We spent our second day in Panjiim taking a day trip to Old Goa. It is only a short bus ride, and only cost us 8 rupee each.
Old Goa is the pride of Goa, and that shows in as much as they keep it relatively rubbish free. The main attraction of Old Goa is the religious buildings that still stand, and are used daily for Mass. Before we looked around any of them we took a trip to the museum of Goa. It is an archaeological museum with artefacts dating back from the 10th century. There is some fragments of Hindu sculpture, and many religious paintings and ceramics depicting many events from the bible, though mostly the crucifixion of Christ, and the aftermath.
There are portraits of nearly every one of Portuguese Goa's 60 viceroys, spanning some 400 years (Goa was taken back over by the Indians in 1961), which is not wholly exciting apart from looking at the changing fashions in both clothes, hairstyle and how the portrait is posed. There are also some huge statues of Afonso de Albuquerque (the Portuguese conqueror and subsequent first governor of Goa) and the revered Portuguese poet Luis Vaz de Camoes. The statues are made of bronze and are both impressive, though my favourite was the one of the poet, who, with his arm thrown back in passion as he read from a scroll, and with his cape swirling fluidly around him spoke of movement and passion.
After the museum we went to look at one of Old Goa's main attractions. It is called Basilica de Bom Jesus and was completed in 1605, only 11 years after it was started. It is the main draw in Old Goa to many Catholics as it holds the remains of St. Francis Xavier, who was taught by the great St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. It is pretty grisly, though undeniably fascinating, to view the old Saint's withered, enrobed body in the ornate silver casket.
Despite his efforts whilst alive St. Francis was only canonised after his death, as the result of a miracle that took place in the months after he passed. When he died, his coffin was filled with quick lime to prepare it for burial. After two months, the body remained the same, with no decay. The cynics disbelief was soon dispelled after the current Viceroys doctor performed tests that confirmed that the organs had in fact not decayed, and the blood was free of preservatives. However, over the years that followed, relic hunters corrupted the incorruptible. His right arm (which was supposedly still able to sign its name) organs and part of his shoulder blade were removed, and taken off to be worshiped in other countries.
The body went into a normal state of decomposition some time after, and now looks as any other 400 year old corpse would.
The expense of the ornate casket was covered by the Grand Duke of Tuscany, in exchange for the pillow that St. Francis had been resting his head on when he died.
Once every ten years they expose the body and take him on a tour of Old Goa for which many Christians pilgrim to. The next airing is due on 3rd December 2014, the feast of St. Francis Xavier.
One thing that is often prominent in the architecture, and even more so at Bom Jesus, as it is carved into the outside facade, is the frequent inscription of 'IHS', which is an abbreviation of the Latin 'Iesus Hominum Salvator' (Jesus, saviour of men).
Our last stop in Old Goa was to Se Cathedral, which at 76m wide, and 55m long, is the largest church in Asia.
Finished in 1619, it is pretty spartan by Catholic standards, with very little embellishment either inside or out. A cool feature of the cathedral is when you look at it from the front it is decidedly lopsided, as one of the huge bell towers was knocked down by lightening in 1776, and never rebuilt. The other tower houses the Sino De Ouro bell, which is the largest bell in Asia, and reportedly has a very nice, rich sound. Historically it was sounded to announce the Inquisition holding their cruel autos-da-fe (trials of faith) in the market square at the front of the Cathedral.
The inside of the Cathedral boasts no less than 16 different Chapels. My favourite is the Chapel of the Cross of Miracles as the story behind the name amused me. This Chapel houses a cross which was made by some shepherds back in 1619 and placed on a hillside. The shepherds returned to their cross to find it had grown in size. Knowing this to be the work of a God, the cross was moved into another building for safekeeping while a church was built in tribute to said miracle cross. When the time came to move the cross to its new home they were astonished to see that it had grown once again, and subsequently, the church had to have its doors widened in order to accommodate it. The cross was moved into the cathedral in 1845, where it became, and remains, a popular place of petition for the sick.
All the churches and Cathedrals in Old Goa are drenched in atmosphere and history, which made the trip to Old Goa a worthwhile day out.
A huge 30% of Indians in Goa are Christian, compared with 64% Hindu and 5% Muslim (and 1% other). What is refreshing to see is how the two largest religions coexist. Christian churches stand happily next to Hindu temples. People even seem to worship certain Deities and Gods from Hindu belief whilst displaying Christian iconography in their cars, in their homes and even about their person. The Muslim population is the fastest growing religion in India, so whether or not the mosques will fit in just as harmoniously we shall have to wait and see. The results of the 2011 census have not been published yet, but they are predicting a considerable increase in Muslims living in India.
Our time in Panjiim has been enjoyable as it is a peaceful, undemanding city that is easy to explore. We have also enjoyed some of the best food of our trip so far. Our favourite place we found was a traditional Indian 'udupi' (canteen), called Vihar, which served up truly inspirational Thalis and other pure veg delights. Two nights sleeping in a creepily atmospheric hotel which is overpriced and has the worst mattresses known to man is enough to speedily propel us on our journey to southern Goa, and the beach bliss that awaits us...
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