentecostalism. However, today, unlike
any other contributions, Mammen’s songs carry her missionary legacy. Annamma
Mammen was a prolific songwriter. Although, due to the scarcity of written records, we
cannot be sure how many songs Mammen wrote in total, Binoy Philip notes that at
least twelve songs are popularly attributed to Annamma Mammen.
36
During hard
times, both emotional and physical, Mammen resorted to reflecting upon the hope of
Jesus Christ and penned her theological reflections as songs. Due to their devotional
tone and theological depth, these songs gained popularity in recent decades and
traversed denominational boundaries.
37
These songs stand as a reminder that Mammen
31
Binoy Eapen Philip highlights in his work that Annamma Mammen took the sole responsibility
in building one of the Sangethem homes in Thiruvalla where she purchased the land by using her own
personal funds (Binoy Eapen Philip, “The Invisible Mothers of the Church: Contributions of Select Indian
Christian Women to the Growth and Development of the Indian Pentecostal Church of God in Kerala
(1930-2005),” [master’s thesis, Serampore College, 2008], 71).
32
Aleyamma Abraham, “Pentecostal Women in Kerala,” 68.
33
Saju, Kerala Pentekostu Charithram, 331.
34
Alice Paul mentioned this date. See Alice Paul, “A Wake Up Call for the Daughters,” Revive Me,
accessed 3 July 2021, https://revivemegod.org/articles/readarticle/565.
35
Saju writes, “I have heard numerous unbelievable stories of Annamma Mammen. Her story of
how she was able to enter a certain country without visa or documents to preach the Gospel . . . about a
story of someone from abroad sending her money on behalf of Indira Gandhi . . . numerous such [stories]”
(Saju, Kerala Pentekostu Charithram, 328).
36
Philip, “The Invisible Mothers of the Church,” 68.
37
One of the songs, “Shuddher Sthuthikum Veeda,” which we discuss in this article, became a
representation of Christian devotional song in a recent Malayalam movie, The Priest (2021).
Another well-
known song, “Lokamam Gambhira Varidhiyil,” is also recognized by Manorama Music (a well-known
regional music label) as Popular Christian Devotional Songs. Manorama Music has released a cover version
of this song with K. S. Chithra singing. For the full version of the song, see K. S. Chithra, “Lokamam
Gambhira Varidhiyil,” 3 February 2020, YouTube video, 6:58,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fNT_9G87fE (22 May 2022).
72 | Spiritus Vol 8, No 1
was in fact a theologian—a singing theologian who captured the theological impetus of
the early Kerala Pentecostals in her songs.
In what follows, to demonstrate the theological contribution of Mammen’s songs,
I will analyze one of Mammen’s earliest songs and identify four theological components
it carries. These theological distinctives not only represent a microcosm of Kerala
Pentecostal theology, but they also subtly provide a prophetic vison for women’s roles in
contemporary Kerala Pentecostal theology.
Mammen’s Theology through the Song, “Shuddher Stuthikum Veeda”
Although song lyrics that are limited to a few stanzas are “ill-suited to systematic
reasoning,” and “they are not dogmatic statements formulated for indoctrination,”
38
they provoke the imagination. While not lacking in rationality or dogma, songs invite
singers to step into worshiping God. Such is the nature of the theology embedded in
Annamma Mammen’s songs that provokes the listener’s imagination with its portrayal
of contextual factors, scriptural allusions, admiration for the Lord Jesus Christ, and its
strong emphasis on eschatological hope.
In writing songs that were born out of her sorrowful context following her call to
mission, Mammen’s songs embody theological commentaries integrating Scriptures,
oral liturgical expressions, and her faith in God. To briefly highlight these traits in
Mammen’s theology, I shall examine one of her popular songs, “Shuddher Stuthikum
Veeda” (“The Home of Holy Worshippers”), written immediately after her accepting
the Pentecostal way of Christianity and committing to be a missionary. Through this
analysis, I shall highlight four theological distinctives of Mammen’s theology. Although
scholars have taken both the “text and tune together”
39
in theological analysis of hymns
and songs, the following analysis will focus exclusively on the text of the song and its
theological content. Due to my lack of musical and poetic expertise, I will not focus on
the linguistic qualities, stylistic form, or any musical factors, nor does the following
discourse present an analysis of Mammen’s song in comparison to other Kerala musical
or poetic forms. Instead, the focus will solely be on extracting the embedded theology of
lyrics through a Pentecostal theological lens.
38
S. T. Kimbrough, Jr., “Hymns Are Theology,” Theology Today 42 (1985), 62.
39
Don E. Saliers, Music and Theology (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2007), 35.
Songs as Theologizing | 73
Lyrics of “Shudhar Sthuthikkum Veeda” (“The Home of Holy
Worshippers”)
1.
1. [To] the home of the holy
worshippers,
For the refuge for God’s children,
Jubilation on the golden streets,
When will I join [you] with
exceeding joy?
Chorus
The resounding praises of angels in
Salem
When will I join [you] my precious
Lord?
When will I join?
2.
;-
2. Twelve towers set with pearls
[To] rejoice after we see thy glory
The constant longing of my eyes.
3.
;-
3. The homeland without
blindness,
The home shining with divine
radiance,
Whose lamp is the lamb of God,
I will sing and worship Him
beyond measure.
4.
;-
4. The homeland without
suffering, the rest for godly
believers,
The praise abounding new
Jerusalem,
When will I lean on your
shoulders?
5.
;-
5. The pure and bright
stream of living waters,
(With) fruits of living trees,
on both its shores
[To] dwell in this garden of
God.
6.
;
-
6. To sing along with the
angels who play harps around
the Lord’s throne,
My joy is rising to its peak.
First, a preliminary reading of the lyrics undeniably demonstrates its strong
eschatological allusions: every stanza is indicative of Mammen’s longing for the coming
heavenly home. While the words “When will I join?” in the chorus indicate a sense of
Mammen’s expectation to soon arrive at the end of this earthly journey, the various
stanzas portray Mammen’s imagination of her heavenly home, the home that is built
74 | Spiritus Vol 8, No 1
with “pearls,” inhibited by “saints,” “angels,” and “divine radiance,” decorated with
“golden streets,” natural “streams,” “shores,” “gardens that produce fruits,” and filled
with a worshipping atmosphere where there is “ongoing praises,” singing of angels with
harps and an overwhelming sense of joy and rest. These lyrics evidently portray
Mammen’s expectation of what is to come in a poetic and devotional expression.
Second, the numerous scriptural allusions in the song convey an evident influence
of biblical literacy and devotion, which is pivotal to Mammen’s theology. The song
begins with the reference to a future worshipping home building the poetic imagination
upon Jesus’ assurance that “in my father’s house are many rooms . . . and if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am
you may be also” (John 14:2, 3, ESV). The subsequent allusions to “shinning golden
streets,” “ongoing praises of angels,” the “towers, built with pearls,” “new Jerusalem,”
“the pure and bright stream of living waters,” and “the angels who play harps around
the Lord’s throne,” have strong associations to the book of Revelation, specifically
14:2
40
; 21:10–27; 22:1;
41
and 22:3.
42
In summation, the song “Shudhar Sthuthikkum
Veeda” presents Mammen’s scripturally robust theological imagination of longing for an
eternal home for God’s children.
Third, the contextual nature of suffering Mammen experienced appears in
Mammen’s eschatological theology. Reflecting on her songs in an interview, Annamma
Mammen said, “All my songs were written out of my personal life experiences.”
43
This
song, most likely the first song she wrote after becoming a Pentecostal, embodies her
immediate life context better than any other.
44
One story has been told that once,
while returning home after a prayer gathering, Mammen’s father asked Mammen to
leave their home and find elsewhere to stay. The reason for this ostracizing was because
“she decided to leave the tradition of their family. . . . Her father and [some] relatives
could not accept this” decision from Mamman to follow Pentecostal faith.
45
This
experience of being ostracized from her own home led to a season of theological
40
The “sound of harpists playing on their harps” (Rev 14:2).
41
It mentions “the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God” (Rev
22:1).
42
“No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it,
and his servants will worship him” (Rev 22:3).
43
Annamma Mammen makes this comment at the beginning of her interview with Eapen, “Sister
Annamma Mammen Testimony (1992).”
44
Although the majority of the composition of the song came from this experience of being
ostracized by her family, some stanzas were added later on. The fourth stanza (“A homeland without
suffering, comfort for godly believers; praise abounding, new Jerusalem; When will I lean on your
shoulders?”) was a later addition and was understood to be added as she reflected upon her hardships in her
early missionary journey to Andra Pradesh (Jijo Angamaly, Ganolppathi [Thiruvalla: Sathyam Publications,
2000], 553).
45
Angamaly, Ganolppathi, 552.
Songs as Theologizing | 75
formation for Mammen, leading her to pen the song “Shudhar Sthuthikkum Veeda.” As
Jijo Angamaly notes,
When all the doors in this world were shut for her, with tears and with hope, she
was able to see the heavenly door open for her. The lyrics of the song “Shudhar
Sthuthikkum Veeda” came to her as she stood outside her home in solitude, being
overwhelmed in her heart by the thought of the heavenly home.
46
In light of the contextual suffering, the repeated use of terms nadu (homeland)
and veedu (home) in the lyrics provides an indication of Mammen’s emphasis on a
future redeemed home and homeland in eternity. While Mammen lost her veedu in this
nadu, Mammen’s exhortation is not to remain in despair of the loss but to focus on the
eternal home (stanza 1). At the same time, Mammen’s continued use of the terms nadu
and veedu to expound on the future home also carries a homey imagery of eternity,
rather than rajyam (kingdom), which provides a kingly authoritative imagination. Such
an imagination communicates Mammen’s lament of her earthly lost home as well as a
hope of redeeming the earthly veedu. In other words, the eternal home Mammen
envisions is not a home that is run by an authoritative figure who shuns people, but by
a God who welcomes and comforts her with all blessings.
These meanings, when placed within the broader context of the song, exemplify
Mammen’s theology as developed within the pain of abandonment from her own
family. It is a word about God, who not only provides a safe home as a refuge for God’s
children (stanza one), but also provides a rich home built of pearls (stanza two), with all
provisions such as gardens (stanzas four and five), streams (stanza five), and musical
settings (stanza six) to enjoy.
Fourth, even though the name of Jesus Christ is not evident in the lyrics, the
song’s christological imageries are highlighted in Mammen’s usage of terms such as
“Lord” (stanza six), “precious Lord” (chorus), and “lamb of God” (stanza three).
Although these are the only three instances in the song that use such characterizations,
the biblical allusions embedded in these imageries makes it clear that they are speaking
of Jesus Christ. They are a testament to Mammen’s biblical knowledge, as well as her
adoration and respect of Jesus Christ.
These four attributes—eschatological hope, scriptural integration, contextuality,
and Jesus-centeredness—from the song “Shudhar Sthuthikkum Veeda” outline the nature
of Mammen’s theology. While these theological themes may share commonality with
early classical Pentecostal themes from around the world, they undoubtedly reflect the
shared theological imagination of the early Kerala Pentecostals. Most notably,
46
Angamaly, Ganolppathi, 552.The original quotation is in Malayalam, and this is the author’s
translation.
76 | Spiritus Vol 8, No 1
Mammen’s allusions to suffering and reliance on Scripture find their resonance in
Kerala Pentecostalism.
Mammen’s Theological Resonance with Early Kerala
Pentecostal Imagination
One of the key theological factors from Mammen’s song that resonated with the local
Kerala Pentecostals is the shared memories of suffering and persecution. It is common
to hear stories of persecutions, hardships, and financial insecurities among the pioneers
who left the local Syrian Christian denominations to join the Pentecostal community.
The other contemporaries of Mammen, K. E. Abraham, A. J. John, and P. V. John, as
A. C. George notes, “left their secular jobs to obey the Lord’s call and went through
privations and sufferings of various kinds.”
47
Additionally for Mammen, being a single
woman away from home doing missions may have added further emotional distress due
to everyday acts of social persecution from extended families.
Furthermore, Mammen’s reliance on Scripture to provide eschatological hope also
captured the imagination of early Pentecostals. The underlying scriptural allusions from
Mammen are a testimony of the deep reverence Kerala Pentecostals have toward the
Bible. Historically, Pentecostal admiration towards Scripture could be attributed to the
availability of the Bible in Malayalam that “breathed a new life,”
48
leading to the
commencement of Mar Thoma and Pentecostal churches.
49
During the early years of
Pentecostal expansion in Kerala, the Pentecostals were associated with their fervor for
the Bible, to the extent, as George writes, the “Pentecostal believer [came to] be easily
identified by the ‘black book’ (because of the black leather binding) he or she carried.”
50
The accessibility of the Bible in the vernacular undoubtedly led pioneers like Mammen
to integrate scriptural truths in the form of lyrics to shape the Kerala Pentecostal
imagination.
Mammen’s incorporation of her contextual experiences of suffering and deep
conviction of Scripture enabled local Pentecostals to adopt Mammen’s song as their
own. In such a shared context, Mammen’s lyrics provided a renewed vision for the early
Kerala Pentecostals to live through earthly persecution with hope of the soon coming
47
A. C. George, “Pentecostal Beginnings in Travancore, South India,” Asian Journal of Pentecostal
Studies 4 (2001), 236.
48
George, “Pentecostal Beginnings in Travancore, South India,” 221.
49
It was due to the contribution of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionaries Benjamin
Bailey, Joseph Finn, and Henry Baker, who came to be called the “Travancore Trio” (Gary McKee,
“Benjamin Bailey and the Call for the Conversion of an Ancient Christian Church in India,” Studies in
World Christianity 24 [2018], 114), and namely through Benjamin Bailey’s translation of the Bible to
Malayalam (completed in 1841) that Keralites were able to read the Bible in their vernacular language.
50
George, “Pentecostal Beginnings in Travancore, South India,” 235.
Songs as Theologizing | 77
Lord to take them to the eternal home. Although Mammen’s theology (according to
the song discussed) does not overtly communicate any premillennial ideas of
eschatology, they evidently portray the fervency of expecting the Lord to take her to the
heavenly home.
51
So far, I have presented the Pentecostal world of Annamma Mammen, her life as a
Pentecostal missionary, and her theological contribution through her song, “Shudhar
Sthuthikkum Veeda.” However, it is apt to conclude this discussion by emphasizing the
potential legacy of Mammen’s work and theology in shaping the Kerala Pentecostal
imagination concerning women’s roles in Kerala Pentecostalism.
Mammen’s Theological Legacy: Its Challenge to
Patriarchal Leadership
Annamma Mammen was an “adventurous woman” or a “courageous fighter”
52
who
fearlessly went on with her missionary journey and made significant contributions
through songwriting. However, she was not given any recognizable ministerial roles in
the IPC or in any other Pentecostal denominations, nor was she ordained in any
capacity. Although there are no writings until now that indicate that Mammen was
remorseful or was unable to engage in mission because of her unordained status, the
lack of ministerial recognition from the male-dominated Pentecostal church leadership
to some extent stifled Mammen’s effort to uplift the status of women leaders in Kerala
Pentecostalism.
One may rightly see the establishment of Sangethems that provided housing for
single missionary women as part of Mammen’s life legacy. However, the decline of the
Sangethems in the recent decades can be seen as the direct effects of the lack of
recognition given to women’s leadership by their male counterparts. The active
participation of women in Pentecostal ministry that Mammen envisioned through the
Sangethems did not come to its full fruition. Consciously or unconsciously, the lack of
necessary action by Pentecostal male leadership to acknowledge, empower, and ordain
women as co-workers in the Pentecostal mission led to the sidelining of women’s roles
in ministry, even during Mammen’s lifetime. Over the years, the Pentecostal women
pioneers’ admirable roles in Kerala Pentecostalism were forgotten due to the
51
Michael Bergunder notes that “south Indian Pentecostals follow the prevailing dispensationalist
teaching such as premillennialism and pretribulationism” (Michael Bergunder, The South Indian
Pentecostal Movement in the Twentieth Century [Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,
2008], 136), where they expect the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ before the beginning of any
kind of tribulations. Nonetheless, Mammen’s lyrics do not provide any such indication of premillennial
ideas.
52
Thiruvanchur, “Annamma Mammen: Kurishinte Vazhiyile Deeraporali,” 5.
78 | Spiritus Vol 8, No 1
institutionalization of Pentecostalism and male-controlled leadership structures. Saju
writes, “[A]s years and decades passed, women’s ministry became unadmirable among
the Pentecostals. . . . Because of this Pentecostal attitudinal change against women’s
ministry, there is a lack of women from the new generation entering into the ‘way of
Sangethems.’”
53
However, Mammen’s theological legacy is imprinted through her songs. Even
though Mammen’s songs do not present an overt appeal towards women’s oppression
or women’s roles in Christian ministry, one should not think that her Pentecostal fervor
concealed her gender. In that sense, her songs testify to theological protest, survival, and
flourishing, not only in the midst of persecutions related to her Pentecostal faith, but
also in the midst of social and ecclesial patriarchy. Subsequently, one could see in her
theology a rescripting of the “master narrative,”
54
where her life and theologically-laden
song lyrics subversively rescript the social narrative of the patriarchal control of
theologizing within Kerala Christian society and more specifically within
Pentecostalism. Wherever her songs are sung, they stand as a reminder that God can
and will use women to move forward God’s mission and enhance theological
imagination.
Mammen’s songs, including the one discussed in this article,
55
also call the
church to re-envision the role of women in Pentecostal ministry from an eschatological
perspective, where women are co-equal in God’s new order. Pentecostal theologian
53
Saju, Kerala Pentekostu Charithram, 331. From the second half of the twentieth century, Kerala
Pentecostal Bible colleges train many female students who graduate yearly with undergraduate and
graduate level theological degrees. However, most of them end up being pastors’ wives and take on a
supportive role to their husbands rather than to co-teach or co-preach with their husbands, let alone have
their own mission-oriented ministries. Therefore, as South Indian Pentecostal scholar M. Stephen puts it,
“It is quite right to say that the Pentecostal churches ensure the involvement of the women in the
evangelizing activities of the church, but they have failed to offer them important positions in the church.
They are given the freedom to sing, prophesy, to preach, and to exercise their gifts in the church. They
may be even appointed as the secretary of the women’s fellowship. But it is to be noted that their voices are
always controlled by the church leaders. The structure of patriarchy plays a dominant role” (M. Stephen,
Towards a Pentecostal Theology and Ethics [Kerala, India: Chraisthava Bodhi, 1999], 50, 51). In other
words, as Edith Blumhofer puts it, “Pentecostalism values women’s speech within boundaries,” within
the
boundaries of patriarchal institutional control (Edith L. Blumhofer, “Women in Pentecostalism,” Union
Seminary Quarterly Review 57:3–4 (2003), 120).
54
Elaine J. Lawless, “Transforming the Master Narrative,” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 24
(2003), 61.
55
One of the other popular Mammen songs is “Lokamam Gambhira Varidhiyil.” The song speaks
of being on the “faith ship voyage in an ‘atrocious world journey’” (stanza one) and the waiting to be
restful with the Lord in the eternal home. Furthermore, as the song progresses it exemplifies the
eschatological theme with mentions of the “coming of the Lord” (stanza two) to take us to “the dreamed
promised land of the forefathers” (stanza three) on the “pure crystal seashores” (stanza five); “Jerusalem
above is the Eternal Home” (stanza six). Throughout the song, such eschatological themes are integrated
with allusions of endurance in this present journey of earthly suffering.
Songs as Theologizing | 79
Cheryl Bridges Johns calls us to imagine “the conscientization of women”
56
in light of
the Spirit’s move within the “eschatological vision of God’s new order.”
57
In light of
God’s new order, where the Holy Spirit is poured upon both men and women, the old
order of relegating women to serve only “in the court of women”
58
needs to be
reconsidered. Hence, as Bridges Johns envisions, there is a need to recapture a
Pentecostal spirituality with an eschatological vision for the active empowerment and
involvement of women in Pentecostal ministry.
For the Malayalam-speaking Pentecostal world, Annamma Mammen’s songs that
are rich in eschatological language can provide such a vision for both women and men
to renew not only their urgency for missions but also to acknowledge and establish
women as equal ministry partners with men in mission activities, mirroring the
eschatological vision of God’s new order that is yet to come.
Conclusion
In this article, I brought forth the sidelined story of Annamma Mammen and argued
that Mammen was not only active in missionary work and advocating for women’s
leadership in Kerala Pentecostal ministry, but through her songs she was also engaged in
Pentecostal theologizing.
As a young single woman in colonial South India, where patriarchy reigned,
Mammen embraced the Pentecostal faith and faced persecutions from family and
community. In addition to her new-found faith that led to her persecution, it would
not be an exaggeration to state that Mammen had to struggle through the patriarchal
structures of Kerala religious space. Nonetheless, Mammen trusted her call and took
steps to be active in Pentecostal missionary work in the midst of these challenges. In
doing so, Mammen is in the company of early Pentecostal women missionaries from
around the world who exclusively trusted God’s call to engage in various mission
activities. Barbara Cavaness highlights the pioneering work of women who went with
the Assemblies of God for overseas missions. American Pentecostal women like Marie
Stephany (to China in 1916), Lillian Trasher (to Egypt in 1910), and nurse Florence
Steidel (to Libera) who went overseas for the mission went “not in rebellion against
society, not because they were not gifted or could not succeed at home, not because
some man refused to go, not as part of a feminist statement or unrequited love—but in
56
Cheryl Bridges Johns, “Pentecostal Spirituality and the Conscientization of Women,” in All
Together in One Place: Theological Papers from the Brighton Conference on World Evangelization, eds. Harold
D. Hunter and Peter Hocken (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1993), 153.
57
Bridges Johns, “Pentecostal Spirituality and the Conscientization of Women,” 195.
58
Bridges Johns, “Pentecostal Spirituality and the Conscientization of Women,” 165.
80 | Spiritus Vol 8, No 1
answer to God’s direct call.”
59
To this list of western women from the global
Pentecostal landscape, Annamma Mammen’s name should also be added as she took
the bold step of faith to respect God’s call and went throughout India and abroad
preaching and singing for Jesus Christ.
Although her life stands as a model of an exemplary Pentecostal missionary life
where the reliance on the Holy Spirit was the sole guidance and criterion for ministry, it
was her role as a songwriter that provided the theological language and imagination for
the Malayalam-speaking Pentecostal world. Through difficult times, Mammen’s
songwriting became a model to make theological sense of her own sorrowful
experiences. In doing so, consciously or unconsciously, Annamma Mammen influenced
Kerala Pentecostalism as a theologian. Today, Mammen’s songs and their theological
themes stand as an encouragement and a challenge for the contemporary Kerala
Pentecostal church: encouragement, as to actively engage in mission activities as their
forefathers and mothers did; and a challenge, as Mammen’s life and legacy invite the
Kerala Pentecostal church to re-think their highly neglected and ambiguous stance on
the role of women’s ministry in Pentecostal churches.
59
Barbara Cavaness, “God Calling: Women in Assemblies of God Missions,” Pneuma 16 (1994),
49.
Allan Varghese Meloottu (allanvarghesem@gmail.com) is a PhD
candidate (intercultural studies), researching the intersection of
Indian Pentecostal theology and social/public engagements, at
Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky, USA.
