Saligao Serenade

by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas

Prior to the Portuguese conquest of Goa in 1510, Goan villages had schools that were known as patshalas.  According to George Moraes, “There was no village but had a school, be it in the shade of a grove or in the porch of the temple where the children were taught the three R’s.” The teachers were known as Sinai or Xenney or Shenvi Mama. (In Saligao we had Sinai Salgaokars – remember Xinn-vaddo in Mudd’davaddi). The Sinais would teach in the entrance hall of the temples, big residential houses and even verandahs of comunidade houses. The medium of instruction was Konkani, the native language of Goans, and it was written in the Alkannadi script. Marathi was used in Goa only in the late fifteenth century when the Sultan of Bijapur ruled Goa. The Sultan even recognized Konkani as the official language of the territory [Coutinho 1987 : 153].  Besides the patshalas, there were agraharas, matas, brahmapuris and gurukalas – institutions located in the principal centres where education of an advanced type was disseminated in all branches of knowledge and finally completed at Vidyashalas. Read the rest of this entry »

Saligao Serenade is one year old today, 27 December 2009. We thank all our readers, well wishers, collaborators, and those who commented on the essays, for keeping Saligao Serenade vibrantly alive. In the coming months you will see an even better and brighter Saligao Serenade, with enhanced design, many more photographs, and a bit of audio and video as well. Please do continue to visit regularly and send in your feedback and comments, as that’s what keeps us motivated and enthusiastic to do more. Now that Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas is online again (his Gmail id is najoma8) you can be sure that every comment will be responded to. And, as always, you can expect some well-researched, insightful and interesting essays from Fr N!

Best wishes for a super 2010.

- Val Souza, Editor

by Mel D’Souza

When I was a young lad growing up in Saligao, Goa,  back in the 1950s, we didn’t celebrate Christmas in the village the way it was celebrated by fellow villagers living in other parts of the world, where British and Western traditions prevailed. Theirs were luxuries we couldn’t afford.

We knew about “Father Christmas” (Santa Claus) and the toys he gave to little kids. But my mother, who didn’t think it necessary to spend money on toys, had told me much earlier that there really wasn’t a Santa Claus. So, our Christmases revolved around the nativity scene – the stable where Jesus was born, the star that guided the Three Kings to Bethlehem, and the Christmas carol, Silent Night. Read the rest of this entry »

[This article was initially written in 1992-93 by a team from Saligao, in association with Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas, and published in the Souvenir of the sesquicentennial celebrations of St Anne’s Chapel (1843-1993). The team comprised Orlando Vaz, Emmie Sequeira and Franklin D'Souza. The version reproduced below was modified and updated by Fr Nascimento in mid-2004]

There are two majestic crosses in Donvaddo, Saligao, which deserve mention.  Vazancho Khuris is situated next to the Vazanchi Baim. During Lent people of all ages used to gather around the Cross and sing the Stabat Mater. The feast of the Cross was celebrated in the second week of May, with recitation of the Rosary, and the singing of the litany. Afterwards, boiled gram (chonne) and feni were passed around.  

The other cross in Donvaddo is the Carneirancho Khuris. However, for some reason, there is no feast associated with this cross. It is not clear whether the cross is a clan cross like the Vazancho Khuris or a cross put up by an individual or family. Read the rest of this entry »

[This article was initially written in 1992-93 by a team from Saligao, in association with Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas, and published in the Souvenir of the sesquicentennial celebrations of St Anne’s Chapel (1843-1993). The team comprised Orlando Vaz, Emmie Sequeira and Franklin D'Souza. The version reproduced below was modified and updated by Fr Nascimento in mid-2004]

Attempting to document the history of the ward in Saligao known as Donvaddo is a difficult task, due to the paucity of written records. After referencing the few available documents and early sources, one has to rely on the accounts of locals relating what they remember being told to them by previous generations, as well as what they themselves witnessed.

Konkanakhayan, composed in 1751, states: “Kashyapa, Vatsa Brahmins lived in Saligao (vide p. 23, stanza 15). Ravindra Patkar, writing in Gaud Saraswat Samaz Parichay Grant mentions the two gotras (clans) mentioned above and adds that there are also other clans like Bharadwaja, Kaundinya and Kutsa and that their main deity is Shri Vetal-Xervani. The temple and deities were located in wards Salmona (Sevi Xervani) and Mollebhatt (Shri Vetal) at Sallganv or Saligao. At the time of conversion to Christianity in the XVI century, the Hindu brethren moved on to Advalpale, near Assonora in Salgan-vaddo and fixed themselves there with their images. They constructed a temple and located the deities therein. Read the rest of this entry »