Rachol (also known as Raitura) is a prominent village in the
Our Lady of Snows
(Igreja da Nossa Senhora de Neves) at Rachol is said to be the first church of Salcete and is called the Matriz igreja de Salcette ('Mother church of Salcette'). Ilha de Rachol ('Island of Rachol') is a part of the village.
Etymology and history
By the late 1400s, Rachol was part of a Muslim area, ruled primarily by a Muslim kingdom known as
António de Noronha (1564–1568). This led to the mass exodus of Hindu Brahmins from the Portuguese-held territories that included Rachol and these Brahmins taking the idols of their deities across the Zuari River from Rachol to the territories of the Hindu Sonde Kings such as Shiroda, Ponda and Sanguem
.
Geography and Demographics
Salcete and ilha de Rachol in an old Portuguese map
Location
Rachol is located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) north-east of
Margão, the headquarters of South Goa district. Opposite Rachol, across the Zuari River, is Shiroda. The closest railway station is in Margão, followed by the town of Vasco da Gama, Goa. The nearest airport is Dabolim Airport. The neighbouring villages are Raia, Loutolim, and Fatorda
.
Languages
The Saxtti dialect of
Invasion of Goa and is spreading in all regions of Goa. Konkani, also spelt 'Concani', is primarily written in the Latin script
in Rachol.
Landmarks
Matriz Church
Igreja da Nossa Senhora de Neves and the Rachol Fort
The parochial church was dedicated to Nossa Senhora de Neves (Our Lady of Snows). It was built alongside the fortress of Rachol. This church was considered as the first in dignity of Salcete (known as ilha de Salcete do Sul at that time). As this first church at Rachol and hence Salcete was built to completion in the year 1565, on the site of Hindu temples and was built in mud with a thatched roof, it can thus be called the mother church (Matriz) of the whole of South Goa and was named
Margão and the surrounding areas to choose the location. After seeing all other places, he guarded an arrow into this ground at Rachol and ordered to build the church there; the Captain of Rachol Fortress (Capitão desta Fortaleza de Rachol) Diogo Rodrigues
was appointed to do the needful.
There have been two historical burials in the church at the altar: the first was the captain of the Fort (Capitão desta Fortaleza)
Cuncolim Revolt as there was a massacre on Jesuit priests and civilians in Cuncolim, Goa on Monday, 25 July 1583. The martyrs' bodies remained there until 1597, after which they were shifted to Saint Paul's College, Goa. All the martyrs' bodies were finally shifted and laid to rest in Old Goa
at the cathedral in 1862.
Rachol Fort
Igreja da Nossa Senhora de Neves and the ruins of the Rachol Fort
Rachol Fort is not far from the
Margão, once stood the wonderful Rachol Fort. The place has not much of an architectural delight, but the scenic beauty of the place is very pleasing. The fort was refurbished after the conquest by the Portuguese. The bastion is now a deserted place in ruins, but only one gateway remains even to these days. When the fort was in use by the Portuguese troops, it encircled the hill atop which the church and seminary now stands. Rachol Fort was the center of many conflicts, and the rulers of Vijayanagar and Bijapur fought long and bloody battles to take control of the fort. The dried-up moat can still be seen in places. The Muslim Bahmani kingdom built the fortress at the height of its power. However, the Hindu Vijayanagar kingdom under King Krishnaraya, captured it from the Sultan of Bijapur under Ismail Adil Shah, only to cede it to the Portuguese in 1520 in exchange for all the military help against the Muslims and in gratitude for the former's alliance with him against Adil Shah of Bijapur. By 1521 there was in the fort a chapel dedicated to St. John the Baptist, with a garrison chaplain who was probably a Dominican. A church was built in 1565, and the captain of the Fort was Diogo Rodrigues from 1554 to 1577. It was renovated and rebuilt in 1604, and the fort continued to remain in Portuguese possession over the years, defending the area against Muslim and Hindu attackers, including a siege by the Maratha ruler Sambhaji
in 1684, a feat that is marked by the following: Sendo o conde de Alvor vice-rei da India mandou reformar esta fortaleza depois de se defender do cerco de Sambagy, em 22 de abril de 1684 (in English: "Sent from the count of Alvor viceroy of India after reform of this fortress on defending the siege of Sambhaji, on 22 April 1684").
Rachol Fort gate renovated in 1756
It was renovated again in 1745 and 1756 by the Marquis of Alorna. At the peak of its power, it had as many as 100 guns on its ramparts, helping it to hold the
Maratha armies at bay for months. As the Portuguese empire in Goa expanded with the New Conquests, the guns found new areas of deployment, and the fort fell from favour and was finally abandoned. The fort soon fell into a state of disrepair, and nothing remains of it today except the stone archway which spans the road and the old moat around the hill. With Portuguese expansion, concern for territorial security became even more of a concern, and new forts in new strategic locations were built. Deployment of guns elsewhere and reduction of strategic importance of the fort became a cause for its decay. After the Portuguese
abandoned the fort, the rate of decay accelerated, and today it is no more than a ruin of the once glorious fort.
Rachol Seminary
Seminário de Rachol
The
Dom Sebastião. This was constructed in the area previously occupied by strong dominance of Muslims and originally had a Muslim-built fortress. The foundation stone for the main quadrangular portion was blessed and laid on 1 November 1606 by Fr. Gaspar Soares. Three years later, on 31 October 1609, with the solemn celebration of the Vespers, the "College of All Saints" (Colégio de Todos os Santos) was blessed and inaugurated. Somewhere between 1622 and 1640, the name of the College was changed to "College of St. Ignatius" (Colégio de S. Inácio). The change was to pay homage to St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit Order, who had been canonised in 1622. The retable of the main altar of the Seminary Church testifies to this fact. The Seminary community still celebrates the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the titular of the Seminary Church, with a solemn high mass with Gregorian chant
. This festivity is preceded by a novena of preparation for the locals around and a week-long retreat (spiritual exercises) for the seminarians.
The College continued to be in the hands of the Jesuits for a century and a half. Having begun as a school for the training of natives, it gradually adopted the curriculum for training Jesuits and later even secular priests from 1646. In 1759, the Prime Minister of
Marquis de Pombal expelled the Jesuits from Goa. Their institutions and properties were confiscated by the State. So, the College had to be shut down. Three years later, in 1762, Archbishop-Primate Dom António Taveira da Neiva Brum e Silveira, converted this abandoned College into the "Diocesan Seminary of the Good Shepherd" (Seminário do Bom Pastor) and placed it under the protection of the Infant Jesus. He entrusted to the native Oratorian Congregation of St. Philip Neri the work of priestly training. This was the first diocesan seminary erected in Asia, after the order passed by the Council of Trent (1563–1578) that all those desiring to dedicate themselves to the ecclesiastical ministry as diocesan (secular) clergy should pass through formation in a seminary. The retable of the altar of the internal Chapel of the seminary bears an inspiring picture of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. The Church, however, continued under the invocation of St. Ignatius of Loyola. In 1774, the ruling Royal Treasury Junta of Goa
abruptly suppressed the seminary on the pretext that certain conditions were not being fulfilled, the real reason being that of economy.
In 1781, owing to a mass-petition by the people of Salcete and the Municipality of Margão, the Court of Portugal ordered the seminary to be restored. The Municipality of Salcete even financed the required repairs for the building. The College was thus reopened, and its management was entrusted to the Congregation of the Mission, popularly called Vincentians or Lazarists. At first, two Vincentian priests from the Convent of Rilhafolles, Portugal, were deputed at the instance of Queen Dona
St. Constantius
. These relics are venerated even today in the church of the seminary. The seminary functioned well till 1790, when it was closed down for three years, after the Vincentians left the seminary. In 1793, the Oratorians were again deputed to run the diocesan seminary. They continued their work for about forty-two years. In 1835 all religious institutes were extinguished in Portugal and in all its possessions. So from that year, the Seminary was run by the diocesan clergy and came to be simply known as Seminário de Rachol. In 1886, the Archbishop of Goa and Daman was bestowed the honorific title of Patriarch of the East Indies. Since then the seminary is known as the "Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol". The seminary has renaissance paintings of Portuguese Goan high clergy and some royals.
Climate
Rachol features a tropical monsoon climate under the Köppen climate classification. Rachol, being in the tropical zone, has a hot and humid climate for most of the year. The month of May is the hottest, seeing daytime temperatures of over 33 °C (93 °F). The monsoon rains arrive by early June and provide a much needed respite from the heat. Most of Rachol's annual rainfall is received through the monsoons, which last till late September.
Rachol has a short winter season, between mid-December and February. These months are marked by nights of around 21 °C (68 °F) and days of around 28 °C (82 °F), with moderate amounts of humidity.
Centuries-old map of the area including nearby Rachol
Fields at Rachol during the Rainy season
Fields at Rachol during the Rainy season
Fields at Rachol during the Rainy season
