Prutha Goa

For centuries, the Portuguese managed to hold sway over their colonies including Goa. These colonies were difficult to govern for a variety of reasons. Goa presented its own challenges in terms of the limited Portuguese demography present in the region to govern the area and the cultural and religious divide. The Portuguese brought with them the Jewish model of conversion to Christianity to allow for integration, at least theoretically (In 1496, the Jews and Muslims in Portugal had been forced to convert to Christianity or be expelled from the country; however conversion to Christianity did not diminish the discriminatory attitude towards them).  We know that similar attitudes were held towards the Goans/Indians. In his book written between 1512 and 1515, Duarte Barbosa makes use of the word casta to represent the combination of endogamy and occupation in India that reflected a similar system upheld in Portugal. But to refer to social groups, Barbosa used the term ley de gente (type

The Museum of Christian Art is a pleasure to anyone interested in museums, artefacts and all things to do with history and culture. Located at the world heritage site which boasts of the ruins of St Augustine’s Church, the museum is housed in part of the Convent of St Monica. It is a project of the Archdiocese of Goa, Daman and Diu and was initially funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). The museum is not vast in its collection, with two floors (the ground floor is 350 square metres and the upper floor is 150 square metres) devoted to artefacts, but the items are intriguing and must be given careful study to understand their true value. The antiquities have more to do with Christianity as a religion and its observances rather than being strictly Indo-Portuguese objects of art. There are ornate priestly garments and Bibles, as well as vessels used during Holy Mass, aside from statues, paintings. Indeed, the Chur

Goa Cruti is a new addition to Victor Hugo Gomes’ increasing number of museums showcasing Goa’s history. Earlier there was Goa Chakra, highlighting the wheel and its significance in Goan culture and history. The future looks to another museum in Betul celebrating boats and the fishing community of Goa. Victor has long been driven by his passion to salvage Goan heritage and relics of the past. He believes this is essential to create and develop a sense of responsibility among the Goan youth and to whet their thirst for knowledge of the past. Goa Cruti Museum is a totally different concept from his previous endeavours and focuses entirely on the different professions of Goa’s colonial past. ‘Cruti’ means ‘work’ and some of the areas covered are medicine and law. There is ornamental furniture, exquisite crockery, bottles, priests’ vestments, musical instruments, guns and other weapons, cameras and so on. Why are the professions of medicine and law of consequence? The reason is that they w

Goa certainly has an interesting history, with significant rulers vying for control over the prosperous coastal region. Two rulers of note are Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. Alan Machado spoke at the Xavier Centre of Historical Research on their differing policies with regard to Goans who had migrated to Kanara. When Hyder Ali came to power in 1761 as the de facto ruler of the kingdom of Mysore, Goa was reeling from 150 years of a traumatic economic downturn owing to skirmishes with the Dutch. This had led to the end of overseas trade. Goans struggled with hardships related to famine as agriculture had also collapsed. The people of Goa began to depend on Kanara for rice. To add to their woes, the Marathas constantly attempted to gain Goan territory and in 1739 Goa lost its Northern territories. Owing to all these problems the people of Goa, primarily agriculturists in search of a livelihood, began migrating to Kanara. Goa responded to this situation by building a disciplined, profe

The Deccan Heritage Foundation, a UK registered charity, is responsible for the publication of a new guidebook on the forts of Goa. Portuguese Sea Forts of Goa, with Chaul, Korlai and Vasai is a new publication in a series of books documenting various places in the Deccan region of India. As the first guidebook to describe the forts along the Arabian Sea coast, Portuguese Sea Forts of Goa, with Chaul, Korlai and Vasai aims to inspire the desire to preserve and restore heritage sites, along with providing knowledge about them. It is being hailed for being informative in an engaging manner and devoid of academic jargon. Architectural historian Amita Kanekar has researched and written the guidebook while the photographs are the handiwork of Surendra Kumar. Maps have been added to the book to encourage people to visit the forts and thus to give them an idea about military architecture and the Portuguese influence on it in Goa. These forts are mostly protected but the general public and tou

Rajgor’s Coin Festival from 7th to 10th December (2014), had numismatists, students and history buffs coming in droves to see the history of this tiny state Goa revealed through its coinage. Among the coins on display was a copper coin dating back to 1 AD from the Satavahana Empire, which shows the name of Queen Naganika as Nagamnikaya in a Brahmi legend in the centre. It is the earliest evidence of special coins being issued in the name of a queen and certainly denotes the political power she may have wielded in an era that promulgated the dominance of men. The Kadambas were a powerful dynasty in Goa, beginning their long rule in 10th century with Shashtadeva I. Their gold coins bear the Sinha Lanchana or ‘lion crest’ and in some instances have the name of their family god Saptakotishwar (Shiva) inscribed on them. These coins were made of pure gold and were called Bhairava- gadyanakas or Saptakotisha-gadyanakas (76-86 grains). The smallest gold coins were called panas (6 grains). Duri