Call it ‘Cabo Raj Niwas’, ‘Palacio Do Cabo’ or ‘Raj Bhavan’, the 86-acre property in Dona Paula is the subject of a recently-released book simply called ‘The Raj Bhavan Goa’. Reproduced below is an excerpt from the introduction to the informative book published by the Department of Information and Publicity.

ALACIO DO Cabo, Cabo Raj Niwas, Goa Raj Bhavan are the three official designations of the grand mansion that has been the residence the governors of Goa since 1917. It was the Palacio do Cabo in the last 44 years (1917-1961) of the four-centuries-and-a-half (1510-1961) history of the Portuguese period of Goa’s millennial history. It was Cabo Raj Niwas from December 19, 1961 when the Indian Armed Forces expelled the Portuguese from Goa and restored it to India.

Goa’s statute was then changed to union territory, along with Daman and Diu, the remaining former Portuguese possessions on the Gujarat Coast which, together, constituted the Estado da India Portuguesa, a pompous name for the remains of the once powerful and then decrepit Portuguese empire of the East. At one time it spanned two continents, Asia and Australasia, and two oceans: the Indian and the Pacific. Earlier, the enclaves of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, then part of Estado da India, had been liberated through popular action and merged with the Indian union as a separate union territory.

Goa Raj Bhavan is the designation of the gubernatorial mansion of the fully autonomous state of Goa, a status conceded on May 30, 1987 in response to the demand of the people of Goa who were not too happy with their status as union territory.

The geographical unit now known as Goa was carved out by the Portuguese over a period of 270 years (1510-1778) through bitter and sanguinary war and crafty diplomacy. Critics of the Portuguese describe Goa’s history under their rule as “of decadent obscurity… fitfully lit by the flash of the swords at Diu and the glare of Inquisition fires, but otherwise steadily darkening under the Portuguese intolerance, miscegenation and greed”. Historian and Oxford scholar J.B. Harrison disputes that view in his essay The Portuguese for A.L. Basham’s ‘A Cultural History of India’. He comments that the period was also characterised by some positive developments. Indeed, Portugal’s presence in Goa catalysed positive developments like the introduction of new crops and botanic species, western music, a new architectural style and a culinary revolution which, like architecture and music, blend the best of the East with the best of the West.

But there were other Goas, with other shapes, other frontiers, other demographic profiles, Indeed there were so many Goas…

SO MANY GOAS

“TO the north of Gokarna there is the kshetra (land) seven Yojnas (one yojna is roughly equal to 19.2 kms) in circumference (say, 140 sq kms in area) therein is situated Govapuri which destroys all sins. By the sight of Govapuri the sin committed in a previous existence is destroyed, as at sunrise darkness disappears… certainly there is no kshetra equal to Govapuri” - Suta Samhita, ch. 16.

That was Goa when the Aryans arrived, at an imprecise time of Goa’s history. Whenever they might have arrived, whether in Vedic times as mythicists vow, or around the third/seventh century AD as historians state, going by available evidence, Goa was populated by aborigines who were displaced by the more powerful and better skilled possessors who arrived centuries later.

Joao de Barros, a Portuguese chronicler (1406-1590) wrote in Decada II of his X Decadas (meaning decadal series of chronicles) wherein he narrates the history of the Portuguese Oriental Empire, “…the lands near the (Western) Ghats were first inhabited by humble people who descended from (the hills of) Canara…and dyked the land in the fashion of the Flemish till their continued efforts rendered them fertile and exuberant. Finally their people multiplied and the benefit of their farming techniques proven, came the sires from the interior of Kanara and they conquered these poor people.”

The above passage suggests that, before the Aryans arrived and settled in Govapuri, the land was in the possession of Dravidians. What was the area of the land and its name would be best left to conjecture. However, Dr. Olivinho Gomes, former head of the Konkani department of Goa University, went further back in Goa’s history, and wrote in his book Village Goa, A study of Goan Social Structure and Changes: “Mundari (was) probably spoken by the Koles, Mundas, Konkanas, proto-astroloids settled in the Konkan in early times.” Prof. Gomes also relies on Rev J. Hoffman’s Encyclopaedia Mundarica to fortify his hypothesis that Goy/Goem, meaning in Mundari a “cultivated land with high grass and food crops” was the root of the modern word Goa. Should it be so, the pastoral Dravidians arrived in Goa after the nomadic proto-astroloids had been driven away from it.

The Department of Archives and Archaeology of the Government of Goa found evidence of the existence of the pre-historic Goan in the 1980s, in Sanguem, the south-eastern taluk (subdivision) and one of the least developed areas of Goa, at Usgalimal and Kajur, and later the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) found corroborative evidence of the presence of the pre-historic man at Mauxi, in Sattari, Goa’s north-easternmost taluk which, like Sanguem, is one of the least developed areas of Goa.

The carvings found in Usgalimal and the Kajur rock-cut caves depict symbols of the cult of fertility, religious cosmology, a tristelion, animals like the Zebu bull, antelopes, bison, animals mating and in other postures. The carvings at Kajur are on chiselled granite and there is a remarkable, if small, anthropomorphic figure of the Mother Goddess. At Mauxi, archaeologists found an exquisite rock bruising of a bull. It has over-sized, lyre-shaped horns, and an over-emphasised hump. The body is somewhat large and linear, the whole position is stylised, and, according to experts, reminiscent of rock bruisings discovered earlier in Maski, Raichur district of Karnataka state. The Maski bull, more perfect than its Mauxi counterpart, has been dated to the Chalcolithic times (first millennium BC), while the Usgalimal and Kajur engravings might well be of the late Upper Paleolithic period (10,000 to 8,000 BC). Some cautious scholars opine that it would be imprudent to put a date to the finds without more detailed study. However, there is little doubt that the carvings are evidence that Goa’s culture, to all appearances highly developed, pre-dates Hinduism.

There were other Goas, with configurations other than modern Goa which we can only imagine because cartography in those remote times was still an intuitive science. In the chapter dealing with Goa’s etymology, the Goa Gazetteer (1979) offers various hypotheses. It cites, among other sources, the Madras Glossary which connects Gowa or Gova, Goem in Konkani, Goven in Marathi with the Sanskrit word ‘go’ or cow, in the sense that it was a country of cowherds. Goa might also be the abbreviation of Gornant, the land of Gomantas, mentioned in the 9 canto of Bhishmaparva of the Mahabharat Purana.

The usually accepted derivation of Gomantaka is: go (cattle) + manta (owners of herd cattle) + ka (a diminutive). In others words, a small land of cattle herd owners. There is reference to mount Gomanchal in the Harivamsha Purana, where, according to myth, there was a fierce battle between Shrikrishna and Jarasand, Lord of Magadha, who was defeated. But, Gomanchal is analogous to Gomantha Durga, referred to in the Kolhapur charter of Gandaraditya, the Shilahara King (AD 1115).

The Portuguese chronicler Diogo do Couto (1542-1615) traces the etymology of Goa to Goamoat, which was later contracted to Goe and the Portuguese corrupted to Goa, while the 17-century Bahian Jesuit and historian Francisco de Souza, author of Oriente Conquistado a Jesus Christo pelos Padres da Companhia de Jesus da Provincia de Goa, conjectures that the toponimic Goa was derived from the chief local deity Goubat which, as it happens, does not even figure in the Hindu pantheon.
And there are more conjectures and more controversies…

SO MANY SOVEREIGNS

THE historian Dr. Teresa Albuquerque registers in her timelines ‘Marks and Landmarks’ in Goa Cultural Patterns (Marg Publications, edited by the well known historian Dr Saryu Doshi, 1983) the sequences of Goa’s history: In the early beginnings (which she dates to 2000 BC which is a very conservative estimate) lived the Neolithic Man. The next known phase was marked by Buddhist presence (c. AD 200), attested by the finding of a stone image of Lord Buddha in dhyanamudra of, probably, the second or third century AD, which is an indication that the great convert Dharmakshit sent to the Konkan by Emperor Ashoka (273 BC- 232 BC) had by then introduced Buddhism in Goa.

Then follows, “a kaleidoscopic picture of occupation (of Goa), sometimes in parts by vassal kings rising and falling with the fortunes of (their rulers)”: the Bhojas, the Satavahanas, Shatrapas and Abhira, between 510 and 1008, the Kadambas of Banavasi, feudatories of the Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas, Shilaharas, who were seafarers and, as a consequence, trade with the Arabs flourished.

The Golden Age of pre-Portuguese Goa began with the Kadambas of Goa. “The origin of the Kadamba dynasty” wrote Professor George Moraes in his opus on the Kadambas, “is enveloped in the mist of legendary tales.” One of the tales we found in a Karnataka encyclopaedia refers to a poor woman who had her hut under a Kadamba (almond) tree. One day, three hunters visited her hamlet and requested her to cook for them the peacock they had just shot, and took her leave to return when the bird was cooked. Off they went and the woman cooked as best as she could, but while the pot was on the fire, his mouth watering with the flavour of the dish, her hungry son begged her for a morsel, and the woman unable to deny her only child, gave him stealthily what she thought was the most insignificant piece of the bird its head. After a while, the hunters came to lunch and began to churn the pot blindfolded. The allotment of their share of the bird had been accorded between them: the one who got the breast would be the head of the army, the one who picked out the legs would be the doorkeeper, and the one who found himself with the head would be the king. When they found the head missing they protested in no uncertain manner: they had been cheated. The poor woman offered profuse apologies and narrated what had happened. Thus, then, her son became the king and he founded the Kadamba dynasty.

As colourful is the inscription of the Nagarkhande Kadambas that connects the Kadamba family with that of the Nandas, a dynasty that was overthrown by the Mauryas, a powerful empire which broke up after the death of Ashoka in 232 BC. The inscription states that King Nanda who had no heir, worshipped Shiva in the Kailasa mountain for many days to obtain the miracle of a son being born t9o him. His request was not granted and he was in great distress when, as if to encourage him, some Kadamba flowers fell down, plucked from the tree by an invisible hand. At the same time, a heavenly voice assured him that two brilliant sons would be born to him under the name of the Kadamba-Kula and enjoined that they should be instructed in the use of weapons.

The end of the Kadambas of Goa was sad but expected. If their origins are enveloped in the mist of legends so too was their end. They began in Chandrapura and in Chandrapura they ended. Having lost Gopakapura to the Delhi Muhammedans in 1312, they returned to their old capital. Tradition has it that “the people were happy and prosperous, when suddenly one night the city was invaded by the enemy who murdered the King and many of the inhabitants. The princess and the ladies of the court destroyed their jewels and committed suicide by throwing themselves into the river which, it is believed, still leaves gold powder on the shore… The Queen who was away elsewhere in her kingdom, one day visited the city, but all she found was desolation and the sad news of her husband’s slaying. In utter grief she took off her jewels, crushed them, cast the debris all over the place and cursed the women of Chandrapura, wishing them all to suffer her plight. She then left the fortress and stamping her feet four times, swore she would not take anything from that city, not even the dust of her feet”. Then came the Delhi Muhammedans who never had any plans to occupy Goa permanently, but only wanted to plunder the country during the 57 years (1310-1367) they were here. Which is exactly what they did.

A Hindu revival followed (1367-1472). King Harihara, the emperor of Vijayanagar, sent to Goa two of his Goan generals Madhav Mantri and Vasant Waglo to oust the Muslims, a task they skillfully achieved. Under Madhav Mantri who was appointed governor, Goa prospered. The trade with the Arabs flourished once again, even after the Vijayanagar forces were defeated.

Goa once again fell to the Muslims, this time (1472) to the Bahamani Sultan Muhammad Shah II, whose forces were led by Khwaja Gawan, a cultured Persian and an able strategist. Khwaja Gawan had advised his sultan to take Goa, rather than Dabhol, then also a busy international port of call. Gawan described Goa as “the envy of the ports of India and famed for its fine climate, its coconuts and betel nuts, its forests, its springs like a mirror of the Gengi and a copy of the Cistern of Plenty.” Gawan was not aware then that his Sultan was an irascible man, perverse and sadistic. Suspecting Gawan’s fidelity, he had him killed. That he drowned his remorse in alcohol and drank to death is of little consequence.

The cruel, intolerant and irrational Bahamanis wrought havoc in Goa. Their empire was split into three sultanates and, as a result, Goa was ruled by another sultan from their splintered group, Yusuf Adil Shah, the Sultan of Bijapur, from 1489 to 1510. He made Ela, modern Old Goa, the capital of his empire. River Zuari had partly silted and Gopakapattana lost all its importance. River Mandovi was now the all important and much coveted port. It is said that Mandovi was derived from Mandovi custom house, a rich revenue collection outpost it must have been.

The Hindus of Goa were disgusted with the Bijapur rulers and, led by Mala Pai, also known as Madd Pai, encouraged the Portuguese who were then prowling Indian waters to overthrow their Muslim rulers. They were also encouraged by the Honavar pirate who is seen by some as a great admiral Thimmaya. The Hindus of Goa and Thimmaya had each their secret designs, but lived to repent them. The Hindus of Goa, mainly the wealthy Brahmin land owners, had no reason to abhor their Muslim rulers other than that they imposed extortionate taxes. The Bijapur nobility was also haughty and had scant respect for Goan gentry. The Goa Brahmins thought that the Portuguese would stay for a while, make money and go. In the event, neither did they simply make money nor did they leave. It was a tragic miscalculation. Mala Pai rued his actions, having, not much later, paid for them with his life. Thimmaya also sulked as his dream of becoming the collector of government revenues and earn a great deal of money soured. And, just as day dawns when night ends, on December 19, 1961, 451 years later, Goa woke up to a new experience: the Portuguese rule ended and the Indian began.

Splendour and greed, pomp and misery, the tyranny of adventurers, the abnegation of martyrs Goa had seen and experienced them all. Now on, she had to apply herself to the enormous task of restructuring her society and economy.

AND SO MANY CAPITALS

DR. Panduronga Sacarama Sinai Pissurlencar, the internationally known archivist and historiographer, mentions in his work As primitivas capitals de Goa (1932): Govapuri, the ancient Saraswat capital; Valipatana, the capital of the Shilaharas which the great Varde Valaulikar, the Father of modern Konkani, locates in modern Balli in the southernmost taluk of Canacona; Chandrapura, modern Chandor, the first capital of the Kadambas when they defeated the Shilaharas in 1008; Gopakapattana/Govepura/Gove, modern Goa Velha (not to be confused with Velha Goa).

In the Kadamba period under Shastadeva, “the streets of Govapuri were always full of people, excellent gardens and parks and (there were lining the streets) magnificent buildings”. In Jayakesi I’s reign, which followed Shastadeva’s, “the street of his capital was completely filled with the palanquins of his pandits, constantly passing, the poles of which were covered with jewels, and inside which were quivering the golden earnings of their owners”. The city itself was “beautiful and pleasing, the abundant happiness of which surpasses the paradise of Indra.” It was razed and plundered in 1117 by Malik Kafur, general of Allahudin Khilji, whereupon the Kadambas returned to Chandrapura and met their sad end.

Ela was the capital city under the Sultanate of Bijapur. It is conjectured that Ela is perhaps the Portuguese corruption of Yellapur (Elapur), a settlement named after Yellama, a Karnataka deity revered by the Kadambas. In fact, there is a Konkani dhulpod (folk song) that alludes to the roosters of Yellapur “how well do the roosters of Yellapur crow.” The Portuguese having achieved their dream of conquering Goa, built on the remains of the Bijapur sultanate Cidade de Goa, a city so beautiful and so majestic that it was said that “he who had seen Goa need not see Lisboa”. They built so many churches that Cidade de Goa was described as the Rome of the East. By 1737, the city was faced with bouts of epidemics and, in sheer panic, on December 24 of that year, the Portuguese moved to Panelim, three kms away, on the road to Panaji. Their temporary capital was in the Casa da Polvora, the gunpowder factory. When the fear subsided, they returned to Cidade de Goa, but now the Marathas and the Dutch, each one of them chasing their own territorial ambitions the Dutch had long ousted the Portuguese from Ceylon and the Malabar carried out a series of attacks and the Portuguese kept shifting back and forth from Panelim to Cidade de Goa, no less than thirteen times. The temporariness of their capitals is reflected in the designation of their provisional capitals as Por-Pangim, Towards-Panjim, till they finally shifted to Panjim in May 1843, which they renamed Nova Goa, only to change the nomenclature in 1947 to Cidade de Goa.

But there had been in 1630 a move to shift the capital to Mormugao, the Village of Pearls. The work on the new city progressed at an uncertain and slow pace, by fits and starts, given ‘the peculiar circumstances of the moment, a euphemism for impetuousness.

The ‘folderol of pomp’, as the modern historian George Vinius called it in his Black Legend of Portuguese India, had ended. So had ‘the delicious stories’ of thievery, lust and licentiousness and the spectacle of “viceroys going abroad from their palace in ornate sedan chairs, heralded by flutes and trumpets and drums accompanied by a full retinue of noblemen in attires of velvet and silk” as described by the Dutch geographer and spy Jan Huyghen van Linchosten who visited Goa (1563-1611), and recorded his impressions in The Voyage to the East Indies (Hakluyt Society London, 1885).

Quietly and comparatively soberly, the Portuguese shifted the gubernatorial residence to Palacio de Idalcao, also known as Palacio do Forte, described in some detail later in this story, and finally, in 1917, when Portugal was no longer a monarchy it had been abolished in 1910 and a republican regime installed they dropped anchor at Cabo, the former Franciscan Friary, which they converted into Palacio de Cabo.