Goan Catholic Literature - Missionary Literature

Missionary Literature

The indigenous population of the erstwhile overseas Portuguese colony of Goa underwent a large scale conversion to Roman Catholicism after its conquest and occupation by the Portuguese Empire, which was led by the famous voyager and adventurer Afonso de Albuquerque on 25 February 1510. It was necessary for Catholic missionaries to learn the local Konkani language in order to carry out evangelic activities. Hence, during the 16th and 18th century, Catholic missionaries and priests contributed a lot for Goan Catholic literature by composing and publishing books in Konkani, as manual of devotion for converts.

The origin of their literature dates to 1563 when the first Konkani grammar was published by Fr.Andre Vaz at St.Paulo College at Old Goa. Konkani language had its first Konkani-Portuguese dictionary in 1567. Missionary priests of Rachol Seminary compiled the first ever dictionary in any Indian language giving 15000 Konkani words and their vocables in Portuguese. Konkani was known as Canarim in early Portuguese writings on Goa. In 1622, Thomas Stephens (1549–1619) an English Jesuit published Doutrina Christam em lingoa Bramana Canarim, ordenada a maneira de dialogo, pera ensinar os mininos, por Thomas Estevao, Collegio de Rachol 1622 (Christian Doctrines in the Canarese Brahmin Language, arranged in dialogue to teach children, by Fr. Thomas Stephens, College of Rachol, 1622) which was the first book in Konkani and any Indian language. Mariano Saldhana published a facsimile edition of this book entitled as Doutrina Cristâ em lingua Concani pot Tomás Estévão in 1945. Thomas Stephens also published the Arte da Lingoa Canarim (A Grammar of Konkani, 1640), with its second edition the Gramatica da Lingua Concani Composta Pelo Padre Thomas Estevão (A Grammar of Konkani language composed by Fr. Thomas Stephens) published in 1856. and Declaraçam da Doutrina Christam (Exposition of Christian Doctrine in Konkani, 1632) in Goa. Jesuit missionaries also produced works during the seveenteenth century in a mix of Marathi and Konkani like the Krista Purana (The Christian Purânna) in 1616, 1649, and 1654, but no copies of any of these editions are extant. The ‘Krista Purana’ (The Christian Purânna) is a Marathi-Konkani metrical composition, consisting of 10,962 strophes; divided into two parts treating of the Old and the New Testament respectively. Paixao de Cristo (Passion of Christ) known as Christi Vilapika in Marathi, written by during the 17th century in Marathi language and Roman script, based on sublime pathos of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the Chilayabal Vilapika.

In 1626, Diogo Reberio (1560–1633), a Portuguese Jesuit, compailed the Vocabulario da lingoa Canarim (A Vocabulary of Konkani language) a Konkani-Portuguese and Portuguese-Konkani dictionary at Salcette, Goa, its mauscript is found at the Central Library, Panjim, Goa. It comprises 14,000 principal lexical entries. It was in the form of three manuscripts, each different from the other. In 1973, Junta de Investigações do Ultramar published in Lisbon a seventeenth-century Konkani dictionary called Vocabulario da Lingoa Canarina Com versam Portugueza, which is a revised and enlarged version of Reberio's Vocabulario. A manuscript at the Ajuda library in Lisbon entitled Vocabulario (Canarim) da lingoa da Terra, Composto pelo Padre Diogo Reberio da Comphania de Jesu do uzo do Padre Amaro de Azevedo tresladado a sua custa also based on Reberio's Vocabulario. In 1982, professor L.A. Rodrigues of Santa Cruz, Goa discovered the Vocabulario da lingoa Canarim, feito pellos Padres da Comphania de Jesus que residião da Christandade de Salcete e novamente acressentado com varios de falar pelo Padre Diogo Reberio de Comphania. Anno 1626. However it does not differ from the Central Library Vocabulario copy and hence is considered the second copy of Reberio's Vocabulario. Christovão de Jesus wrote the Grammatica da Bramana (1635).

In 1857 Dr. Joaquim Heliodoró da Cunha Rivara (1800–79) published the Ensiao Historico da Lingua Concani (Historical Essay on Konkani language). Mgr Sebastião Rodolfo Dalgado (1855–1922) procuded works such as A Konkani-Portuguese, Philological and Etmological Dictionary (1893), A Portuguese-Konkani Dictionary (1905), A Bouquet of Konkani Proverbs (1922) and the unpublished A Grammar of Konkani language (1922), with its manuscript preserved in the Central Library, Panjim. Gaspar De Sam Miguel's undated Sintaxis Copiozissima na Lingua Brahmana e Polida with its manuscript in the University of London. In Goa, Amcho Soddvonddar (Our Saviour, Jesus the Messiah, 1952) was popular. In Goa, the Salesians started Aitarachem Vachop, a Konkani weekly.