Thoothoor is a coastal town located in the southern district of Tamil Nadu, called Kanyakumari bordering the state of Kerala in India.
Etymology
The name Thoothoor has its roots in the Tamil words தூ/தூய்மை (Cleanliness/immaculateness) and ஊர் (town/place) meaning a "Clean place". The region was filled with white sands everywhere and people used to live in a very small area, so most of the region was vacant and covered with white sands. Hence the name.
History
The Catholic Church plays a conspicuous role in the day-to-day life of the fishermen of Thoothoor village. The conversion of the fishermen of this village to Christianity may be traced back to A.D. 1544. The event cumulated in the works of St. Francis Xavier, who is said to have converted 10,000 Mukkuva fishermen living in thirteen villages along the coast (from Pallam to Poovar—Neerody, Marthandanthurai, Vallavilai, Eraviputhenthurai, Thoothoor, Poothurai, Thengapattanam, Enayam, Midalam, Vaniyakudy, Colachel, Kadiapattanam, Muttom and Pallam) in December 1544.
In 1600, the Thoothoor Parish Church was brought under the Padroado. Subsequently, this Parish came under the Diocese of Cochin. In 1838, St. Thomas Church, Thoothoor and other adjacent coastal Churches from Pallithura to Erayumanthurai were brought under the Diocese of Varapuzha. This unification brought the Padroado–Propaganda dispute to a crucial stage. Ultimately, St. Thomas Church, Thoothoor was brought under the Diocese of Cochin with its revival in 1850.
The Diocese of Thiruvananthapuram was founded on 1 July 1937[1]. But only in 1952 were all the coastal Churches from Pallithura to Erayumanthurai added to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum or Thiruvananthapuram Diocese. Thu,s at present Thoothoor Parish Church is one of the Foranate Churches of Trivandrum Diocese.
Geography
Thoothoor is a coastal village situated on the Arabian Sea coast. It is the headquarters of Thoothoor panchayat, consisting of five villages, namely Thoothoor, Chinnathurai, Eraviputhenthurai, Poothurai and Erayumanthurai. These five villages together are commonly just called Thoothooor. Thoothoor is geographically located in killiyoor Taluk, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu India. It is located 45 km west of Nagercoil, the headquarters of Kanyakumari District and 40 km southeast of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala State. Thiruvananthapuram Airport is the nearest airport and the railway station is at Parassala or Kuzhithurai.
Thoothoor is almost exclusively a fishing village, even though a little group of people are involved in agriculture, especially in coconut plantations, besides their primary occupation in other professions. The fishing operation in this village is most often restricted to a coastline the length of one kilometer. Its total population is about 6,000. This village is bounded in the north by the Paalamadam, south by the Arabian Sea, east by Poothurai village and west by Chinnathurai village.