Write me directly. eric.
________________________________ From: eric pinto <ericpin...@yahoo.com> To: goa...@goanet.org Sent: Fri, March 18, 2011 11:56:12 AM Subject: [Goanet] Old Goa. > > > >A FACINATING HISTORY OF OUR MOTHERLAND > > > > > > > > > > >> >> >> >>Peninsular India: Old Goa >> >>If the Pacific Ocean was once a Spanish Lake, then the Indian Ocean during >>the >>16th Century belonged to the Portuguese. The administrative center of this >>Portuguese Lake was Goa. What did it look like? Most of the city of that time >>has been obliterated, partly by time but largely by the Portuguese themselves >>using it as a stone quarry. Words come to the partial rescue, here in a >>snippet > >>of the account left by Francois Pyrard, writing shortly after 1600. "It is >>about >> >>a hundred and ten years since the Portuguese made themselves masters of this >>island of Goa, and I have often wondered at the rapidity with which the >>Portuguese have been able to rear stately edifices, so many churches, >>convents, > >>palaces, fortesses, and other buildings.... This city is the metropolis of >>the >>whole of the Portuguese dominions in India.... Every year more than a >>thousand >>ships touch there laden with cargo." Don't be misled by his use of the word >>"island." It's not; by a stretch the city stood on a peninsula. (Quoted in >>José > >>Nicola da Fonseca, Sketch of the City of Goa, 1878, p. 156) >> >> >> >>Well, here we are, a busy street 400 years ago. Jan van Linschoten, assistant >>to >> >>the archbishop and in modern language also an industrial spy, wrote that one >>street was crowded with cotton and silk dresses, China porcelain, and velvet >>from Portugal. Another was for woodworking--beds, chairs, joinery. Linschoten >>did more than describe the commercial geography of Old Goa: he copied the >>maps >>long held secret by the Portuguese, and when he brought them back to his >>Dutch >>countrymen, they began sailing the Portuguese Lake, with ruinous effect for >>the > >>Portuguese. By 1774, Portugal's eminent Marquis of Pombal sent out a new >>governor with instructions to restore the city's glory. It was not to be, but >>Pombal's instructions to José Pedro da Camara describe Goa by then as >>"overtaken >> >>by such calamities that she is reduced to a heap of ruins; so that she is now >>a > >>mere wreck of what she was in happier times." (Fonseca, p. 183) >> >> >>A coconut grove on the site of former buildings. The heap of stones was made >>recently, when the landowner cleared the site before planting it. If you like >>lamentations, you'll love Tomas Ribeiro (1831-1901), who wrote of Goa: "I >>have >>come to witness the collapse of glory, to have to show to foreign peoples >>only >>ruins, deserts and skulls, as all the trophies of our history." (Quoted in >>Churches of Goa by Jose Pereira, 2002, p. 90) >> >> >> >>It almost takes an archaeologist to sort it out: the relics of ancient Goa >>are >>not the stone blocks in the upper half of this picture. They're the thin >>fragments of roof tile in the lower half. >> >> >> >>Visitors today arrive by road, but in the old days they came up the Mandovi >>River, here at low tide five miles from the sea. There's a lot of >>bulk-carrier >>traffic, as well as ferries on the river, but no oceanic passenger ships. >> >> >>The 16th Century city was walled with a gate that was decorated for the >>arrival > >>of new governors. Then in 1599, when the governor was Dom Francisco da Gama, >>the >> >>great-grandson of Vasco da Gama, this arch was built at the river's edge "by >>order of the Senate of the city of Goa, with the twofold object of saving the >>expense of decoration and of perpetuating the name of the famous discoverer >>of >>the sea route to India." (Fonseca, p. 193) Sorry to disappoint, but the arch >>collapsed in 1948 and was entirely rebuilt in 1954. Old engravings show a >>slightly more elaborate structure, with an upper image containing a statue of >>St. Catherine. (See, for example, the one in Antonio Lopes Mendes, A India >>Portuguesa, 1886, vol. 1, p. 51.) >> >> >>Vasco in his Sunday best. Although Vasco came to India in 1498, Portuguese >>rule > >>over Goa was established instead by Afonso Albuquerque, who in 1510 defeated >>the >> >>forces of the Sultan of Bijapur. It happened on November 25th, the feast day >>of > >>St. Catherine, which is why her image originally appeared above Vasco's. >> >> >>Rear of arch, with view through to ferry dock. Notice the statue at the top >>of >>the arch? >> >> >>It shows a woman, sword in hand, standing over a man in native dress. Symbol >>of > >>Portugal's rule? >> >> >>Inside the arch is this tablet. The upper portion reads: "The legitimate and >>true king, Dom Joao IV, restorer of Portuguese liberty. 1656." The reference >>is > >>to Portugal's regaining in 1640 its independence from Spain. >> >> >> >>Perhaps a hundred yards up the road is this last vestige of the palace of >>Yusuf > >>Adil Khan, the last Muslim ruler in Goa. For a long time his palace was used >>by > >>the Portuguese viceroys, but they eventually moved their capital downstream >>to >>less cholera-prone Pangim (=Panjim =Panaji). In 1820 Adil Khan's palace was >>demolished and its stone reused in the new city. Only this gateway survived. >>The >> >>design is Indian except for the scroll on the lintel, which is a Portuguese >>"improvement." >> >> >> >>Next to the relic gateway is the Church of Our Lady of Divine Providence, >>completed in 1661; to its left is the S. Caetano (= Cajetan) Monastery, named >>for the founder of the Theatine Order. Caetano came from Thiene, west of >>Venice, >> >>and was a contemporary of the better known St. Francis Xavier. He arrived in >>Goa >> >>in 1639 and, failing to get permission to proselytize within the dominion of >>the >> >>Nizam of Hyderabad, settled here after swearing allegiance to the Portuguese >>king. The Theatines were unusual in accepting non-Europeans to their order. >> >> >>The floor plan of the church is a Greek Cross. The base of the dome bears >>Matthew 6:33, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all >>these things shall be added unto you." It was no random choice, because the >>order taught reliance on Providence for subsistence. The church was designed >>by > >>two Italians, Ferrarini and Milazzo. >> >> >>Often described as a smaller version of St. Peters, the church was modelled >>more >> >>directly on the church of the Madonna della Ghiara, which is in Reggio Emilia >>and which was based on Bramante's unexecuted design for St. Peters. The >>elaborately carved pulpit is characteristic of Goan churches. >> >> >>Goan churches are generally made of blocks of laterite, which when excavated >>from the earth hardens to ironstone. That rock is durable but cannot be >>carved, > >>so the Goan churches are typically covered with plaster and periodically >>given a >> >>coat of white paint. >> >> >> >>"Here lies Luis de Braga Girão. Died 11 March 1669 [?] and his heirs." Unlike >>the case of Bassein (q.v.) there is apparently no book that translates the >>inscriptions of Old Goa. >> >> >>Perhaps a mile away, there's a hill atop which stands the Church of Our Lady >>of > >>the Mount. Like many churches in Goa, it's been inactive for a long, long >>time. > >>Even in 1878 there was only one service here annually, on the festival of Our >>Lady of the Mountain. The steps are of laterite, the same material used in >>building the church. >> >> >>The church was described in 1992 as "deserted and decaying," but since then >>it >>has been restored. See Maurice Hall, Window on Goa, 1991, p. 95 and, for >>conservation methods, a paper by Luis Marreiros of the Portuguese >>Architectural > >>Heritage Institute, online at http://www.arcchip.cz/w10/w10_marreiros.pdf >> >> >>The church is closed, but that term is merely relative. >> >> >>View from choir. The roof is a 9-meter wide cylinder or barrel vault and >>rests >>on laterite walls 2.7 meter thick. >> >> >>The view west from the church. The church on the right is the one seen >>earlier; > >>we'll look now at the others, beginning with the dark tower just breaking the >>skyline at the western edge of the cluster of buildings. >> >> >>It's the only surviving bit of the superstructure of the Augustinian church >>of >>Our Lady of Grace, which was completed in 1602 and abandoned when the >>Augustinians were ordered to leave Goa in 1835. The massive roof collapsed a >>few >> >>years later, in 1842. Most of the facade fell in 1931. The remaining tower >>has >>been stabilized. The rubble in the foreground is the remnant of a great >>staircase that once led up a low hill to the church. >> >> >>Floor of the church. >> >> >>Gravestone paving. >> >> >>Here lies Captain Iacome de Moraes. Died 20 July 1624. >> >> >>Across the street is the huge convent of Santa Monica, once a popular place >>of >>permanent seclusion but by 1876 down to a single nun. >> >> >>The doorways bear elaborate ornamentation, which is odd since the women >>inside >>were not allowed to leave, while visitors were far and few between. Still, it >>appears that the phrase Liber Vitae Agni was apt. It presumably comes from >>Revelations 21:27, "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that >>defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they >>which are written in the Lamb's book of life." >> >> >>Another entrance is less clear, although certainly the presence of the >>Portuguese in Goa was a story of the sea and its voyagers. >> >> >>The most important surviving building in Old Goa is the Se or Cathedral, >>completed in 1652, when Portuguese power was already in decline. It's >>formally >>the Cathedral of St. Catherine, the patron saint of Goa because it was on her >>day that Afonso Albuquerque finally captured the city and ordered the >>slaughter > >>of all Muslim residents--man, woman, child. Thousands died, punished it seems >>because the city's rulers--Muslims--had earlier welcomed Albuquerque, then >>turned on him, forcing him to fight to regain his hold on their city. Despite >>this slaughter, Albuquerque subsequently pursued a policy of toleration, at >>least with regard to Hindus. >> >> >>Fonseca writes, "This cathedral, which was in course of construction for >>upwards >> >>of three-fourths of a century, and which witnessed the rise and fall of the >>Portuguese power in the East, is a really majestic edifice." The right tower >>fell in 1776 and was never rebuilt. A century later, Fonseca continues, the >>church remained the "only church [in Goa] where religious services were held >>every day on a somewhat grand scale." (Fonseca, p. 198ff.) >> >> >>The inscription reads, "In the reign of the very catholic King Dom Sabastiao >>this cathedral was ordered to be erected... in the year of our Lord 1562...." >> >> >>The cathedral was begun by an unknown architect who modeled his work on the >>cathedral at Leiria. Most of the work, however, was done under the direction >>of > >>Julio Simao, appointed chief architect of Portuguese Asia by Philip II. It's >>a >>reminder that the church was built while Portugal was under Spanish rule. >>Simao > >>finished the nave in 1622 and the crossing in 1628 but died before the portal >>was finished in 1651. He's buried in the church. >> >> >>The high altar, shown here in genuine low focus, shows events from the life >>of >>St Catherine of Alexandria. The central image on the lower level shows >>Catherine >> >>holding a book and sword while standing on a cloud. The symbolism is obscure >>until you learn that the "cloud" was originally a picture of the prostrate >>Sultan of Bijapur. >> >> >> >>Adjoining the cathedral is the Church of the Holy Spirit or, popularly, of >>St. >>Francis. It's late, completed in 1668. >> >> >> >>The church is a single hall, a nave without aisles, and is entered through a >>wide arch. >> >> >>Paintings illustrate scenes from the life of St. Francis. >> >> >>The high altar has a surprisingly informal image of Christ on the cross but >>with >> >>one arm on the shoulder of St. Francis, who embraces Christ. Francis stands >>on >>steps labeled Poverty, Humility, and Obedience. >> >> >>Not three minutes away is the Basilica of Bom Jesus, built quickly and >>finished > >>in 1605, before any of the other churches we've seen, except for the >>Augustinian >> >>church now in ruins. Once, Bom Jesus was plastered and painted. >> >> >>The facade is partly of a dark granite from Bassein, north of Bombay. Why? >>Because granite can be carved, unlike the laterite blocks used elsewhere in >>the > >>church. The church is attached to what was once a training academy for Jesuits. >> >> >>Courtyard of that monastery, now the Pius X Pastoral Institute. >> >> >>Top of the facade, with the Jesuit seal in granite. >> >> >>The high altar has a larger-than-life image of Ignatius of Loyola, founder of >>the Jesuits. Francois Pyrard wrote soon after 1600 that he saw a procession >>of >>1,500 natives coming here to be baptized. The crowds today come mostly to see >>the tomb of Francis Xavier, which is in the right arm of the crossing. >> >> >>Ignatius Loyola stands atop a small Christ child. >> >> >>Most of the church appears to be very simple, almost austere in contrast with >>the altar, but Pyrard wrote that the walls were gilt. >> >> >>The casket of Francis Xavier, a Basque Jesuit who was an associate of >>Ignatius >>of Loyola. The great missionary of the East, his body was brought here from >>China after his death there in 1552. Francis Xavier was canonized in 1622; >>this > >>catafalque, of jasper and marble, was sent from Italy by the Grand Duke of >>Tuscany in 1698. >> >> >> >>The upper tablet reads: "This Church of Jesus was begun to be built on the >>24th > >>November 1594, and the most Reverend and Illustrious Lord Dom Fr. Aleixo de >>Menezes, Archbishop of Goa and Primate of India, consecrated it in the year >>of >>our Lord 1605, on the 15th May." The lower stone marks the elevation of the >>church to a Basilica Minor in 1946. >> >> >>Off to one side of the complex of major churches we've been looking at is >>this >>small Chapel of St. Catherine, built by Albuquerque in 1510, though enlarged >>in > >>1550. As Portuguese power waned, Portuguese churches grew larger. >> >> >>Rear of the church, showing the characteristic laterite blocks. >> >> >>Another early church, Sao Pedro, from 1542 or 1543. Supposedly, there's >>nothing > >>special about it. >> >> >>Except that it has one of those amazing pulpits, prodigies of woodcarving. >> >> >> >>________________________________ > > > > >