Chandor – a village rich in history, heritage and culture -- By Nisser Dias

Surrounded by hills and fields with Kushavati river passing through one end of it, lies a very historical village, rich in history, heritage and culture which is the reminder of both our original roots, the Portuguese era and modern day. This village which is today called Chandor was earlier known as Chandrapur the erstwhile capital of the Kadamba rule in the 6^th to 11^th century.

Lies about 15 kms East of Margao. Chandor has seven panchayat wards.

Kadamba dynasty had made Chandor as their capital until 1054, when the rulers moved to Govepuri now known as Goa Velha. When Muslims invade them in 1312, the Kadambas returned back to Chandrapur only to be driven away by the Portuguese.

To this date there are tell-tale signs of their presence and the village has become an archaeological site because of the foundation of an 11^th century temple, mud fort and a headless monument of Nandi bull which is believed to be the mode of transport of Lord Shiva being preserved at the site.

Besides another reminder of the Kadamba presence is a stone where the queen before committing suicide had cursed the villagers for not helping the king at the time of his defeat by the Portuguese

The ancient Chandor was once a port of international repute and a great capital where trade and commerce flourished through the Kushavati river and was known as a port town.

After the Portuguese invaded Goa in 1510 they defeated and killed the Kadamba king Harihar and imposed their rule and Chandrapur became Chandor along with conversion to Christianity. During this period many Portuguese mansions were built. Though many are being maintained today there are lots others in dilapidated conditions. The village boast of the famous heritage house the Braganza house.

Jesuit priest Fr. Heras on his discovery of Chandrapur in 1929, found a very old and shattered image of Nandi, Shiva’s bull, believed to be affected adversely by the 13th century

Muslim raids on various temples of Goa. It dates back to the 7th century indicating that there was a temple at the site. According to a book ‘Village Goa authored by Dr. Olivinho Gomes he mentions that the Nandi bull is, said to be the second biggest in India after that of Mysore. It also mention that the Muslims after their invasion of the Kadambas cut out a large part of its stomach to see if it contained diamonds, pearls, or other precious stones, broke its mouth to see if there was any treasure hidden in it, chopped off the tail to see if they could find any precious stones in its arms. Seeing that it did not have anything in it, they broke its legs, dislodged it from the seat of stone and turned it up-side-down, to see if there was something underneath it, but without success.

This monument has been declared to be of national importance under the ancient monuments and Archaeological sites. Remnants of the only mud fort built by the Kadambas is situated in the Chandor but it is in bad shape.

Chandor is one of the three villages in Goa which celebrates the feast of Epiphany (The Three Kings Feast) the other two being Cansaulim and Verem.

Chandor is the home of many prominent teachers, doctors, advocates, bankers and businessmen.

Bragança house

Braganca house is synonymous with Chandor. It was built in the 17th century with all the grandeur, grace and elegance. The artefacts show-cased by the family members are a feast to the eyes, besides

The great Salon, a large ballroom with the floor made of Italian marble, antique chandeliers from Europe adorning the ceiling, ornate teak and rosewood furniture carved out by Goan carpenters of that era.

Apart from its exquisite furniture and Chinese porcelain from Macau, it also houses a collection of family portraits, dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. The library is believed to be the first private library in Goa. It has almost 5,000 leather bound books in Portuguese.

Curse of Chandor

There is perculiar belief in Chandor because of which neighbouring villages do not give their daughters in marriage to a boy from Cotta ward.

The story goes like this: When the Portuguese invaded Chandrapur it had a Kadamba King Harihar as its ruler. The people of Chandrapur did not defend him in the battle against the Portuguese and the king was killed.

The queen was furious at her people and committed suicide but not before cursing the villagers. “She is said to have beat her feet on a stone outside the temple  and pronounced that henceforth every woman of this village will become a widow” The stone with her foot print is still maintained.

Mussoll

Another tradition that the Goankars ‘Kshatriya’ of Chandor has passed on to its generation is the Mussoll dance. The basic theme of the performance is to celebrate the victory of the Hindu King of Vijaynagar, Harihar, over the Cholas in the early 14^th century.

On the second day of carnival 10 Catholic males of the upper caste, decked in traditional attire - a dhoti, a jacket, a colourful turban, ghungroos (ankle bells) on the left foot- and carrying a musoll (pestle), gather at the mandda khuris. Before starting the dance at the chapel bells of the chapel are peeled.

After lighting candles and reciting a Christian prayer before the cross, the mussoll dance is performed by pounding pestles into the ground. The entourage then march in procession holding lit torches to the San Tiago chapel, where the sequence is repeated. From here, they march to each and every house belonging only to the Gaonkar families performing the mussoll dance.

The lyrics hail the king “Hari haracho khel khelayta,  Khel durgabhayr shivo dita” and then goes on to recount the glorious times of King Harihar of Vijaynagar and his magnificent fort and how the fort was eventually captured. Finally it passes on message about the destruction of the town of Chandrapur and its people. Incidentally, Portuguese defeated the King and people refused to help or defend him but for centuries now they will allow the tragic past fade.

The Alma Khuris

This was just a cross in the olden days. In the 80s there were lot of desecration and vandalism of crosses and small chapels. In the year 1982 on the eve of ‘All souls Day’ a Hindu Krishna Gabo Bandodkar began building this cross and was joined by late Fidelis and other villagers in the dead of the night. Krishna’s effort is today proclaimed as the ‘true secular attempt to break the then trend of mischief perpetuated on this day’. These words are engraved on the stone on the compound of the cross.