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Communidade de Saligao---VI The first encounter of the Portuguese administration with the ganvkari is expressed in an elaborate study of the local tradition by Afonso Mexia in “ Foral dos Usos e Costumes dos Gaoncares e Lavradores desta Ilha de Goa e Outros Annexos nela.”( Charter of Habits and Customs of the the Ganvkars and Non-Ganvkar Workers of the Island of Goa and its Dependencies, 1526)which sets outs the charter of uses and customs of ganvkars and peasants of the island of Goa and other territories annexed to it, that is the gifted territories of Salcete and Bardes which also had their ‘ Foral de Salcete e Bardez’( Chater of Salcete and Bardez). Here then is the first instance in which, under the guise of codification, the local was brought under the purview of the colonial to empower the latter to comprehend and then exercise subtle changes within an age-old system. But the real disruption of an organic whole began after 1540, when aggressive measures to convert scattered the population, dividing clans and families. In the process, vast quantities of land changed hands; from temples to the church, from those who fled never to return to those who acquiesced perhaps not quite knowing what exactly was in store. As converts they take pride in not having lost their share in the communidade, since all those who fled to escape conversion automatically forfeited their place within the system. Many of these families consist of converts who fled to the outskirts of Goa during the maratha invasions of Bardez between 1654 and 1740, or to escape the excesses of Inquisition which south to change their socio-cultural customs and to suppress konkani. There were some who sought refuge when epidemics threatened their lives. Known as Bardezkars because most of them fled from the villages of Bardez, they are now a small but vibrant Konkani speaking community settled on the Western Ghats in areas of Karnataka and Maharashtra. Their link with Goa is through the village community of their ancestry and the land where some of them still have a share. No matter where he is, the goan villager returns to inscribe his son’s name in the communidade register. Since the very sense of self was inseparable from membership of the ganvkari, land became the central issue: they would have lost all if they went into exile; instead they could retain their holdings and could add to it, or in case of ‘kulacharins’( outsiders helpers), they could earn the status and rights of membership of the ganvkari. This is the basis of communal harmony in Goa, this system that looked after everyone irrespective of caste. Land and the community spirit bound our ancestors. However, the history of mass conversions as well as individual ones is complex and far removed from the blurred and distorted version that suits contemporary discourse. Archival records illuminate the reconstruction of life and varieties of human experience in those troubled times. Careful analysis of old records would provide insights into social transformations within Goan society and would promote a better understanding of human experience at the time. More importantly, such a study would destroy the basis of political conclusions which are being drawn today based on bare statements of historical fact which do not take into account the human dimension--- the grey areas of experience through which the decision to convert was negotiated’(6)… to be continued Compiled by Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas. |
