Christianity in Goa
Encyclopedia
Christianity
is the second largest religious grouping in Goa
, India
. According to the 2001 census, 27% of the population are Christian
, while 66% are Hindu
. The Christian population is "almost entirely Catholic," and Goan Catholics
form a significant ethnoreligious group.
in 1510 and it's subsequent occupation
by Portugal, Goa's indigenous population underwent a large scale conversion to Christianity.
The state of Goa became the center of Christianization
in the east. The evangelization activities of Goa was divided in 1555 by the Portuguese viceroy of Goa, Pedro Mascarenhas
. He alloted Bardez
to the Franciscans, Tiswadi
to the Dominicans, and Salcette
, together with fifteen southeastern villages of Tiswadi, including Chorao
and Divar
, to the Jesuits.
After conversion, locals were usually granted Portuguese citizenship. The rapid rise of converts in Goa has been described as mostly the result of Portuguese economic and political control over the Hindus, who were vassals of the Portuguese crown.
The process of Christianisation was simultaneously accompanied by "Lusitanisation," as the Christian converts typically assumed a Portuguese veneer. This was most visible by the discarding of old Hindu names for new Christian Portuguese names. Converts usually adopted the surnames of the Portuguese priest, governor, soldier or layman who stood as godfather for their baptism
ceremony. For instance, the Boletim do Instituto Vasco da Gama lists the new names of some of the prominent ganvkars (Konkani
: Freeholders). Rama Prabhu, the son of Dado Vithal Prabhu from Benaulim
, Salcette
became Francisco Fernandes, while Mahabal Pai, the son of Nara Pai, became Manuel Fernandes in 1596. Mahabal Kamati of Curtorim
became Aleisco Menezes in 1607, while Chandrappa Naik of Gandaulim became António Dias in 1632. In 1595, Vittu Prabhu became Irmao de diago Soares and the son of Raulu Kamat became Manuel Pinto in Aldona
, Bardez
. Ram Kamat of Punola became Duarte Lobo in 1601, while Tados Irmaose of Anjuna
became João de Souza in 1658. However, the converted Hindus retained their mother tongue (which in most cases, was Konkani) and caste status, even after becoming Christian. Based on their previous caste affiliations, the new converts were usually lumped into their new respective Catholic castes.
The converts from the priestly Brahmin
class were Bamonns
(Konkani word for Brahmins). All Brahmin sub-castes such as the Goud Saraswat Brahmins, Padye
s, the Daivadnya
s and some merchants, were lumped into the Christian caste of Bamonn. These accounted for the largest group of converts. The converts from the Kshatriya
caste who formed the second largest group were Chardos
(Konkani word for Kshatriya
); and converts from the labour class Shudra
which formed the third largest group became Sudirs (Konkani word for Shudra).
The Portuguese demolished almost all the temples from the old-conquests.The temple art, along with its literature was destroyed, as a part of the Christanisation initiatives by the Portuguese.
established an office in Goa. It was finally abolished in 1812.
As of 2001, the Goan Konkani
New Testament
was being retranslated. According to Operation World
, the old translation is "little understood today."
of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Goa and Daman carries the title Patriarch of the East Indies
.
Goa is part of the Diocese of Kolhapur of the Church of North India
.
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
is the second largest religious grouping in Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. According to the 2001 census, 27% of the population are Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
, while 66% are Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
. The Christian population is "almost entirely Catholic," and Goan Catholics
Goan Catholics
The Goan Catholics are an ethno-religious community of Roman Catholics and their descendants from the state of Goa, located on the west coast of India. They are Konkani people and speak the Konkani language...
form a significant ethnoreligious group.
History
Portuguese occupation
After the Portuguese Conquest of GoaPortuguese Conquest of Goa (1510)
The Portuguese Conquest of Goa occurred in 1510 on behalf of the Portuguese admiral Afonso de Albuquerque. Goa was not among the cities Albuquerque had received orders to conquer: he had only been ordered by the Portuguese king to capture Hormuz, Aden and Malacca.The city of Goa had been...
in 1510 and it's subsequent occupation
Portuguese India
The Portuguese Viceroyalty of India , later the Portuguese State of India , was the aggregate of Portugal's colonial holdings in India.The government started in 1505, six years after the discovery of a sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, with the nomination of the first Viceroy Francisco de...
by Portugal, Goa's indigenous population underwent a large scale conversion to Christianity.
The state of Goa became the center of Christianization
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
in the east. The evangelization activities of Goa was divided in 1555 by the Portuguese viceroy of Goa, Pedro Mascarenhas
Pedro Mascarenhas
Pedro Mascarenhas was a Portuguese explorer and colonial administrator. He was the first European to discover the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean in 1512...
. He alloted Bardez
Bardez
Bardez is the name of a region and taluka in North Goa. The name is credited to the Brahmin immigrants who migrated to the Konkan via Magadha in Gangetic India from Aryavarta, in the north-western part of the Indian sub-continent. Bardez or more properly Bara desh means "twelve countries"...
to the Franciscans, Tiswadi
Tiswadi
Tiswadi is a taluka of North Goa district of the state of Goa, India.The word Tiswadi itself means thirty settlements. It refers to the thirty settlements in which the Goud Saraswat Brahmins settled when they migrated to Goa. It is geographically an Island with the Mandovi river forming its...
to the Dominicans, and Salcette
Salcette
Salcette , is a taluka of South Goa District in the Indian state of Goa. Its administrative and economic headquarters is Margao. It is largely coterminous with a region called Sashti , which comprised, by local tradition, sixty-six villages, hence the name. However, it also includes the taluka of...
, together with fifteen southeastern villages of Tiswadi, including Chorao
Chorao
Chorao is an island along the river Mandovi near Panaji, Goa, India.The island was historically called Chudamani, meaning stunning precious stone in Sanskrit. Local legends tell of the islands emerging from diamonds that were thrown away by Yashoda the mother of Lord Krishna. The Islanders call...
and Divar
Divar
The island of Divar lies in the Mandovi river in the Indian state of Goa.-Location:...
, to the Jesuits.
After conversion, locals were usually granted Portuguese citizenship. The rapid rise of converts in Goa has been described as mostly the result of Portuguese economic and political control over the Hindus, who were vassals of the Portuguese crown.
The process of Christianisation was simultaneously accompanied by "Lusitanisation," as the Christian converts typically assumed a Portuguese veneer. This was most visible by the discarding of old Hindu names for new Christian Portuguese names. Converts usually adopted the surnames of the Portuguese priest, governor, soldier or layman who stood as godfather for their baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
ceremony. For instance, the Boletim do Instituto Vasco da Gama lists the new names of some of the prominent ganvkars (Konkani
Konkani language
KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...
: Freeholders). Rama Prabhu, the son of Dado Vithal Prabhu from Benaulim
Benaulim
Benaulim also known as Banavali , is a census town in South Goa district in the state of Goa, India. It is a beach town a little south of Margao in Goa, India....
, Salcette
Salcette
Salcette , is a taluka of South Goa District in the Indian state of Goa. Its administrative and economic headquarters is Margao. It is largely coterminous with a region called Sashti , which comprised, by local tradition, sixty-six villages, hence the name. However, it also includes the taluka of...
became Francisco Fernandes, while Mahabal Pai, the son of Nara Pai, became Manuel Fernandes in 1596. Mahabal Kamati of Curtorim
Curtorim
Curtorim is a town in the Salcette taluka of South Goa district in the state of Goa, India. It is located on the west coast of India.-Geography:Curtorim is located at . It has an average elevation of 38 metres .-History:...
became Aleisco Menezes in 1607, while Chandrappa Naik of Gandaulim became António Dias in 1632. In 1595, Vittu Prabhu became Irmao de diago Soares and the son of Raulu Kamat became Manuel Pinto in Aldona
Aldona
Aldona is a village in Bardez, and a census town in the North Goa district in the state of Goa, India.-Geography:Aldona is located at . It has an average elevation of 19 metres .-Demographics:...
, Bardez
Bardez
Bardez is the name of a region and taluka in North Goa. The name is credited to the Brahmin immigrants who migrated to the Konkan via Magadha in Gangetic India from Aryavarta, in the north-western part of the Indian sub-continent. Bardez or more properly Bara desh means "twelve countries"...
. Ram Kamat of Punola became Duarte Lobo in 1601, while Tados Irmaose of Anjuna
Anjuna
Anjuna is a village in Goa, one of the twelve Brahmin comunidades of Bardez.Its church, St. Michael's Church, Anjuna, founded in 1595, is dedicated to S. Miguel, and celebrates the feasts of S. Miguel and Nossa Senhora Advogada . There are three large chapels in the parish: the one to S...
became João de Souza in 1658. However, the converted Hindus retained their mother tongue (which in most cases, was Konkani) and caste status, even after becoming Christian. Based on their previous caste affiliations, the new converts were usually lumped into their new respective Catholic castes.
The converts from the priestly Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
class were Bamonns
Roman Catholic Brahmin
The Roman Catholic Brahmin, also referred to asBamonn in Konkani, is a caste among the Goan and Mangalorean Catholics, of modern-day descendants of Konkani Brahmin converts to Roman Catholicism.-Origins:In Goa, the Brahmins were originally engaged in the priestly occupation, but had taken up...
(Konkani word for Brahmins). All Brahmin sub-castes such as the Goud Saraswat Brahmins, Padye
Padye
Padye Brahmin community hails from Goa, commonly known as "Bhatt" ,they speak a unique dialect of Konkani known as "Bhati Bhasha".-Etymology:...
s, the Daivadnya
Daivadnya
*दाते पंचांग,गोत्रावळी "Gotravali" published by "Date Panchang", Date's Almanac Pvt Ltd, Solapur,India **"Genetics of Castes and Tribes of India:Indian Population Milieu" by M. K. Bhasin, Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi 110 007, India...
s and some merchants, were lumped into the Christian caste of Bamonn. These accounted for the largest group of converts. The converts from the Kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
caste who formed the second largest group were Chardos
Roman Catholic Kshatriya
The Roman Catholic Kshatriya is a caste among the Goan and Mangalorean Catholics, of modern-day descendants of Goan Kshatriya and a few Vaishya converts to Roman Catholicism. They are respectively known as Chardo in the Goan Catholic dialects of Konkani The Roman Catholic Kshatriya is a caste among...
(Konkani word for Kshatriya
Kshatriya
*For the Bollywood film of the same name see Kshatriya Kshatriya or Kashtriya, meaning warrior, is one of the four varnas in Hinduism...
); and converts from the labour class Shudra
Shudra
Shudra is the fourth Varna, as prescribed in the Purusha Sukta of the Rig veda, which constitutes society into four varnas or Chaturvarna. The other three varnas are Brahmans - priests, Kshatriya - those with governing functions, Vaishya - agriculturalists, cattle rearers and traders...
which formed the third largest group became Sudirs (Konkani word for Shudra).
The Portuguese demolished almost all the temples from the old-conquests.The temple art, along with its literature was destroyed, as a part of the Christanisation initiatives by the Portuguese.
Goa inquisition
In 1560, the InquisitionInquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
established an office in Goa. It was finally abolished in 1812.
Modern times
Since 1851, the Christian population of Goa has been facing a continual decline. As a result, the percentage of Christian population (once a majority) has shifted in favor of the Hindus. As per the data available, Christians constituted 64% and Hindus 35% in 1851 census. Currently, Christians constitute 27% and Hindus 66% of the population of Goa.As of 2001, the Goan Konkani
Konkani language
KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...
New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
was being retranslated. According to Operation World
Operation World
Operation World is a reference book and prayer guide, begun by Patrick Johnstone and continued by Jason Mandryk, both from WEC International. Operation World is published by , and produced by...
, the old translation is "little understood today."
Roman Catholicism
The ArchbishopArchbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Goa and Daman carries the title Patriarch of the East Indies
Patriarch of the East Indies
The Titular Patriarch of the East Indies in the Catholic hierarchy is the title of the Archbishop of Goa and Damão in India; another title of his is that of the Primate of the East. Unlike the patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches sui juris, the Patriarch of the East Indies enjoys a purely...
.
Other churches
There is at least one Methodist church in Goa.Goa is part of the Diocese of Kolhapur of the Church of North India
Church of North India
The Church of North India , the dominant Protestant denomination in northern India, is a united church established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together the main Protestant churches working in northern India...
.
See also
- Christianity in IndiaChristianity in IndiaChristianity is India's third-largest religion, with approximately 24 million followers, constituting 2.3% of India's population. The works of scholars and Eastern Christian writings and 14th century Portuguese missionaries created an illusion to convert Indians that Christianity was introduced to...
- Christianity in West BengalChristianity in West BengalChristianity in West Bengal, India is a minority. At the 2001 census, there were 515,150 Christians in West Bengal, or 0.6% of the population. Among the Scheduled Tribes, the percentage was 6.1%. Although Mother Teresa worked in Kolkata , Christianity is a minority in Kolkata as well.-History:It...