Moira, Goa


Moira is a village in the Bardez Taluka of the North Goa District in India. It has been home to a number of notable individuals from Goa, and is known for its bananas.

Early history

The village derives its name from either from 'Moriya', which describes a Mauryan settlement or from 'Moim', a locality near Tivim.
Historian Teotónio de Souza published a brochure on Moirá for its church's 350th anniversary in 1986. When the church was built, two Flemish brothers lived in Goa: diamond dealers Jacques and Joseph de Coutre. At the beginning of the 17th century, the arrival of the Dutch in the waters around India led the Portuguese administration in Goa to keep a close watch on the Dutch. Some, including the Coutre brothers, were arrested and sent back to Lisbon. Coutre's autobiographical account in manuscript is in the National Library of Spain. In it, he describes his adventures in Goa and elsewhere in Asia.
A deed drawn up in Goa on 14 March 1623 and preserved in the National Library of Lisbon records that Joseph de Coutre financially assisted the Franciscans to build the first Moira church. This conflicts with the story told by Paulo de Trindade, who said that the church was financed entirely by the Moidekars.
The Augsburg-born businessman had links to Augsburg bankers. Although he was better connected than the Coutre brothers in Portuguese circles, he was expelled in 1624. Cron contributed to the chapel for St. Francis Xavier on the eve of Francis' canonisation and tried to help the Capuchins, but the casados thought he was a Dutch spy and he was expelled. Like the Coutre brothers, his wealth gained him favour in the Spanish court.

Goa Inquisition

Although men and women were arrested by the Holy Office of the Inquisition during its auto-da-fé in the cathedral on 7 December 1664, Moira was relatively unscathed by the Portuguese Inquisition.

"Village of wise fools"

In his essay "The Wise Fools of Moira", Prof Lucio Rodrigues writes about how the village is famous for its banana plantations, which yield big, long bananas, called munnouchinz kellim in Konkani. He goes on to describe how the people are just as famous as the bananas. Glenis Maria D'Souza, a native of Moira, describes the village and its people: "If you behave a little idiosyncratic in Goa, don't be surprised if you are called a 'Moidekar'." The villagers are known thus for being hardworking and fun-loving at the same time.

Families

Local historian Leroy Veloso has identified five vangodd in Moira. According to Veloso, the third vangodd is a composite of families with a number of surnames. They include Jack de Sequeira, Erasmo Sequeira, Carmo Azavedo, John Maximian Nazare and Silvestre Nazaré.

Notable residents