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Vol No CX No: 231 Homosexuality: Cultural advance, decay or both?
Goa, Saturday 11 September, 2010

Harbinger of in portugal, homosexuality can be traced back to the roman occupation, says tEotÓnio r DE soUZA
happiness T he Biblical references in the books of
Deuteronomy, Kings and St Paul’s letter to
to the times of the Roman occupation. Portuguese
historian A H Oliveira Marques has studied ho-

T
oday is the Goan festival of ‘Chovoth’. As the name
suggests, it is the fourth day of the Shukla Paksha
(fortnight of the brightening moon) of the month of
Bhadrapad in the traditional Hindu lunar calendar. This is
the day when all of Goa goes home. The streets of cities
fall silent as Goans return to their native villages to welcome
and worship Lord Ganesha. This elephant-headed deity is
the best-known and most widely worshipped in the Hindu
pantheon.
‘Sukhakarta’ (creator of happiness) and ‘Dukhaharta’ (dis-
peller of sorrow), Ganapati is the God of intellect and wisdom;
his name – Shree – is taken before performing any task.
Every cultural performance begins with an invocation to
Ganapati, the remover of obstacles. Apart from the Indian
sub-continent, his images have been found as far away as
in Cambodia (Angkor Wat), Indonesia (Java) and in Tibet.
Today, there will be traditional ‘aartis’, ‘bhajans’ and fire-
crackers. The sweet smell of vegetarian cooking in ‘tup’ or
ghee will fill the air, as people make the traditional ‘Chovoth’
meal – with five varieties of vegetables and bhajia – and
prepare sweets like ‘nevryo’ and ‘modak’.
This is the time when – as Catholics do at Christmas –
Goan Hindus from all over the country and the world come
home to be with their families and worship together. Village
houses, closed for much of the year or inhabited only by
the aged, come to life and resound with the patter of
children’s feet, as joint families once more come together.
Three and even four generations together pay homage to
this quaint-looking but lovable deity that has the head of an
elephant, one broken tusk, a huge pot belly tied with a
snake, rides on a mouse and loves eating sweets.
This child of Lord Shiva, says one story, was made by his
consort, the Goddess Parvati, using the grime from her body
and infused with life to stand guard and let no one enter
while she had a bath. When Lord Shiva came home, it is
said, young Ganpati refused to allow him in, as instructed
by his mother. A furious Shiva cut his head off, only to fall
afoul of an incensed Parvati, who wanted her loyal guard
brought back to life. Shiva promised to cut off the head of
the first creature he saw and restore Ganapati to life. That’s
how he got his elephant’s head and one of his thousand-
odd names, Gajanana (elephant headed).
He is also called Vakratund (crooked face), Lambodar (pot-
bellied) Shurpa Karna (ears like a winnowing fan), Raktavarna
(red skinned), Ekdanta (single toothed) and so many others.
Ganapati is fond of the colour red, and is offered red flowers
in worship. He is non-sectarian, worshipped by all castes
and denominations, and practically in every corner of the
country. Ganapati grants success, prosperity and protection
against adversity.
Today, in the morning, a clay idol of Ganapati will be
brought home and placed in a ‘matov’ with a beautiful ‘mat-
tolli’ above, decorated with bunches of betel nut, coconut,
Romans chastise in strong terms and with
dire consequences the ‘sodomites’. ‘The Abject
Sin’ (“Pecado Nefando” in the Inquisition files) was
also defined in the Buggery Act of 1533, approved
in England under Henry VIII in 1534. The State
was thereby taking away the jurisdiction of the
Church in this respect. Infractions were punishable
with hanging, a penalty that was only abolished
in 1861. It was only in 1967 that English law ex-
cluded from punishment homosexual acts among
adults, conducted privately and with mutual con-
sent.
Apart from converted Jews – the so-called ‘new
Christians’ or Cypto-Jews – in the Portuguese In-
quisition (including its Goan extension) sodomites
were the most watched section of the population
and also the most penalised, with torture and
burning at the stake. Condemnations were based
upon inherited Judeo-Christian morality, which
considered sexual acts among persons of the
same sex as contra natura and as the most abject,
dirty and dishonest sin, which was bound to pro-
voke divine anger and put humanity at risk.
Floods, famines, epidemics and other disasters
were attributed to such divine wrath. The crime
of sodomy belonged to the common jurisdiction
of kings and the Church, and as a result of the
fear, tears and different forms of subterfuge were
commonly resorted to by the accused.
In 16th century Portugal, the sodomites (fan-
chonos) were imprisoned in the secret cells of
Rocio and other prisons of the Inquisition in the
continent and elsewhere in the empire. Most vic-
tims had their goods confiscated, were whipped
in public, exiled to stations overseas or con-
demned to hard labour in the galleys or the gun-
powder manufactory of Goa. A few dozens were
burnt during autos-da-fé.
The need of hiding themselves from public dis-
credit gave rise to a culture of cypto-sodomites,
equivalent to the crypto-Jews. The ‘fanchonos’
were bolder characters who did not care for
anonymity or their reputation being tarnished.
Today we would classify them as ‘assumed’ gays.
The most recent case of paedophilia in Por-
tugal ended in the conviction of six accused
after a long-drawn judicial process that lasted
nearly six years, with much media-attention
worldwide. A house in Elvas was frequently men-
tioned as a meeting point where the accused
sexually abused children from a state-run edu-
Tongue in Cheek
HistoricAl ExplorAtions
cational institution.
Curiously, the records of the Evora Inquisition
in 1621 describe the case of Domingos Fernandes,
from Elvas, also accused of paedophilia. He con-
fessed his sin when threatened with torture, but
denied everything later. None of the accused in
the present-day scandal are associated with the
clergy, but the records of the Inquisition include
all categories of clergymen among the accused
and those punished.
O Barão de Lavos (1891) is a novel by the Por-
tuguese author Abel Botelho, who was influenced
by the writings of Émile Zola. The author pre-
sented his novels as analysing the Patologia Social.
He wished to denounce a social malady that af-
fected his country at the close of the 19th century.
The Baron of Lavos, Sebastião Pires de Castro,
was obssessed with persons of the same sex, and
ended up destroying his married life as well as
the fortune he had inherited. Homosexuality is
presented as an inherited disease. Nineteenth
century scientific ‘naturalism’ defended Judeo-
All-new ball game
Christian morality on a different basis, maintaining
that procreation is the natural and only legitimate
goal of sexual activity.
His O Livro de Alda (1898) is moulded on similar
lines, but represents lesbian tendencies. We
should not forget that Abel Botelho was a mem-
ber of the state-appointed committee that de-
signed the national flag of Republican Portugal.
He wished to convey the ideals of the Republic
for the regeneration of the nation. This consid-
eration will be particularly interesting in the
background of the first centenary of the Por-
tuguese Republic, to be commemorated later
this year. The judgment on the paedophilia scan-
dal in Portugal gains greater significance in this
context.
On 8 January 2010, the Portuguese Parliament
approved gay marriages with the support of the
Socialist and Left parties. On 17 May the President
of Portugal ratified the legislation, making Portugal
the sixth European nation to do so.
In Portugal, homosexuality can be traced back
mosexuality in medieval Portugal, and Brazilian
historian Luiz Mott continues to provide us ex-
tensive research on homosexuality and pederasty
in modern Portugal.
I would suggest to those interested in this sub-
ject to start reading the classic plays of Gil Vicente,
a court dramatist and a social critic of early 16th
century Portugal. His Auto da India (1509) is par-
ticularly interesting, with his sarcasm about wives
and lovers who pretended sadness about the de-
parture of their menfolk to India.
The Portuguese Discoveries continue to be
celebrated as the beacon of national glory, but
the massive (within the limits of Portuguese pop-
ulation figures at the time) exit of menfolk con-
tributed to the promotion of sodomy overseas
and lesbianism at home. That is precisely what
provided grist to the mills of the Inquisition.
What Abel Botelho was exposing as a social
pathology in his novels was the national pathology,
a result of a long-term disequilibrium of the male-
female ratio in the population at home and abroad
during five centuries of the Portuguese empire.
The effects have come to stay, and the recent
paedophilia sandal, which involved all levels of
the Portuguese bourgeoisie, is certainly not a
stray incident.
On 2 July 2009, the Delhi High Court decrimi-
nalised homosexual intercourse between con-
senting adults throughout India, holding that
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) violated
the fundamental right to life and liberty and the
right to equality as guaranteed by the Constitution
of India. As for paedophilia, Goa has yet to clear
the bad reputation it gained as a paedophile par-
adise, despite the first life sentence for paedophilia
in India for Anglo-Indian paedophile Freddy Peats
in Aguada jail in 1996.
I do not think we had no paedophiles in tradi-
tional Goan villages and within our families. Un-
fortunately, I have sad memories of paedophilia
in a Goan seminary, where the senior inmates
abused younger ones. It was called ‘pokodpiação’
(a mix of the lusitanised vernacular expression).
I could name some of the violators, but I wish
some of my contemporaries would come forward
and confirm this sad reality in an institution that
trained future priests. It is curious how such
shameful practices – and they were not isolated
instances – continue to belong to the realm of
silence.
By Adelmo Fernandes

bananas, mango leaves, banana flowers and other produce
of the season. A puja will be performed, followed by an
‘aarti’, after which the food will be first presented to the
deity in a ritual called ‘naivedya’. It is only after this that
members of the household will sit down to eat their special
‘Chovoth’ meal.
An ‘aarti’ is then performed every afternoon and night,
till it is time for the ‘visarjan’, when the idol is taken in a
procession with great fanfare and immersed in a pond, well,
river, lake or in the sea to shouts of “Ganpati Bappa Morya”
and the lighting of firecrackers. Most households keep the
idol only for two days, while a few keep it for five, seven or
eleven days.
‘Chowoth’ in Goa is unique, and quite unlike anywhere
else in the country. Lord Ganapati has truly blessed this land
and its people. We only wish he would bring wisdom and
enlightenment to its rulers.
I
n the past week or so, we were bombarded with news of balls.
First there was the episode of Pakistani bowlers bowling no-
balls at a premium. Then, there was the case of tar balls making
their presence felt on our beaches. But the news that really grabbed
the headlines was the disappearance of the alleged drug peddler
Atala. It seems that the cops made a gotala of the Atala case.
It seems that crime in Goa is now being carried out in partnership,
where even more than parties are involved. We have the politi-
cian-police-drug nexus. This probably proved to be a profitable
partnership business venture, where everyone had their (hash)
cake and ate it too.
Did someone say something about ‘Bolting the stable door after
the horse has bolted?’ Well the Atala case seems to be just that.
Atala was here with the police and now he has disappeared into
thin air. Was it a case of ‘fixing’ just like the match-fixing that is in
the air? Well don’t blame the cops. Atala knew too much for their
(the cops’) comfort. So, no Atala means that the police and politicians
can breathe easy.
Has Atala left India, or has he been eliminated and left the
world? That’s the big question. Now it’s an all new ball game.
And, indeed, the ball is in the police’s court. They should have
considered themselves lucky, as Lucky Farmhouse, Atala’s ex-girl-
friend, was in India and could have been interrogated by the cops.
But the police chose to ignore her. Now they are planning to in-
terrogate Lucky Farmhouse in Sweden, where she probably owns
a farmhouse. These cops should consider themselves ‘Lucky’.
Imagine interrogating a model as good-looking as Lucky in her
own Farmhouse! Be that as it may, it remains to be seen which
way the case goes.
That brings us to a new theory in cricket. It pays to bowl a no-
ball. After the no-ball controversy, where the Sri Lankan bowler
Randiv denied Indian batsman Virendra Sehwag the luxury of a
century by bowling a no-ball, there have been more controversies
surrounding no-balls, as far as Pakistani cricket is concerned.
Imagine being paid hundreds of thousands of pounds (by bookies)
to bowl no-balls… From now on, bowlers will practice only one
thing – bowling no-balls – since there is such a lot of money to be
made doing it. Provided, of course, that you do not end up in a fix
(for match-fixing or spot-fixing).
The latest news making the rounds is that cricket bosses are
thinking of legalising betting in cricket. So while batsmen bat in
the middle, people in the stands can bet. Cricket will never be the
same again. It will be an all-new ball game.
But then, there is nothing new about the tar balls that keep
rolling on to our once-beautiful beaches. These tar balls seem to
be growing by the day. People have been suggesting that these tar
balls should be used to tar our pot-holed roads. Look out for con-
tractors heading to the beaches, not for sand extraction but to ex-
tract tar balls. This will be an all-new ball game for these contractors.
And what ball game are our politicians playing? Well they
certainly are finding it very difficult to set the ball rolling…

Letters to the Editor

Save Hinduism from HJS
Jerry Fernandes, Saligao
I strongly condemn the Goa government
headed by Digambar Kamat for pampering
non-Goan extremist groups like the ‘Hindu
Janajagruti Samiti’ and the ‘Sanatan
Sanstha’, allowing them to terrorise our
artists. Dr Jose Pereira is a renowned San-
skrit scholar who has thoroughly studied
Hindu scriptures. He can recite passages
from the holy books of Hinduism, including
the ‘Bhagwad Geeta’. Even a devoted Hindu
will not be able to do so.
No one should be allowed to threaten
Goan greats like Dr Pereira by spreading
fabricated lies. Non-Goan extremist groups
100 Years Ago
PRIMEIRO DIARIO NAS COLONIAS PORTUGEZAS
11 September 1910
Paddy crop wilts
The paddy fields in the South of Goa
are drying up due to scarcity of pluvial
water. But all is not lost; the early morn-
ing mist is a consolation, with its much-
needed morning wetness.
Roosevelt allergy
M Zimmerman from Cincinnati, USA,
father of the Duchess of Manchester,
publicly stated that should Mr Roosevelt
be elected the next President of the
USA, he would renounce his American
citizenship, travel to Great Britain and
pledge his support to King George V!
Deputies’ Election
The Official Bulletin published the De-
cree where various providential meas-
ures are delineated to be undertaken
in question of the next election for the
State’s Deputies.
Literary Society set up
Some Hindus have established a Por-
tuguese Literary Society in the Deul-
waddo ward of the City.
like the HJS and Sanatan Sanstha misguide
our peace-loving Hindus with pseudo-na-
tionalist lies to disturb Goa’s communal
harmony. They should be banned immedi-
ately. These two publicity-hungry extremist
groups have been maligning this great re-
ligion and dividing Goans. Let us ban them,
protect communal harmony and save Hin-
duism.
Don’t burn the Book
Michael Vaz, Merces
It is outrageous that a little known evan-
gelical Christian Church in the US plans to
burn copies of the holy Quran on the an-
niversary of the September 11 terrorist at-
tack. No right thinking person, irrespective
of religion, would ever approve.
Islamic extremists may have been re-
sponsible for the 9/11 attack on the twin
towers. But can burning the holy Book of
the Muslims ever be a solution? It can only
trigger further animosity and hate. There
cannot be a more un-Christian act. Chris-
tianity preaches love and forgiveness. Two
wrongs can never make a right.
Teachers felicitated
Lodovina Menezes e Fernandes, Velim
The felicitation of teachers of schools scor-
ing 100 per cent results during 2009-2010
by Rajhauns, held on 22 August at Hotel
Mandovi, Panjim, was a unique event, with
no media and no politicians, thanks to Ra-
jhauns publisher Prabhakar Bhinde and his
team.
They realised the efforts and hard work
of SSC teachers. It is said that appreciation
is the most positive force, if given at the
right time. Rajhauns did this, when it should
have been the Education Department, which
sends memos when the result is less than
30 per cent, but is silent when the results
are 100 per cent.
About Portuguese media
Antonio Lobo, Mapusa
Frederick Noronha’s ‘Peepli (live) comes
to Goa’ (Herald, 1 Sept) contained an all-
encompassing comment that Portuguese-
era media “had been discredited, thanks
to its close links with the colonial power”.
Moreover, once approved, the adminis-
Paths of Wisdom
Letter of the Day trator has to fix dates for payments by a
notice published in the Official Gazette
(read Art 489 of the Code of Comunidades),
A tale of two towns
Eric Pinto, Porvorim
failing which any aggrieved party can file
an appeal in the Administrative Tribunal
under Art 126 of the code.
The degeneration of Mapusa is palpable. A once well-planned town is falling to ruin.
South of the nallah that demarcates the old town, a concrete jungle has sprouted that Naresh’s killers
defies definition. No roads; just buildings, dark entrances and offices that reek of sub-
Arwin Mesquita, Abu Dhabi
terfuge rather than business. Is Naresh’s murder case 100 per cent
Leader of the Opposition Manohar Parrikar lives in Mapusa, where his colleague
solved? In my opinion, things still do not
Francis D’Souza is its MLA. In focusing on Parrikar’s expertise as a smart questioner
add up. I hope the Goa Police come up
in the Legislative Assembly, we forget to ask what he has done for his hometown
with strong evidence to support their case.
when he was CM, because that town’s problems span over a decade.
If councillors are always to be blamed, then pray, what is the role of the MLA? Or I hope all the people involved are identified
and charged.
the CM? Silent bystanders…?
Let us look at Panjim’s Nariman Point – Patto Plaza – it is almost a Mapusa, with
Persecuting the innocent
roads that lost their tar topping two years ago, crumbling gutters and footpaths, hap-
hazard parking… Do we only blame the councilors? John A Fernandes, Margao The Boy who watered
If Panjim’s city centre looks a little better, it is due to the efforts of citizens like Santosh Bale’s letter ‘BJP & criticism’ (Herald, the Root
Patricia Pinto and others, who set the agenda with their activism. Mapusa lacks such 9 Sept) ignores the fact that there is no by Sri Swami Sivananda
people and that has been its bane. proof of any Muslim involvement in the A father wanted to test the intelligence
Godhra train burning. The Ahmedabad-based of his two sons. He allotted each of them
This ignores courageous journalists who Mickky framed! Forensic Science Laboratory concluded that the task of looking after a mango tree,
suffered at the hands of the dictatorial the fire started inside the train and was not promising to reward the boy whose tree
regime. James Moraes, Cuncolim yielded the best fruit in abundance. The
Even then, the media protested in a Now, Mickky Pacheco is being framed by
activated by a mob from outside.
foolish boy discovered that the leaves
The investigative weekly Tehelka, which
peaceful manner; portions of articles or- the CBI. It is common in India to suppress conducted a six-month sting operation on were withering off and that flowers were
people’s voices. It is clear that some Con-
dered to be deleted by the censor were some Sangh Parivar leaders in Gujarat, coming up at the end of the branches.
gressmen are all out to suppress Mickky
left blank, often infuriating the authorities. showed that the entire episode was pre- Promptly, he went up the tree and care-
Pacheco, but why?
The article ignores the role played by the planned. Justice Banerjee’s report attests fully watered every leaf. The leaves with-
Things turned bad from the day he com-
‘Portuguese’ media from 1962, which took the same. ered still more and the tree eventually
mented on the drug nexus in Goa, and bad
up the fight against Goa’s proposed merger
days have followed. Mickky may have com- In Orissa, it was the Maoists that
died. The wise boy on the other hand,
with Maharashtra. went on watering the root; the tree was
mitted some sins, but at least he was out claimed responsibility for the killing of green and healthy and yielded delicious
It also protested against systematic ab- to expose the drug nexus in Goa. Mickky- the VHP leader, but the Sangh Parivar ma-
sorption of Maharashtrian civil servants, fruits in abundance.
bab, fight till the end. You will be rewarded liciously blamed the Christian community, Similarly, God gives human birth to
police, teachers, surveyors, etc, brought in the next election!
to Goa as deputationists to destroy the ex- torching thousands of their houses and man to test the evolution of his intelli-
isting government cadre manned wholly churches. gence. The foolish man, eager to get
Comunidade calumny
by Goans. It fought Chief Minister Dayanand Providentially, the malicious plans of the reward of Eternal Peace and Immor-
Bandodkar’s bid to rename Vasco as Samb- Chateaubriand Rodrigues, Cavelossim Sanatan Sanstha activists misfired at Margao tality, seeks to pay attention to the sat-
and Sancoale, otherwise there might have
haji Nagar. The letter ‘Despotic attitude’ by Joao Felipe isfaction of his sense-cravings, and to
If the Portuguese media died, it was from Pereira (Herald, 6 Sept) says the Revenue been a bloodbath in Goa. the acquisition of worldly knowledge,
extensive migration of Portuguese readers Minister has given oral orders not to disburse for he thinks that it is the right way. He
from 1962 onwards, and the end of Por- jonos/dividends to Gaunkars. As ex-Secretary Letters should be 150 words or less in dies the miserable death of an ignorant
tuguese education in Goa. After Liberation, of Administration of Comunidades, South man. The wise man, on the contrary,
length, and should have the writer’s name,
pro-Indian writers (as opposed to pro-Por- Zone, Margao, as well as a Gaunkar of the address and telephone number. The editor devotes himself to the contemplation
tuguese) such as the late Dr Carmo Azevedo, Comunidade of Cavelossim, I wish to inform of God, the Root of all Creation, and
Dr Carmo Noronha, et al, dominated the him that after the approval of the Comu-
reserves the right to edit letters for size and
thus obtains all the wealth and knowl-
readability, and to delete any personal attacks
Portuguese media, which included this nidade budget by the administrator, he can- edge of the universe. God is well pleased
or libellous /objectionable matter. with him and bestows upon him the re-
paper. I am sure they must be turning in not refuse the payment of dividend/jono,
their graves after this article! and the payment must be disbursed. ward of Immortality and Eternal Bliss.

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