CHRISTIANITY AND NATIONALISM IN ALDONA By Fr Cosme Jose Costa sfx It is impossible for me to write the history of Aldona without emotion as I have lived seventeen years of my childhood and youth in an atmosphere impregnated with devotion and studied upto my SSC in St. Thomas Boys High School, before I decided to join the Society of Pilar. It was in the Carona Chapel that I learnt the basic three R's and catechism under the tender care of Fr. Tome Damiao Cordeiro, the first resident Chaplain, a holy priest of unforgettable memory, whose main concern was that his pupils should not only be educated but more so, that they be men of character and good manners. CONQUEST OF GOA The religious history of Aldona is part and parcel of Bardez and of Goa at large. Goa (i.e. Tiswadi) was definitely conquered by Afonso de Albuquerque for the Portuguese on 25th Nov. 1510 from the Sultan if Bijapur Yusuf Adil Khan. In 1543 Bardez and Salcete were ceded to the Portuguese. The reason of this cessation is said to be the fact that Ibrahim was one of the claimants to the throne of Bijapur and wanted to keep his rival Meale (Abdulla) Khan out of mischief. Meal on being defeated in the contest sought asylum in Goa. Seizing this opportunity, the Portuguese took firm possession of the two districts of Bardez and Salcete. The Tanadar Krishna was put in charge of collecting the revenues and safe-guarding the customs and contracts of the ganvkars. For about 32 years from 1510 to 1542 a few Franciscans at a time worked in Tiswadi. . In 1555, the Viceroy D. Pedro Mascarenhas divided the then Goa among the religious Orders to avoid inconveniences of one Order encroaching the other's jurisdiction. Thus the Franciscans got Bardez as their Held of Apostolate and the Jesuits got Salcete. The villages of Tiswadi were parcelled out among the Dominicans (who got 15 villages in the north-western sector) and the Jesuits (who got the remaining 15 villages in the south-eastern sector including Chorao and Divar). After Bardez was alloted to them, the Franciscans set to work from Verem going in two directions, north and east of Verem. In 1556, they built the second church in Bardez at Candolim, the third at Nagoa in 1560, the fourth at Sirula (Salvador do Mundo) in 1565, the fifth at Gaunkarvaddo of Siolim in 1568, the sixth at Nerul in 1569 and the seventh at Coimbavaddo in Aldona dedicated to St. Thomas, the Apostle, in 1569. According to the official lists of the Franciscans, Friar Alexo de Esperanca became the Rector of Aldona in 1595. The Franciscans went on erecting churches in other villages of Bardez till the beginning of the 18th century. The Present Church in Aldona Since by 1595, the number of parishioners had Increased in Aldona, the old Church building was not sufficient. There is a manuscript in the Goa State Archives, Mss. No. 8000, in Goan Kannadi script, which deals with "Tombo de Aldona" 1595-1605. Some of the minutes of meetings found in this manuscript are transliterated into Devanagari script by Gajanana Ghantkar and published in 1973 in his book "Introduction to Goan Marathi Records and Halkannada Script." As per these records, a meeting of the ganvkars was held in 1595, in which the above mentioned Rector proposed to the members present, the construction of a new Church. The members of the village assembly accepted the proposal and resolved to give 125 aspigam gold coins then in use in Goa (known as Xerafins in Portuguese) for this construction. The following names of the ganvkars (nine of whom seem to be newly baptised Christians because of the mention of the Hindu names of each one's father) are given in this document as follows: 1. Bostiao do Costa, son of Santu Kamat 2. Lourenco Ferrao, son of Ramu Kamat 3. Duarte Moniz son of Kista Prabhu 4. Manuel Sequeira son of Naras Naik 5. Pedro de Azavedo son of Hari Kamat 6. Manuel Pinto son of Narse Prabhu 7. Antonio Ferrao son of Anat Naik 8. Jeromino de Souza son of Kista 9. Prukhe Kamat 10. Anat Kamat 11. Vithu Sethi. 12. Paunne Prabhu To identify properly, only the names of Christians are given together with the name of their Hindu father. (Perhaps because the components were the ganvkar families known as "vangodd" and now by baptism their names were changed). All these 12 components were present for the meeting held on September 22, 1595, soon after a previous meeting to discuss the triennial lease of the village. The present church was thus started in 1596. The same book records meetings held in 1600, 1601, 1603, 1604 and 1605. In these meetings always 12 vangodd took part, but names are different. Other members of the "vangodd" were present V and signed; some of the new Hindu names are: Santu Kamat, Kallu Kamat, Bhogam Kamat, Bhogam Naik, Govind Naik, Roulu Kamat, Vitol Kamat, Mahal Naik, Ram Prabhu, Gopal Sethi, Fati Naik, Mahal Sethi, Bhogam Prabhu, Damu Sethi, Nanu Kamat, Mahatma Sethi. New Christian names are:- Pedro Ferrao, Diogo Sequeira, Paulo de Lima, Belchior Fernandes, Paulo de Souza, Miguel Rodrigues, Bernardino Azavedo, Francisco Gomes, Pedro Bocarro, Agostinho Souza, Gonsalo Pinto, Francis Coutinho, Rui de Mello, Joao Correia, Nuno de Mendonca. On 13/3/1603, the ganvkars held the meeting under the oak tree near the old church edifice. The meeting was addressed by the Rector of the church, Friar Rodrigo do Espirito Santo. He told them that their old church was of mud but they had resolved to put up a new church for which they had given the land. The new church must be worthy of their status, strong. The work of construction was slow for lack of funds. The gaunkars resolved to donate for the church extension the proceeds of sale of all fallow land in the village. This resolution is signed by Bhanu Kamat, son of Bhalu Kamat, Paulo de Souza, Lourenco Ferrao, Duarte Moniz, Manuel Sequeira, Benardino Azavedo, Belchior Fernando (sic) Diogo Sequeira, Pedro Bocairo, Paulo de Lima, Gopal Sethi son of Vithu Sethi, Pocali Prabhu son of R. Prabhu. On 15/ 1/1605, 14 ganvkars from Aldona, who had crossed over to Muslim (Arbi) lands, voluntarily returned back saying that they wanted to become Christians and asked that their lands be restored to them. A meeting of the "Vangodd" was held and it was decided to receive them back in the village and restore their lands to them. Others should return by the 18th, it was resolved, otherwise their lands would be confiscated. A Franciscan chronicler writes in 1619 concerning the Aldona Parish "St. Thomas Church" situated in Aldona, which is the largest village of Sirula. The Parish includes the village of Nachinola as well. There are 700 communicants. 561 who go to confession and 576 baptised children. In 1690 the beautiful capela-mor was built with the help of the Rector Frei Francisco de Virgem Maria. Later in 1890, Caetano da Costa who took the contract for laying the track for the Vasco Londa Railway line offered to build a new church at his own cost on the adjoining hill Tercena. This plan however, did not go ahead probably for lack of support of the villagers. In 1897-98 the Sacristy and adjoining rooms (which had been demolished on 13/9/1897) were rebuilt. During this period Mass was celebrated in the Chapel of Kottarbhatt but the Parish Priest resided in Carona, where also the Holy Week services were held in 1898. MISSIONARY METHODS Be that as it may, by their methods of conveying their teaching through interpreters, the Jesuits and Franciscans found it very difficult in the beginning to win over to Christianity the inhabitants of Salcete and Bardez. They also made no efforts to understand the deep religiosity of the natives. By now the Saraswats had spread themselves in the 12 important villages of Bardez (Barades), Aldona, being one of them. The minds of the people were controlled by the Saraswats through their temples and schools. Moreover, they forbade their subordinates to have anything to do with the missionaries, even by expelling them from the temples. The Missionaries thus began to have rough time. They were stoned and afflicted in a variety of ways. The Brahmins, however, with their command and mastery of the Konkani language could move the people to tears or ecstasy as they dwelt in poetic strains on the woes of a Sita or the exploits of a Mahabharata hero. That these epics existed in Konkani is proved by the discovery of a manuscript of 1292 pages in Roman script in the library of Braga, Portugal, a 16th century copy of Mahabharata and Ramayana attributed to the father of Konkani language, Vishunadas Shama. After grasping the secret of the success of the Brahmins, the Franciscan and Jesuit missionaries applied themselves with a will to study the language. They called the prominent Brahmin scholars to their friaries or residences, got from them the Devanagari alphabet, gave their correspondence in Roman Script, made them recite the epics in the presence and wrote them down in Roman Script. They were thus not only able to speak in Konkani but produced their own works in Konkani using the Roman script. Thus by 1583, Thomas Stephens, an Englishman and Jesuit, wrote the Krista Purana in Marathi, using the Roman script, and a grammar of the Konkani language. By 1595 the Franciscan friar Amador de Santa Iria translated the Lives of Saints (of Pedro de Ribandeneyra) in classical Konkani in the Goy-Kannadi script, copies of which are found in the Museums of Paris (France) and Madrid (Spain). The Brahmins flocked to hear him believing him to be one of themselves. Mastery of the Konkani language thus enabled the missionaries not only to preach but also to hold spell bound a whole audience, grief stricken while in moving verse they sang the passion and death of the Saviour. and transported while joyful strains announced the Nativity or the Resurrection. It was in this situation that the "Santos Passos" -- or life size images depicting the different stages of the sufferings of Christ were exposed to public veneration in Lent, culminating with the carrying of the Cross, the Crucifixion and Descent from the Cross followed by public processions in Holy Week -- had their origin. Friar Joao de S. Mathias [1595-1631) followed by translating Cardinal Bellarmino's Catechism of the Christian doctrine, Friar Gaspar de S. Miguel (1635-1647) produced large original works, such as Vivekamal in 6000 verses, a book on the passion in 3000 verses and a Catechism of 8000 verses. The first four parts of this Catechism dwelt on the last four things, Death. Judgement, Hell and Heaven, and the remaining three parts described the degradation brought about by sin. MISSIONARY WORK IN ALDONA We only know that the Franciscans first established themselves at Coimbavaddo in 1569 and started making conversions. In his book "The Ancient Franciscans Provinces in India", Fr. Achilles Meersman OFM narrates the following episode: One of the Franciscans who worked in Aldona was Manuel de S. Mathias; while stationed there some Hindus challenged him to cross over to the mainland and there discuss their deities and customs. He accepted the challenge for was well versed in these matters and had even composed several books on this subject for his confreres. He forded the river and began discussing with some Brahmins; the result of this whole affair that he was taken prisoner. There was even talk of putting him to death. However, the people of Bardez, presumably from Aldona, threatened to attack the village and burn it to the ground, whereupon Friar Manoel was released. But this visit was to go without its happy ending. The man who detained Friar Manoel was ill-treated by his co-villagers, since he had almost implicated them in a serious conflict with the Portuguese. He therefore fled to Aldona, was eventually converted and became one of the most important Catholics of that age. This happened around 1605. Friar Manoel remained in Aldona only for four months as care-taker and during that period made some four hundred converts. In 1720, according to the then Rector of Aldona, Ignacio de Madre de Deus, there were 3377 Catholics in the parish of Aldona. As we have seen above Missionaries of the 16th and 17th century made great efforts to study the local language and were successful in their apostolate. MIGRATIONS FROM ALDONA Today we find people in Mangalore, Vengurla, Bombay and in various parts of India who claim it descent from their Aldona ancestors and who a few years ago as long as the communidades disbursed annual "Jon" used to come to Aldona to collect their annual share, What were the causes of se migrations? 1) The XVI and XVII centuries were period of absolute monarchies. Everywhere the principle in vogue followed by the kings and emperors was 'Cujust regio ejus religio' -- the religion of the king is the religion of the subjects. This type of principles cannot be accepted in secular democracies of today. But at that time the Portuguese Monarch was absolute. The Portuguese Government wanted to have a strong footing in Goa. Therefore the Government helped the Missionaries to spread Christianity. In my opinion conversions were by conviction due to the effort of the Missionaries as seen above. I do not prescribe to the theory of forced conversions to Christianity in the sense that some would be forcefully baptised against their wishes. At least one month of intense training in Christian principles and preparation went on in the Catechismenate of Valverda, Betim, prior to Baptism. But the Portuguese Government did use some means (which in today's way of thinking may not be justified) to make it easier for the natives to seek conversion, such as preferential treatment in jobs, special inheritance privileges to converts etc. 2) I feel Aldona has always been a stronghold of nationalism. These nationalist tendencies had deep roots in the hoary past. In 1560, the Portuguese introduced the Inquisition in Goa. As seen above the Franciscans built the first Church at Aldona in 1569. Sometimes, during the next ten years (1569-1579) the Franciscan Missionaries started their apostolate in Aldona. The first baptism in Aldona might have taken place by 1573. For in 1574, strange to say, the Inquisition forced some Christians from Aldona to migrate to Mangalore. In the spirit of nationalism some of the ganvkars who were converted, wanted to preserve some Hindu practices such as name, marriage ceremony, dress and customs. They found that these customs did not in any way hinder their practice of Christianity. The Portuguese authorities however wanted the new Christians to give up all ancient customs and to mimic European ways of life. Some of the ganvkars were not ready for such a change. It is said that false eases were fabricated against them, that they were made over to the Inquisition, their property was confiscated and that one or two were burnt alive at the stake. This led to the first exodus of Christians from Bardez. A tradition in Mangalore says that some ganvkars from Aldona fled in patmaris (boats) to Kanara (Mangalore) and settled there. In my Society of Pilar, we have Fr. Peter D'Souza from Mangalore, whose parents told him that according to family tradition, their ancestors fled from Aldona because the Portuguese forced them out as they were not ready to give up the shendi (tuft of hair) and the pudvem (white dhoti) after baptism and yet these Christians and their descendents remained firm in their faith inspite of severe persecutions by Tipu Sultan in the 18th century and other vicissitudes. This is a sure proof that they were Christians by conviction, and not by force. Some did not change their old surnames. Even today Naik, Prabhu etc are some of the Christian surnames among them. Others changed their surnames, but did not give up other old customs (except for their modern generation). Surnames like D'Souza, Noronha, Lobo are common to Aldona as well as Mangalore. As soon as these Aldona Christians reached Mangalore, they showed great expertise in coconut plantations, which at that time were very rare in these places. The Keladi Kings of Bednore (Mangalore) therefore, welcomed them and gave them vast lands and money for coconut cultivation and even encouraged them to get more people from Goa. So more people started moving towards the South. 3) The spirit of Nationalism revealed itself again in 1683 and thereafter when Sambhaji and later on the Maratha Peshwas threatening to drive the Portuguese out of Goa, attacked the Portuguese possessions. On the borders of Aldona, Corjuem became the battleground in 1710 of the Bhonsles of Kholapur. Some Christians abetted the Marathas. However the Marathas were defeated. But the Portuguese retaliated by banning the teaching of Konkani and imposing Portuguese. Therefore more Christians fled from Bardez and Salcete to Mangalore, among them some are Aldona ganvkars. Some carried with them the copy of the Krista-Purana of Fr. Thomas Stephens. That is how this Krista-Purana in Marathi became popular in Kanada lands. 4) Many Christians migrated from Aldona by the end of 18th century to Vengurla, Sawantwadi, etc., due to famines and plagues. 5) The Island of Bombay was ceeded by the Portuguese to the British by way of dowry to the Portuguese Princess Catharina of Braganza in 1665. Goans, Aldonkars included, who were adept in culinary art and were used to sailing in sea and river waters of their land, found ready employment in Bombay households and as seamen and musicians in the fast expanding merchant Navy and in princely houses of Indian Rajahs since the later 17th century and made their homes away from their native place. Aldonkars were in such large numbers in Bombay that they founded at least ten residential clubs or kudd, each one of them named after a ward of Aldona. Others settled in Jaipur, Pune, Karachi. and other places. From these emigrant Aldona families came many missionaries. religious priests and nuns, or sisters. They have also given three Bishops to the Church: Rt Rev. Ferdinand J. Fonseca, Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay; Rt. Rev. Anthony Lobo, Bishop of Islamabad, Pakistan; and Rt Rev. Joseph Couto, Bishop of Hyderabad in Sindh, Pakistan. Fr. Subash Anand and Fr. George Soares Prabhu SJ rose to be Professors at Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth (Papal Athenaeum), Pune. Among laymen Mr C. D. Pinto rose to be the head of the Department of English at the University of Bombay and Mr. Francis Correia, head of Department of Agriculture at Udaipur. 6) To my knowledge several families from Carona migrated to distant lands for better prospects. Thus the father of Otto Coutinho sold his house to my grand father, Cosme Damiao Noronha, and migrated to Portugal. From there Otto became the Professor of Philadelphia University in USA while his sister Maria Coutinho was an eminent poetess in Portugal. Some of the Santa Rita Vaz family members e.g Alvaro de Santa Rita Vaz, former editor of Herald, a Portuguese daily printed from Panjim, also settled in Portugal. My grand father's brother, Domingo Vicente Noronha. bought a big farm in Bangalore and settled there. His son Dr. Fred H. Noronha rose to be the Dean of St. Martha's Hospital in Bangalore and was knighted by Pope Pius XII for hi selfless service. He died a bachelor at a mature old age. NATIVE CLERGY TAKES OVER The Parishes in Salcete and Bardez continued in the hands of Jesuits and Franciscans respective till the middle of the 18th century. The fervour of the first missionaries had died down. Now the European missionaries who came to Goa, would no linger care to study Konkani. In villages like Aldona, the Franciscan parish priest sat in his office and attended to those who understood Portuguese. He had a number of native assistants who had to do all the parish work: administer the Sacraments, care for the sick, preside at funerals, and so on. The Marathas, as we have seen above, constantly attacked Bardez and Salcete. The assistant priests communicated with them in Konkani and often welcomed them. So the Franciscans advised the Portuguese Government to ban the teaching of Konkani and impose the Portuguese language on Goans. Hence knowledge of Portuguese was made compulsory for the Sacraments of ordination and marriage. By 1752, 19 Churches in Bardez were in the hands of secular parish priests. 19 Churches in Bardez were in the hands of secular parish priests. The first secular parish priest appointed to Aldona was in 1767. He was Fr. Agostinho D'Souza from S. Mathias. In 1897, the Catholic population according to records in Patriarchal Curia was 8170 and the Hindu population was 845. THE MARATHAS AND THE RANES The Portuguese finally defeated the Marathas and in 1780 conquered Pernem, Sanquelim, and Satari from them. They also conquered Sanguem, Quepem, Canacona, Ponda from the Rajah of Sonda. After 1835, they allowed many Hindu families from these new conquests to settle in the old conquests, Aldona included. At the same time they settled some Christian families in the New Conquests and gave them lands for a small annual rent called "aforamento". Some Aldona families were settled thus in Sanvordem and Quepem. However, after the Marathas, the Ranes of Satari carried out a relentless war of freedom against the Portuguese. History records that from 1755 to 1822 the Ranes revolted 14 times. Thereafter in 1852 Dipaji Rane started a very powerful revolt which in 1895 became an armed rebellion, under the leadership of Dada Rane. On October 14, 1895 Dada Rane collected some men and invaded Bardez. On their way to Mapusa, they sacked the treasury of Tivim Communidade and took the Mapusa garrison captive. They also over-powered the President of the Municipality and the Treasury of the Fazenda and emptied both the treasuries. On their way to Dargaulim, the Ranes sacked the communidade of Colvale. These tendencies were taken as plunder and maraudansm by the Portuguese in order to continue their hold on Goa. Often during such revolutions there are rowdy elements who like to fish in troubled waters. Thus in the name of the Ranes a gang of 35 thieves from Sanquelim-Bicholim came to rob, on October 29, 1895, the Church of Aldona via Corjuem, but the villagers, especially the women of Corjuem, repulsed them and most of them were killed while crossing the river to run away. The Ranes had nothing to do with this attack as they never harassed the poor people or the religious places. The Aldonakars have since kept October 29 as a thanksgiving day to St. Thomas for saving the Church from these thieves. The Portuguese sent a regular force of 450 soldiers to reinforce Aldona. These were accommodated in the buildings built on Communidade ground around the Tercena. These buildings were later used as the Communidade house, Primary School, and Police Post (now demolished to make room for Community Hall). Others were sold to private parties. Tercena means one third. It denoted one-third of a garrison. These soldiers were removed when conditions were stable in Aldona. However, when sent elsewhere in Bardez to fight the Ranes these soldiers withdrew in panic in view of the superiority of the latter. Finally reinforcements came from Portugal but Lt. Bastos e Silva, secretary of the military command and Commandant of the 2nd line, was shot dead by the Ranee. Reprisals followed and Dada Rane and his companions were arrested, tried and deported to Timor where they died in exile. . THE RECENT PAST The Aldona Parish has given the Church hundreds as religious priests, brother and sisters who have worked hard in the missions of India and Africa and some of them have occupied positions of Provincials and General Councillors in their respective religious orders or institutes. The two confraternities which had come to be linked with caste have been united under one casteless fraternal confraternity. An imposing edifice has been put up for the Parish centre. Aldona parish has four houses run by religious Sisters and one by religious Priests. The miracle required for the Beatification of the first Goan Blessed, Fr. Joseph Vaz, has taken place in the Aldona Parish when, Placenta Previs after hemorrhages from the fourth month of pregnancy my mother, Quiteria de Noronha e Costa, delivered me hardly 2-1/2 lbs (or 1.1 kgs) in weight. Five doctors have declared that this birth cannot be explained in medical sciences. And the Cardinals, Bishops and the Pope accepted this as a fruit of prayers through the intercession of Blessed Joseph Vaz. The crowning of all these achievements was the episcopal consecration of Bishop Philip Nery Ferrao a son of Aldona as the Auxiliary Bishop of Goa at an imposing and fervent religious ceremony at Old Goa, on April 10, 1994. Any connection with the first ganvkar "Vangodd" Lawrence Ferrao of the first and subsequent meetings on record from 1595 to 1613? CONCLUSION Thus, Aldona has undergone great sacrifices to prove to the world that nationalism and Christianity can and should go hand in hand, and that Jesus Christ, the first and greatest of satyagrahis, is a guiding force to true and lasting nationalism, the liberator and Saviour of mankind. May the future generations emulate this glorious past and raise the name of Aldona village still higher by their selfless I service and noble deeds for the greater glory of God and for the salvation of souls, and for the development of our motherland. | Get your own FREE website, FREE domain & FREE mobile app with Company email. | Know More > |
