Saligao Serenade

by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

At present, the official languages of Goa are Konkani, Marathi, English and Portuguese. For many centuries, Marathi was the cultural language of the Hindus, which continued to be so during the Portuguese regime whereas after the conquest of Goa by the Portuguese, the Portuguese language (besides being the official) and later the English became the cultural languages of Hindus and Christians as well. Read the rest of this entry »

by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

Before we attempt to describe the sources of Goa’s history, we might divide it for our study into three periods:

1. The pre-historic period beginning from earliest times to a time when various dynasties held their sway over Goa till it came under Northern Silahars about 1086 AD. This could be called the Ancient History of Goa. This period comprises a number of events, the succession of which in order of time cannot be safely determined. Read the rest of this entry »

by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

Goa was known in ancient Hindu literature as Gomanta. This name itself seems to have originated from the Sanskrit Govarashtra, the ancient appellation of South Konkan. This name of Gomanta also occurs in the Bishma Parva of the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa, the Skhanda and other Purannas. Read the rest of this entry »

by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

Goa lies on the West Coast of India in the Konkan Region between 14°53′37″ and 15°47′59″ Latitude North; and 73°40′54″ and 74°20′11″ Longitude, East of Greenwich with an area of about 3806.9 square kilometers.

Its boundaries are:

North – the river Aronda or Tiracol and a range of Western Ghats separating it from Savantvadi Taluka of Sindhurg District.
West – the Arabian Sea.
South – Karwar Dt. of Karnataka State.
East – the range of Western Ghats (Sahyadris) separating it from Belgaum and Supa Districts of Karnataka. Read the rest of this entry »

by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

It is in the charming village with its leisurely pathways, hushed coconut groves, ancestral houses and suffusing greenery that the equanimous heart of Goa beats. Saligao’s history records no battles nor does it occupy any strategic geographical position. It has not at any time been a point of key importance in the defence of Bardez. Never a fortress is known to have been erected there. Of course, marauding bands of warriors must have crossed and re-crossed its borders, and an occasional skirmish might have disturbed its sylvan calm. But a major battle in Saligao? Never. Read the rest of this entry »

by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

Caetano Antonio Remedios belongs to the 4th vangodd (clan) of the community of Saligao, and one year in the early thirties was selected to be the President of the Harvest Festival (Festa de Novidades). In the olden days, the village was administered solely by the communidade, an ancient institution of village administration retained by the Portuguese. Under it, the common land of the village was vested on the ganvponn, the corporate entity of the village. On questions affecting the interests of the whole village, the ganvponn decided by vote. The 12 Christian Brahmin vangodds had one vote each. Read the rest of this entry »

by Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas

My first encounter with Brigadier George Francis de Souza was at the Military Headquarters at Altinho in Panjim. This was in the early seventies, when I was an assistant priest at the Panjim Church. George drove us to Saligao and then to Souza Lobo’s at Calangute for xit and xungttanchi koddi, a delicacy that he loved much. It brought sweet memories of his younger days in Goa. We shared much in common, and his concern for Goa and Saligao was noteworthy. He remembered the time in Saligao when they had fielded a hockey team from the village, to play against a neighbouring team at the Saligao hill ground. Read the rest of this entry »

by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

In the 1850s, with the decline of Old Goa, the island of Chorao too fell from grace and was gradually abandoned by the residents. As a result, the Seminary of Chorao went into decline as well and finally had to be shut in 1958. Subsequently, the retables of Our Lady of Assumption Church and the Chapel of Our Lady of Patrocinio (Protection) of the Seminary of Chorao of the Parish of Our Lady of Graca de Chorao were shifted to the Saligao Church. The Seminary of Chorao had a chequered history, which makes for interesting reading. Read the rest of this entry »

by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

When it comes to genealogy, it is often difficult for Goans to trace their roots back more than four or five generations, due to the paucity of available or obtainable official documentation pertaining to the pre-Portuguese era. Sometimes however, unofficial documents can serve as a useful substitute, even if inflexible historians might question their accuracy.

The Ribeiro family of Grande Morodd was thus able to trace its roots, through an unofficial document in their possession, dated February 1920 and written in Portuguese. The forefather of the Ribeiro family was Mangapa Sinai, who hailed from a Hindu Aryan family (Saraswat) of a high social class and a much-learned man, who came from the north of India to Goa in the sixteenth century, along with his brother Panduranga Sinai and his paternal uncle Balcrisna Sinai alias Bahu Sinai. Read the rest of this entry »

by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

Manuel Nascimento de Abreu, born in Saligao’s Abreuvaddo on 14 May 1866, was a well-known advocate as well as an efficient journalist. His parents were Jeronimo Caetano de Abreu and Carlota Coelho. Manuel was an eminent figure in the taluka of his birth and a much sought-after lawyer. He played a major part in all the movements that had “the good of the nation” as their aim. Read the rest of this entry »