TREASURE TROVES OF HISTORY |
By Constantino Hermanns Xavier
MUSEUMS ARE holy places for Historians. They are also important as they keep a continuous link and present a sense of common belonging to different generations over time. Portugal, being one of the oldest countries in Europe, has a rich panorama of museums. Over the centuries museums have developed and adapted to new needs and objectives. Today, in Portugal and around the world, they symbolize the living pillars of a nation, housing the past and the present.
It is during the Renaissance period that the concept of museum started in Portugal. D. Afonso (1370-1461), 1 st Duque of the Bragança dynasty, Damião de Góis and later Garcia de Orta were the first to have a large collection of historical statues, religious figures, plants and spices etc. But this activity and the accessibility to the collections was limited only to a small group. In 1720, by with the formation of the Royal Academy of Portuguese History and by issuing a law on the conservation of historic buildings, king D. João V made the collections public. With the inauguration of the Botanical Gardens in Lisbon, or the Science Museum at the University of Coimbra (1772), the modern concept of museum establishes itself for the first time in Portugal.
| Portuguese titles are also used to decorate exterior walls of churches and palaces. |
But the 19 th century is the period par excellence for Portuguese museum history. Like the establishment of the Zoological Garden or the Aquario Vasco da Gama. It was by that time that the heritage of Portuguese colonies around the world - besides that of Portugal was systematically classified and organized through several study missions sponsored by the King or by private institutions, such as the Sociedade de Geografia de Lisboa. In the case of Goa, one remembers the great study by A. Lopes Mendes in 1862, published in two volumes as India Portugueza a reference until today.
With the advent of the New State and the Salazar regime in 1933, museums were given a nationalist programme, glorifying in a conservative way Portugals past, but also playing an important role in promoting the cultures and traditions of the overseas territories in Europe, like it was done in the Portuguese World Exhibition in 1940. The Association for Portuguese Museology was founded in 1965. In the post-1974 democratic era the static concept of museology was abandoned which eventually led to the creation in 1985, in Lisbon, the International Movement for a New Museology.
Museums galore
TODAY, THERE is a huge diversity of Portuguese museums, different in theme, size, location and even structure. Out of the most striking one is the Museu Nacional do Azulejo (National Tile Museum). The Portuguese have a long and deep appreciation for ceramic tiles; in fact, the beauty, variety and abundance of tiles are characteristic of this Iberian country. The vibrant ceramic tiles of blues, yellows and teals decorate the facades of buildings, create wall-paper like patterns on interiors, surround doors and windows and even mark passageways on sidewalks and streets. Housed in the former Madre de Deus Convent, it is a must-see for people interested in the history and design of ceramic tiles.
TODAY, THERE is a huge diversity of Portuguese museums, different in theme, size, location and even structure. Out of the most striking one is the Museu Nacional do Azulejo (National Tile Museum). The Portuguese have a long and deep appreciation for ceramic tiles; in fact, the beauty, variety and abundance of tiles are characteristic of this Iberian country. The vibrant ceramic tiles of blues, yellows and teals decorate the facades of buildings, create wall-paper like patterns on interiors, surround doors and windows and even mark passageways on sidewalks and streets. Housed in the former Madre de Deus Convent, it is a must-see for people interested in the history and design of ceramic tiles.
There are so many other national museums of great beauty, such as the National Museum of Archaeology, the National Museum for Contemporary Art (Chiado), the Gulbenkian Museum or the exquisite National Coach Museum, with beautiful historical carriages which were used to transport kings and queens. Then
there is the National Museum of Ethnology, housing a vast collection from the former colonies, Goa, Daman and Diu included. The Museum of Ancient Art houses an impressive collection, from which the Indo-Portuguese furniture and other precious Indian artefacts are the most striking ones. But there are also more modern undertakings, such as the Design Museum, housed in the impressive and modern Centro Cultural de Belém, in Lisbon.
How is it possible to maintain such a diversity of museums in Portugal effectively? Though there still is no legislation regarding the organization of the museologic panorama in Portugal, the Portuguese Government has created the Portuguese Museums Network comprising of some 30 national museums, 15 museums who are managed autonomously by the Azores and Madeira archipelagos, 50 locally-run museums (municipalities etc.), apart from Church and private-owned museums. This
brings us to an approximate total number of around 150 museums in Portugal! The main body governing public museums, the Portuguese Institute for Museums, regularly organises events to promote museums (which in 2003 attracted overall 1,00,000 visitors), such as conferences, guided tours, cinema weeks or study visits for younger or elderly people. On a more institutional perspective, under the matriznet project all the collections of the National Museums is accessible on Internet.
| Portugal's largest cultural centre in Belem, Lisbon, housing the Design Museum. |
Goa far behind
WHEN COMPARING this with Goa, though the history of this state is as rich or even richer than the Portuguese one, it lacks in promotion. There is of course the Ancestral Goa in Loutolim, which attractively gives life to old Goan traditions. But the Goa State Museum, though has a rich collection, has an extremely low number of visitors. This was also one of the reasons pointed out for the shifting of the Christian Art Museum from Rachol to Old Goa. Yet, it might be that the problem lies not only in location but also in adequate promotion. Tourists, but also local Goan visitors have to be attracted, and given strong reasons to visit these museums. Why not organize parallel cultural events, like conferences or music concerts in or next to the museum premises?
WHEN COMPARING this with Goa, though the history of this state is as rich or even richer than the Portuguese one, it lacks in promotion. There is of course the Ancestral Goa in Loutolim, which attractively gives life to old Goan traditions. But the Goa State Museum, though has a rich collection, has an extremely low number of visitors. This was also one of the reasons pointed out for the shifting of the Christian Art Museum from Rachol to Old Goa. Yet, it might be that the problem lies not only in location but also in adequate promotion. Tourists, but also local Goan visitors have to be attracted, and given strong reasons to visit these museums. Why not organize parallel cultural events, like conferences or music concerts in or next to the museum premises?
Considering the promotion of the historical heritage of Goa, I must say there is much to be done. Full of zest to visit each and every monument in Goa way back in 1999, I got a Goa Tourism Department Sightseeing Map and followed every marked spot. Most of them were completely abandoned (like the Alorna Fort or the Kandhepar Buddhist caves). The most interesting experience was to discover that the Nanuz Fort in Valpoi, was marked as a sightseeing spot on the map. Only with great help of some local villagers who opened up the way through the vegetation I found a ruined cross marking the spot of the fort
that had been destroyed back in the 19 th century!
(Courtesy: Goan Observer - To subscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
This first of its kind Gulf-Goans e-newsletter archived at www.yahoogroups.com/group/gulf-goans is dedicated to Goans around the Globe and is moderated/edited by Gaspar Almeida (since 1994) and presented by Ulysses Menezes, owner of http://www.goa-world.com website.
GOENCHO ULO - New Konkani Fortnightly in Romi script
- First issue hit the stand on 24-Nov-2005.
To know more about it, contact : AMCHI BHAS PROKAXON c/o Diamond Publications, Rua de Natal, Fontainhas, Panaji-Goa. 403 001 India.
Ph. 9226287330, 9822982676 [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED]
EXPRESSIONS - The Flower Shop (Goa) www.goa-world.com/expressions/
THE GOAN FORUM www.colaco.com
SUPERGOA www.supergoa.com
Yahoo! Personals
Single? There's someone we'd like you to meet.
Lot's of someone's, actually. Yahoo! Personals
http://www.goa-world.com
http://www.live365.com/stations/61664 Live Konkani Music
http://www.mahableshwar.com/
Addresses:
Post message: [email protected]
Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
List owner: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
URL to this page:
http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/gulf-goans
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
- Visit your group "gulf-goans" on the web.
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
