J.A.A. Fernandes

Don Utram

Preface

Aiz hem pustok "Album Cantarancho Dusri Avruti 2006" uzvaddak kaddunk amkam vhodd sontos ani obhinam bhogta. Ami rauntav Konkani Bhas uloitole ani ti apli Maim-bhas mhunn manum ghetele hem pustok khoxalkaien vapuddtole mhunn.

"Xiumtim mogrim ghe rê tuka, Sukh ani sontos dhi rê maca."

Mr. André Xett handed over the copyright to this anthology of dulpods and mandos personally to me in our home village Chorão, Goa. His son Mr. André Tiburcio Fernandes confirmed it in writing on 30th April, 2003. We thank them both for handing over this aspect of Goan culture to posterity. I would be only too happy if these songs are sung and find world wide circulation. The translation of these songs is to be found in the links "Dulpod" and "Mando".

The plural of deknni in Konkani remains the same, that of dulpod is dulpodam and that of manddo is mandde. In English it is deknnis and dulpods in the plural, mando in the singular and mandos in the plural.

The mando is Goa´s message to a disturbed world in a hurry.

Editorial date: 11th October, 2006.

Dr. Lourenço de Noronha

Ungargasse 38/431

A-1030 Vienna

Austria-Europe

E-mail: noronha@gmx.at

José António André Fernandes

(André Xett)

Villa Lauriana, Bogtavaddo, Chorão, Goa 403 102, India

1953

Album Cantarancho

A short biography of José António André Fernandes[1]

Written by

Romano Juliano Abreu

from Chorão, resident in

Satyawati Niwas, Bamburdem, Moira, Goa 403 514, India

José António André Fernandes was the ninth son of André Luis Fernandes and Lauriana Soares. He wrote the genealogy of his family and his autobiography on his 87th birthday in 1970 in Konkani and in Portuguese. His granduncle was working in the Portuguese mint. This Casa da Moeda de Goa was established in 1516. Hence he and the following generations received the name of Xett, a Konkani word for "goldsmith".

José António was born on 28th of April, 1884, in Boctavaddo, Chorão,[2] and died in the same village on 2nd December, 1980. He studied vocal music and violin in the school of St. Bartholomeu Church[3], Chorão, and attended the Portuguese Primary School up to Primeiro Grau in Escola Primaria in Chorão. He then attended an English-Medium School in Arpora, Goa, and continued his schooling at St. Xavier´s School in Bombay (now Mumbai). He worked in Cox & Co. Banking in Bombay for thirty Indian Rupees per month, and in 1910 he travelled by steamer to Mozambique, then Portuguese Africa, where he was given the status of a clerk in a bank in 1914. After retiring, he returned to his home village where he took an active part in the local cultural activities. He published four booklets with Konkani prayers and hymns in 1930, 1940, 1951, and 1954 and an Album Cantarancho in 1953 containing 104 mandos and 24 dulpods. He also handed over to posterity a manuscript dated 1971 with mandos.

First line of Dulpods and Mandos in alphabetical order

Dulpods

Mandos

[1] During the early years of evangelization in Goa, it was customary for Portuguese nationals to be godfathers and godmothers, whose surnames were given to the newly baptized, thus replacing the traditional Indian surnames. Goans usually have three names: his or her own name, the father´s name and the name of the home village + kar, which means "from". In my case my Konkan-Surname is Chodnakar. (L. Noronha).

[2] Chorão, the present Portuguese version, was originally known as Chudamani (Xavier, P.D. 1993: 6). The inhabitans call it Chodna when speaking Konkani. (L. Noronha).

[3] Parish schools were established under Viceroy Dom João de Castro in 1545 by an Order of King João III of Portugal. The children were taught Christian doctrine, sacred music, Konkani, and Portuguese. The salaries of the teachers were paid by the communidades or confrarias i.e. Parish Council. (L. Noronha).