Concanim (aka. konkani)

That is the name of the language of my people, of the small territory of Goa, in south India. Since 1510, Goa has been a territory with a strong portuguese-culture. The picture above shows a south-facing-up map of the old Goa island that was fortified by the Portuguese navy in 1510. It is called an island, because it is surrounded on either side by rivers. At the bottom of the picture is the Mandovi river and at the top the Zuari river. With our long history of belonging to the Portuguese world, our language took up a large body of Portuguese terminology to take on an Indo-European character. Today, after decades of subjection to a pro-Indian-republic propaganda, Goans do not largely speak Portuguese, but speak either entirely in Concanim or a mixture of English and Concanim. Our families are spread over much of India, but especially in Goa and Bombay (which the Indians call 'Mumbai'). 

I have never learnt my parents' language well, but have enough of it to follow conversations and watch films. It is rather hard to find a decent grammar book for Concanim, since the present school-books (which I am able to find) are erratic in construction and don't present a standardised or organised presentation. I have decided to create one, and to use a page on this blog for it. I have created one here, and I shall build it over the next few months. It is unfortunately rather late in life, but I shall master this grammar and construction. And I shall reject the devanagri script of the schools and the propagandists and use the Latin script that has been used for centuries.

'Pawns and passports'

Some of you have noticed the chess books I sometimes have in my reading list. I've never been any good at chess, but I like to follow the game and appreciate its mathematical nature; and I certainly like a decent set. The two big sets I own are a simple Staunton I got from my mother as a graduation present, and a replica of the elaborate Harry Potter set from the first film of the series that I found at the local Menkind, made by a company called Noble. 

Here's a video I just found on the Youtube about a show of chess sets from around the world. There are no ordinary sets on show, but the eastern sets are easily the best and most detailed.

The prophet Michaeas (aka. Micah)

The prophet's liturgical memorial is tomorrow (the 21st). Here is his brief bio in the Roman martyrology (translated from the Latin):

"Commemoration of Saint Michaeas the prophet, who in the days of Kings Jotham, Achaz and Ezechias (Hezekiah) of Juda, defended the oppressed with his preaching, condemned idolatry and wickedness, and announced to an Elect people the birth in Bethlehem of Juda of a Prince emerging from eternity, a Prince Who would pasture Israel in the strength of the Lord." - Roman martyrology (December the 21st)

And here's my old summary of his prophecy from earlier this year.

Restarting the blog

I've just discovered that the last post on this blog was made in the beginning of July. The months have flown by, mostly with prolonged illness and busy-ness in the parish. Desperate to find some leisure, I have spent longer away from the house, when possible. This has left little time for the computer or internet, and I have made any contributions directly to the parish website. But I thought I'd attempt to begin again here. And I'll start, as I attempted in July, with a renewed book-list. Let's just have the ten latest books, although I have thirty books open and active at the moment.

• Fr. Gerard Skinner, Dominic Barberi. I picked this up more than a month ago as Advent reading, and it is a marvellous little biography of the nineteenth-century Passionist Father, who had a notable devotion to the English Mission and spent much of his energy in efforts to return this country to the ancient Faith. His crowning achievement was bringing none other than Saint John Henry Newman into the Catholic communion.
• Fred Waitzkin, Searching for Bobby Fischer. A proud father's description of his bringing up his son, the American chess master, Josh Waitzkin.
• Margaret Barker, Temple theology. An interesting description of the theology and practice of the first Temple (that of Solomon) and the tabernacle of Moses that preceded it. The author believes that with the building of the second Temple, some seven hundred years before Christ, the theology of the first Temple was increasingly obscured, so that very little of it exists in the Bible, having being removed by Jewish scribes. This older theology was restored, she says, by John the Baptist and the Christian movement, which opposed itself to the second Temple priesthood.
• Deborah Cadbury, Dinosaur hunters. I found this in a charity shop and it's a compelling history of the beginning of the new sciences of geology and paleontology in the early nineteeth century. Reading this book in tandem with Father Skinners biography of Dominic Barberi (above) is extraordinarily jarring. These are two different worlds existing at the same time. Cadbury speaks of the physician and geologist Gideon Mantell's struggles to be expected by an elite scientific community and find recognition of his early paleontological discoveries, and of Sir Richard Owen, the comparative anatomist who put England on the map with physiology and anatomy.
• Tanja Poltl, Handlettering meets illustration. Haven't begun this one yet, but it appears to have some interesting watercolour mixing information. More to come.
• The Complete Jewish study Bible. This has been an ongoing read since the summer, after I finished the Catholic Bible in its Knox translation. This translation is not the very best, but it has interesting notes made from a Jewish perspective that I greatly appreciate. But the commentators are trying to hard to defend against anti-Semitism in this Bible, which I feel is misplaced. Any Christian picking up the CJB is unlikely to be anti-Semitic.
• Roy Schoeman, Salvation comes from the Jews. I've hardly begun this one, but the two chapters I've read are excellently written. The author is a Jewish convert to Catholicism and his devotion to the Blessed Virgin is the most beautiful part of the book. I should give this at least four stars out of five, right off the bat.
• Fr. Gregory Naik SJ, Jesuits of the Goa province. My father acquired this book for me, and I had hoped that it would focus on the initial missions in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, these are quickly run through, and the book focuses on the later missions that were ordered after the Jesuit Order was re-established in the nineteenth century. Because of the opposition of the Portuguese government in Goa, however, this 'Goa province' was built outside Goa and remains today mostly outside the new Indian state of Goa.
• Shusaku Endo, Silence. A highly-rated novel about the Jesuit missions to Japan. The book has been loaned to me by a parishioner, and I hope to begin it in the Christmas holidays.
• José Barbosa Machado, Introduction to the Portuguese history, language and culture. This book is a loan from an old friend with a great appreciation for Portugal and Portuguese culture. My own Goan culture is derivative, so this should be an interesting read when I can find time to begin it.