After the battle, a portion of the community migrated to the interior of Kerala to the foothills of the Western Ghats and founded the settlement of Chunkom which was developed into a customs house, where they eventually built St. Mary's Knanaya Church in 1579.The Knanaya of Chunkom grew prosperous and carried out commerce in the region in which they regularly traded with the Kingdom of Travancore and the Tamil Dynasty of Madurai. The local Brahmin chieftains grew indebted to the Knanaya and would offer slaves of the Malleen (Hill Arrian) caste to the community in order to settle their debts. The Knanaya converted the Malleens to Christianity and built them a separate church known as St. Augustines. Besides collecting duties, the Knanaya in Chunkom were also known to mold "famous pottery".