Goan Literature of Portuguese Language

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Tlpografia Rar4lel

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OA, a tiny territory of a few square kilometres, came t^Vrl under Portuguese rule in 1510, and the Portuguese language set in ever since. Coincidently, it was in the XVI century that the Portuguese language, born in the XII cenlury, attained its perfect maturity, and produced literary culture of considerable worth, thanks to the fact that, in the European humanistic revolution of this century, Portugal offered the World History -a new chapter, viz, that of sea discoverieso and accompanied the Renaissance of Classical culture, that led many Western countries to their literary splendour with abundant and superior productions. A small country that Portugal is, with no sufficient cultural resources of her own, had to develop her literature under intellectual hegemony of the great European nations, such as Italy, Spain and France, whom the historical circumstances afforded original creations.

Therefore the Portuguese literature never achieved complete perfection; and after the Romantic and Realist Schools oi the XIX century, which present a considerable literary value, the XX century opens with a sort of anarchy of letters lacking unity and definite trend. The political regime, that followed, curtailing the freedom of thought and expression, aggravated the decadence of the contemporary Portuguese literature.

When in the early XVI century. the Portuguese became the masters of Goa,par droit de conqudte, this piece of India certainly shared, on a relative scale, the millenary trndian civilization and culture. The learned Portuguese physician and botanist Garcia da Orta, who was in Gca in 1542 and studied Indian plants for thirty years, which he recorded in his famous work, Collilquios I

; dos Simples e Drogas da India, highly praises the Indian medical

practitioners. The opinion of another portuguese botanist, Count of Ficalho (1837-1903), about the plenitude of the Indian civilization the Europeans found on their a,rrival in India, is too well known to be reproduced here. There were in Goa Brahmin scholars fairly versed in different branches of knowledge, who were known as shastris,'pundils and vaidyas,. they read and discussed the Sanskrit texts of Vedic literature consisting of four metrical hymnals, Rig Yeda, Yajur Vada, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda, as well as the corresponding liturgical texts called Brahmanas, and the philosophical treatises of Upanishads, thus being acquainted with Aryan cosmic religion of the origin of the Universerfrom a primeval sacrifice, and the Vedanta philosophy of the Real Self and the Essential Reality; and they were familiar with the Hindu theology of the four ends of mari, namely, righteousness ( dharma), material well - being (artha), pleasure ( kama,) and spiritual liberation (moksha). The great Indian epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, with all their narratives arrd episodes, and specially the part of the latter, named Bhagavad Gira (Song ofl the Lord), which, with its three basic p'aths of knowledge, selfless action and devotion to God, constitutes the mcst typicat expression of Hinduism, along with many Puranas, mainly Kapila's Bhagavata purana (Purana of the Lord;, dealing with different religious subjects and descriptions, gained such an extraordinary popularity that they became the bibles of both educated Hindus and common people. Kautilya's Artha Shastra, a treatise on political and economic science, Manu Smrti, a code of Manu on social norms, and the Yoga system of controlling the mind and body through physical and ethical disciplines, were not unknown to pre-Portuguese Goans. They also recited passionately the holy songs of the celebrated Jnaneshvari, aMarathi mstrical paraphrase of the Bhagavad Gita by the Maharashtrian po:t-saint Juanadeva or Jnaneshvara (1275-1296), and the beautiful play Sltakuntala of Kalidasa, India's greatest poet, was enshrined in their hearts. Such a religious and literary knowledge was

---.3 imparted by the above mentioned shastris to their pupils in small centres of study, after they were ministered the elementary education of the three Rs in Devanagari characters. This was the cultural standard of Goa when Affonso de Albuquerque conquered it, and when Vasco da Gama disembarked on the Malabar coast in 1498. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to reach India by sea, and lndia was the first Eastern iountry to fall under Western rule; so no other country in Asia received deeper influence of Europe.

For the first three centuries of the conquest, the culture of the Portuguese language and letters in Goa, though it was quite poor in quantity and in quality, was exclusively in the hands of ihe clergy. But just from the beginning Albuquerque' having realized the convenience of preparing the Goan Hindus for the clerical work of his administration, had already established schools to teach them the Portuguese language, and, as early as in L512, he asked the king, Dom Manuel I, to send tiom Portugal a qualified teacher to train the native clerks.

The systematized Portuguese education in Goa began in !545, when the vice-roy Dom Jodo de Castro, in compliance with the royal irrstructions, founded public parish schools in quite alarge number, in which, besides rudiments of Christian r.ligioo and sacred music, primary education was ministered.

The secondary education, consisting of the teaching of Portuguese and Latin languages for over.five years, and the highir education, comprising courses of Philosophy and Thiology, were imparted by the colleges of different religious orders. In 1541 tbe seminario da santa Fr; (seminary of the Holy Faith) was instituted in .the city of Goa, thanks to Frs. Diogo de Borba and Miguel Vaz, for the purpose of ecclesiastical and missionary education, which soon came under thg management of the Jesuits who founded the college of st. Faul that, being the main centre of western studies in India

4-_ of the time, earned the fame of a University, demanded by students coming from various parts of the East ; it was i;

that the first printing press in the East was installed, and which in 1556 printed, -conclusiles Filos6ficas (Philosophical-conclusions) and then the catecismo da'Doutrina cristri (catechism of the christian Doctrine) composed by St. Francis Xavier; the Jesuits also established in 1610 a college at Rachol, Salcete,'whose rector, Fr. Thomas Stephens, an English Jesuit, printed in this colrege press his ciristian P-uralta a;nd Art of canarese Language; after the expulsion ofl the Jesuits by the Marquis of pombal in 1759 from portugal and her colonies, the building of the colrege of Rachol was handed over to secular priests to house a r.miouty which exists till today (1976), and the college of St. paul was changed into the college of Natives and transferred to chordo. Next to Jesuits, in educational matter, were the Franciscans who founded at Reis Magos, Bardez, in 1555 a primary school and then the Seminary of St. Jerome; by the beginning of the xvII centur-v they established in the city of Goa the college ofl st. Boaventura with courses of philosophy and Theology. The Dominicans had an educationar institute in 1550, which was transferred to Panjim in 1584 and named as college of st. Thomas Aquinas, which, by following Thomistic method, achieved high reputation. The Augustinians founded in the clty De Populo college probably in the mid-XVII century. The carmelites also had a college which later on was run by the oratorians. rn t773 the Marquis or pombal carried out a radical reformation in education all over portuguese territories, and, as a result, it was severed from the religious sway.

St. Paul's college

In this period the portuguese language made slow and

steady progress but it did not attain necessary literary perfection as to produce many writers ; and since, ai said above, the higher education was confined to the ecclesiastical class, only a few Goan priests can be mentioned as authors of literary work, , Fr. Francisco do Rego (d. 1686), Fr. Ant6nio Jolo de Frias {1664'1727), from Talaulim, Ilhas, and Mgr. Leonardo pais

_t {1662-1715), from Gandaulim, Ilhas; these three learned clergymen, belonging to opposite castes, wasted their high intelIectual abilities in entertainingtheprejudice of caste system, the first one in Tratado Apologdtico contra vdrias calumnias impostas pela malevolencia contra a sua Nagao Bracmana (1686), the second in his work Avreola dos Indios & Nobiliarchia Bracmana, and the third in Prompturirio das Definigoens Indicas. J6corne Gongalves (1676-1742), native of Divar, Ilhas, was a lexicographer with knowledge of Indian and Cingalese languages, and author of : Vocabulirio Chingala Lusitano, Vocabulario Lusitano Chingal a, Vo c abul ar io Lus it ano Tamilic o - C hingal a co m declaragd,o de frases chingal,is, Dicionario breve cle palavras selectas e di/iceis da Crdnica e Evangelhor, etc. Mgr. Sebastido do Rego (1699-1785), native of Neura, Ilhas, wrote Vida do Venereivel Padre Josd Vaz aod Sermdo de Santa Cruz dos Milagres. Fr. Jodo da Cunha Jaques, author of Espda de David contra o Golias do Bramtnismo pessimc inimlgo dt Jesu Christo, Deos, e Senhor Nosso. Fr. Miguel da Porificaqi,o, author of RelaEao defensiva dcs fi I h o s da India Oriental. Fr. Lucas ds Lima (1654-t717), author of Summa de Theologta Moral.

The Modern Epoch of the Portuguese literature in Goa begins in the early XIX contury, and by its end the literary culture attained the plenitude both in number and perfection of productions.

The JOURNALISM opsns the literary movement ol this The first newspaper, an official organ entitled as Gazeta de Goa, was published on December 22, 182t, printed in the Government Press, but it had little literary value. The early literary offspring were the yearly publications, named Almanacs, printed in the above press, confaining short biographies of eminent local personalities, and articles on our folklore, traditions, history, etc.; Almanaque de Goa, for the leap ycar 1840,

by Fr. Caetano Jo6o Peres ( 1806-1860), was the first of themn

period.

5followed by over forty others, among which Calenddrio Eclesiastico e Lit*rgico de Goa, from 1867 to 1872, by Fr- Casimiro Crist6vam Nazar6 (1830-1927), was the most notable. . Simultaneously publications of various periodicals took place, one of the earliest of which was the Echo da Lusitania (1835-37), an organ of the white community against the party of Bernardo Peres da Silva (1775-1844); that had their newspapers A Sentinela da Liberdade (1864-1869), and Abelha de Bombaim (1848-1861), published from Daman and Bombay respectively; in 1839 was published the first literary pedodical, Biblioteca de Goa, followed by the Encyclopddico (1841-42), the Compilador (1843-47), O Gabinete Literario das Fontainhas 1846-1848), the Mosaico (1848), the Revisra Ilustrada (1854), the Vergel (1858), the Recreio (1860), and the monthly magazine llustragdo Goana (1864), with contributions of talented writers as Jrllio F. Gongalves (1846-1896), A. J. S6crates da Costa (d. 1907), J. C. Barreto Miranda (L842-791, J. Gerson da Cunha (1844-1900), etc. In 1859 Bernardo Francisco da Costa ,1821-1896) founded at Margio the weekly O Ultramar ll85g-1941), printed in his private press thus being the " pioneer of the independent press ", and a periodical of high political and literary value.

The white colony of Goa conducted their journalistic activity by their own organs, such as, besides the one mentioned above, Tirocinio Literario (1860-63) the poetical journal Harpa do Mandovy (1863-65), the literary magazine Goa Social 11865-68;, the political-Beriodicals Era Nova 11897-1903;, and Jornal do Povo (1914-1918), the weeklies Jornal de Noticia,s (1868-69), and A Imprensa (1870-76), the latter being the most important one, O Progresso (1873), A CivilizaAao 9878) and Nova Goa (1876-78), O Portuguez 0899.1902),Imparcial (1906) and patia (19t9-t925). The noteworthy journalists of this class were T. A. Mourlo Garcez Palha (L842-1904), P. da Costa Campos, Luis Correia da Silva, J. Mourdo Garcez Palha (1810-1373), M. J. da Costa Campos (d. 1883), Frederico Diniz d'Ayalla (1860-1923), pr. Adolfo S. Costa ( 1833-1960) and Hip6lito Cassiano Pereira Garcez.

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In order to fight against the political ideology of O Ultramar, of Margdo, Jos6 In6cio de Loyola (1834-1902) founded at Orlim in 1851, with own press, the weckly A India Portuguesa, as an organ of his party named Partido Indiano,' this powerful periodicat survived till today, presently under the title o{ A India, edited by D. Leonor Loyola Furtado e Fernandes (b. 1909)" Thereafter the Portuguese press blossomed in sucessive publication of periodicals and in a pleiad of eminent journalists.

From 1866 to 1869 the monthly O Cronista de Tissuary was published by the great Portuguese scholar J. H. da Cunha Rivara ( 1309-1879); the weekly O Crente (1883-1928), founded by Mgr F. X. de Loyola ( 1832-1896 ), the monthly Estreia Literaria (1877 ), A Convicsao (1887-1895 ), Vida Nova (1946), A Discussrio ( 1886-1889), Brado Indiano ( 1894-95 ), Evolusdo ( 1895 ). In 1900 Prof. Aleixo Clemente Messias Gomes ( 1873-1957 ) founded O Heraldo, the first daily newspaper in Goa, which has outlived till today; another daily heraldo ( 1908-1961) founded by Dr. Ant6nio Matia da Cunha ( 1865-1947), a distinguished journalist, ceased after liberation of Goa. The periodicals Nacionalista (1904-1910), O Debate (l9ll-1921), A Terra ( 1917-1935 ), the Pracasha ( 1928-1937) and the Bharat (1912-1949), the dailies Diario de Noite (1919.

-1967 ) and A Vida (1938.1967) werequite popular ;the Boletim do Instituto Vasco da Gama (1926), now, i. e. from 1963, Boletim do Instituto Menezes Braganga, the Boletim Eclesiastico da Arquidiocese de Goa ( (1942'1950), a continuation of A Voz de S. Francisco Xavier (1931-1942) and O Acaddmico ( 1940-43) were good periodicals, as well as O Oriente Portuguas (1904-1920), the Revista Moderna ( 1909-1910), Revista da India {1913-1914), and O Independente (1933-1945).

The Goan journalists worth special mention: Leopoldo C. da Gama ( 1843- 1929), Martinho de Menezes ( 1850-90 ) , Fr. A. F. X. Alvares (1837-1923),J.V. BarretoMiranda (d. 1949).

J. M. daCosta Alvares (1851-1920), Mgr. J. F. Excelso da A. ,{lmeida (1853-1928 ), J. J. Roque Correia Afonso (1859-1937), Miguel de Loyola Furtado ( 1877-1918 ), Luic de Menczes

8Braganga (1878-1938), the greatest journalist of Goa who gave a trend of free thought .and carved a place in the Portuguese letters, J. M. Lamartine prazeres da

the future generations

costa ( 1879-1949), sales da veiga coutinho (1g65-1950 ), constincio Roque da costa ( lg5g-1934 ), A. A. Bruto da costa (1828-1911), BrSs Bruto da costa (1g56-1gzg), Roberto Bruto da costa ( l8s8-1930 ), Avertano de Loyola, A. F. sales de Andrade (1827-1890), Lib6rio pereira, Luis de Menezes (1884-1962), pedro correia Afonso (lg92-1965),

Lourengo de Almeida, Joro de Figueiredo (d.1951), ioaquim da Rosa, rlegdo Dessai (d. 1949), A. x. Gomes pereira (1gg0-1957), J de Arafjo Mascarenhas (1886 -1946 ), Jo s 6 Inicio de

Loyola, ali6s, Fanchn Loyora ( 1899-1973 ), Jaime Rangel ), A'lvaro de Santa Rita Vaz (IgO;4-Lg6gt, the last

(1897-1959

editor of Heraldo, Ant6nio colago, and Amadeu prazeres da costa ( 1908- 1972), one of the best Goan writers of his time in Portuguese language.

The HISTORIOGRAPHY, as a science in the modern is, with historical criticism and methodology, and authenticity of documents, is not found in the portuguese literature of Goans. Perhaps the only truly historical work written by a Goan is a monograph in French entitled ze Marquis de Pombal by Francisco Luis Gomes (1g29-1g69). But quite a good number of Goan intellectualr Luv. carried out significant bistorical research and recorded their findings, chiefly in ecclesiastical, political and civil matters, such as : Filipe Neri Xavier (1804-1875), author of Bosquejo Histdrico das comunidades, a valuable work describing the origin and evolution of our village agricultural ,,communities,,, and Nobiliarchia goana, a genealogical study of main families of Goa; Miguel vicente de Abreu (1827-1883), who translated into Portuguese An historical sketch of Goa by Fr. cottineau, and Relation de l'Inquisition de Goa by Delron, and author of Relagao das alteragdes politicas de Goa ard Resenha de alguns sense' that

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,distintos naturais de Goa; J. C. Barreto Miranda (1842-1879)' whose works are Mem,iria descritiva da vila de Margao and journalist A. A. Quadros Histdricos de Goa; the above referred flruto da Costa (1328-1911), historian of .4s Revolus6es Politicas da India Portuguesa do sdculo XIX and Goa sob a Dominagdo portuguesa; Fr. casimiro crist6vam Nazar6 (1830-1927), who wrote ecclesiastical history works, Miyas Lusitanas no Oriente and clero de Goa, seus servigos d Religiao e d Nagdo; Fr. Filipe Nery T. C. do Ros6rio e Souza (1840-97), author of Noti.cia histirica e legislagao da Instrugdo Primaria, seurndriria e superior na India Portuguesa; Fr. Caetano Francisco de Souza (1860-1898), author'of Instituig6es Portuguesas de Educagdo e Instru' (1857-1919), who, among sd,o no Oriente; J. A. Ismael Gracias other works, wrote A Imprensa em Goanos siculos XVI, XWI e XVIil, O Bispo de Halicarnasso and Bocage na India; crisr6vam Aires dl Septrlveda (1853-1930), author of, inter alia, Historia da Cavalaria Portuguesa, Hist6ria Orgtinica e Politica do Exircito Portugues, and OrganizagAo Militar das A'rabes na peninsula; Frederico Diniz d'Ayala (1860-1923), author of Goa Antiga e luloderna, in w h i c h the style prevails on the historical sense ; Fr. F. X. Expectagio Barreto (1861-19371, who wrot e Quadros Biogra.ficos dos Padres llustres de Goa i Fr. M. J. Gabriel de Saldanha (1853-1930), whose Histiria de Goa, in 2 vol., is near complete sketch of the history of Goa up the first quarter of the XX century; Crist6vam Pinto O Antigo 1[}S+-WZA1, who wrote As Gauncarias de Goa, imperiatismo Portugu\s e as Leis Modernas do Governo Colonial, India Pre-hist,irica, etc.; Mgr. M. J. F. Gustavo Couto (1856' -1939),author of A obrados Capitaes e Missionirios Portugueses nas terras clo (Jltramar, AcSAo Missionriria dos Franciscanos portugueses na India, O Plano Col onial de Afortso de -correia Afonso (1859-1937), Albuquerque, etc.; J. J. Roque author of A Evolugdo do llfunicipalismo nia India Portuguesa and Questdo Confrarial de Carmond, besides his journalistic and juridical works ; A. Maria da cunha ( 1865-1947 ), founder of Heraldo, who, besides works of medical nature, wrote

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10--A Evolugd.o do Jornalismo-na India Portuguesa, Subsidios para a Hist|ria do Congresso Provincial, A India Antiga e Moderna e o " Darbar" da Coroagdo de 1911 and Origens do Congresso Nacional Indiano ; A. C. Messias Gomes ( 1873-1957 ), founder of O Heraldo, whose works are O Reino de Chandrapur, Uma investigagao arqueolagica, and Civilizapd,o dos Sumeres nd.India; L. de Menezes Braganga ( 1878-1938), an eminent journalist, wrote the historical monogruph A Educagao e o Ensino na India Portuguesa ; J. Benedito Gomes ( 1878-1941 ), author of India Portuguesa, an historical account of the " Instituto Vasco da Gama ", and Afonso de Albuquerque; Fr. A. P. Ciriaco Fernandes, S.J. ( 1878-1941), author of Mission'irioslesuitasno Brasil no tempo de Pombal; Fr. V. Aleixo Cordeiro ( 1878-1940), author of some biographical monographs, such as Vida do Beato Nuno A'lvares Pereira, Dona Manuela Jardim de Castro, etc.; J. B. Ami.ncio Gracias ( 1872-1950 ), who wrote Ingleses em Goa ou a ocupagd.o de Goa pelas tropas brit,inicas, Afonso de Albuquerque, Contempordneos llustes, etc.; A. B. Bra ganQa Pereira ( 1883-1955 ), author of Etnografia da India Portuguesa, O Sistema das Castas and Histfiria Religiosa de Goa; A. C. Germano da S. Correia (1888-1967), besides a large number of scientific works, wrote Historia da Colonizagd.o Portuguesa na India,6 vol., Hist,iria do Ensino Mddico na India Portuguesa, Os Luso-Descendentes da India, etc ; J. F. A. Adeodato Barreto ( 1905-1937 ), author of Civilizascio Hindl depicting Indian

religion, philosophy, art, literature, science and Hindu Humanism. Some others of minor status : Caetano Gongalves (d. 1953), Jfrlio Gongalves ( t88l-1967), J. P. Santos Pereira ( d. 1906 ), Roberto Bruto da Costa ( 1888-1930 ), Ant6nio de Noronha ( 1873-1931), author of the memoir Os hind*s de Goa e a Repdblica Portuguesa, P. J. Peregrino da Costa ( 1890-1960 ), Maria Ermelinda dos Stuarts Gomes ( d.1937 ), authoress of Sumririo da Histdria Geral da India, Filotoio Pereira de Andra* de ( 1864-1934l', Francisco Xavier Ernesto Fcrnandes (1864-1951 ), Ricardo Micael Teles ( 1882-1945 ), Caetano de Fi* gueiredo (1857-1941 ), author of As Comunidades de Goa,

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Siurama Bolvonta Rau ( 1885-1958 ), author of A Rep*blica portuguesa no Estado da India, Sidba Suria Rau, who wrote Nog|es sumarias da HistLria da India Portuguesa, J.J, Campos ( 11i93-1945 ), Jos6 Juli6o do Sacramento Almeida ( 1880-1974\, author of A Atdeia de Assolna, Os Maratas de Goa, etc', Jos6 Frederico Ferreira Martins ( 18?4-1960 ), author of Histdria da Misericordia de Goa, os Provedores da Miseric1rdia de Goa, cr,nica dos Yice-Reis e Governadores da India, etc., A. A.. Santana Rodrigues (1887-1966), author of O Abade Faria, O swarajismo Hindu, etc., Fr. Francisco Xavier Gomes Cat6o ( b. 1896 ), author of O Primeiro Seminario de Goa, etc., Jer6nimo Quadros (d.1947 ), author of Hist,ria e corografia de Diu, etc., and the latest of all P. S. S. Pissurlencar ( 1894-1969 ), author of Assentos do Conselho do Estado,5. vo[., Roteiro dos Arquivos da India Portuguesa, Portugueses e Maratas, 6 fasc., and many other works.

of

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Indian soil and soul, and had it been given necessary conditions to grow through the natural vehicle of nrother tongue of the land, it would have flourished much earlier, as we see in the post liberation period of Goa a galaxy of Konkani poets of good quality, some of whom, like Manohar Sardessai ( b. 1925), B' B. Borkar (b. 1910), and R. V. Pandit (b. 1916), have achieved high perl'ection. In the citcumstances, the Goan poetry, garbed in Portuguese language, appears only by the end of the XIX century when Goans had mastered this idiom onough to give vent to their heart and mind. I think I will be able to record here about twenty five poets of relative literary value :

The POETRY

Goa is a genuine expression

Tomaz de Aquino Mourlo Garcez Palha (1842- 1904)' whose poems can be read in the press of his tirne; in one of them he praises our mangoes, and sings that neither Portugal nor Brazil, and, for that matter, no other country has so good fruits as Goa does :

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"Portugal tem belas frutas No Brasil as h6 tamb6m, Mas como as da nossa Goa Nenhuma outra terra as tem..."

Fernando X. da C. Leal (1846-1910), a talented poet, author of Relampagos, Reflexos e Penumbras and Livro da Fa with beautiful poems such as lVtartir Moderna, Stabat Mater, Rei de Benares, etc.; his translations of some of Victor Hugo's poems are valuable.

Crist6vam Aires Magalhies de Seprllveda (1853-1930), author of Novos Horizontes, Intimqs, Anoitecer and Indianas e Portuguesas ; Mariano Gracias (1871-1931), composed Terra dos Rajas, that includes the poems Oragao',a Sriria and Metempsicose,and Poentes, No AIto Mar, etc.; M.S. Sanches Fernandes (1886-1915), poet of A Sci1ncia de Dor, Noites da India, Liricas dum Marfir and A Lira da India,. Floriano Barreto (1877-1905), author of phalenas which has some poems on Indian motives such as A Bailadeira da India.

F. X. Paulino Dias (1874-t90), by his poetic inspiration characteristically Indian, 'owith strong flavour of the soil", inspite of his formal imperfection, belongs to the category ol the best Goan poets. His early poem Santa Cruz (1g94) describes his native village of Santa Cruz; the p o e m s A Deusa de Bronze, Vishnulal and the sonnet Vyassa extol the millenary Indian civilization ; a volume of his poems was published posthumously in 1935 under the title of No pais do Stiria, containing poems like Indra, O Crime, A prakriti, Verba Sacra, Nirvana, etc.

Nascimento Mendonga (1884-1926), endowcd with a powerful creative imagination, and, like Paulino Dias, also drawing his inspiration from Indian culture and traditions, is one of the greatest Indo-Portuguese poets ; his lyric mysticism penetrates hearts and souls, and his concupiscent emotion pierces the flesh.

His poem ,4 fuiorta reproduces the episode of Sita from "Itamayana"; thelangle depicts the bucolic charm of the

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forest ; the collection Lotus de Sangue e de ldeal contains the Tentaqao de Vaissia; Cantico do ventolda agua is a bunch of sonnets; and the poem Vatsala, describing pathetically the despair of a nautch-girl in a verse like " Ah, porque sonha o c6u a mulher que se vende ? " reveals the poef deep sensibility.

Hip6lito de Menezes Rodrigues (1902-1947), whose poems were published in a posthumous volume Luz e Trevas by his brother A. de Menezes Rodrigues, also a poet, author ol Arroios and A'gua do Oasis; the poem Calvario duma Alma is a realistic description of the sorrows of a harlot ; Adeodato Barreto ( 1905 - 37 ), already referred to in the historiography, also having cultivated some other literary genres, is a poet above all; it was in Portugal, during his University education, that he, through the works of great French writers, discovered " the old and rich treasures of Indian culture " ; the opening poem of the posthumous edition of his O Livro da Vidc(1940;, is entitled Apoteose, a canticle in praise of Goa; his poem Fala Ishvara, O Fim and Confiddncias reflect Hindu pantheistic views.

Other poets : R. B. Barreto Miranda ( 1872-1935

author of the poems Coisas Sabidas, Disparates em Verso, Frutos sem Sabor, etc. ; J. V. Barreto Miranda (1863-1949 ) wrote 100 sonnets and the poem Cavatinas; Adolfo S. da Costa ( 1882-1960), author of De Mdos Dadas,and Suryanas;Joaqtim Filipe da Piedade Soares (d. 1937), poet of. O Jovem Sardessai, Aos Marfires de Cuncolim and O Fantasma de Narola; Fernanda de Castro (b. 1900), authoress of Dangas de Roda, Cidade em Flor, Raiz Funda, Exilio, etc. ; Lourengo Lino de Abreu ( 1914-1975), wrote Aurea Goa, Sombras deAmor and A Infiel; J. J. Fragoso (d. 1926), M. J. da Costa Campos (d. 1883 ), Joaquim de Aratjo Mascarenhas ( 1886-1946), Francisco .Correia Afonso ( 1893-1961), Laxmanrao Sardessai ( b. 1904), Floriano Pinto (1887-1967), author of Hino dos Escuteiros, Brisas do Mandovi and Mistirios da Fa,Telo de Mascarenhas (b. 1899) author of Cantares de Amor, Kailasha, etc., Orlando da Costa (b.1929 ), author of A Estrada e a Voz, Os Olhos sem fronteira and Sete

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14Odes do Canto Comum; Vimala Devi (b. 1932), poetess of Suria, Hologramas and Telepoemas.

The ESSAY, as a branch of literature treating, usually in prose' almost any subject of knowledge, has been cultivated by many Indo-Portuguese writers. And at least in one field, one of them attained high distinction in the entire realm of portuguese letters. Therefore we will refer to him in the first place.

Guilherme Moniz Barreto ( 1865.1896 ), or ( lg63-1994)?, a descendant of the early Portuguese nobles settled in India, mastered, very early, not only the Portuguese but also the French and English languages before he left for portugal at the age of 15 years. He read, besides the portuguese authors, French and English writers such as victor Hugo and Lamartine, Lord Byronand Lord Macauly. It is the contact with French criticism of the European thought that awakened in him a vocation which made him a pioneer of literary criticism in Portugal, where the history of this genre has been poor. His work is very little as very short was his life, but some of his â‚Źssays are masterpieces of the portuguese literature. His publications were collected in a volume entitled Ensaios de critica by Prof. vitorinoNem6sio and published in 1944, containing masterly studies on both portuguese and foreign authors, n am e I y Alrtteida Garrett, Alexandre Herculan-o, Camilo, Jflio Dinis, Jolo de Deus, Antero de euental, E9a de Queiroz and oliveira Martins, and Taine, Brunetibre, p. Bourget and Shakespeare.

Fr. Ant6nio Pereira (18r7-1876), author of religious essay$ Thesouro celeste, Guia do cristdo, etc.

Filoteio pereira de Andrade (1864-1934), author of o ApLttolo da orasdo, Glilrias 'de Maria, etc. ; val6rio Aleixo cordeiro (1877-1940), author of A' Sombra da Cruz, etc. Mgr. Greg6rio Magno Antio (1909_ '197L), author of caminhos da vida, Reflex\es sobre a crise Moderna, etc. ; A. X. Hericlito Gomes (1864-1934), a defender

;

;

-lt

of Catholic doctrine, author of Higiene Alimentar, Crer e Raciocinar, in which he discusses the strange phenomena of Lourdes, and the postumously published Folhas Dispersas,. containing essays such as A cerebragao e o pensamento, O animal ndo pensa, As crengas, A razdo e a religiao, etc., F. A. Wolfango da Silva (1864-1947), besides some works on medicine, wrote the essay A Cultura da Lingua Concani e o Problema da Educagaa Fundamental em G o a. Ant6nio F. de Noronha ( 1873-1931), an eminent legal writer, and excellent man of letters, who wrote Os -ly'ossos Interiores, and Em Boa Paz, satirizing the dogmatic teachings of the Church. Fr. Joio Francisco C. J. Lobo (1870-1953), author of Balanso Crftico da erudigdo cientffico-religiosa de " Ent Boa Paz... ". J. B- Am0ncio Gracias ( 1872-1950 ), author of Tagore,poeta e politico. Prop6rcia Correia Afonso e Figueiredo t1882-1944) wrote A Mulher na India Portuguesa, O Significado dos Simbolos, A Mao-Mestra do Pensamento, No Pa[s das Maravilhas, A Vida Relio Educador, Os Milagiosa na Familia, Rabindranath Tagore gres da Agulha, A Crianpa. e a Lingua, O Jogo-Escola da Vida, A Magia do Folclore na vida da Crianga Indo-Portuguesa, No Jardim da Infdncia, Tres iniditos, As Bengdos da Solidariedade, A Cruzada do Servigo Social, E'tica Docente, A Menina nas Escolas e na Sociedade. and Os mitos de Suria,' Francisco Correia Afonso ( 1893-1961), author of the essays Coimbra c Oxford, A Ligd,o da ldade Midia, Vida Nova para a Gente Nova, O alcoolismo na India Portuguesa, A sorte do emigrante go6s no foco de emigragdo, O Culto da ConsciLneia Cfvica and O Poeta Povorello; Ant6nio de Miranda (1897-1957\,

a

and

scholar, who wrotc essays such as Aspectos da Nossa Mentalidade, A Arte de Pensar, Ega de Queiroz, O Sentimento da fustiga na Educagao, and O Pensamento de Rabindranath Tagore. Fr. Manuel J. S. de AIbuquerque ( 1859,1931 ), author of Igreja de Assagdo, o Hospicio do Clero, etc. Some morc names may be added, such as Indal6ncio Froilano de Melo ( 1887-1955 ), Joaquim Filipe Nery Soares Rebelo ( 1873 -1922), Ant6nio Vicente magistrate

16

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V. de Braganga Cunha (d. 1943), and Jaime V. Rangel ( 1897-1959 ), author of Clar\es da Fd, Faria e'Dalgado, and A Imprensa em Goa; Jos6 Gerson da Cunha (1844 - 1900), author of Introdugao ao e s t u d o d,a ciencia d,a vid,a ; Suriagy Ananda Rau (1830-1888), who published Memoria sobre o systema philosofico da India comparado com outros systemas especialmente o catholicismo,' Telo de Mascarenhas (b.1899), who wrote essays on themes of Indian civiliza-

tion, as A Mulher Hindd, Rama e Sita and Rabindranath Tagore e a sua mensagem espiritual; L. de Menezes Braganga (1879-1938), author of A Escola Neutra; Fulg6ncio Druston Rodrigues (1902-1968), author of Vijayalakshmi Pandit-alider dos Homens and Nehru e a suafilosofia da Vida; Lfcio de Miranda (1904-1962), author of India e Indianos; Jos6 Roque Machado (1888-197L), author of many studies on Cam6es; Fr. Castilho de R. Noronha (1887-1966), author of O Budismo em confronto com o Cristianismo, Bratnanismo filos6/ico, etc.; Fr. Filinto Cristo Dias (r) (b.1904), author of O Problema d,o Estudo, Esbogo da Hist6ria da Literatura Indo-Portuguesa, etc. ; Fr. A. P. Serifico Misquita (b.1895), author of a Imaculad,a e o Escoto, A Santa Casa de Loreto, etc. ;VFeliciano C. Coelho (b. 1895), author of the book Deus e Religid.o, A Religid,o Hind,u, As Tris Realidades, etc. ; Aquino dos Rem6dios Furtado (b. 1901) wrote essays on-travels, such as Vis1es do Oriente, Cidades A/ricanas and O Oriente e a India.

The FICTION in Indo-Portuguese literature, despite the iact that the Goan is a personality of dreamy imagination, has been strikingly unproductive. In the whole span of over Cam6es

four and half centuries, during which the idiom of

.

( I ) Fr. Filinto Cristo Dias, a scholar in the Portuguese language and literature, is iny old teacher of Portuguese, from whose works a considerable part of the material of this article is borrowed.

It

lJ -

cnjoyed full freedom in Goa, one finds one or two novels, namely Os Brahamanes (1866) and O Scgno da lra (1961), worth a place in the history of literary fiction. Besides them, one or other little novel or collection of short stories of minor importance can hardly be mentioned.

1

I

I i

:

Francisco Luis Gomes ( 1829-1869 ), an oratoru economist. journalist, historian and novelist, writing freely in Portuguese and in French, is the author of the above mentiorred novel Os Brahamanes. Though, at the time of the publication of the novel in Portugal, the winds of the Realist School had already begun to blow thanks to the initiative of Gautier, Flaubert and Bouillet, the Goan novelist remained loyal to the Romantic subjectivism under the influence of Victor Hugo and Lamartine : the famous polemic known as Questd,o Coimbra, splitting the country into two literary parties, the old Romantic movement of Lisbon headed by Ant6nio Feliciano de Castilho, and the Realist current of Coimbra led by Antero de Quental, had roused a furious battle in the field of Portuguese letters. Like thc novels of Alexandre Herculano, also Os Brahamanes is a novel of purpose. in which the author defends the liberalism in its broadest sense, not confining his attack to the caste system of India but condemning the Western racial discrimination ; so brahmins are not only the high caste Indians who arc polluted by mere shadow of a pariah, but also the proud Englishmen impregnated with prejudice of colour bar ; the two Brahminisms, the brown and the white, that is, the Indian and the European, are equally reprehensible social evils. With the liberalist message as its central theme, the novel also offers many valuable characteristics, such as sound moral doctrine chastising social vices of slavery, gambling, immoral traffic" etc., Indian tradition, life and scenery, propriety of language and a graceful styleo and these attributes make the novel the most precious pearl in the whole Goan literature in Portuguese language.

Francisco Joio da Costa ( 1864-19J1 ), a witty and intelligent writer who amused the readers of " O Ultramar " with 3

"18

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his comic vein, under the pseudonym of Gip that earned him the cognomen of " Goan Mark Twain ", caricatured, with the same humourous and dialectal language, the scenes and customs of Goan life in the novel Jacob e Dulce. Leopoldo Dias ( 1854-1903 ), author of the novel Os Maharatas. Taumaturgo Furtado ( 1861-1922 ) wrote the novels Doutor Olimpio and A Renovagd,o da lrdnia. Crist6vam Aires de M. Sep0lveda ( 1853-1930), besides poetical and histo rical works, above referred to, wrote short stories in two volumes Lenteioul.as ( 1890) and Longinquas (1891 ). Paulino Dias ( 1874-1919 ), the great Goan poet, also is author of a small novel, A Desditosa Laura / ( 1894 ). Fernanda de Castro ( b. 1900 ), authoress of the nov-el Sorte ( 1948 ) and novels for children Mariazinha em A'frica ind Aventuras de Mariazinha. Beatriz da C. Ataide Lobo (b. 1913), published in the press many traditional folk stories, and a volume, of original short stories with the title of Contos da Tiazinha t1937). J. F. Ferreira Martins ( 187"1-1960), author of the novels O Primeiro Beiio, Angrid, A Granile Amorosa and Amores de Bocage na India. J. Gongalves ( 1846-1896), author of short stories, such as Contos da Minlm Terra and Aventuras de um Simplicio. M. J. da Costa Campos ( d. 1883 ), author of the novel O Anjo e o Demfinio and others.

Jos6 da Silva Coelho ( 1889'1944 ), author of Lendas Indianas, a collection of over 65 short stories. Alberto de Menezes Rodrigues, author of Caminhos de Luz and Flor Campestre.

Ananta Rau Sar Dessai ( b. 1910 ) wrote many short stories, as Omnipotente, Doutor Panduronga, Pragada de Xri Maruti, etc, Laxmanrao Sar Dessai (b. 1904 ), author of O barco da A'frica, Ambr6sia, etc. Vimala Devi, nom de plume of Teresa da Piedade de Baptista Almeida ( b. 1932 ), author of Monpdo ( 1963 ), a collection of short stories. Epiticio Pais ( b. 1928 ), author of the short stories As javalis de Co.dval, A l[riscara, etc. : Orlando da Costa (b.1929 ', author of the novels O Signo do Ira and Podem chamar-me Euridice... Agostinho Fernandes ( b. 1932 ), wrote the novel Bodki ( 1962) ; t n e latter two writers are novelists of considerable literary merit. .

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19

In LINGUISTICS Goa can present proudly a name of international renown, which is great enough to put this little

territory on the wodd map of letters. It is regrettable that he is little known by his fellow countrymen, while his monumental research work on comparative study of Eastern and Western languages won high praise not only from Portuguese but also from French and English philologists.

Mgr. Sebastiio Rodolfo Dalgado ( 1855-1922), educated in and Romanic languages in Goa, Rome and Lisbon, and posted as Portuguese royal missionary in India, discharged, in this capacity, his ecclesiastical functions in different parts of the subcontinent, where, thanks to his gifted propensity for philology, he learned successively and quickly many Indian languages of both Aryan and Dravidian families : Sanskrit, Marathi.

Tamil, Malayalam, Kanarese, Singhalese, Bengali, etc. The natural love, he nourished for the mother tongue Konkani, led him not only to study it systematically and profoundly, but also to undertake the scientific compilation of two dictionaries, Konkani-Portuguese and Portuguese-Konkani. In the course of this operose investigation in the forest of Asian languages, Fr. Dalgado discovered the vast influence the Portuguese language had exercised on many Eastern idioms due to tbe historical fact of Portuguese sea discoveries of the XVI century. As a result two philological works of inestimable value were pro-

Latin

duced, Influencia do Vccabulario Portugud,s em Linguas Asiaficas (1913) and G/osstirio Luso-Asi,itico (1919-1921) in two volumes of over 500 pages each, the former showing the influence of the Portuguese language on about 50 Indian and other Asian languages, and the latter examining the influence of Asian languages on Portuguese and other European languages, which works any civilized country can be proud ot'. But the great Goan orientalist. inspite of his severe ailment. for the lasr twelve years of his precious life, during which both his legs had

.2O

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gathered moral strength to produce more works ; Diccionario Konkani'Portugues (1893) ar'd Dicciondrio Portuguds-Konkani ( 1905 ), Dialecto indo-portuguAs de Ceylao (1900), Dialecto indo-portuguâ‚Ź,s de Goa (1900;, Dialecto indo-portuguts de Damao (1903), Dialecto indo'portuguds do Norte (1906), Dialecto indo-portuguds de Nagapatlo (1917), Contri' buigdo para a Lexicologia Luso'Oriental ( 1916 ), Gongalt'es Vianna e a Lexicologia Portuguesa de Origem Asiritico'Africana (19177, Rudimentos da Lingua SAnscrita (1920), Bergo duma cantiga em indo-portugues (1921), Floriligio de proverbios concanis (1922t, Hitopadexa (1897), Histriria de Nala e Damayanti (1916), Gramatica da L{ngua Concani (Mss.), etc.

to be amputated,

(1878-1975), an erudite professor Latin, Sanskrit and Marathi, the following may be men-

Mariano Saldanha

of tioned

as his main works in the linguistic field:

Apotegmas rnorais (1907), a translation of Panchatantta, O Pu' rana Cristd,o d,e Tomeis Estevd'o (1908), O Drama de Kalidasa (1912), Curso d'e Sdnsuito Ckissico (1916)' Megh'ad'uta (1926), O ensino do Concani em Goa (1931), Goethe e Xacuntala (1932), Relagd'o Histtrica As inrsestiga.gdes cle urn Gramtitico ( 1933 (1936) na [-ingua Concani Iniciagd'o das Gramriticds Concanis ( 1950 ), ,4 I'ingaa Concani (1953), A Literattra Putdni'ca

)'

Linguisticos e Bibliogrdficos (1961) and Doutrina Cristd em Lingwa Concani pelo Padre Totncis Estevd,o, S./. (1962). Suriagy Ananda Rau (1930-88)' author of Gramm,itica da [,ingua maratha explicad'a em I'ingaa fortu,gueza and Diccionario maratha-portuguez. Fr. Graciano Morais (b. 1904), author of Gramcitica concani and Transliteragd.o d,a lingua concani orn caracteres rolma,nos. V. J. Janin Rangel ( 1858-1949 ), author of Gramrilica da Lingua ConcaniFrei Manuel de Cristo, pseudonym of Fr. Filinto Cristo Dias (b. 1904), author of Vi'cios m.ais correntes d'a lingua fortu.gwesa

e os Resfectcvos l:'roblemas

em Goa.

The DRAMATIC activity was conducted in Goa at different theatres that existed in the XIX century not only in the capital but also in some other places like Ponda, Bicholim,

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2r

Mapugi and Ribandar. But very few works of scanty literary value can be referred to.

In6cio Cust6dio Coelho wrote the play Os Dois lrmdos e ds Duas Meninas Vizinhas; Luis Napoleho de Ataide (d.1909 ), author of A Mulher do Artista (comedy in 2 acts ), e fitho d.a Itrestre Jorge (drama in 3 acts ), A Vidva d,o Comandanto ( comedy in 2 acts ) and Nobre*a da Alma ( drama in 2 acts ).

Fernanda de Castro ( b. 1900 ), already referred in poetry and fictioc, born in Lisbon and married to the Portuguese writer Ant6nio Ferro, wrote the following plays : Ndufragos, Escola cl,e Maridos, O Emfres(irio e a Actriz, O Estrangeiro e o portugu,Es, Solteira ou Casad,a, A Pedra no Lago, and the translations A Fuga and Knock Ant6nio Jos6 dos M6rtires e Souza (d.1942), author of the play Viva o tio Reged,or !. Ananta Rau Sar Dessai ( U. 1910 ), is perhaps the best playwright of Goa, author of numerous plays, as Parrso e Meio, Fino e Meio, ,4 Forga rJo Sexo Fraco, Par6d,ia d.e Aunasattyagraha, parvos e Prud,entes, eti.

This pr6cis of the literary history of Goa in portuguese language covers almost the whole period of over four and half centuries of the Portuguese rule and culture in India. But, due to the exiguity of the space assigned to me in this erudite magazine,ithadtobeverybrief so that due appreciation of the authors and their works could not be added, and names of some writers of lesser importance were

forgone.

Since printed

or unprinted material and other relevant sources are available, the writing of the tristory of Indo-Portuguese I i te ra tur e is petfectly possible.

A glance over the foregoing pages shows that the Portuguese literary culture of Goans achieved maturity and flourished for about a century, beginning from the first quarter of the XtX to the flrst quarter of the XX century, during which many scholars of Goa mastered the Portuguese language so well that they can compare with good writers of Portugal. Thereafter a sharp

404A

decadence was caused by the same above mentioned factors as in Portugal, and, since liberation of Goa, it is vanishing fast and facing possible extinction due to the ill-considered indifference of the inhabitants and the Government of this territory.

circumstances lead to believe that the Portuguese letters will no longer restore thc pristine excellence in Goa, but the question is whether the Portuguese language is worth pressrving or not. I think that it is not only worth but it is necessary to preserve it. The necessity will rernain almost for ever because five century old records ,of atl walks of Goan life, of inappreciable value, are written in Portuguese ; documents of birth, marriage and death, public and private deeds of all sorts of acts and contracts, judicial proceedings and suits, etc. etc. On the other hand, many libraries in Goa, public and private as well, the historical archives, and the archives of Government offices and of parish churches stilt .conserve copious material in Portuguese of high historical value, with help of which the histoiy of the Portuguese in the East could perhaps be reconstituted ; hence it would be worth and wise preserving the Portuguese language in tbis territory.

The overall

BIBLIOGRAPHY \Mm. lheodore de (Editor). Sources of Indian Tradition lColumbia Universiry Press, New York, 1960)

l.

Bar_v,

2.

Correia, Dr. Alberto Carlos Germano da Silva. Os Luso-descendentes dq India (Tip. Rangel, Bastori, Goa,1922\

3.

Costa, Aleixo Manuel da, Literatura Goesa (Agdncia Geral do Liltrarnar, Empresa TipogrSfica, Lisboa, 1967)

4.

Devi, Vimala e Manuel de Seabra, A Ltteraturu Indo-Portuguesa (Junta d.'

Investigag6cs do Ultramar, In-:prensa Portuguesa, Lisboa,

l97l)

Dias, Pe. Filinto Cristo, Esbogo dq Hist|ria da Literaturq Indo-Portuguesa, (Tip. Rangel, Bastor6, Goa, 1963) 6.

Saraiva, Ant6nio Jos6 e Oscar Lopes, Hist1ria da Literalura Portuguesa, (Porto Editora Lda., Porto, n.d.)