Siolim

There are nine vadde (or village wards, subdivisions -- vaddo is singular and vadde is plural). These are: Igrez-Vaddo, Gaunsa-Vaddo, Bamon-Vaddo, Marna, Dcruz-Vaddo, Costa Vaddo. Porta-Vaddo, Tarchi Bhatt, Guddem, Aframent, Vaddi and Oxel in Siolim-Marna panchayat. Besides this there are seven vadde in Siolim-Sodiem panchayat.

There are three panchayats, which govern diverse areas of the village: Siolim-Marna, Siolim-Sodiem, and Siolim-Oxel.

There are two comunidades, which are ancient self-governing and village-agriculture promotion bodies: Siolim and Marna.

There are three parishes in the area: Siolim, Oxel and Tropa.

The black stone cross from the Franciscan church at Sonarkhett.

Franciscan missionaries first built a church - the Church of Mae de Deus - at the Sonarkhett hill, wedged between Siolim and Assagao. It was located centrally to serve the spiritual needs of the people in the villages of Anjuna, Assagao, Siolim and Oxel. But being situated on the rising hill and probably being a makeshift kutcha structure, it did not survive many years, leaving behind the black stone cross at Sonarkhett.

This first church in Siolim was built near the site of the Mae de Deus chapel in Gaunsa-Vaddo in 1568. There is a plaque commemorating this fact in the chapel compound. This church was probably a kutcha (temporary) structure, and it survived for merely 32 years.

The Gaunsa-Vaddo Chapel of Mae de Deus was constructed in 1847.

Statue of St. Anthony of Padua in the church of Siolim showing a snake caught in a cord

Siolim's church is dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. The church possesses two steeples on the frontispiece and a statue of St Anthony holding a serpent on a leash. This depicts an incident which occurred during the construction of the church when a snake is believed to have been disrupting construction work. The people are said to have interceeded with St. Anthony for help, and placed his statue at the construction site. The next morning, the snake was found caught in the cord placed in the statue's hand.[4] In the church, the statues, paintings, and even the church bell, depict St. Anthony holding a serpent tied with a cord to commemorate this miracle.

The First Church: In 1600, the missionaries planned for a new and larger church in another location more central to the Christians of Siolim. But this project is said to have been caught in doubts due to lack of funds. At that time, two Portuguese merchants were caught in a severe storm while sailing from Portugal. They had with them a statue of St. Anthony, and vowed that if they made to port safely, they would build a church where they landed.

Siolim shrine in Goa.

Their ship is said to have entered the Chapora River and docked on the left bank near the village of Marna. It was here they met the Franciscan missionaries looking out for funds. The new church was dedicated to St. Anthony, instead of Mae de Deus (the Mother of God), and completed in 1630.

The Second Church: In the early part of the 20th century, the ravages of time took their toll on the first church of Saint Anthony. Attempts to repair the wall and renovate the roof appeared futile. The whole structure was in danger of collapsing. The parishioners decided to build a new church on the same site. The foundation stone of the church was laid in November 1902. Its consecration took place on 28 December 1907.

Earlier, the local Christians would attend religious services at the Military chapel at Tropa or Palcho-Vaddo, which was raised to a Church in 1971. During Portuguese rule, this place was well-fortified by the Portuguese with police to ward off the Bhosle attacks. The word tropa which means 'military troops', still survives in the name given to Tropa parish. Its church is dedicated to Our Lady of Consolation.

The church at Oxel-Siolim dedicated to Our Lady Of The Sea.

Siolim has over a dozen doctors. At one time, everyone rushed to "Gauddo dotor" and (Late) Dr Zeferino de Souza.[5] Patients from the surrounding villages were known to throng the consulting room of Dr. Datta Ramnath Naik. Dr. Frank Pereira, Dr. Vinaik Chodankar, Dr. Bidhan C Das, Dr. Edna Pereira, Dr. Ramchandra Naik Bandorkar, Dr. Thaly, Dr. Ragunath L. Naik, Dr. Donald D’Souza, Dr. Sachin Yeshwant Govekar, Dr. Belarmino Ribeiro, Dr. Geeta S Govekar, Dr. Anil Humraskar, Dr. Lalita Fernandes, Dr. Minaxi S Gawas have been among Siolim’s recent physicians.

Native clergy include Bishop Leonard Monteiro, former Archbishop of Nagpur. Former Bishop of Belgaum, the Rt. Rev. Ignatius Lobo is from Gaunsa-Vaddo. The present Bishop of Sindhudurg diocese, Rev. Allwyn Baretto is from Fernandes Vaddo, Siolim. Fr. Moreno D’Souza, SJ, the popular Jesuit who edited the Konkani monthly Roti too hailed from Siolim. Other prominent clergymen include, Mgr Aires Fernandes, Fr. Walter Mathias, Fr Antonio Paulo Cyriaco, Fr. Cyriaco Fernandes, Fr. Damien Fernandes (MSFS), Fr. Matthew Fernandes, Fr. Francis Fernandes, Fr. Anthony Fernandes (MSFS), Fr. Bruno Rodrigues (MSFS), Fr. Archie Fernandes (MSFS), Fr. Vivian Lobo s.j. (former Principal of St Britto High School at Mapusa), Fr. Ross, Frs. Francis & Xavier Pinto (C.Ss.R.), and lately, Fr. Valerian Carvalho (MSFS), Fr. Marcos (MSFS), among others.

Among sports-persons, hockey internationals Gregory, Olimpio, Edgar and Egbert Fernandes and international hockey referee Domnick J Fernandes have represented India.[5] Marie (Simoes) Mendonca captained the Indian hockey team, represented India at the first and Second Asian Games in Delhi and Manila respectively in athletics and in 1956 wore Indian colours at the Melbourne Olympics. At the national level, Eleuterio "Electro" Fernandes of Vaddy played for Air India/Indian Airlines in the mid-1960s, Peter Fernandes (Vasco Sports Club), Johnny Franco and goalkeeper Caetano Fernandes (both of Dempo), earned honours for Siolim. Footballer Maxie (Burmah Shell) hailed from Bamon-Vaddo, Siolim.

Pop star Remo Fernandes, at his recording studio in Siolim

Siolim has been home to some prominent musicians. Relatives of Pinta Xapai, who died at 114, in 1892, erected a statue of Beethoven in his courtyard in Gaunsa-Vaddo.[5] Inscriptions identify the Brazil-born descendant who funded the project, as also the descendant who performed the inauguration.

• Prominent Indian pop musician Remo Fernandes hails from Siolim's Fernandes -Vaddo -(Guddem).
• Another well-known musician was late Joaozinho Carvalho "Johnson". Johnson of the prominent Goan dance band Johnson & Jolly Boys was also a footballer in his younger days.[6] Late Johnson's son, Juvencio Carvalho has carried on the tradition, by training budding musicians.[5]
• Late Rosario Tequila Basil was a saxophonist, who played for diners at class hotels in Bombay and the Hindi film ensembles.[5]
• Writer-trumpeter late Reginald Fernandes played for Hal Green, Nelly Batliwalla and her orchestra. Known as the "Romansincho Patxai" (Emperor of Konkani novels), he also wrote a record number of Konkani novels, nearly 100.[7] A musician of high repute, he has left behind several Konkani compositions, which are played still on All India Radio, one of the well-known ones being the melancholic Adeus Korchea Vellar (The Time of Saying Goodbye) sung by Allan Costa.[8]
• Late Antoninho de Souza was a music director and music recordist for the Portuguese-time Goan radio station Emissora de Goa & All India Radio, Panjim. The music and lyrics for the beautiful konkani duet, Rajan and Prema were written by him.[9]
• Well known satirist of yesteryear Cruz Noronha, popularly known as Cruz Jazzwala, was also from Siolim.
• Late Rev. Fr. Archiebald Archie Fernandes (MSFS) founder of Bands Greensleeves, well known in Bardez in the 1970s and also the founder of The Cascades, a band that still exists to this day. Fr. Archie was an ace Saxophonist, He played the tenor sax, alto sax, as well as the clarinet with ease. Besides his attainments in Music, Fr. Archie was the Principal and Headmaster of St. Francis Xavier's High School, Siolim, from 1972-1979. He also served as the Principal and Headmaster of St. Thomas Boys High School, [[Aldona from 1979–80 and 1982-87. He was instrumental in starting the Mothergoose Nursery at Shaanwadi, Nagar Road, Pune, which now has grown into the full-fledged St. Francis de Sales High School.
• Pascoal Fernandes is one of India's jazz legends. He moved to his home village of Siolim, Goa, after doing the jazz/nightclub circuit in Mumbai for over two decades. He later sang and played almost every night at some of the best venues for live music in Goa.
• Fr. Valerian Carvalho (MSFS), presently at St. Francis Xavier's High School, also trains budding musicians besides playing his Violin.

• Late Rt. Rev. Ignatius Lobo's famed brother, John Lobo, was from the first batch of Indian Police Service in 1948, and ended his career as the Director, Central Bureau of Intelligence.
• Well-known cartoonist Alex Raphael Fernandes "Alexyz" and renowned fashion designer Savio Jon Fernandes are from Siolim.
• One of Goa's most prominent tiatrist, Kid Boxer hailed from Siolim. Well-known Konkani stage actors Romaldo Desouza Miss Cuticura and Vintorinho Rodriguez Victor Chevalier also hailed from Siolim (Bamon-Vaddo) as did late Mini Diogo.
• Domnic Fernandes from Bamon-Vaddo, was librarian at St Xavier’s College, Bombay, between 1961 and 1997, and has been considered a walking encyclopaedia. Dominic was the first professional librarian of that prominent college and is credited with building up the library collection, having merged Departmental Libraries to create the Centralised Science Library, starting photocopying facility in 1977-78 and promoting an open access system in the library when few college libraries did. Domnic "started the famous Canteen, lectured on public speaking, edited the college magazine and Bibliodelic for many years. Xavier’s Development Programme or XDP was created and nurtured by him. His collection of paintings adorns walls in every corridor of St. Xavier’s College today... he was the President of BUCLA (Bombay University College Librarians Association ) for a number of years."[10]
• Late Chevalier Bruno Fernandes, MBE & Knight of St Silvester, lived in Marna Siolim. Architect Ralino J de Souza is another prominent person, as was Herman Raymond (1907-1978), a former judge in Karachi.[11]
• The late Monty D'Souza, who is the younger brother of Fr. Reggie D’Souza MSFS, (SFX High School) was well respected in Siolim for his social service. He was an active member of Pão de S. Anton, the Siolim Foot Ball Club, Siolim Panchayat and the Lions Club. He was also a prominent Master of Ceremonies.