Saligao Serenade

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 »

[This article was initially written in 1992-93 by a team from the ward Mollebhatt in 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 Idalina Rego, Lucy Cordeiro, Cassiano D’Lima, Eleuterio Remedios, Vanessa Godinho, and Sylvia & Joaquim Vaz. The version reproduced below was modified and updated by Fr Nascimento in June 2004]

How did the ward Mollebhatt in Saligao get its name? One version is that the place known as Diulacho Sorvo (property of the temple) was a sacred place dedicated to Lord Vetal in the Pre-Portuguese era. In order to have sufficient flowers for the daily morning puja, every house had a flower garden known as fulancho mollo, hence the name Mollebhatt. Some people refer to the ward as Mollembhatt or Mollembatta. There is a traditional dulpod sung in this ward and it goes as follows: Read the rest of this entry »

 [This article was initially written in 1992-93 by a team from the ward Tabravaddo in Saligao, in association with Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas. The team comprised Idinha Remedios, Brigida Vaz, Vanessa Godinho, Preciosa dos Remedios, and Mr & Mrs Joaquim Vaz. The modified version reproduced below also contains inputs from Jose Remedios (Tabravaddo/Mumbai) and Olinda Remedios (Tabravaddo)]

Tabravaddo, a ward in Saligao located in the north eastern portion of the village, was known in the pre-Portuguese era as Oddleam Maddachem Bhatt or Lamb Maddachem Bhatt. The name was changed to Tavoravaddo, some time in the early 18th century, because it was home to the growing clan of the family that used the name Tavora. There is a good possibility that the first Hindu member of the family—probably Sinai Salgaokar—converted to Christianity and was baptised during the reign of viceroy Rui Lourenco Tavora (1609-12). The surname of the viceroy, Tavora, must have been given to that first member of the clan during baptism, as was the custom prevailing at that time. The name Tavoravaddo in all likelihood got corrupted to the current Tabravaddo over time. Read the rest of this entry »

by Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas

[This piece was written by Fr Nascimento in May/June 2004. It’s possible that much has changed since then. Please do pitch in if you have any updates - Val Souza]

The famous CHOGM Road beginning at the Airport in Vasco Parish passes through the villages of Chicalim, Sancoale, Cortalim, Agassaim, Goa Velha, Siridao, Bambolim, Santa Cruz, Panjim, Alto Porvorim, Sangolda, Saligao, Calangute, Candolim and ends at Sinquerim. During my sojourn last week in Saligao, I walked along a part of this CHOGM Road, beginning at Reddeachi Xim in Mollebhatt, until the end of Pequeno Morodd (Dakhtem Morodd).

This road from Saligao passing alongside St Anne’s chapel towards Sangolda was called Estrada de Dom Pedro during our younger days. On the left hand side of Reddeachi Xim there is a muddy road leading one to ‘Aquem Zor’ and a board indicating the way to Club West End. On the right hand side is the Ximecho Khuris, followed by a shop of Diogo Fernandes and Remedios Industries. The vast fields extending up to Monte de Guirim and beyond brought old memories of the green vegetation and plenty of rice and Congueo and other vegetables that we ate when we were kids. Read the rest of this entry »

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 »