attachment Inquisition in Goa

[Guest guest]

 

Historian deSouza on the Goa Inquisition

 

 

 

Dr. T. R. de Souza

 

\"At least from 1540 onwards, and in the island of Goa before that year, all the

Hindu idols had been annihilated or had disappeared, all the temples had been

destroyed and their sites and building material was in most cases utilized to

erect new Christian Churches and chapels. Various viceregal and Church council

decrees banished the Hindu priests from the Portuguese territories; the public

practices of Hindu rites including marriage rites, were banned; the state took

upon itself the task of bringing up Hindu orphan children; the Hindus were

denied certain employments, while the Christians were preferred; it was ensured

that the Hindus would not harass those who became Christians, and on the

contrary, the Hindus were obliged to assemble periodically in Churches to listen

to preaching or to the refutation of their religion.\"

 

\"A particularly grave abuse was practiced in Goa in the form of \'mass

baptism\' and what went before it. The practice was begun by the Jesuits and was

alter initiated by the Franciscans also. The Jesuits staged an annual mass

baptism on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (January 25), and in order to

secure as many neophytes as possible, a few days before the ceremony the Jesuits

would go through the streets of the Hindu quarter in pairs, accompanied by their

Negro slaves, whom they would urge to seize the Hindus. When the blacks caught

up a fugitive, they would smear his lips with a piece of beef, making him an

\'untouchable\' among his people. Conversion to Christianity was then his only

option.\"

 

The Goan inquisition is regarded by all contemporary portrayals as the most

violent inquisition ever executed by the Portuguese Catholic Church. It lasted

from 1560 to 1812. The inquisition was set as a tribunal, headed by a judge,

sent to Goa from Portugal and was assisted by two judicial henchmen. The judge

was answerable to no one except to Lisbon and handed down punishments as he saw

fit. The Inquisition Laws filled 230 pages and the palace where the Inquisition

was conducted was known as the Big House and the Inquisition proceedings were

always conducted behind closed shutters and closed doors. The screams of agony

of the culprits (men, women, and children) could be heard in the streets, in the

stillness of the night, as they were brutally interrogated, flogged, and slowly

dismembered in front of their relatives. Eyelids were sliced off and extremities

were amputated carefully, a person could remain conscious even though the only

thing that remained was his torso and a !

head.

 

Diago de Boarda, a priest and his advisor Vicar General, Miguel Vazz had made a

41 point plan for torturing Hindus. Under this plan Viceroy Antano de Noronha

issued in 1566, an order applicable to the entire area under Portuguese rule :

 

\"I hereby order that in any area owned by my master, the king, nobody should

construct a Hindu temple and such temples already constructed should not be

repaired without my permission. If this order is transgressed, such temples

shall be, destroyed and the goods in them shall be used to meet expenses of holy

deeds, as punishment of such transgression.\"

 

In 1567 the campaign of destroying temples in Bardez met with success. At the

end of it 300 Hindu temples were destroyed. Enacting laws, prohibition was laid

from December 4, 1567 on rituals of Hindu marriages, sacred thread wearing and

cremation. All the persons above 15 years of age were compelled to listen to

Christian preaching, failing which they were punished.

 

A religious fatva was issued on the basis of the findings of Goa Inquiry

Commission. It stated,\"...Hereby we declare the decision that the conventions

mentioned in the preamble of the fatva as stated below are permanently declared

as useless, and therefore prohibited\".

 

Prohibitions Regarding Marriages

 

* The instruments for Hindu songs shall not be played.

 

* While giving dowry the relatives of the bride and groom must not be

invited.

 

* At the time of marriage, betel leaf packages (pan) must not be distributed

either publicly or in private to the persons present.

 

* Flowers, or fried puris, betel nuts and leaves must not be sent to the

heads of the houses of the bride or groom.

 

* Gotraj ceremony of family God must not be performed.

 

* On the day prior to a wedding, rice must not be husked, spices must not be

pounded, grains must not be ground and other recipes for marriage feast must not

be cooked.

 

* Pandals and festoons must not be used.

 

* Pithi should not be applied.

 

* The bride must not be accorded ceremonial welcome. The bride and groom must

not be made to sit under pandal to convey blessings and best wishes to them.

 

Prohibitions Regarding Fasts, Post-death Rituals

 

* The poor must not be fed or ceremonial meals must not be served for the

peace of the souls of the dead.

 

* There should be no fasting on ekadashi day.

 

* Fasting can be done according to the Christian principles.

 

* No rituals should be performed on the twelfth day after death, on moonless

and full moon dates.

 

No fasting should be done during lunar eclipse.

 

Conventions

 

* Hindu men should not wear dhoti either in public or in their houses. Women

should not wear cholis .

 

* They should not plant Tulsi in their houses, compounds, gardens or any

other place.

 

Following the law of 1567, orphans were kidnapped for converting them to

Christianity.

 

On September 22, 1570 an order was issued that :

 

* The Hindus embracing Christianity will be exempted from land taxes for a

period of 15 years.

 

* Nobody shall bear Hindu names or surnames.

 

In 1583 Hindu temples at Esolna and Kankolim were destroyed through army action.

 

\"The fathers of the Church forbade the Hindus under terrible penalties the use

of their own sacred books, and prevented them from all exercise of their

religion. They destroyed their temples, and so harassed and interfered with the

people that they abandoned the city in large numbers, refusing to remain any

longer in a place where they had no liberty, and were liable to imprisonment,

torture and death if they worshipped after their own fashion the gods of their

fathers.\" wrote Sasetti, who was in India from 1578 to 1588.

 

An order was issued in June 1684 eliminating Konkani language and making it

compulsory to speak Portuguese language. The law provided for dealing toughly

with anyone using the local language. Following that law all the symbols of

non-Christian sects were destroyed and the books written in local languages were

burnt.

 

The Archbishop living on the banks of the Ethora had said during one of his

lecture series, \"The post of Inquiry Commission in Goa is regarded as holy.\"

The women who opposed the assistants of the commission were put behind the bars

and were used by them to satisfy their animal instincts. Then they were burnt

alive as opponents of the established tenets of the Catholic church.

 

The victims of such inhuman laws of the Inquiry Commission included a French

traveller named Delone. He was an eye witness to the atrocities, cruelty and

reign of terror unleashed by priests. He published a book in 1687 describing the

lot of helpless victims. While he was in jail he had heard the cries of tortured

people beaten with instruments having sharp teeth. All these details are noted

in Delone\'s book.

 

So harsh and notorious was the inquisition in Goa, that word of its brutality

and horrors reached Lisbon but nothing was done to stop this notoriety and

escalating barbarity and it continued for two hundred more years. No body knows

the exact number of Goans subjected to these diabolical tortures, but perhaps it

runs into hundreds of thousands, may be even more. The abominations of

inquisitions continued until a brief respite was given in 1774 but four years

later, the inquisition was introduced again and it continued un-interruptedly

until 1812. At that point in time, in the year of 1812, the British put pressure

on the Portuguese to put an end to the terror of Inquisition and the presence of

British troops in Goa enforced the British desire. Also the Portuguese power at

this time was declining and they could not fight the British. The palace of the

Grand Inquisitor, the Big House, was demolished and no trace of it remains

today, which might remind someone of inquisitions a!

nd the horrors inside this Big House that their great saint Francis Xavier had

commenced.

 

Dr. Trasta Breganka Kunha, a Catholic citizen of Goa writes, \"Inspite of all

the mutilations and concealment of history, it remains an undoubted fact that

religious conversion of Goans is due to methods of force adopted by the

Portuguese to establish their rule. As a result of this violence the character

of our people was destroyed. The propagation of Christian sect in Goa came about

not by religious preaching but through the methods of violence and pressure. If

any evidence is needed for this fact, we can obtain it through law books, orders

and reports of the local rulers of that time and also from the most dependable

documents of the Christian sect.”

 

 

On Mon, 30 May 2005 Parama Karuna Devi wrote :

>

>Dear Sister Usha (are you a nun?)

>Hindus in general may not conduct large charities (yet – I am personally

working in that direction), but they have never committed genocide or

persecution against anyone.

>And the same thing can be said about Pagans.

>On the other hand, it was Muslims and Christians who brought casteism and

mistreatment of women into India. In Puranas, Upanishads etc there are heaps of

stories about people who changed their caste very easily, and about the respect

for women.

>PKD

>Historian deSouza on the Goa Inquisition

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

very nice indeed. I would like to add a little known fact. The Samadhi of

Bhaskara Raya Makhi aka Bhasurananda Natha was "said to be" in a Saraswati

temple called Saptakoti swara kshetra - or the temple of 70 Million notes - This

temple was demolished and in its place stands the St. Xavior's Church in Goa.

 

Parama Karuna Devi <paramakaruna wrote:

Historian deSouza on the Goa Inquisition

 

 

 

Dr. T. R. de Souza

 

\"At least from 1540 onwards, and in the island of Goa before that year, all the

Hindu idols had been annihilated or had disappeared, all the temples had been

destroyed and their sites and building material was in most cases utilized to

erect new Christian Churches and chapels. Various viceregal and Church council

decrees banished the Hindu priests from the Portuguese territories; the public

practices of Hindu rites including marriage rites, were banned; the state took

upon itself the task of bringing up Hindu orphan children; the Hindus were

denied certain employments, while the Christians were preferred; it was ensured

that the Hindus would not harass those who became Christians, and on the

contrary, the Hindus were obliged to assemble periodically in Churches to listen

to preaching or to the refutation of their religion.\"

 

\"A particularly grave abuse was practiced in Goa in the form of \'mass

baptism\' and what went before it. The practice was begun by the Jesuits and was

alter initiated by the Franciscans also. The Jesuits staged an annual mass

baptism on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (January 25), and in order to

secure as many neophytes as possible, a few days before the ceremony the Jesuits

would go through the streets of the Hindu quarter in pairs, accompanied by their

Negro slaves, whom they would urge to seize the Hindus. When the blacks caught

up a fugitive, they would smear his lips with a piece of beef, making him an

\'untouchable\' among his people. Conversion to Christianity was then his only

option.\"

 

The Goan inquisition is regarded by all contemporary portrayals as the most

violent inquisition ever executed by the Portuguese Catholic Church. It lasted

from 1560 to 1812. The inquisition was set as a tribunal, headed by a judge,

sent to Goa from Portugal and was assisted by two judicial henchmen. The judge

was answerable to no one except to Lisbon and handed down punishments as he saw

fit. The Inquisition Laws filled 230 pages and the palace where the Inquisition

was conducted was known as the Big House and the Inquisition proceedings were

always conducted behind closed shutters and closed doors. The screams of agony

of the culprits (men, women, and children) could be heard in the streets, in the

stillness of the night, as they were brutally interrogated, flogged, and slowly

dismembered in front of their relatives. Eyelids were sliced off and extremities

were amputated carefully, a person could remain conscious even though the only

thing that remained was his torso and a !

head.

 

Diago de Boarda, a priest and his advisor Vicar General, Miguel Vazz had made a

41 point plan for torturing Hindus. Under this plan Viceroy Antano de Noronha

issued in 1566, an order applicable to the entire area under Portuguese rule :

 

\"I hereby order that in any area owned by my master, the king, nobody should

construct a Hindu temple and such temples already constructed should not be

repaired without my permission. If this order is transgressed, such temples

shall be, destroyed and the goods in them shall be used to meet expenses of holy

deeds, as punishment of such transgression.\"

 

In 1567 the campaign of destroying temples in Bardez met with success. At the

end of it 300 Hindu temples were destroyed. Enacting laws, prohibition was laid

from December 4, 1567 on rituals of Hindu marriages, sacred thread wearing and

cremation. All the persons above 15 years of age were compelled to listen to

Christian preaching, failing which they were punished.

 

A religious fatva was issued on the basis of the findings of Goa Inquiry

Commission. It stated,\"...Hereby we declare the decision that the conventions

mentioned in the preamble of the fatva as stated below are permanently declared

as useless, and therefore prohibited\".

 

Prohibitions Regarding Marriages

 

* The instruments for Hindu songs shall not be played.

 

* While giving dowry the relatives of the bride and groom must not be

invited.

 

* At the time of marriage, betel leaf packages (pan) must not be distributed

either publicly or in private to the persons present.

 

* Flowers, or fried puris, betel nuts and leaves must not be sent to the

heads of the houses of the bride or groom.

 

* Gotraj ceremony of family God must not be performed.

 

* On the day prior to a wedding, rice must not be husked, spices must not be

pounded, grains must not be ground and other recipes for marriage feast must not

be cooked.

 

* Pandals and festoons must not be used.

 

* Pithi should not be applied.

 

* The bride must not be accorded ceremonial welcome. The bride and groom must

not be made to sit under pandal to convey blessings and best wishes to them.

 

Prohibitions Regarding Fasts, Post-death Rituals

 

* The poor must not be fed or ceremonial meals must not be served for the

peace of the souls of the dead.

 

* There should be no fasting on ekadashi day.

 

* Fasting can be done according to the Christian principles.

 

* No rituals should be performed on the twelfth day after death, on moonless

and full moon dates.

 

No fasting should be done during lunar eclipse.

 

Conventions

 

* Hindu men should not wear dhoti either in public or in their houses. Women

should not wear cholis .

 

* They should not plant Tulsi in their houses, compounds, gardens or any

other place.

 

Following the law of 1567, orphans were kidnapped for converting them to

Christianity.

 

On September 22, 1570 an order was issued that :

 

* The Hindus embracing Christianity will be exempted from land taxes for a

period of 15 years.

 

* Nobody shall bear Hindu names or surnames.

 

In 1583 Hindu temples at Esolna and Kankolim were destroyed through army action.

 

\"The fathers of the Church forbade the Hindus under terrible penalties the use

of their own sacred books, and prevented them from all exercise of their

religion. They destroyed their temples, and so harassed and interfered with the

people that they abandoned the city in large numbers, refusing to remain any

longer in a place where they had no liberty, and were liable to imprisonment,

torture and death if they worshipped after their own fashion the gods of their

fathers.\" wrote Sasetti, who was in India from 1578 to 1588.

 

An order was issued in June 1684 eliminating Konkani language and making it

compulsory to speak Portuguese language. The law provided for dealing toughly

with anyone using the local language. Following that law all the symbols of

non-Christian sects were destroyed and the books written in local languages were

burnt.

 

The Archbishop living on the banks of the Ethora had said during one of his

lecture series, \"The post of Inquiry Commission in Goa is regarded as holy.\"

The women who opposed the assistants of the commission were put behind the bars

and were used by them to satisfy their animal instincts. Then they were burnt

alive as opponents of the established tenets of the Catholic church.

 

The victims of such inhuman laws of the Inquiry Commission included a French

traveller named Delone. He was an eye witness to the atrocities, cruelty and

reign of terror unleashed by priests. He published a book in 1687 describing the

lot of helpless victims. While he was in jail he had heard the cries of tortured

people beaten with instruments having sharp teeth. All these details are noted

in Delone\'s book.

 

So harsh and notorious was the inquisition in Goa, that word of its brutality

and horrors reached Lisbon but nothing was done to stop this notoriety and

escalating barbarity and it continued for two hundred more years. No body knows

the exact number of Goans subjected to these diabolical tortures, but perhaps it

runs into hundreds of thousands, may be even more. The abominations of

inquisitions continued until a brief respite was given in 1774 but four years

later, the inquisition was introduced again and it continued un-interruptedly

until 1812. At that point in time, in the year of 1812, the British put pressure

on the Portuguese to put an end to the terror of Inquisition and the presence of

British troops in Goa enforced the British desire. Also the Portuguese power at

this time was declining and they could not fight the British. The palace of the

Grand Inquisitor, the Big House, was demolished and no trace of it remains

today, which might remind someone of inquisitions a!

nd the horrors inside this Big House that their great saint Francis Xavier had

commenced.

 

Dr. Trasta Breganka Kunha, a Catholic citizen of Goa writes, \"Inspite of all

the mutilations and concealment of history, it remains an undoubted fact that

religious conversion of Goans is due to methods of force adopted by the

Portuguese to establish their rule. As a result of this violence the character

of our people was destroyed. The propagation of Christian sect in Goa came about

not by religious preaching but through the methods of violence and pressure. If

any evidence is needed for this fact, we can obtain it through law books, orders

and reports of the local rulers of that time and also from the most dependable

documents of the Christian sect.”

 

 

On Mon, 30 May 2005 Parama Karuna Devi wrote :

>

>Dear Sister Usha (are you a nun?)

>Hindus in general may not conduct large charities (yet – I am personally

working in that direction), but they have never committed genocide or

persecution against anyone.

>And the same thing can be said about Pagans.

>On the other hand, it was Muslims and Christians who brought casteism and

mistreatment of women into India. In Puranas, Upanishads etc there are heaps of

stories about people who changed their caste very easily, and about the respect

for women.

>PKD

>Historian deSouza on the Goa Inquisition

 

 

 

 

 

 

/