If I may and with all respect and politeness, one neither has to read the book, look up the footnotes, or visit the site.
Photographs are sufficient to arouse query and questions, though never sufficient by any stretch. One does not have to go to the Arctic to see from photographic evidence that there is ice, icebergs and they are decreasing over time and a certain temperature is needed to adduce it, please. Or, to see hungry children in Palestine, from photos, that they are dying of lack of food. So kindly respect us readers, please. Vivek On Mon, May 20, 2024 at 6:55 PM Amita Kanekar <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks, Rico. > > Yes, would love to visit Arrosim before everything disappears. > > Amita > > On Mon, 20 May 2024, 14:57 Frederick FN Noronha, < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Amita, Have you read the book? Better still to visit the place. Do it >> soon. This part of history is being buried by all kinds of roads and >> "modern development". Sharing some of what Themis wrote: >> >> THE discovery of any ancient artifact crafted by humans, >> be it a stone monument or a hand tool, is a testament >> that the area has long been inhabited, and this greatly en- >> riches our history and heritage. >> Since the publication of the first edition of the book on >> Arossim in 2011, several large stone structures – megaliths >> – resembling dolmenoid cists, were identified along the rice >> fields in Arossim, Cansaulim, Cuelim, and at nearby villages. >> These huge stone monuments in various stages of peaceful >> ruins are estimated to date to the Neolithic Period, when hu- >> mans first settled in this area as agriculturists, having transi- >> tioned from a nomadic hunter-gatherer and pastoralist past. >> ng, with foreboding signs of a rise in sea level.... >> Chapter 1 deals with a brief history of the earliest settlers >> of this land and how people with superior force subordinated >> and ruled over the earlier tribes and races. The large laterite >> megaliths along the comunidade rice fields to the east, and >> in the neighboring villages of Cansaulim and Cuelim, attest >> to the existence of Neolithic tribes (earliest farmers), dating >> back to the Iron Age or perhaps earlier. >> The three main tribes from more recent history are Gaudé >> (or Gauda), Velip and Kunbi – the Gaudés being the largest >> majority followed by Velips.... >> >> *Oldest man-made structures: Megaliths in Arossim* >> Four unique stone structures exist along an ancient trail >> passing through the comunidade paddy fields, starting from >> Arossim to the foothills of Cuelim. To the local farmers these >> ancient structures are known as dohanim (pl.) (dohannem >> – singular) or dovornim and were assumed to have been >> erected to enable the tired travelers to rest and refresh at the >> nearby pond, by temporarily placing the load off their heads >> on these platforms unaided. Presently, many of these are in >> ruins and in disuse. >> Several interpretations were advanced to explain the ex- >> istence of similar stones in other parts of India, before they >> were excavated and studied by archeologists. A typical >> dovornem seen in Camurlim in the district of Bardez is shown >> above. Others, seen in Bardez, also have an adjoining stone >> benches. >> Professor K. A. Kennedy, Department of Archeology and >> Anthropology, Cornell University, on seeing the photograph >> of the intact structure still standing in the village of Cuelim, >> opined that such megalithic structures resemble dolmenoid >> cist or grave markers. >> Based on the size and the number of stones lying at the >> other sites studied, it appears that all were of similar config- >> uration. Such monuments are also seen elsewhere in South- >> ern India and other parts of the world. The megalithic granite >> dolmens in Kerala have been dated to Iron Age and Neolithic >> Period. The worldwide occurrence of such unique structures >> points to a common universality in human nature with re- >> spect to death and burial. >> These prehistoric monuments, erected with dressed la- >> terite stones – commonly used stones in Goa - measuring >> more than five feet long (from above ground), usually unno- >> ticed by the rest of the villagers, acquire special significance >> annually on January 6th, the feast day of Three Kings, held at >> the Chapel on the hill top of Cuelim. >> In the local version of the re-enactment of the Biblical >> story, three boys attired in kingly robes, selected from among >> the ganvkars of the three contiguous villages, walk in sepa- >> rate processions accompanied by a band of musicians, along >> the ancient trail and meet at the foot of the hill for a brief rest, >> prior to jointly climbing up to the Chapel to present their gifts >> at the altar in time for the High Mass.... >> >> On Monday 20 May 2024 at 14:52:29 UTC+5:30 Amita Kanekar wrote: >> >> That's a big claim -- that the stones are centuries, if not millenia, >> old; and pre-Portuguese. Is there any scientific study which tested them >> and concluded this? >> >> Otherwise, looking at their quite regular shape (rectangular blocks), i. >> e. not so weathered, they don't look so old. Just my observation -- I don't >> know anything about them. >> >> On Mon, 20 May 2024, 03:47 Frederick Noronha, <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >> Actually, that tour was led by Themis himself, many years ago, while on >> his last visit to Goa. Below are some of the photos from that 2015 trip, >> where you will see quite a few Goa-Book-Club members visible (if you know >> them). The first three pics were taken on some other day, I think... Don't >> miss the megaliths (much-misunderstood in Arossim, and called dovornem >> there, which Themis helped to uncover and explain... they are centuries, if >> not millennia old, long prior to the Portuguese... probably tribal spaces). >> >> [image: 16794918912_072e2e03de_c.jpg] >> >> [image: 16795289441_9cb79f4f67_c.jpg] >> >> [image: 16795676795_6597e15f8d_c.jpg] >> >> [image: 17093941468_6d5ab429c0_m.jpg] [image: >> 17255567956_46e4903d1e_w.jpg] >> [image: 17251703096_b9b56a2d30_n.jpg] >> [image: 17090133528_854363eb81_n.jpg] >> [image: 17094552920_2e347c675e_c.jpg] >> [image: 17279876982_0d75b9887d_c.jpg] >> [image: 17281016901_f4a261d1c4_c.jpg] >> >> >> >> -- >> *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "The Goa Book Club" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web, visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/9f1dde94-88e2-4fe6-a182-55877bfb6547n%40googlegroups.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/9f1dde94-88e2-4fe6-a182-55877bfb6547n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "The Goa Book Club" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/CAHdyfPAiSntqHWM%2BhO_WB%3DRP6EMO6GpJG5weZMAuc3aqWiFjdA%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-book-club/CAHdyfPAiSntqHWM%2BhO_WB%3DRP6EMO6GpJG5weZMAuc3aqWiFjdA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- *** Please be polite and on-topic in your posts. *** --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Goa Book Club" group. 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