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What really happened in Goa?

The Goans I have known have acted like "St" Francis Xavier was a benevolent influence on Goa. I figured this was a case of the victors writing the history. One historical fiction book I read mentioned that he brought the Portuguese Inquisition over to Goa, but I haven't found much on Goa's history. I get the feeling most Goans don't know about it either--at least not the Goans that I got to know.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kevin Saldanha on March 18, 2010 at 10:52pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa_Inquisition

Hope Laurenco will correct the spelling of this forum

Permalink Reply by Prog Rock Girl on March 19, 2010 at 8:17am

Good information. Do you think most Goans know about this?

The story I read had a priest who talked to some Hindu snake charmer outside of Goa. He pretended to be impressed and enticed the Hindu into coming to Goa where he could charge him with witchcraft. The guy had no idea at all why he was being punished and what he was doing wrong. This was a fictional book, of course.

It looks like Laurenco hasn't been on AN for a really long time. He's one person I would really like to talk to! I haven't met anyone remotely atheistic in Goa!

Permalink Reply by Kevin Saldanha on March 19, 2010 at 11:47pm

I fell into atheism relatively late in life and probably wouldn't have if I had remained in Goa.

http://www.hsus.org/animals_religion/francis-files-stories/catholic...

The Indian subcontinent is steeped in superstition so it wasn't difficult for the Portuguese to convert the natives (including my great-great-great-great-grandfather) to another flavour of delusion. However, it wasn't without a fair share of bloodshed and anguish.

To their credit, the Portuguese, through the institution of the Church, kept meticulous if somewhat fading records of the geneologies which allows many Catholic families today to go back through the records and trace their original Hindu ancestry. My family name was Prabhu prior to taking the name of our Portuguese family sponsor on conversion to Catholicism.

That conversion allowed us to assimilate into western cultures so much more easily. My paternal grandfather lived in Uganda where my father was born. I was born in Kenya and now live in Canada.

I am glad that the internet has brought rational ideas to the world and that anyone with access can now do their own research and debunk the falsehoods that have been foisted on generations of unsuspecting devotees.

Permalink Reply by Prog Rock Girl on March 20, 2010 at 9:59am

I didn't know that about the geneology! Now I would like to find out what my husband's family used to be named. It was only 4 generations back for you? I thought the Portuguese came over during the conquistador era. Although they did stay until 1961? Goa was part of India before the Portuguese, and then was another colony, and then became a state in India again?

My in-laws don't know I'm atheist. (Well, my brother in law might have a clue.) I just told them I'm Jewish, because one side of my family is. They don't have a big problem with that although they still ask me "do you believe in Jesus?" and they want me to stand with them while they have long prayer sessions in Konkani. I don't know what they possibly think I can get out of it being that I don't speak the language! My mother in law took me to some Christian meeting once, it was long and boring, but the good thing about it was they had a Konkani translator, so I decided to pay attention so I could learn some new words!

Permalink Reply by Kevin Saldanha on March 20, 2010 at 4:08pm

It was probably more than 4 generations.. I didn't do the search myself but was told about it by my uncle - who is a priest in Panjim, Don Bosco's school - and had either done the search himself or had it done.

Many Goans don't understand atheism. Many more don't even understand Catholicism but go along because they have for generations.

Permalink Reply by Prog Rock Girl on March 20, 2010 at 4:23pm

I think my husband went to Don Bosco high school. I wonder if he knows him.

I did talk to a really cool neighbor in Goa, he was religious Catholic but he seemed open minded about different religions, saying they're different forms of the same thing, and I asked about what if someone has no religion, he said "atheists, God loves them too"--he didn't say it in the spiteful way that some people would say something like that.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Saldanha on March 20, 2010 at 5:50pm

SMALL WORLD!!! Ask him if he knows Fr Ernest Saldanha, taught French there and later was the Vicar of the Don Bosco's Church.
http://www.mail-archive.com/goanet-news@goanet.org/msg00772.html
His older brother, Edwin, was my dad who died in Aug. 2007.
http://edwinsaldanha.goa-india.org/
Fr. Ernest recently celebrated his 90th birthday. It would probably pain him to know that his nephew is an atheist... I didn't have the heart to tell him last time I met him in Jan 2009.

Permalink Reply by Prog Rock Girl on March 21, 2010 at 12:33pm

He's not sure if he knows him, b/c there are so many fathers at the school, but he said his dad might have known him. Goans all seem to know each other!

Permalink Reply by Lourenco Fernandes on March 24, 2010 at 12:49pm