Ben Antao writes, in his review of Silviano Barbosa's book "The Sixth Night"
" If you look at the history of Goa before the Portuguese conquest, you'd note that from 1469 this region called Goa was in Muslim hands; after the conquest in 1510 there were inter-marriages between Portuguese soldiers and Muslim women, whose progeny were Catholic until conversions played a role in 1542 when St. Francis Xavier arrived. So we are now looking at a whole new generation of Catholic population with Muslim-blood antecedents. And yet a great many people in Goa today are brainwashed to believe that their ancestors before the Portuguese were Hindus! " ------- >From: Cecil Pinto <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> I may be wrong but I figure my ancestors were Hindus rather than Muslims. It is true Goa was "in Muslim hands" before the Portuguese but I understand that the populace was largely Hindu by religion and were that way a long time before the Muslim invasion of Goa. Can some historian here clarify? ------ >From Jose Colaco <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Dear Ben bab I understand the thread which runneth beneath your point. It is one which makes infinite sense. I have no doubt that the Christians from Bardez are more likely to be Hindu than Muslim, but in "Goa" i.e. the GOA at the time of Albuquerque, SFX et Inquisition.....that is a toss up. After all the Vijaynagris came and butchered the Turks, and the Turks came and butchered the Vijaynagris. Rape and the destruction of temples and mosques having intervened in the mean while. Rather than commit to saying that the forebears were Hindu or Muslim, I'd say that a good deal of Turkish, Vijaynagri, Portuguese and Maratha blood doth flow in the veins of many Goans - with the odd Jewish, Syrian, Armenian DNA floating around. As though it matters jc http://www.colaco.net TGF Writers' Sketchpad The first flight to Goa The Tale of Two Rivers Luis de Camoens Inquisition distorted **** *********************************************************************** * G * O * A * N * E * T *** C * L * A * S * S * I * F * I * E * D * S * *********************************************************************** Greet your loved ones in Goa with flowers! http://www.goa-world.com/goa/expressions/ EXPRESSIONS - The Flower Shop. World famous all over Goa! ***********************************************************************
