Comunidades de Goa http://www.saligaoserenade.com/2010/04/25/comunidades-de-goa/
Frederick Noronha
Comunidades de Goa
April 25th, 2010 at 6:08 pm (Customs, History)
by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas
“Whether to abolish or reorganise comunidades has been a subject of much discussion. These are otherwise known as agricultural associations. Let us try and focus attention on this extremely old institution activity. The exact date of organising comunidades is not known, but Portuguese historian Joao de Barros, in his publication Decade II, Fr. Francisco de Sousa in his book Oriente Conquistado, and Afonso Mexia, in his book Foral de Usos e Costumes, establish the date as 1526. It is known that centuries earlier, a few people from across the Ghats came to Goa. They were agriculturists, in Cape Canar( Karnataka), and not having good lands for cultivation, were attracted by the freshness and beauty of Goa.
The first people to live in Goa divided themselves into families called Vangores, each vangor representing a family. In order of preferences, these were again classified and called first, second, third, etc, vangor. The territory was again divided into malos, meaning provinces, and each of the malos into gaos, or village. A certain number of vangores were transformed into ganvponn or comunidade. It is clear that the term gaos led to the formation of the term comunidade. Which in the early days was the most elevated form of family control in respect to religion, economics and society.
The gauncares of each village divided the plots, a part being determined for religious service another for the maintenance of its employee, and the third for the barber and other mediums. The comunidade got its income from fields, fishing, in the lakes and rivers, which income was distributed between the Ganvcares. The ancient Hindu and Muslims princes who established themselves much later over the Konkan dominion, maintained the comunidades in the village, extracting a nominal tax known as foro.
When Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Goa (1510) he respected the religious norms, which were administered through effective laws. He allowed the customs and traditions to continue, and did not increase the taxes already existent. On 16 September 1526, Afonso Mexia, organiser of the vendor of Royal Treasury, in the name of King Joao III of Portugal, published a decree ‘Foral dos Usos e Costumes’ to regulate the rural economy of village Comunidades and bring them under civil administration. With this, the comunidades came under the direct tutorship of the government.
The new constitution regime in Portugal, whilst determining new ways of public administration, did not alter the working of comunidades. A decree dated 15 September 1880 gave comunidades the new name of associacoes Agricolas, which brought immense benefits to the cultivator, and allowed him to hold onto land for three years at a time, on a nominal foro (tax). A law in 1886 translated the existing legislation into a more efficient administration of the comunidades.
In October 1929, to improve the working of the agricultural department, a new workshop called inspection of comunidades was established. On more than one occasion the Portuguese thought of reorganising and even making comunidades extinct.”
[Reference: “Goa those bygone days” by Antonio Menezes in Mirror, 29 December 1996].
Comunidade de Saligao
The village was administered by the Comunidade, an institution of village administration retained by the Portuguese and which stands till our present times. Under it, the common land of the village was vested on the Ganvponn, the corporate entity of the village. There were village helpers, the carpenter (thovoi) or mesta, the barber (mhalo), the shoe-maker (mochi), the washerman (modvoll), the crier (parpoti) and blacksmith (vinani). Some of them had their own namoshins or cultivable lands. On questions affecting the interests of the whole village, the Ganvponn decided by vote.
The 12 Christian Brahmin Vangors (clans) of Saligao Comunidade had one vote each. The members of the 12 “vangodd” enrolled themselves as follows:
1st Vangodd: CRUZ, FURTADO
2nd Vangodd: GAMA, COSTA, MELO, SEQUEIRA
3rd Vangodd: SOUZA
4th Vangodd: REMEDIOS, SOUZA, DANTAS
5th Vangodd: MELO, SOUZA
6th Vangodd: CORDEIRO, FIGUEREDO, MELO, MACHADO, NUNES, PAIS, RAMOS, SALDANHA, SOUZA
7th Vangodd: SEQUEIRA
8th Vangodd: ALMEIDA, ABREU, MENDONCA, NORONHA, SOUSA
9th Vangodd: COUTINHO, LOBO, MONIZ, DIAS, MASCARENHAS, MATIAS, MENEZES, PINTO, SERRAO, SOUSA
10th Vangodd: COSTA, COELHO, CARVALHO, CAMPOS, FERNANDES, GOMES, MONIZ, MARQUES, SOUZA
11th Vangodd: MASCARENHAS, CARNEIRO
12th Vangodd: AZAVEDO, FERNANDES, VAZ
The above are all Brahmin ganvkar and their primary enrolment as members of the Comunidade to receive zon (dividend) was after having completed the age of 12 years. They were known as joneiros gauncares.
Kulcharins
There are others who receive zon only. They are called Paustes and Taikilles or Kulcharins. They are outsiders established in Saligao, working for the Community and receiving zon a little less than the ganvkar. Their primary enrolment is after completing the age of fifteen and are of the following surnames: ALMEIDA, DIAS, MONTEIRO, SEQUEIRA, VAZ, SOUZA, FERNANDES. They are only joneiros but not ganvkar.
Some Peculiarities:
- The Fernandes and Marques of the 10th Vangodd of Saligao Communidade are dodde-zonnkar (double zonkar), that of Saligao as joneiros-ganvkar and of the Comunidade de Chorao. In the Communidade of Chorao they are known as Brahmin-Kulacharins. (vide, Livro de Comunidade de Chorao, Ilhas, Goa)
- In the Comunidade de Saligao, the alimony corresponding to one zon is paid to the only son of a deceased ganvkar. When male children are more than one, the eldest received the zon in full and the others received one-half each. This alimony was extended to the sons of Kulacharins in Saligao Comunidade (vide, Gomes Pereira, Rui, Goa Gaunkari, The Old Village Associations, Vol. II, p. 59).
- A few members of the first five vangodd of the Comunidade de Saligao had, to the exclusion of the other members, the right to celebrate the feast of Novidade (vide, Gomes Pereira, Rui, Gaunkari…, Vol II, p. 116). In my younger days at least two of my friends, the late Caetano Antonio dos Remedios from Tabravaddo and Mel D’Souza from Arrarim were presidents of the ‘Festa de Novidades’ which was celebrated on August 6. It is celebrated now too but without a president and at a changed date in the month of August.
- Every Comunidade member of Saligao has to register his name by himself or through proxy (ganvkar) annually in the Book of the Comunidade in order to receive the zon of that particular year in May. All these enrolments ( primary or yearly) are done by the Escrivao. The member will not receive the zon for the particular year if he has not registered his name in the book.
Frederick Noronha :: +91-9822122436 :: +91-832-2409490
Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas
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dilip dacruz
One has to be careful with articles such as these. I cannot, for instance believe that 'When Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Goa (1510) he respected the religious norms, which were administered through effective laws. He allowed the customs and traditions to continue, and did not increase the taxes already existent.'
Such alleged benevolence on the part of a foreign power is difficult to conceive. It flies in the face of the principles of colonialism, economics and religion. Are we expected to just accept such statements without the slightest hint of evidence, especially when they are propogated by the remnants of that very same colonial system? Such statements should not go unchallenged because our colonialists, like all colonialists, interfered with everything that did not suit their economic interests.
Encouraging the formation of a landed proxy class that serves colonial interests is an essential part of the strategy of foreign control. That, I believe, is why my very own vagatore was created.
cruzmi...@hotmail.com
From: naj...@gmail.com
To: salig...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [SALIGAONET] Comunidades de Goa http://www.saligaoserenade.com/2010/04/25/comunidades-de-goa/
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:08:14 +0530
----- Original Message -----From: Frederick NoronhaSent: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 2:53 AMSubject: [SALIGAONET] Comunidades de Goa http://www.saligaoserenade.com/2010/04/25/comunidades-de-goa/Comunidades de Goa
April 25th, 2010 at 6:08 pm (Customs, History)
by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas
ï؟½Whether to abolish or reorganise comunidades has been a subject of much discussion. These are otherwise known as agricultural associations. Let us try and focus attention on this extremely old institution activity. The exact date of organising comunidades is not known, but Portuguese historian Joao de Barros, in his publication Decade II, Fr. Francisco de Sousa in his book Oriente Conquistado, and Afonso Mexia, in his book Foral de Usos e Costumes, establish the date as 1526. It is known that centuries earlier, a few people from across the Ghats came to Goa. They were agriculturists, in Cape Canar( Karnataka), and not having good lands for cultivation, were attracted by the freshness and beauty of Goa.
The first people to live in Goa divided themselves into families called Vangores, each vangor representing a family. In order of preferences, these were again classified and called first, second, third, etc, vangor. The territory was again divided into malos, meaning provinces, and each of the malos into gaos, or village. A certain number of vangores were transformed into ganvponn or comunidade. It is clear that the term gaos led to the formation of the term comunidade. Which in the early days was the most elevated form of family control in respect to religion, economics and society.
The gauncares of each village divided the plots, a part being determined for religious service another for the maintenance of its employee, and the third for the barber and other mediums. The comunidade got its income from fields, fishing, in the lakes and rivers, which income was distributed between the Ganvcares. The ancient Hindu and Muslims princes who established themselves much later over the Konkan dominion, maintained the comunidades in the village, extracting a nominal tax known as foro.
When Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Goa (1510) he respected the religious norms, which were administered through effective laws. He allowed the customs and traditions to continue, and did not increase the taxes already existent. On 16 September 1526, Afonso Mexia, organiser of the vendor of Royal Treasury, in the name of King Joao III of Portugal, published a decree ï؟½Foral dos Usos e Costumesï؟½ to regulate the rural economy of village Comunidades and bring them under civil administration. With this, the comunidades came under the direct tutorship of the government.
The new constitution regime in Portugal, whilst determining new ways of public administration, did not alter the working of comunidades. A decree dated 15 September 1880 gave comunidades the new name of associacoes Agricolas, which brought immense benefits to the cultivator, and allowed him to hold onto land for three years at a time, on a nominal foro (tax). A law in 1886 translated the existing legislation into a more efficient administration of the comunidades.
In October 1929, to improve the working of the agricultural department, a new workshop called inspection of comunidades was established. On more than one occasion the Portuguese thought of reorganising and even making comunidades extinct.ï؟½
[Reference: ï؟½Goa those bygone daysï؟½ by Antonio Menezes in Mirror, 29 December 1996].
Comunidade de Saligao
The village was administered by the Comunidade, an institution of village administration retained by the Portuguese and which stands till our present times. Under it, the common land of the village was vested on the Ganvponn, the corporate entity of the village. There were village helpers, the carpenter (thovoi) or mesta, the barber (mhalo), the shoe-maker (mochi), the washerman (modvoll), the crier (parpoti) and blacksmith (vinani). Some of them had their own namoshins or cultivable lands. On questions affecting the interests of the whole village, the Ganvponn decided by vote.
The 12 Christian Brahmin Vangors (clans) of Saligao Comunidade had one vote each. The members of the 12 ï؟½vangoddï؟½ enrolled themselves as follows:
1st Vangodd: CRUZ, FURTADO
2nd Vangodd: GAMA, COSTA, MELO, SEQUEIRA
3rd Vangodd: SOUZA
4th Vangodd: REMEDIOS, SOUZA, DANTAS
5th Vangodd: MELO, SOUZA
6th Vangodd: CORDEIRO, FIGUEREDO, MELO, MACHADO, NUNES, PAIS, RAMOS, SALDANHA, SOUZA
7th Vangodd: SEQUEIRA
8th Vangodd: ALMEIDA, ABREU, MENDONCA, NORONHA, SOUSA
9th Vangodd: COUTINHO, LOBO, MONIZ, DIAS, MASCARENHAS, MATIAS, MENEZES, PINTO, SERRAO, SOUSA
10th Vangodd: COSTA, COELHO, CARVALHO, CAMPOS, FERNANDES, GOMES, MONIZ, MARQUES, SOUZA
11th Vangodd: MASCARENHAS, CARNEIRO
12th Vangodd: AZAVEDO, FERNANDES, VAZ
The above are all Brahmin ganvkar and their primary enrolment as members of the Comunidade to receive zon (dividend) was after having completed the age of 12 years. They were known as joneiros gauncares.
Kulcharins
There are others who receive zon only. They are called Paustes and Taikilles or Kulcharins. They are outsiders established in Saligao, working for the Community and receiving zon a little less than the ganvkar. Their primary enrolment is after completing the age of fifteen and are of the following surnames: ALMEIDA, DIAS, MONTEIRO, SEQUEIRA, VAZ, SOUZA, FERNANDES. They are only joneiros but not ganvkar.
Some Peculiarities:
- The Fernandes and Marques of the 10th Vangodd of Saligao Communidade are dodde-zonnkar (double zonkar), that of Saligao as joneiros-ganvkar and of the Comunidade de Chorao. In the Communidade of Chorao they are known as Brahmin-Kulacharins. (vide, Livro de Comunidade de Chorao, Ilhas, Goa)
- In the Comunidade de Saligao, the alimony corresponding to one zon is paid to the only son of a deceased ganvkar. When male children are more than one, the eldest received the zon in full and the others received one-half each. This alimony was extended to the sons of Kulacharins in Saligao Comunidade (vide, Gomes Pereira, Rui, Goa Gaunkari, The Old Village Associations, Vol. II, p. 59).
- A few members of the first five vangodd of the Comunidade de Saligao had, to the exclusion of the other members, the right to celebrate the feast of Novidade (vide, Gomes Pereira, Rui, Gaunkariï؟½, Vol II, p. 116). In my younger days at least two of my friends, the late Caetano Antonio dos Remedios from Tabravaddo and Mel Dï؟½Souza from Arrarim were presidents of the ï؟½Festa de Novidadesï؟½ which was celebrated on August 6. It is celebrated now too but without a president and at a changed date in the month of August.
- Every Comunidade member of Saligao has to register his name by himself or through proxy (ganvkar) annually in the Book of the Comunidade in order to receive the zon of that particular year in May. All these enrolments ( primary or yearly) are done by the Escrivao. The member will not receive the zon for the particular year if he has not registered his name in the book.
http://www.saligaoserenade.com/2010/04/25/comunidades-de-goa/
Frederick Noronha :: +91-9822122436 :: +91-832-2409490
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saligao-net...@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
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Please post regularly to keep the e-village active!
dilip dacruz
cruzmi...@hotmail.com
From: cruzmi...@hotmail.com
To: salig...@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [SALIGAONET] Comunidades de Goa http://www.saligaoserenade.com/2010/04/25/comunidades-de-goa/
Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2010 02:35:15 +0400
I only just had an opportunity to study the article by Mr Nascimento, circulated by FN. (below) It is fascinating except for those 'rose-tinted glasses' that have not yet been put to bed. My comments:
One has to be careful with articles such as these. I cannot, for instance believe that 'When Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Goa (1510) he respected the religious norms, which were administered through effective laws. He allowed the customs and traditions to continue, and did not increase the taxes already existent.'
Such alleged benevolence on the part of a foreign power is difficult to conceive. It flies in the face of the principles of colonialism, economics and religion. Are we expected to just accept such statements without the slightest hint of evidence, especially when they are propogated by the remnants of that very same colonial system? Such statements should not go unchallenged because our colonialists, like all colonialists, interfered with everything that did not suit their economic interests.
Frederick Noronha
> One has to be careful with articles such as these. I cannot, for instance
> believe that 'When Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Goa (1510) he respected
> the religious norms, which were administered through effective laws. He
> allowed the customs and traditions to continue, and did not increase the
> taxes already existent.'
Dear Dilip, History is stranger than fiction, and it might not always
fit into our patterns and biases.
Reading of almost any history text on Goa confirms the following fact:
(i) The Portuguese -- who went on to stay in parts of Goa for 451
years -- were invited by local collaborators who saw them as the best
bet to get rid of the Islamic rulers who then held sway in Goa.
(ii) In the initial stages of colonialism -- for at least a few
decades after 1510 -- the Portuguese were rather tolerant of local
traiditions and religions. This was obviously needed to build
acceptance here, if you wish. Their initial ire was targeted against
the Muslims -- recall the contemporary of 6000 Muslims being killed in
the old city and rivers of blood flowing, etc
(iii) Portuguese religious intolerance came up much later, in the
latter part of the 16th century
(iv) Throughout colonial rule, the bias and bigotry and intolerance
was not uniform. It was a Portuguese secretary-general, Cunha-Rivara,
who promoted an interest in the Konkani language (while his countrymen
of another generation sought to implement Portuguese instead of
Konkani). The Portuguese Republican Revolution of 1910, whose century
is now being observed, benefitted the Hindu population vastly, and
Hindus are also believed to have controlled a significant section of
the economy during colonial times. While the latter 20th century
Salazar rule was overtly and covertly theocratic, others like the
Marquis de Pombal were staunchly anti-Jesuit, and anti the religious
orders.
In a word, the reality of colonialism does not fit into any neat
pattern. To me, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with what Fr
Nascimento is writing here. You are referring to another period.
Please see the Foral of the early 16th century, and the reasons why
the gaunkaria (comunidades) of Goa were preserved, while those in the
rest of British India simply withered away. FN
Frederick Noronha :: +91-9822122436 :: +91-832-2409490
dilip dacruz
This truly is not my field of expertise but the factors that have determined conquests throughout history have always been mired in money, power, land and religion. That's pretty basic stuff.
I am sure there are many scholars of the great Albuquerque around, but undeniably he was a man who had a great lust for power. He was Portugal's most accomplished imperialist ever, the man who slaughtered muslim opposition in the Gulf and was therefore invited by the Vijayanagara authorities to help them overthrow the muslims nearer home. This is classical miltary chess : my opponent's enemy is my friend. Dont misunderstand such alliances of convenience, for love or respect. There was no love lost between the trio. In fact, Albuquerque, like all conquerors, despised his captors, muslim and hindu alike. Of course he cultivated opportunistic friendship wih the hindus when convenient but he was the complete arrogant imperialist who despised all 'natives'.
From his biography*: "In 1510 he captured Goa, which he fortified and made the chief trading post and permanent naval base in India. To give it a stable character, he offered lands and subsidies to Portuguese men who would marry native women.''
Consider that! He was distributing our land and our women to his countrymen in 1510! I dont expect the weddings were Hindu!
Again FN, this not my field but the problem with this period of our history is that it has been written by the Portugese. Quote*:
"The best source for material on Albuquerque is by his son, Afonso de Albuquerque, The Commentaries of the Great Afonso Dalboquerque (1774; trans. with an introduction by W. de Gray Birch, 4 vols., 1875-1884). Edgar Prestage, Afonso de Albuquerque, Governor of India (1929), is a brief account. Elaine Sanceau, Indies Adventure: The Amazing Career of Afonso de Albuquerque (1936), is a pro-Portuguese treatment that makes extensive use of the sources. Richard Stephen Whiteway, The Rise of Portuguese Power in India, 1497-1550 (1899; 2d ed. 1967), and Charles R. Boxer's scholarly The Portuguese Seaborne Empire, 1415-1825 (1969) are excellent background works that rely on the writings of 16th century Portuguese historians for source material. See also K. G. Jayne, Vasco da Gama and His Successors (1910)".
If one is making the case for 'imperial benevelonce', one had better make it strong because it is an oxymoron that occured nowhere in the world - not in Africa, australia, the Americas, Europe, the far East or, indeed, India.
Bias? What bias? ;)
Ref *Encyclopaedia of world biography
cruzmi...@hotmail.com
> From: frederic...@gmail.com
> Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2010 22:35:34 +0530
> Subject: Re: [SALIGAONET] Comunidades de Goa http://www.saligaoserenade.com/2010/04/25/comunidades-de-goa/
Frederick Noronha
Agreed with your latest post (right below). Colonialism isn't a
teddy-bear's picnic, nor is it some kind of social work.
I was only pointing out that Fr Nascimento's comment that IN THE
INITIAL STAGES OF Portuguese colonial rule the Portuguese respected
local norms and did not increase local taxes. (Their religious
intolerance came later.)
No question of rose-tinted glasses here. In fact, the continuation of
the comunidades/gaunkaria in Goa probably has a lot to do with the
Portugese intention of not wanting to upset the local elite interest
of those times. FN
Frederick Noronha :: +91-9822122436 :: +91-832-2409490
Dilip wrote:
I only just had an opportunity to study the article by Mr Nascimento,
circulated by FN. (below) It is fascinating except for those
'rose-tinted glasses' that have not yet been put to bed. My comments:
One has to be careful with articles such as these. I cannot, for
instance believe that 'When Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Goa (1510)
he respected the religious norms, which were administered through
effective laws. He allowed the customs and traditions to continue, and
did not increase the taxes already existent.'
Julia Macmahon
I have not received any communication since 16th October.... is there any reason for this that you can see?
Please do let me know
regards
Julia.
Jose Remedios
It began with thw maid and then came to all ofuy
will write to you
jose
--
Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas
From: Jose RemediosSent: Sunday, October 31, 2010 10:42 AMSubject: Re: [SALIGAONET] Comunidades de Goa http://www.saligaoserenade.com/2010/04/25/comunidades-de-goa/
