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| .Banniere de l'Inquisition de Goa.. tvaraj.com |
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| limits of religion and patriotism. www.cagle.com |
But many Christians of Goa were ethnically
attached to some of their ancient Indian customs and refused to abandon
them. Those, who adamantly refused to comply with the rules laid down by
the Inquisition, were forced to leave Goa and to settle outside the
Portuguese dominion. About 7,000 of them (mostly Saraswat Brahmins) fled
Goa. Most migrated to South Canara in what is called the "First Wave of
Migration
Orthodox Hindus never wear slippers
while praying before the deity on the temple premises or any other
places of worship. They leave them at the entrance of the temple. At
weddings, even to day, indigenous practices such as use of a variety of
flowers, betel leaves and are-ca
nuts, playing Indian instruments and drums, wedding costumes,
jewelry for both brides and grooms etc are ceremoniously and strictly
followed. Likewise many Christians even today do follow many of these
customs. Brides do wear typical Indian Saree at the solemnization
of wedding in the Church.
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| Hindu Genocide in Goa Inquisitionagniveerfan.wordpress.com |
At catholic churches both Christians
and Hindus bring in flower garlands to be offered to Holy Mother Mary
and do prayers by holding two hands in supplication. Many prostrate
before the alter - a sort of complete surrender to the lotus feet of the
Almighty be it Krishna or Christ, the messenger of God, for His grace, guidance and blessing during the turbulent
period. Another Hindu custom is tonsuring of head, a typical Hindu
custom as a token of gratitude or an expression of thanks to the deity
for having fulfilled their prayer; example: fixing of marriage, property
disputes, business deals, severe ailments, etc. On completion one year,
young parents take their babies to their family deity for tonsure so
that the baby will have a healthy, peaceful and prosperous life.
Christians do follow this custom with religious fervor without fail. For centuries this tradition has been in practice.
Many Orthodox Indian Christians reverentially keep the statue of Christ or Mary at home and do
daily prayer. Lots of staunch Indian Christians
undertake annual long ''pada yatra'' - walking barefoot covering 100
km plus to well-known churches under scorching sun to attend important,
holy annual events to express their thanks for fulfilling their prayer.
Thus here in India Christians do follow lots of typical indigenous
customs without compromising on the true Christian spirit and tradition as prescribed by the religious authorities.
The moral
behind the Indian ceremonial customs associated with temples and prayers
is ''steadfast faith, commitment and ''Vairagia''- firm
determination are essential for man's success in his arduous life long
journey.
Francis Buchanan, a Scottish physician,
when he visited Canara in 1801, in his book, 'A Journey from Madras
through the Countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar (1807),' stated that
" Goan Christians - roughly 8000 left Goa,came and settled in South
Canara at the invitation of the King of Bednore."
In 1664 and later, the Maratha rulers invasions also one of the causes of exodus of Indian Christians.
In 1664 and later, the Maratha rulers invasions also one of the causes of exodus of Indian Christians.
The "Second Wave of Migration"1571 took
place because of attacks by the Sultan of Bijapur and the third wave
of migration took place in the 1600s to escape from horrors of
inquisition. In 1664 and later the Maratha rulers's invasions also one of
the causes of exodus of Indian Christians. From the Bardez district of
Goa, Jesuit priests estimated that 12,000 Christians migrated to the
South of Goa between 1710–1712. A Goa Government report of 1747 recorded
that around 5,000 Christians fled to South Canara from the Bardez and
Tiswadi districts of Goa during the invasion of the Marathas. It was
estimated that during the Maratha raids on Goa, about 60,000 Christians
migrated to South Canara. In the later years, the migration slowed
because of the
Maratha-Mogul wars, which kept Sambhaji busy, and some
10,000 Christians returned to Goa. Some of the Hindu rulers were against
the missionaries because of their attitude towards locals and their
approach to conversion under force and inducements to entice the
natives.
In 1787, encouraged and inspired by the
French Revolution, several Goan Catholic priests, unhappy with the
methods of promotion within the Church and other open discriminatory
practices of the Portuguese, revolted against them. The ''Pinto
Revolt,''though unsuccessful and failed to get the attention of the
Portuguese, the first ever open revolt against the theocratic
Portuguese rulers from within Goa. Subsequently Britain gained control
of Goa - first in 1797–1798 and the second time from 1802–1813. In
1843, the capital was moved to Panjim and later Portuguese influence was
on the decline.
Inquisitions were used by the
Portuguese as a deterrent to prevent defection back to other faiths
and the result was counter productive and had far reaching
implications. Though the Christian converts followed the Hindu customs
in the privacy of their home such as greeting people with nameste,
growing Tulsi plant or sacred basil, dress, wedding music, method of
prayer, etc they were more loyal to the Christian faiths than the
Europeans themselves who threw to the winds the true Christian spirit of
compassion, love and brotherhood.
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| Inquisition. tackk.com |
During Goan Inquisition in
1784 Indian Jesuits were not allowed to carry out their preaching
activities in local language - Konkani. They were punished severely for
using the local language in church prayers and services. They wanted
Indian natives to become westernized following Portuguese way of life
in every aspect. They were compelled to use Portuguese as their main tongue and follow their customs like western music, diet, drinks, etc. Indian Jesuits who violate the restrictions were given severe punishment. Thus, many customs were suppressed and Goans were forced to become became
"Westernized" to some degree as a Catholic elite who came to see
themselves as a "cultivated branch of a global Portuguese civilization.
People, renamed after conversion were not permitted to use their
original Hindu names.
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| Test of patience, Christian inquisitionbiasedbbc.org |
There is a small community of Gowda Saraswath Brahmins settled in the Kochi area. They came to this place during ethnic cleansing in Goa. They established a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu and the families now live near the temple.
Ref:
Historian Alfredo de Mello describes the performers religion of Christ.l". Rediff. 14 September 2005. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
http://pt.scribd.com/doc/28411503/Goa-Inquisition-for-Colonial-Disciplining
"Recall the Goa Inquisition to stop the Church from crying foul". Rediff (India). 16 March 1999.
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