Uncovering Portuguese Histories Within Mumbai's Urban History
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
486 Uncovering 487 Portuguese Histories Within Mumbai’s Urban History _Sidh Losa Mendiratta A shorter version of this text was originally presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting, Society of Architectural Historians, Chicago, Illinois Bas-relief painting in St. Andrew’s church, Bandra. Author: BBB, 2007 488 as the Peninsula and the Western lines, their degraded aspects of the Catholic communities, by the Portuguese in the Eastern sphere of 489 | | Historical Overview of traffic is described in the Mumbai Presidency remarking upon their laziness and unhygienic their empire. The fact that the Portuguese Gazetteer of 1882: “The morning trains from habits; their practice of Hindu or animist rituals ceded a small group of islands form this Salsete Island: going back in time EMINISCING EMINISCING R Andheri and Bandra [to downtown Mumbai] scandalously mixed with their nominal Christian territory to the British Crown in 1665 enriched R During the second half of the 20th century, at are crowded with men of this [clerk] class faith; their Goan (also Native Portuguese) parish the territory’s history as a place of global first through a cadenced rhythm and later at on their way to the offices, and the evening priests who anyway kept them in medieval encounters between Asia, Europe and Africa. exponential speed, the metropolitan sprawl of trains take them back to their homes.” superstitions, and the overall economic ruin the city of Mumbai expanded northwards over of the region, due to both its Maratha and Salsete Island was considered by many to be the Bandra/Mahim creek into Salsete Island, The original footnote at the end Portuguese administrations - and to the the Jewel of the Crown of the Estado da occupying almost all available land outside the of the quotation reads: severe cholera outbreaks of the 1820s. This India. It was one of the most developed and limits of Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Within “Many of them walk three or four miles discourse can be interpreted as preparing the productive areas of the empire and the local the park, located in the island’s central hilly from their homes to the station, and as ground for the British “civilising” mission in population had been largely converted to area, are the famous Kanheri caves. Except early as seven can be met making their way Salsete Island, their first territorial acquisition Christianity by the early 17th. The Jesuits had a for this renowned heritage site and possibly barefoot across the fields carrying their in Western India since the 17th century. particularly strong presence in the area, owning the nightlife of Bandra’s coffeehouses – there shoes and other belongings in their hands.” 22 out of the Island’s 118 revenue villages. The are apparently very few other attractions to The Catholic community of Salsete Island Franciscan missionaries also owned extensive draw a visitor into Mumbai’s northern suburbs. The Mumbai Presidency Gazetteer provides had naturally declined sharply during the lands, while the Augustinians and Dominican The overcrowded and confusing cityscapes of detailed descriptions of Salsete Island and period of Maratha occupation that preceded orders had a less conspicuous presence. The areas like Andheri, Borivali, Thane or Santacruz the East Indian community for the late 19th the British (1737-1774). European and Indo- villages that didn’t belong to the religious orders (from where Mumbai’s international airport first century. However, it acknowledges that in some European families had fled and missionaries were mostly in the hands of wealthy Portuguese got its name) are very rarely visited by foreign of the earlier British accounts or gazetteers had been expelled. Churches were looted and landowners, some of whom built palace-like tourists, who prefer the charm of down town about the region, the Salsete Catholics are abandoned, as villages became impoverished mansions with terraced grounds imitating Mumbai. Few people know that Santacruz noticed in terms of contempt. In 1882, the or alienated. Many Christians were brought Mughal gardens. The revenues collected by the was once a small East Indian village...and name East Indian had not yet been invented back into the Hindu fold with the help of a host missionaries and private landowners in Salsete even fewer know that the name Santacruz and the Gazetteer described the local Indian of Brahman priests and purifying rites. The were also important for the economy of the simply means “Holy Cross” in Portuguese. Catholics as Koli Christians, Native Christians stable position of Catholic families developed empire’s capital in Goa. A big part of the wealth orNative Portuguese. This last classification, during the Portuguese rule over Island – at lavishly displayed at the churches and convents Santacruz was one of the many villages which later fell in disuse, was very much least compared to their Hindu counterparts of Old Goa came from the Northern Province. that dotted Salsete Island before it became widespread in the first half of the 19th century. – was shattered. Still, the Marathas proved to When the Portuguese lost the Northern Province urbanised. Most of these villages had an In this context, Native Portuguese or Black be more tolerant rulers than the Portuguese to the Marathas, they almost immediately important East Indian community, polarised by Portuguese were the descendants of the and the Catholic community, although started expanding their Goan territory, which a church or chapel. The ones along the coast original inhabitants of Salsete Island, Mumbai impoverished and weakened, survived the eventually tripled by the end of the 18th century. were mainly inhabited by fishermen and those or other surrounding regions converted downfall of its former colonial administrators. located inland were essentially dependent on to Christianity by Portuguese missionaries The principal architectural structures built by the agriculture. Bigger settlements, like Thane, between the 16th and 18th centuries. The Indo-Portuguese layer of Salsete Portuguese in Salsete during their two century Bandra and Kurla, had become, by the early During two centuries (1534-1737), Salsete presence can be primordially grouped according 20th century, important satellite towns of The British, who took over Salsete Island Island belonged to the Northern Province of to their ownership or patronage: state, church or Mumbai. They had their own municipalities and form the Marathas in 1774, were initially the Estado da India, a Portuguese colonial private. These three groups correspond roughly infrastructures, maintaining a strong Catholic suspicious and anyway appalled at the Island’s territory on the Northern Konkan coast. The to three basic social functions: defensive; element, while most of their inhabitants Indian Catholic community. The fact that they territory stretched for almost 220 km along religious; and residential structures. However, worked in Mumbai. Many East Indians were were under the religious jurisdiction of the the coast while its width varied from 25 to 50 in Salsete Island and the Northern Province employed by the city’s civil Service offices. archbishop of Goa and his priests and that the km inland. The Northern Province represents in general, religious and residential buildings Commuters depended on the two major more affluent families still spoke Portuguese, an interesting – although understudied - also played an important defensive role, railway lines that were built in the Island during led the British to suspect their allegiance. historical colonial territory. It was the first self resulting in hybrid structures such as watchtower the second half of the 19th century. Known Earlier 19th century accounts delved in the sufficient and mainland territory to be occupied dwellings or fortified manor houses and fort-like 490 491 | | EMINISCING EMINISCING R R Ruins of the so- named “Fatima” church, Dongri. Author: Sidh Thane fort - Mendiratta, 2009 superimposition of vectorial drawing over statlite Imagery. Author: BBB, 2007 Thane fort - tracing of vectorial infromation Ruins of St. John’s over a Portuguese or SEEPZ church. plan of 1739. Author: Sidh Author: BBB, 2007 Mendiratta, 2006 492 churches or fortified convents, incorporating and church, provided with a small garrison of Although Thane was the main settlement and Adjacent to the monastery was the church of 493 | | bastions and artillery. Which Indo-Portuguese soldiers and artillery. This religious structure epicentre of Indo-Portuguese presence in Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, begun structures, belonging to these three groups, still maintains its defensive outlook, not only Salsette, the first religious structure founded around 1552 and probably the first ex-nihilo EMINISCING EMINISCING R have survived in Salsete Island to this day? with the tower volume in the main facade but by missionaries in the Island, according to Christian structure in the Island. This church, R also with its high and narrow lateral windows. available documentation, was in the village although with some alterations and later The Indo-Portuguese layer: Close by was another small round watchtower, of Mandapeshwar, in 1547 or 1548. At this face-lifts, still maintains much of the simple defensive structures with ruins still visible at Danapani Beach. time, the Franciscan friars António do Porto and austere architecture of most churches Only at the very end of its colonial rule did the and João de Goa arrived and chased away built by the Portuguese in India during the Portuguese Crown build