1742
In 1742 the sea put a wooden box ashore at Kootapuli, on the coast below the village. It was stencilled “To Vadakankulam, From Portugal”, and it held carved images of Our Lady. The fishermen carried it up to the parish priest, Fr John Baptist Buttari. He kept one image for his own church, sent a second to Kamanayakkanpatti, and gave the third into the Bishop's care. The one that stayed here is Our Lady of the Assumption, the statue that stands above this altar, and the statue that would one day weep.
What this source establishes
A Tamil retelling of the parish's published history. Near word-for-word identical to vadavaimatha.net — one witness printed twice. Kamanayakkanpatti, meanwhile, tells a different origin story for its own image.
This is as much of it as we may lawfully print. The rest is at church.catholictamil.com.