A Mapusa that grew out of Gaunsavaddo -------------------------------------- BOOK EXTRACT: By Domnic P.F. Fernandes
Mapusa was a small sleepy town in Bardêz that grew from the settlement by the river known as Gaunsavaddo, and Angodd, but which is now set around an altinho (small mount). Mapusa lies about 13 kilometres away from the capital Panjim or Panaji, and is one of the oldest towns of Goa. It has been the capital of the old province of Bardêz and is now the third largest city of Goa. 'The crown of Bardêz', as it is also known, consists basically of a market place which forms the hub of North Goa. It is today an important transit point for those visiting North Goa, and a place for shopping. _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/ _/ Goanetter Domnic PF Fernandes' book of reminiscences of _/ Mapusa is getting ready for a release on coming Sunday, _/ October 7, 2012 at the Mapusa municipal hall (at 4.45 pm). _/ Goanetters and members of the public are cordially _/ invited. Please pass the word around. Check out some _/ photo-sketches at http://bit.ly/Mapusa _/ _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ Mapusa has a history of its own. It is said that long before the Portuguese, and other settlers and rulers invaded Goa, the town was an agrarian community with a well-established ganvkari (community farming) system. In the community farming system, the villagers formed associations, worked on community land, and shared their produce in a pre-determined measure every three years. Places in Mapusa were named according to the trades that dominated the area, and, consequently, the castes. Catholicism may not preach casteism but the caste system is prevalent there, too, even today, long after religious conversions. Thus, we have Kansarvaddo, famous for making copper utensils, Kenivaddo, for making sweets, Telangvaddo, for tel or oil, Xettyevaddo for making jewellery, Mharvaddo (now renamed St. Sebastian Vaddo) for making bamboo products, Khumbarvaddo for making pots and other similar places. The ganvkars (original settlers or sometimes referred to as freeholders or landlords) of Mapusa are the Gauns, Naiks, Khalaps, D'Souzas, Coutinhos, De Mellos, Farias, Carrascos, Braganças (now written Braganzas), Mendonças (now written Mendonsas), Pintos, Pinhos, Vazes or Palhas and Esteveses. The last two have almost entirely migrated to Goa Velha and Merces-Vaddy, respectively. The general body meeting of the Comunidade brings the residents into contact with Mapusa ganvkars settled in Belgaum, Khanapur, Satarda, Bhirondem, and other far-flung areas of Karnataka and Maharashtra or Goa Velha and Merces in Goa. Gone are the days when the ganvkars thought of land as common community inheritance. Today, land means real estate - that is the only reality! Mapusa was the most important commercial capital of North Goa before the Mandovi Bridge was built in the 1970s, where the weekly Sukraracho bazar (the Friday market) took place. Market day was, and still is, an important event where goods were brought in from surrounding places to a central area. The older part of Mapusa town lies along the base of the hill. It became popular as a market centre - thanks to the festivals organised in honour of the god Kanakeshwar Baba also called Bodgeshwar, worshipped at the Bodgeshwar Temple, and the ancient tar (jetty) near the present day Church of St. Jerome, where canoes and sailboats brought merchandise via the Mapusa River. During the Portuguese regime, Goa was divided into three principal regions -- Bardêz, Salcete and Ilhas or Tiswadi. The name Bardêz is derived from Bará-dês, signifying twelve dessaídos, or small feudal centres that, after being under the rule of several indigenous rulers, were united under the Portuguese State. Mapusa is also the administrative headquarters of the Bardêz Taluka (the province gets its name for comprising of 12 villages), one of the Old Conquests of Goa besides Salcete, including Mormugão, and Ilhas or Tiswadi. It was categorised as a vila (town) by a decree dated September 14, 1858. By Order No. 1911 of the Governor General, dated December 29, 1933, the town was designated a cidade (city). In the absence of public means of transportation, people were earlier confined to their respective areas of habitation. In fact, it was difficult, if not impossible, to travel even from one village to another. In the middle of the last century, when I was growing up, most Goans worked and lived for the day. They tilled fields, cultivated paddy, grew all kinds of cereals and vegetables, and were quite self-sufficient. There was no electricity in suburban and rural Goa. The word 'technology' was unknown to us. In the 1960s, the Africanders (Goans who worked in British East Africa and kept ties with home, returning occasionally) would come to Goa, armed with Electrolux brand kerosene-based refrigerators -- something we had never seen before. In the absence of a refrigerator, any leftover food had to be heated at least twice a day during the hot summer months, or else randlelem bellxetalem - the cooked food would get rancid! Each village had a centrally located place called the ttintto where basic necessities like fish, vegetables and fruits were sold. Since there was no cold storage facility or long-haul transport vehicles, small markets sprung up around villages where people bought and sold their home-grown produce. Market days were fixed in such a way that people could make use of the produce bought for two to three days. Thus, every week, the Anjunkars frequented two small markets, which were almost equidistant from Anjuna - Budvaradis Siolecho bazar (Siolim market on a Wednesday) and Sonvaradis Kolngottcho bazar (Calangute market on a Saturday). Besides these two weekly markets, one big weekly mandi (market) took place in Mapusa town on a Friday and this was meant for all Bardezkars (residents of Bardêz) -- from Betim to Siolim and from Aldona to Anjuna. Till the late 1960s, nearly everyone went to Mapusa on foot, because there was hardly any public transportation then. The carreira or caminhão (public carrier) trips were few and far between. Children, mostly from the age of seven onwards, accompanied their parents to the bazaar on foot. It was fun to walk to Mapusa but not as much fun when we returned home because while mother and father (in my case only my mother, as my father was employed in Kuwait) carried big pottleo (packages) on their heads and in both hands, each child was required to carry dhakttuli lugttachi pôti (a small cloth bag) in each hand. On our route from Anjuna to Mapusa, there were four dovornim (pedestals built of stone on which one rested one's burden if carrying a head load) - two each in Assagão and Parra, roughly two kilometres away from each other. During the Portuguese colonial regime, the name of the town was written as Mapuçá. Post-Liberation, since people were not familiar with the cedilla under the letter `c' and an acute accent on the last vowel `a', they wrote it without these - `Mapuca'. Later, the letter `c' was dropped and replaced with an ‘s'. Most people write it this way now -- as Mapusa, for convenience sake. There are various explanations for its name. Some say Mapusa is derived from the Konkani word mhap or map meaning measure, and sa meaning to fill up. The two words put together make it Mhapsa or Mapsa, meaning a place for measuring and selling goods. It is also believed that the name is derived from Mhahapos -- mhaha means big and pos means ability to sustain or feed -- a big centre for distributing village produce, which is what it was and continues to be to date for North Goans. Yet another source connects its origins to a Sanskrit word Paisata, meaning a land reserved for the administrative official granted in exchange for the services rendered; hence, from Maha-paisata to Mapusa! In Konkani, people call the town Mhahapaxem or Mhapxem -- Mhaha or Maha means motto or big and apaxem/apxem means ganv or place -- a big place or centre for distributing village products, which is what it was, and is. In Konkani, its residents are known as Mhapxenkars or Mapshemkars. Some people from Salcete, especially the carpenters who brought, and still bring, home-made furniture to the fair at the Milagres feast called it Mavxem or Mavxeam! Since its early days, Mapusa has been an economic and commercial hub due to its strategic location. Anjuna is connected to Mapusa by a road which runs through Assagão and Khorlim. The end of the road is linked to the main artery of Mapusa Street, which initially, was just a way for connecting the town to the northern part of Goa. This street later became important when administrative buildings were built alongside. Anjuna is also connected to Mapusa by a road via Parra. Anjunkars mostly went to Mapusa via Assagão because the distance is a little shorter than that via the Parra route. Once people reached the ridge of the Khorlim Ghat, they took a short cut from the right through the rocky hillock, which saved them about 300 metres distance along the hair-pin bend in the road. Mapusa Street is located in the heart of the town and is part of the main traffic artery. It is also a connecting spine for the less important streets in the town. The main street buildings reflect the pride and aspirations of the community. In earlier times, the street was the centre of community activity and of its commerce, banking, government and social life since it also housed major shops, offices, and later, the New Municipal Market. In this book, I reminisce on Mapusa town as it existed over half a century ago when I attended the Escola Técnica Elementar de Mapuçá in the late fifties. My description of Mapusa town of the 1950s and early 1960s will develop along the main Mapusa Street.... ### SEE ALSO: http://bit.ly/Mapusa