Saligao Serenade

by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

Before the Gomes’ house at Mapuça was demolished, I was fortunate to visit it. A relative of the family whom I knew as a youngster once took me there on a visit. We were ushered into the dining hall, the seat of Goan hospitality, and served coffee and dos. In such families, close friends are greeted with a kiss on each cheek, Latin style. The stranger is greeted with a warm handclasp. A flow of Portuguese, the old court language, follows.

The compact Gomes’ house at Mapuça is the ancestral house of Monsenhor Francisco Xavier Gomes Catão, a noted and meticulous Goan church historian. It was constructed from stones taken from the fortresses of Tivim and Colvale. As the first Goan commandant of Mapuça, Captain Gomes (Monsignor Catão’s forefather) apparently had ready access to such building material. Read the rest of this entry »

by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

Have you ever had the opportunity to observe a beehive at close quarters, watching those industrious creatures going about their business vigorously and tirelessly? With our own busy lives these days and also the rapid spread of urbanisation, even spotting a beehive is a rarity. But when I was a young lad growing up in Saligao, things were different. The beehives on the belfry of the Saligao church were a treat to watch.

Our “gang of four” – Salvador Mascarenhas, Johnny Machado, Dominic Andrade and myself — focused our eyes on the hives, waiting for honey to fall into our mouths. Of course nothing of that sort happened. The bees swarmed around unconcerned, their rhythmic buzzing adding to the bel canto of the Saligao choir singing inside the neo-Gothic church led by our famous choir master, the late Eustaquinho D’Souza from Dakhtem Morod. Read the rest of this entry »

During the Portuguese era, Goa was divided into concelhos (municipal districts).  Each municipality was divided into freguesias (parishes). The parishes were further divided into bairros (wards or vaddé).  In each village, authority was invested in the hands of the Regidor and Juiz Popular.  The church also asserted authority on its parishioners.

Ganvponn, or the village communities (communidade), are the village republics or the village panchayats. From immemorial times, long before the capture of Goa by the Portuguese, the villages of Goa were governed by the people themselves. Five respectable men, chosen by the people of the village, formed the governing body of the village community, and looked after all the affairs of the village such as religion, justice, education, health and finance. Read the rest of this entry »