investigation of built form of fontainhas based on socio-cultural aspects report - a dissertation...

Investigation of Built Form of Fontainhas

Based on Socio-Cultural Aspects.

A Project Report submitted to the Goa University in partial fulfilment of the

requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Architecture.

Guide: Researcher: Arch. Ketak S. Nachinolkar Rohit .R. Nadkarni

Goa College of Architecture Altinho, Panaji, Goa

May, 2003.

. .

Investigation of built form of Fontainhas based on socio-cultural aspects. Goa College of Architecture. 2002-2003. Rohit Nadkarni .

April, 2003

Acknowledgements. I take this opportunity to acknowledge all those who have helped me in getting this

dissertation to a successful conclusion.

Firstly I have to Acknowledge Arch. Ketak Nachinolkar, my guide for his constant

encouragement and guidance through the Dissertation. I would also like to thank my guide

for the theoretical base for developing a methodological approach to the dissertation.

I also like to acknowledge the head of the institution Prof. Jaimini Mehta for the giving me

a different point of view and directions to work on the area of Fontainhas.

I also like to thank Mr. Ketan S. Govekar (Lecturer in Dhempe College of Arts and

Science, Miramar, Panaji) for his motivating discussions and making himself available at

all times, he has helped us to complete this study successfully well in time.

I am very grateful to the teaching faculty for discussion held during various stages of the

project.

I also have to thank the following officials, offices and individual for helping me in their

best possible capacities with access to information/data, which proved invaluable in

completing this thesis.

• Mr. Percival Noronha, Panaji Goa.

• The in charge and the staff of the Goa State Archives department.

• Mr. Bronu Dias Souza, Architect, Panaji Goa.

• Mr. Baskar Wagle, Architect, Panaji Goa.

• Mr. Arminio Ribeiro Santana. Architect, Panaji Goa.

• Mr. Milind Ramani, Architect, Panaji Goa.

I grateful to Mr. Sameer Madkaikar, Architect and Mrs. Suneel Gude from Fontainhas

who helped me at the site during the site surveys. I also like to thank the people of

Fontainhas for their co-operation during the site surveys

. .


This Dissertation would not have been completed, but for the invaluable help by my

friends in hostel and college during the time of working, to stay awake with me and for the

discussions we had had at all the odd hours for shaping the study.

II

. .


TABLE OF CONTENTS.

TITLE PAGE APPROVAL ----------- I

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ----------- II

TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------- III

LIST OF TABLES. ----------- V

LIST OF PLANS ----------- VI

LIST OF FIGURES -----------VII

GLOSSARY ------------- X

Section a- Introduction.

1. Introduct ion.

1.1 Introduction. -----------1

1.2 Rationale. -----------2

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study. -----------2

1.4 Hypothesis. -----------2

1.5 Scope and Limitation. -----------2

1.6 Operational Definition Scope. -----------3

1.7 Methodology. -----------3

1.8 Chapter Outline. -----------7

Section b- Social-Cultural Aspects and Built Form.

2. Alternat ive Theories .

2.1 Theory on Settlements. -----------9

2.2 Theory on House Form. -----------11

2.3 Theory on the Relation of House and Settlement. -----------12

2.4 Inferences. -----------12

2.5 Basic hypothesis. -----------12

3. Way of Life in Goa.

3.1 The Earliest Community. -----------13

3.2 The Rulers. -----------13

3.3 Portuguese Policies. -----------14

3.4 Change in Way of Life. -----------15

3.5 Life of Communities. -----------16

III

. .


3.6 Inferences. -----------17

Section c-Fontainhas as a Part of Panaji City.

4. Fontainhas as a par t of Panaj i c i ty .

4.1 Historical development. -----------20

Section d- Area of Fontainhas.

5. Way of l i fe and Bui l t Form.

5.1 Built Form . -----------28

5.2 Communities. -----------28

5.3 Hindu Community. -----------32

5.4 Catholic Community. -----------40

6. Socio-Cultural Factor and Bui l t Form.

6.1 Settlement Pattern. ----------49

6.2 Social Strata. ----------49

6.3 Built Open Relationship. ----------49

6.4 Typologies. ----------50

6.5 Scale. ----------50

6.6 Arrangement of Spaces. ----------51

6.6 Cross Cultural Influence. ----------56

Section e- Findings, conclusions and Recommendations.

7. Findings, conclusions and Recommendat ions.

7.1 Findings. ----------60

7.2 Conclusions. ----------64

7.3 Recommendations. ----------67

Bibliography.

Appendices.

I. Location plan of Panaji.

II. Questionnaire for occupant.

III. Observation schedule.

IV. Houses documented.

IV

. .


LIST OF TABLES.

TITLE PAGE 5.1 Ownership, Occupation and Area Table for Hindu House. -----------34 5.2 Data Analysis- Hindu Houses. -----------40 a. 5.2 Ownership, Occupation and Area Table for Catholic Houses. ------------43 5.4 Data Analysis- Catholic Houses. ------------48 a. 6.1 a. Ownership, Occupation and Area Table for C Hindu Houses. ------------51 6.1 b. Ownership, Occupation and Area Table for C Hindu Houses. ------------51 6.2 a. Data Analysis- Hindu Houses. ------------55 a. 6.2 b. Data Analysis -Catholic Houses. ------------55 b.

V

. .


LIST OF PLANS TITLE PAGE 1.1 Location plan of Panaji, Fontainhas. ----------1 1.2 Study area. ----------3 a. 4.1 Location of Panaji and Fontainhas. ----------21 4.2 Plan of Panaji -1510. ----------23 a. 4.3 Plan of Panaji- Between 1510-1631. ----------24 a. 4.4 Plan of Panaji- Between 1632-1780. ----------25 a. 4.5 Plan of Panaji- Between 1780-1843. ----------25 b. 4.6 Plan of Panaji- Between 1843-1961. ----------26 a. 5.1 City of Panaji Showing Fontainhas. ----------28 5.2 Community Profile of Fontainhas. ----------28 a. 5.3 Hindu area studied in Fontainhas. ----------33 5.4 Study Area- Location of Puja Spaces in Houses. ----------34 5.5 Ground floor plan of Mr. Madkaikar’s house. ----------35 5.6 First floor plan of Mr. Wagle’s house. ----------35 5.7 Ground floor plan of Mr. Wagle’s house. ----------36 5.8 Ground floor plan of Mr. Raikar’s house. ----------36 5.9 Ground floor plan of Mr. Pai Raikar house. ----------36 5.10 Ground floor plan of Mr. Madkaikar’s house. ----------37 5.11 Ground floor plan of Mr. Wagle’s house. ----------37 5.12 study Area-Placement of Openings. ----------38 5.13 Catholic area studied in Fontainhas. ----------41 5.14 Ground floor plan of Mr. Sequeira’s house. ----------44 5.15 Ground floor plan of Mr. Noronha’s house. ----------44 5.16 Ground floor plan of Mr. Sequeira’s house. ----------45

VI

. .


5.17 Ground floor plan of Mr. P. Noronha’s house. ----------45 5.18 Study Area-Placement of Openeings. ----------46 6.1 Community profile of Fontainhas. ----------49 6.2 Ground floor plan of Mr. Madkaikar’s House. ----------53 6.3 Location of the Interface Area. ----------53 a 6.4 House plans of Mr. Gude. ----------56 6.5 House plans of Mr. Chopdekar. ----------57

VII

. .


LIST OF FIGURES. TITLE PAGE 2.1 Organization of Built Form. -----------9 2.2 Factors Effecting House Form. -----------11 3.1 The Earliest Settlers. -----------13 4.1 Adil Shahs castle-1950’s -----------23 4.2 Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church.-1950’s -----------24 4.3 Linhares bridge -1950’s -----------24 4.4 Rau de Ourem-1950’s -----------26 4.5 St. Sebastian Chapel. -----------27 5.1 Our Lady of Immaculate Conception church. -----------30 5.2 A Cross Next to the Chapel of St. Sebastian. -----------30 5.3 Fonte phoenix. -----------31 5.4 St. Sebastian chapel. -----------32 5.5 The Small Raised Platform along the Road Acting as Buffer.------32 5.6 Mr. Verlekar’s house. -----------39 5.7 Mr. Wagle’s house. -----------40 5.8a St. Sebastiao squarel. -----------42 5.8b View of 31st January road. 5.9 The Natal Well. -----------42 5.10 Alter space in Mr. Rebiero’s house. -----------43 5.11 Window upholstery in Mr. Rebiero’s house. -----------44 5.12 View of Mr. Rebiero’s house. -----------47 5.13 View of Mr. Noronha’s house. -----------47 6.1 View of the street on the Hindu side of the Settlement. -----------50 6.2 View of Mr. Rebiero’s house. -----------54

VII1

. .


6.3 View of Mr. Noronha’s house. -----------54 6.4 A View of the Hindu Settlement Area. -----------55 6.5 Puja Space- In Chopdekar’s House. -----------56 6.6 View of Mr. Gude’s house -----------58

IX

. .


GLOSSARY.

BALCAO- “Portuguese name” for a portico at the entrance of houses, normally used as a

sitting-out place.

CONSERVATION: Sir Bernard Fielden defines conservation as an action taken to prevent

decay. The basis for this action is the realization of value or importance of an entity.

Therefore conservation act for preventing decay and loss based on the knowledge of the

value of an entity.

CORNICE- The uppermost member of the entablature, surmounting the freeze, plaster

moldings round the ceiling of rooms at its junction with the walls: to furnish with a

Cornice.

FAÇADE- The face or elevation of a building.

GARBHA-GRIHA- The portion of the temple were the deity is housed.

LINTEL- The horizontal timber or stone also known as the Architecture that spans an

opening.

PARAPET-The portion of wall above the ground applied to the same features in balconies

or bridges.

PUJA- Rites performed in Hindu idol-worship.

SILL- Flat piece of wood at the bottom of a window frame.

TOPOGRAPHY- Physical Features of place or locality.

X

Introduct ion

Investigation of built form of Fontainhas based on socio-cultural aspects. 1 Goa College of Architecture. 2002-2003. Rohit Nadkarni .

Section a- Introduction .

1. Introduction. 1 .1 Introduction.

The dissertation looks at Fontainhas from

a different perspective. Fontainhas is not

only an architecturally rich settlement,

but it is also rich in its socio-culture

structure. The richness of its culture and

social structure gives the settlement a

unique look and physical richness. The

study deals with the investigation of the

rich built form of Fontainhas through its

rich socio-cultural structure.

Fontainhas ward is located in Panaji the

capital city of Goa, (Refer plan 1.1)

known for its unique cultural

atmosphere, which is the result of the

influences absorbed from the rulers of

the past and the 450 years long rule of

the Portuguese. These influences have

impacted the local traditions deeply in all

spheres and formed a distinct cultural

identity (way of life) of the people of

Goa.

Panaji was a small fishing village with

lots of coconut trees, creeks and fields.

For centuries it remained so and was a

neglected ward of Taleigao village with

the only massive structure, the Adil Shah

fort by the Mandovi River. With the

decline of Old Goa, the idea of Panaji

becoming the capital gained momentum,

from that time Fontainhas acted as the

residential settlement for the city. Over

time it has undergone many changes

under different administrations.

Along with the new section of the city

exists the surviving part of the old

settlement. The existing old settlements

are Fontainhas, St. Thome, Portais and

Campal.

Fontainhas, which consists of the Panaji

17th –18th century residential quarters.

The narrow winding roads and buildings

with similar architectural character but

yet unique, making distinct homogenous

groups, creates a human and warm scale.

Main focus of the study was to study the

socio-cultural scenario, which affected

and shaped the settlement of Fontainhas.

A study on the socio-cultural aspects

while help to understand the socio-

cultural base which led the kind of

settlement pattern that exists today in

Fontainhas. It will also help in

understanding the diversity of house

pattern that is present in Fontainhas.

Goa

Plan 1.1 location plan of Panaji, Fontainhas. Source-Ritu Prasad Aron

Panaji Fontainhas

Introduct ion


1.2 Rationale.

Fontainhas, a historic settlement within

the urban limits of Panaji, is being

subject to the increasing pressure of

modern life on its traditional fabric. Its

unique urban structure- a result of the

fusion of the vernacular Indian and the

foreign Portuguese- is a significant of the

times past. Being the only extant

reminder of a medieval settlement in the

area, it also gains importance because of

its historical associations- in the unique

social-cultural background of the people.

An important part of the history of

settlement concerns human behavior.

Through an examination of such

behavior, with a cultural approach, we

can begin to understand some of the basis

for urban settlements. This examination

of cultural origins of urban settlements

allows one to make a more detailed

exploration of an important aspect of

history and to understand more fully how

human behavioral patterns resulted in

subsequent urban settlement patterns and

house forms.

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study.

The aim of the study is to Explore

Architecture as socio-cultural expression

through the case of Fontainhas.

Objectives.

In order to achieve the main aim the

following objective must be achieved.

• Study Goan way of life in order to

understand the socio-cultural

scenario.

• To understand important events

which led to a change in Socio-

cultural scenario.

• To derive the historical development

of Fontainhas as part of Panaji City,

in order to understand the impact of it

on the settlement of Fontainhas.

• To understand the community profile

of Fontainhas.

• To study the built environment of

houses on the bases of socio-cultural

factor.

1.4 Central Argument

Built form is an expression of the socio-

cultural background. On this basic the

study is an attempt to explore the built

form of Fontainhas based on the socio-

cultural factors.

1.5 Scope and Limitation.

The focus of the study is to investigate

the influence of socio-cultural factors on

the built form of Fontainhas.

The major constraints in the study were

time; co-operation from the resident and

the limited resources available were not

towards the direction of the study.

The site area to be covered is only the

historic residential settlement of

Fontainhas and excludes the commercial

Introduct ion


area, the extend of Fontainhas is bound

by Qurem creek and Shielded on the west

by the hillock of Conceicao (Altinho),

with the “Corte de Oiteiro” and “Fonte

Phoenix” presently marks the limits

towards North and south respectively.

For the purpose of the study the area

starts from the “Corte de Oiteiro” on the

northern side and area is extended on the

southern side of the fountain. Refer plan

1.2

The study does not go deeper into the

houses of lower strata or lower order in

the caste system and limited to the area

around the landmarks that are the St.

Sebastian chapel and the fountain of

Fonte Phoenix. The houses of lower

strata can be studied for further research.

The literature available in the local

libraries only source of information

available. Most of the earlier studies on

architecture of Fontainhas are missing

or misplaced. Most of the research done

by students of architecture from various

institutions in India is limited to only

documentation. Most of the research

carried out by local people is mostly

conservation oriented and limited only to

facades (exteriors).

The potential of the study will help the

people to understand built-form of

Fontainhas in a better manner and hence

will help in understanding the

architecture of the place, in order to

conserve it.

1.6 Operational Definition.

ARCHITECTURE: The art and science

of designing and building structure, or

large group of structures in keeping with

aesthetic and function criteria; structure

built in accordance with such principle.

BRAHMINS: members of Hindu

Community; highest caste and highly

culture-not a priestly caste.

CASTE: Indian Hereditary class with

members shunning intercourse with other

caste.

CULTURE: is a group of people who

have a set of values and beliefs and a

worldview that embody an ideal.

ENVIRONMENT: the combinations of

all external conditions, which may

influence, modify or otherwise affect the

action of a person.

SETTLEMENT: a place occupied by

settlers, small village.

SOCIAL: Living in communities:

concerned with (constitution of) society

or mutual relation of men or classes.

TYPOLOGY: nature of forms, elevation,

plan and spatial relationship of the house.

1.7 Methodology.

The methodological structure was

worked out in the following way.

Stage 1. Formulation of the Project.

Introduct ion


Existing State of Research.

Fontainhas, a historic settlement within

the urban limits of Panaji, is being

subject to the increasing pressure of

modern life. However, this historic site

stirred a lot of interest in past 4 decades,

in trying to conserve the place. A

majority of the works that came out

where in the form of writings, drawings

documenting the physical aspects,

illustrations and maps.

The major works of this time were the

description of the Panaji, along with its

historic settlements like Fontainhas, St

Thome, Portais etc. by Meneses Antonio,

under the title -Goa – Notas Historicas

Volume-1Panjim, atraves dos seculos in

1977. Describing Panaji and Fontainhas

right from the 15th century onwards, and

giving details of the events during

different century, but it describes on the

prominent building of Panaji and

Fontainhas.

In recent times, i.e. since liberation in

1961, Fontainhas has found a popular

reference in almost all the books that

have been published on Goa. There are

no works devoted to understand the

social-cultural aspect and its impact on

the settlement. Most of the works are

based on the overall scale of Goa.

Students of different architecture

colleges either document Fontainhas, but

was only documented in purely physical

perspective where only the built-form is

looked at. There is no work taken till

now, to understand why the architecture

is rich and what are the reasons for the

place being so. Most of the works

conducted by professional are only on

schemes for conserving this place and

these works only limited in documenting

and conserving the facades of the

building.

In conservation perspective the following

works were taken up-

The Government of Goa, Daman and diu

through order dated 21.1.1984

constituted a committee to make

recommendations regarding preservation

of buildings and other sites, localities and

places of aesthetical, historical or

environment importance in Goa, Daman

and Diu. Fontainhas was apart of it, in

Fontainhas the conservation area was

identified and important houses was

listed. The report titled Conservation of

buildings and sites of historic and

aesthetic important was presented to

Government of Goa in 1987.

School of Planning and Architecture,

New Delhi conducted another study in

1984 headed by Mr. Bruno dais Souza

for Panjim Planning and Development

Authority tiled Conservation Areas.

Panaji. In this study all the old settlement

of Panaji City were visually and

physically surveyed (mainly facades) and

Introduct ion


a conservation policy were framed for

these settlements.

In last decade Ritu Prasad Aron based a

study on Fontainhas in 1994 titled

Towards revitalization of the traditional

settlement of Fontainhas, Panaji. A case

study in Goa, India. Through guidelines

for its future development. This repor t

was based on data that was provided by

earlier work conducted by different

groups, mentioned earlier.

Thus existing state of research is thus,

inadequate and not sufficient to

understand cultural origins of the

settlements which allows in detailed




subsequent urban settlement patterns and

house forms.

Formulation.

This led to the framing of the Aims and

objectives of the study.

The methodological structure was based

on the theoretical studies on Origins of

settlement, influence of socio-cultural

factors on built forms, and the relation of

house and settlements by- Amos rapoport

a lecturer in Architecture at University

College London. He holds a master of

Architecture degree from the university

of Melbourne (Australia). He has taught

and done research at Melbourne

University and the University of

California, Berkley, and Lectured at

various other universities.

Research Approach.

The various theories on built form and

socio-cultural were studied, on basis of

this a basic hypothesis was derived. The

way of life in Goa was analyzed and it

was realized that the religion was one of

the major factors that determine the way

of life in Goa.

So in Case of Fontainhas the 2 major

Communities, based on the religion were

identified. On the basis of comparative

analysis the impact of socio-cultural

factor on the build form of the two

Communities were studied, and was

cross checked with the houses which

were cross culturally influenced.

On basis of socio-cultural basis the

architecture of Fontainhas was explored.

Stage 2. Data available.

The available sources of information.

Secondary sources-

• Literature on theories on settlement

by Amos rapoport in order to

understand the influence of socio-

cultural factors on settlement and

built form

• Secondary sources-literature and

description of the place left by

various visitors, which gave an idea

Introduct ion


of the place and enabled construction

of a chronological development and

the events that led to it. Description

by various author about the cultural

scenario in Goa.

• Old maps of the city from different

centuries to the present gave an idea

of how the place has changed

physically.

• The different conservation studies

and physical documentation done by

professionals helped to understand

the architecture of Fontainhas to

some level.

Primary sources-

Detailed site survey.

• Sites mapping to up date the

maps and identify the community

structure.

• Residents interview to confirm

the community structure.

• Identifying houses around the

landmarks and documenting

them.

• Interview of the residents of

houses documented.

The textual data was systematized into an

inventory Format for individual

components.

With observations and interview the

community profile of the area was

invented.

Stage 3. Process of Analysis.

The mapped community profile was

analyzed and the patterns observed were

noted down and the reason for this was

identified. The major communities of

were identified and were analyzed on the

bases of the area around the landmarks of

the respective community. The samples

of houses around the landmark were

selected randomly and the architecture of

the place was explored based on socio-

cultural factors. The findings were cross

checked with cross cultural influence

(houses originally owned by catholic and

were bought by Hindus later on)

Stage 4. Deriving Conclusions and

Inferences.

After analyzing the houses that were

documented and cross checking it with

cross culturally influenced houses,

deriving conclusion and trying to explore

the built-form of Fontainhas based on

socio-cultural aspects.

Introduct ion


The process-

1.8 Chapter Outline.

The chapter of the report or a record of

the work done and organized as per the

work that was carried out.

The first section is the introduction of the

dissertation.

The first chapter is an introduction of the

dissertation and deals with basic

introduction of the project detailing the

rationale, the aims and objectives, the

scope and limitations and the

methodology.

The second section deals with the

understanding of the socio-cultural

aspects and built form, it also covers the

second and third chapters.

The second chapter is about the

alternative theories on settlements, house

form and the relation of house and

settlement. The basic hypothesis is

derived on the basis on theories

available.

The third chapter is an attempt to

understanding the way of life in Goa,

right from the earliest communities, the

rulers who ruled and influenced the

place, the pollicies of the Portuguese and

the life of communities in Goa.

The third section deals with

understanding the historical background

of the Fontainhas as a part of Panaji City.

The forth chapter deals with

understanding the historical background,

The origin of the name, the natural

determinant and the historical evolution

of the Fontainhas as a part of Panaji City.

The fourth section understands the built

form of Fontainhas based on the socio-

cultural aspects and covers the fifth and

the sixth chapter.

The fifth chapter deals with

understanding the settlement of

Fontainhas, identifying the communities

Theoretical study

Cultural origin of

settlements.

Socio-cultural aspect and house form

Basic

hypothesis

Literature

Site surveys.

Photos and detail

Documentation

Investigate,

analyze and

explain.

Findings,

inferences and

conclusions

Introduct ion


and studying the house form and the

settlement in details with respect to

socio-cultural factor.

The sixth chapter is a comparative study

of the communities in Fontainhas and

cross checking it with the cross cultural

influenced house.

The fifth section deals with finding

Inferences and conclusions and

recommendations.

The fifth chapter is about the findings of

the study and deriving conclusions and

recommendations based on the study.

Socio-Cultural Aspects and Buil t Form.


Section b-Social-Cultural aspects

and Built Form.

2. Alternative Theories. 2.1 Theory on Settlements.

Introduction

An important part of the history of

settlement concerns human behavior.

Through an examination of such

behavior, with a cultural approach, we

can begin to understand some of the basis

for urban settlements. This examination

of cultural origins of urban settlements

allows one to make a more detailed




subsequent urban settlement patterns.

The question is really why people build

environment. In order to understand built

environments, one should understand

how the human mind works. The human

mind imposes an order on the world. The

world is chaotic and disorderly.

Settlements, like all built environments,

are designed in the sense that embody

human decision, choices and specific

ways of doing things.

Culture.

Culture can be seen in 3 major ways, (1)

as a way of life that typifies the group;

(2) as a system of symbols, meanings and

(3) as a set of adaptive strategies for

survival linked to ecology and resources.

Thus culture is a group of people who

have a set of values and beliefs and a

worldview that embody an ideal.

Organization of the Built Environment.

Settlements are specific examples of built

environment one view of the

organization of built environment is the

organization of four things: (also see fig-

2.1)

1. Space.

2. Meaning.

3. Communication.

4. Time.

1. Space- Designers have always dealt

with space organization. The

environment can be seen as a series

of relationship among elements and

people (between things and other

Culture.

Beliefs and worldview

.

Do’s and Don’ts

Hum

an in

stin

ct.

Space. Meaning.

CommunicationTime.

Built form of settlement.

Fig –2.1 Organization of built form



things, things and people). These

relationships are orderly and they

have a pattern and a structure. The

environment is not a random

assemblage of things. Objects and

people are related through various

degree of spatial separation. In facts,

design and planning, from landscape

of region to the furniture

arrangements of rooms, can be seen

as the organization of space for

different purposes, according to

various rules that reflect the culture

of the groups or individuals

involved.

2. Meaning- an urban form can have

three different meanings in a case:

location close to center may indicate

either high or low status, or it may

have no special significance. Any

space organization itself does

express meaning and symbolic

properties; meaning is often

expressed through signs, material,

colors, forms, landscaping and the

like. Meaning may coincide with

space organization and usually did in

most traditional settlements, so when

one discusses them one will be able

to concentrate on space organization.

It may, however, also represent a

separate symbolic system through

which different settings become

indicators of social position; a way

of establishing social identity and a

way of indicating expected behavior.

3. Communication- an urban

environments and settings within it,

can help social communication

among people (where as meanings is

communication from the

environment to people). Thus

environments, spatially and through

meanings, influence and reflect the

organization of communication.

Who communicates with whom,

what conditions, how when, where

and in which context, are important

ways in which built environment and

social organization are linked and

related. Environments reflect and are

ways of controlling interaction. Its

nature, intensity, rate and direction.

This control occurs through spatial

organization of meanings. When

people notice and understand hint in

the environment that signal to them

how to behave appropriately.

4. Time-The first concerns large-scale,

cognitive structuring of time. It

refers to concepts such as linear flow

versus cyclic time, future orientation

versus fast orientation, and the value

of time, and hence, how finely it is

sub-divided into units. This latter

concept relates to the second way in

which the organization of time can

be considered-the tempos and



rhythms of human activities. Tempo

refers to the number of events per

unit of time, and rhythm to the

distribution of activities in time.

People may be separated in time as

well as or instead of, in space so

those groups with difference rhythms

that occupy the same space may

never meet.

2.2 Theory on House Form.

The listing and classification of house

types and forms does not give much

insight into the process of the creation of

form. In order to understand the creation

of house form the following factor

should be considered- Physical ones-

involving climate and the need for

shelter, materials and technology social

ones relating to economics, defense, and

religion.

Physical Determinants –according to

Amos rapoport (lecturer in Architecture

at University College London), the

school of geography represented by de la

Blanche, Febvre, Sorre, and Brunhes has

been called “possibilist” because of its

stress on the fact that the physical setting

only provides possibilities, not

imperative, and it is man- not site or

climate-that decides. This applies to

many aspects of cultural geography and

economic life, as well as to the dwellings

and settlements. The great variety of

form strongly suggests that it is not site,

climate, or materials that determine

either the way of life or habitat. (refer

fig-2.2

Religion- religious ceremonial has

almost always preceded and

accompanied a house from foundation,

erection, and occupation. Religion affects

the form, plan, spatial arrangements, and

orientation of the house, and may be the

influence, which leads to the existence of

rectangular house.

In India religion and the traditional

occupation are the main factors those

influences the way of life. In India

occupation was directly determined by

the taboos set by religion. (Hence Caste

and occupation were directly related).

Mat

eria

ls.

Beliefs and worldview

. Do’s and Don’ts Order and Disorder.

Hum

an in

stin

ct.

House form.

Human the dominating factor

Physical settings only provides options

Topography.

Climate.

Culture.

Religion

Fig-2.2. Factors effecting house form.



2.3 Theory on the Relation of House

and Settlement.

The house cannot be seen in isolation

from the settlement, but must be viewed

a part of a total social and spatial system

which relates the house, way of life,

settlement, and even landscape. Man

lives in the whole settlement of which the

house is only a part, and the way in

which he uses the settlement affects

house form, as, for example, in areas

where the meeting place is the house, and

others where the meeting place is a part

of the settlement, such a as street or

plaza. Geography as well as architecture

has usually separated study of the house

from the settlement, yet the need to look

at the house as the part of a larger system

confirms that the house conveys little

sense outside of its setting and context.

Because the living pattern always

extends beyond the house to some

degree, the form of the house is affected

by the extend to which one lives in it and

the range of activities that take place in

it.

2.4 Inferences

• The examination of cultural origins

of urban settlements allows one to

make a more detailed exploration of

an important aspect of history and to

understand more fully how human

behavioral patterns resulted in

subsequent urban settlement patterns.

• Culture can be seen in 3 major ways,

(1) as a way of life that typifies the

group; (2) as a system of symbols,

meanings and (3) as a set of adaptive

strategies for survival linked to

ecology and resources.

• The great variety of house form

strongly suggests that it is not site,

climate, or materials that determine,

its either the way of life or habitat.

The physical setting only provides

possibilities, not essential, and it is

man- not site or climate-that decides.

• Man lives in the whole settlement, of

which the house is only a part, and

the way in which he uses the

settlement affects house form.

2.5 Basic Hypothesis-.

In a settlement, Physical factors-

involving climate and topography,

materials and technology only provides

possibilities, but it’s the social-cultural

(way of life) factors that determines the

build form.

The above theories were based on the book by Rapoport Amos, 1969- Houses form and culture and the article by the same author in Introduction to urban planning titled-on the cultural origins of settlements.



3. Way of Life in Goa. 3.1 The Earliest Community.

The community in the region comprises

of different ethnic races since pre-historic

times. Most of them the Negritos, Proto-

Austailiods, Dravidians and Aryans form

the composure of Goa’s people1. Most

of these races some way or other

contribute to the development of Goa and

its architecture. Among these races the

most prominent one were Aryans, they

bought with them the caste system as in

rest of India, which shaped the settlement

pattern as per the social order. This led to

a hierarchy in the settlement, with the

upper castes occupying the major

locations near temples, street junction’s

etc and lower castes behind them in areas

of lesser importance.

Goa original inhabitants were kols,

Munda(Mundaris), Kharwis, and others.

(Refer fig-3.1) These people took up

hunting and fishing as primary

occupations and primitive form of

agriculture as a secondary occupation the

kunbis and Guaddes are descendents of

Goa’s earliest settlers2.

As the hunter-gatherer changed his

lifestyle and a more agrarian community

developed, people became what we call

settlers. The concept of land and property

ownership developed3. Probably due to a

strong sense of community living, houses

at this time were located close to one

another, creating narrow alleys. As one

moved through this linear space, it

periodically opened out into small

squares. There was, of course, no pattern

or regularity of the squares it evolved

according to the topography of the area.

3.2 The Rulers.

The rulers of Goa can be traced from 5th

A.D. the Satavahanas and

Chutus(Bhuddists). They were follwed

by-

• Bhojas –6th A.D. (Bhuddists)

• Mouryas-7th A.D. (Bhuddists)

• Silaharas-8th to 11th A.D.

• Kabamba-11th to 14th A.D. Fig-3.1. The earliest settlers

Source- Mario Miranda

References: - 1-2-3. Houses of Goa.Pg.12.by- Pandit Heta.



After the Kadambas, Mohammedan

invasions and subsequent rule bought the

Muslims1435. Who were evicted by the

Portuguese or forcibly converted.

Unlike the British, the Portuguese came

to India merely as conquerors or

colonizers, but they were followed by the

catholic missionaries; for them the

process of occupying foreign territories

was not complete unless and until they

had christianized the subjects of those

territories as well.

3.3 Portuguese Pollicies.

The Portuguese bought Christianity to

the shores of India. Forcible conversions

followed by missionaries once the

Portuguese established themselves in the

land. Incentives were given to converts

such as retaining land holdings and

previous customs and traditions.

Sheltering behind a special dispensation

of Pope Gregory XV, given in 1623, that

Brahmins converted to Catholicism

might wear their sacred threads and

caste-marks, they bodily transported the

entire caste structure of the Hindus into

their adopted religion4. What the Hindus

call their Sanskars, their inherited racial

traits, had survived almost intact.

The caste structure in Goa was as follow-

1- Higher order- Brahmins,

Kshatriyas, shets, (derivative of

Brahmins) vaishya and Vanis.

2- Lower order- Sudras and Gavddi

or Kunnbi. The same caste system got transferred in

the catholic religion.

All public jobs were to be given to those

who had become Christians. Later still,

there were even more stringent laws,

making it a crime for Hindus to practice

their religion even in the privacy of their

houses. The punishment prescribed was

the confiscation of all property.

Thus the main community groups were

the Hindus and Christians, because of

conversions and denial of civil liberties;

the Hindu community remained insecure

for a long time. Each Hindu was devoted

to a particular deity, which their ancestor

worshiped. During conversion these

people along with their deities shifted

from their original places to places like

Ponda, Pernem etc. where there was no

Portuguese influence during that period.

They are existing there till date. Thus

causing disruption of their rituals. The

local converts to Christianity were also

not fully content as they were considered

an inferior lot by the Portuguese and

were denied opportunities. Thus the

Portuguese were considered alien and

were looked at in a negative attitude.

References: - 4. Inside Goa. Pg.14. by- Malgonkar Manohar.



References: - 5. Cidades Indo-Portuguesas Indo-Portuguese Cities. Pg.104 . 6. Cidades Indo-Portuguesas Indo-Portuguese Cities. Pg.105. 7. Fontainhas- living with the past. Pg.2 Article by- Noronha Percival.

3.4 Change in Way of Life

Events-

• During the Marquis of Pombal when

D. francisco de Tavora (1550-54)

was the viceroy in India, total

religious freedom, including

permission to built temples (+1755),

was granted even before the most

basic citizens rights5.

• In 1774, among the various reform

measures from the Pombaline

administration of the Portuguese

State of India, one granted all natives

rights equal to those of people living

in Portugal. A process for the

“refoundation” of Goa was also

drawn up in 1774, covering both

documents and typologies. The

combination of three constitutes the

swansong of what is called

Pombalism.6

• By this time invasions from other

Indian chieftains such as the

Marathas also stopped.

• In may 1834, during the reign of

King D. Pedro IV, the Minister of

Justice, Joaquim Antonio de Aguiar,

decreed the abolition of religious

orders that left a trail of destruction in

Old Goa where a large number of

churches and convents were being

looked after by the members of

various religious orders7.

Because of the above events Hindus

started accepting Portuguese ways of life

and their styles of Architecture. Local

masons adapted and experimented with

modifications of European forms into the

local buildings to suit the local materials

and tastes.

Houses up till this time were in thick

walls. With small windows punctured

into the bare façade devoid of

ornamentation, with almost a fortress like

appearance. The windows became larger

opening out to the secure atmosphere.

Decorative elements such as to the secure

atmosphere. Decorative elements such as

pilasters, cornices, moldings found a

place in the façade; which were inspired

by the Portuguese styles. These were

grander than the Portuguese houses and

were more towards a leisurely lifestyle

and entertaining. These houses responded

to the street through the verandas and

balconies or even the window. Thus,

once sees a change-taking place. A house

previously introverted was slowly

become extroverted.

3.5 Life of Communities.

a. Hindu.



References: - 8. Village Goa. Pg.77 by. Olivinho J. F. Gomes.

As mention earlier, Aryans were the one

who bought the caste system, which

shaped the settlement pattern as per the

social order. With the upper castes

occupying the major locations near

temples, street junction’s etc and lower

castes behind them in areas of lesser

importance.

The caste system in Goa followed a

specific order. Bamonn or the Brahmins

belonged to the originally priestly class

yet taking up other occupation like

agriculture, trade and commerce

(merchants), goldsmith etc; the Chadde

or the Kshatriyas were noblemen,

worriers, and related soldiery, yet taking

up commercial avocations also: the

Vaishya-Vanis were engaged in trade and

among them the goldsmiths pursuing the

craft of gold and gold ornaments; the

Sudir or the Sudras were the workers and

agricultural laborers engaged in

servivcing professions. The ‘Gavddi’ or

‘Kunnbi’ were the landless labourers,

earlier dislodged by the above high

castes and living in their own wards in

the village. Ther were Gauddo or

Gaudde, probably the Vaishya

counterparts in Goa, on Karnataka’s

‘Gowda’, as ther are ‘Gauds’ found in

the Canacona taluka of Goa, on

Karnataka’s border even today through

very few in number8.

The Hindu way of life started with a

daily routine Puja, which was held in a

sacred space in the house. Each Hindu

was devoted to a particular deity, which

their ancestor worshiped. During

conversion these deity were shifted from

their original places. They are exists

there till date. The Hindus visited their

temple (goddess/deity) once a month or

only during festival time or may be on an

occasion. So the temple never acted as a

point of orientation in the Hindu urban

settlement unlike in case of catholic

settlement.

Hindu religion followed very strict

rituals. Every morning it starts with, the

head of the family performing Puja of the

deities housed. The same way during

evening after sunset, the women light a

lamp near the Tulsi or Tulas. Puja space

is considered very scared in Hindu

Culture. Like the temple where only the

priest is allowed in the Garbha Griha. In

the same way the Puja space in the house

is a very sacred, the access is limited

mostly to the inhabitants.

b. Catholic.

The Portuguese bought Christianity to

the shores of India. Forcible conversions

followed by missionaries once the

Portuguese established themselves in the



References: - 9. Village Goa. Pg.78 by. Olivinho J. F. Gomes.

land. Incentives were given to converts

such as retaining land holdings and

previous customs and traditions.

Thus, all the castes or rather sub-castes

or ‘Jatis’ which were then distinct by

themselves, like Saraswats, Karades,

Chiptpavans, Padhyes etc. among the

Brahmins or some claimants to

brahminhood among the various

segments of the population of Goa,

particularly the goldsmiths and some

merchants probably, as seen from the

surnames of members of communes so-

called all Brahmin, were lumped into

Christian caste of Bamomn or Brahmin.

Similarly the various groups among the

Kshatriyas or locally Known as Chaddho

among the Hindus at that time (‘Chaddo

Purus’ being even venerated in temples)

mainly the noble, warrior class, some of

them possibly being engaged in the

trading profession, known as ‘Chatim’ on

that account, which was an occupational

appellation common to Brahmins also, as

seen from the baptism and other records

of the period, continued to be called by

the same appellation after conversion.

So was the case with other class9.

A church is an important symbol in any

catholic settlement because a catholic

needs too go to the church at least once

in a week for a mass. (Catholics usually

prayed in communities) Because of these

church/chapel always acted as the core in

catholic area.

Since the Goan Catholic were all

converts, they had a altar space in their

houses which was considered

sacred.(these was influence Hindu

influence)

3.6 Inferences-

• Way of life in Goa is a derivative of

the various ethnic races and the rulers

that influenced it over the time.

• The dominant communities in Goa

are the Hindu and the catholic

community and their sub groups. The

original inhabitants of Goa belonged

to Hindu faith; they followed

complex rituals, which evolved

through time and influences. After

Portuguese invasions the Goan were

given incentives and forcible

converted Goans and they bodily

transported the structure of the

Hindus into their adopted religion.

Because of the above factor the main

community groups were Hindus and

converted Christians.

• Both the communities were denied

civil liberties during the 16th and 17th

century. The Hindu community

remained insecure for a long time.



Even the local converts to

Christianity were also not fully

content as the Portuguese considered

them as inferior lot.

• 18th century was the point of change

in way of life. The main event that

led to it was 1774, along with various

reform measures the Pombaline

administration of Portuguese

administration of India led by

Marquis of Pombal granted all native

rights equal to those people living in

Portugal. Because of these the

Hindus started accepting Portuguese

way of life and their style of

architecture.

Nature of Settlement-

• Aryans bought caste, which

shaped the settlement pattern as

per the social order. The caste

system led to a hierarchy in the

settlement, with the upper castes

occupying the major locations

near temples, street junction’s etc

and lower castes behind them in

areas of lesser importance.

• A church is an important symbol

(landmark) and was core area in

any catholic settlement because a

catholic needed too go to the

church at least once in a week for

a mass. (Catholics usually prayed

in communities). During

conversion these deity were

shifted from their original places.

They are exists there till date. The

Hindus visited their temple

(goddess/deity) once a month or

only during festival time or may

be on an occasion. So the temple

never acted as a point of

orientation in the Hindu urban

settlement unlike in case of

catholic.

Nature of Spaces-

• Hindu religion follows very strict

rituals. Every morning it starts with,

the head of the family performing

Puja of the deities housed. The same

way during evening after sunset, the

women light a lamp near the Tulsi or

Tulas. Puja space is considered very

scared in Hindu Culture. Like the

temple where only the priest is

allowed in the Garbha Griha. In the

same way the Puja space in the house

is a very sacred, the access is limited

mostly to the inhabitants. Since the

Goan Catholic were all converts they

had a similar space (altar space) in

their houses, but they dint have strict

ritual like the Hindus.

• Privacy was another important

element in houses in Goa. Where

women oriented spaces were placed

away from public spaces. The culture

and the beliefs in each community



determined the percentage and

placement of private spaces.

• Relation of the house with the street

was another important factor

determined by the socio-cultural

background of the people. The way

the house was oriented and the way

the openings were placed, it

controlled the level of

communication with the neighbors

and the settlement.

Fontainhas as a Part of Panaji Ci ty.


Section c-Fontainhas as a Part of

Panaji City.

4. Fontainhas as a Part of Panaji

City.

4.1 Historical Development.

The historical time line of Panaji is

constructed from various secondary

sources. The sources include the

description of the place by various

visitors at different time periods,

researches, articles and papers.

Panaji being the capital city of Goa finds

mention in almost all literature works on

Goa. Older texts describes the place as a

neglected ward of Taligao village, it was

in fact a large coconut grove interspersed

with ponds, backwaters, creeks, canals,

sand dunes and paddy fields. The only

construction existing there was 15th

century castle built by Adil Shah on the

left margin of the river Mandovi River;

but the recent ones concentrate on Panaji

as the capital city. The most

comprehensive account is one left by

Antonio Meneses, 1977 -Goa – Notas

Historicas Volume-1Panjim, atraves dos

seculos.

The available information on the place is

on

• The historical evolution of the place

through different phases in time.

• The description of the place is most

elaborate in the 17th, 18th and 19th

century, which was the peak of glory.

• The building and the architecture

most substantial in the 18th and 19th

century.

4.1.1 The Name of the Place.

Panaji-The earliest reference to Panaji

is noticed in the inscription of the

Kadamba King, Tribhuvanamalla alias

Vijayaditya and is dated February 7,

1107. It described the charitable deeds

Purta Dharmas of Gandgopal Kalima,

who was then administering the Panaji

region on behalf of his Kadamba lord

and refer Panaji as Pahajani Khalli-

Pahajani from which Panaji supposedly

gets its name and Khalli probably refers

to the creeks and backwaters abounding

in the area. The first few Portuguese

chronicles, soon after conquest of Goa

refer to Panaji as Panaji or Ponji, which

mean land that never got flooded.

According to one Portuguese philologist,

Gonsalves Cardoso in its “journal of

Travelling” he writes that the word

Pongy is derived from Panch Yama

Afsumgamy or five wonderful castle of

Muslim King, Ismail Adil Shah, and his

wives used to live10.

References: - 10. Fish, Curry and Rice- Pg.103.



References: - 11. Fontainhas- Living with the past. - Pg.1. Article by- Percival Noronha.

Fontainhas-the place is locally known as

“Mala”, which appears to be its original

name or a derivative. Nothing much is

known about the origins of this name.

The phenomenon of expansion of the

settlement in the area was mainly due to

the existence of a spring of crystalline

waters. At the time of governor, Viscount

of Ourem, Joaquim Jose Januario Lapa

(1851-55), an artistic reservoir in basalt

stone was built around this spring known

as “Fonte Phoenix” which provided three

taps of potable water to the city.

Ultimately, the area due to the existence

of this fountain was called

“Fontainhas”11.

4.1.2 Natural Determinants.

Panaji- is located along the southern

bank of river Mandovi, in the taluka of

Tiswadi. The waters of the river

Mandovi, on the north and the west

surround it, and on the east is the

Fontainhas creek. Refer plan 4.1. 10 km

beyond lies the city of Old Goa. It is

dominated by an irregular shaped

plateau-like hill, “Altinho”.

Due to its strategic position, at the mouth

of the river Mandovi, it served as an

important military post, to control the

Plan 4.1 location of Panaji and Fontainhas Source-Ritu Prasad Aron

Fontainhas

Panaji

Goa.



entrance of the river and protect the city

of Goa- (Old Goa) the capital, from

invasions.

Aligning growth with the major corridor

(river) is a common response. The

original settlement stretched along the

water, with street parallel to the waters.

Fontainhas- Fontainhas is a narrow

stretch of land bounded on the east by

Ourem creek and shielded on the west by

the hillock of Conceicao (Altinho), with

he “Corte de Oiteiro” and “Fonte

Phoenix” presently mark the limits

towards North and South respectively.

Refer plan 4.1. In 1500 it was a

reclaimed palm grove, bordered by a

creek on one edge and the hill. . Till 18th

century, the whole area was an alluvial

soil with few paddy fields, which later

got developed as an extensive coconut

grove12.

Fonte Phoenix a natural spring located at

the foot of the hill providing clear

crystalline water around which the initial

settlement grew in the early days of the

history of Panaji City.

4.1.3 Historical Evolution.

a. The Beginnings- the exact beginning

of this place is obscure but dates to the

12th century. The earliest reference to

Panaji is noticed in the inscription of

Kadamba King, Tribhuvanamalla alies

Vijayaditya and is dated February 7,

110713. When the Kadamba rulers were

ruling supreme over the territory from

their capital Gopakapattan on the

southern side of the island on the river

Zuari.

It was, in fact, a large coconut grove

interspersed with Ponds, backwaters,

creeks, canals, sand dunes and paddy

fields. The only construction existing in

Panaji was the 15th century castle built by

Adil Shah on the left margin of the

Mandovi River. Another Landmark of

the Mohammadan era in old Panaji was

the Segnil-Tower on the slope of the

hillock behind “Fazenda building”

(Directorate of Accounts) 14.

b. Growth- Portuguese Conquered Goa

in 1510. Due to its strategic position, at

the mouth of the river Mandovi, the

Portuguese selected it as an important

military post, to control the entrance of

the river and Protect the city of Goa-

(Old Goa) the capital, from invasions.

Also because of its convenient location,

it was often selected as a place for

embarking troops for setting out

expedition to various parts of the east.

References: - 12. Fontainhas- Living with the past. - Pg.1. Article by- Percival Noronha. 13. Fish, Curry and Rice- Pg.103. 14. The growth and conservation of Panjim city –Pg. 1,2. Article by- Percival Noronha.

Plan 4 2 Plan of Panaji Before 1510

BEFORE 1510.

ADIL SHAH’S CASTLE 1500 AND HAREM.

Plan 4.2-Plan of Panaji Before 1510.

•EVENTS

•LARGE MARSHY LAND.

•FISHERMENS TEMPORARY HUTS

•YUSUF ADIL SHAH BUILDS CASTLE AND HAREM ON THE RIVER BANK-1500

NORTH



During the early years of Portuguese

rule, Panaji formed a temporary

residence for the viceroy and governor,

on the arrival from or departure to Goa. It

was also a country resort for nobility, as

in evident from the 17th century

manuscript of historian, Rezende, dated

1635, “Panaji had fifty houses, some of

them storied and quite big and beautiful,

belonging to the Portuguese of Goa and

other who settled down here, part of

them lying along the river bank, with

garden and palm groves15.

The selection of Panaji, as the new

capital, was mainly due to the decadence

and eventual ruin of the city of Goa. The

immediate cause, however, for the shift,

was a consequence of a terrible epidemic

raging Old Goa. Due to this, the viceroy

residence was shifted to Panaji in 1759,

and the foundation of the town was laid.

With this date it took a gradual rise

c. Developments-.

Early Development.

15th century-

• The only construction existing in

Panaji was the 15th century castle

built by Adil Shah on the left margin

of the Mandovi River.16 See fig-

4.1.and Plan-4.2. Another Landmark

of the Mohammedan era in old

Panaji, was the Segnil-Tower on the

slope of the hillock behind “Fazenda

building”(Directorate of Accounts).

• During this time Fontainhas was a

reclaimed palm grove, bordered by a

creek on one edge and the hill on the

other a free sailors, fisherman and

tailors lived here in huts17.

16th century-

• Portuguese Conquered Goa in 1510.

Due to its strategic position, at the

mouth of the river Mandovi, the

Portuguese selected it as an important

military post, to control the entrance

of the river and Protect the city of

Goa- (Old Goa) the capital, from

invasions. Also because of its

convenient location, it was often

selected as a place for embarking

troops for setting out expedition to

various parts of the east.

• During the first year of

Fig -4.1 Adil Shah castle. 1950’s Source- Souza and Paul.

References: - 15. Goa – Notas Historicas Volume-1Panjim, atraves dos seculos. Pg-14 Antonio Meneses. 16. Fish, Curry and Rice- Pg.103. 17. Fontainhas- Living with the past. - Pg.1. Article by- Percival Noronha.

Plan 4 3 Pl f P ji B t 1510 1631

1510-1631 PILOTS HILL

Plan 4.3 -Plan of Panaji Between 1510-1631

•EVENTS

•1510 OLD GOA CAPTURED BY PORTUGUES

•CASTLE USED AS CHEEK POINT FOR INCOMING SHIPS TO OLD GOA -PILOTS HILL BEHIND CASTLE.

•BUILT THE PANAJI CHURCH IN 1541(REBUILT-1584)

•BUILT FORT OF GASPAR DIAS

NORTH



Christianisation, the Portuguese set of

the main churches in the area covered

by the old Taligao village in Panaji, a

hermitage came up prior to 1541,

under the invocation of Our Lady of

Immaculate Conception which was

built on the slope of the hillock.18 It

was elevated to a church in the year

1600 and was renovated in

1619.(Refer fig-4.2 and plan-4.3)

17th century-

• Our Lady of Immaculate Conception

was elevated to a church in the year

1600 and was renovated in

1619.(Refer fig-4.2)

• Later, during the time of viceroy,

count of Linhares, Dom Minguel de

Noronha, in the early 1632 in order to

connect it directly to Old Goa, a

bridge was built across creek-

Linhares Bridge19- which still

function today. Refer fig 4.3.

• During the early years of Portuguese

rule, Panaji formed a temporary

residence for the viceroy and

governor, on the arrival from or

departure to Goa. It was also a

country resort for nobility, as in

evident from the 17th century

manuscript of historian, Rezende,

dated 1635.20

• Till the 17th century Fontainhas

continued to be inhabited chiefly by

fisherman and common artisans.

18th century-

• The selection of Panaji, as the new

capital, was mainly due to the

decadence and eventual ruin of the

city of Goa. The immediate cause,

however, for the shift, was a

consequence of a terrible epidemic

raging Old Goa. Due to this, the

viceroy residence was shifted to

Panaji in 1759,21 and the foundation

Fig - 4.2 Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church. 1950’s Source. Souza andPaul.

Fig- 4.3 Linhares Bridge. 1950’s Source. Souza and Paul

References: - 18-19. Fish, Curry and Rice- Pg.103. 20. Goa – Notas Historicas Volume-1Panjim, atraves dos seculos. Pg-20 Antonio Meneses 21. Fish, Curry and Rice- Pg.103.

Plan 4.5-Plan of Panaji Between 1781-1843

1781-1843

Plan 4.5 Plan of Panaji Between 1781 1843.

•EVENTS

•1784 SETTLEMENT DEVELOPS IN THE COCONUT•1784-SETTLEMENT DEVELOPS IN THE COCONUT GROVE AT FOOT OF THE HILL-ORGANIC PROFILE.

•CONSTRUCTION OF CUSTOMS HOUSE, LARGE POLICE STATION, COLLECTORATE COMPLEX.

•1831-ACQUISITION OF LAND FOR EXPANSION OF TOWN.

•1843- PANAJI DELARED CAPITAL.NORTH



of the town was laid. With this date it

took a gradual rise. (refer plan-4.4)

• Initially in 18th century, the whole

area of Fontainhas was an alluvial

soil with few paddy fields which later

got developed as a extensive coconut

groves named “Palmar Ponte” by

Antonio Jao de Sequeira, nicknamed

“mossmikar “.22

• In 1784 after the death, the large area

developed by sequeira, was leased by

government to the convent of Our

Lady of Carmo, Chimbel. At this

time, the area was dotted with several

huts inhabited by fisherman, sailors

and persons engaged in the coconut

oil extraction trade.23(Refer plan-4.5)

Major Development-

19th century-

• In 1811, many administrative office-

the Custom house, High court,

Accountant generals office etc and

many educational Institutions were

also shifted to Panaji, and its

population began to steadily

rise.24(refer plan 4.5)

• The new development occurred to

the north of the existing residential

settlement- Fontainhas-across the hill

bordered by Mandovi River. Due to

the absence of by-laws and a stable

administration at this time, the

growth was very arbitrary: resulting

in irregular, chaotic maze of streets

and alleys, in Fontainhas.

• For the spiritual needs of the people

of Fontainhas, a small chapel with

only one altar, under invocation of St.

Sebastian, was built in 1818.25

• The viceroy, Dom Manuel de

Portugal e Castro (1826-35) is

perhaps, the one who gave his best

attention to the development of

Panaji. He also did several other

improvements in the city. The main

Panaji was planned on a grid iron

pattern, comprising of narrow streets

and central garden squares, and was

mainly administrative, Institutional

and commercial in character, the

urban structure was highly pedestrian

oriented –70m x 70m grid and the

scale, very human. Bringing

neighbors “shoulder to shoulder” was

the concept of urbanism, in contrast

to the previous “mansion in vast

garden settings”, of the provinces. To

the west was the physical

demarcation, diagonally by the hill

References: - 22. Fish, Curry and Rice- Pg.103. 23. Fontainhas- Living with the past. - Pg.1. Article by- Percival Noronha. 24. Fish, Curry and Rice- Pg.104. 25. Fontainhas- Living with the past. - Pg.1. Article by- Percival Noronha.


1632-1780

Plan 4.4 Plan of Panaji Between 1632 1780.

•EVENTS

•1632-RIBANDAR CAUSWAY BUILT LINKING PANAJI TO OLD GOA.

•MANDRIAL ESTATE HOUSES BUILT BY NOBLES-LAND.

•PRIVATEY OWNED AS COCONUT GROVES.

•1759-VICE-ROY SHIFTED HIS RESIDENCE TO CASTLE•1759-VICE-ROY SHIFTED HIS RESIDENCE TO CASTLE OF ADIL SHAH AFTER MODIFYING -AS OLD GOA IS UNHYGIENIC.NORTH


1844-1961

Plan 4.6 Plan of Panaji Between 1844 1961

•EVENTS

•MORE BUILDINGS CAME UP-FAZENDA, MUNCIPALITY, PAVILLIONS.

DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES AS OPENING OF ROADS•DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES AS OPENING OF ROADS, SQUARES, ETC-PLANNED PROFILE.

•DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES-ROADS ETC.

•NEW SETTLEMENT-ALTINHO, CAMPAL-1930 EXPANSION.

•SERVICES INTRODUCED AS WATER ELECTRICITY.

•1961-PORTUGUESE HAD GOA TO INDIA WITH PANAJI CAPITAL OF POSSESSIONS DAMAN & DIU ALSO.NORTH



and developed quite independently of

each other.

• The Fontainhas ward owes much to

the efforts of the Governor Jose

Joaquim Lopes De Lima (1840-1842)

who opened a straight road through

Fontainhas, which was, know as

“Quatro de Abril”.26

• In 22nd march 1843, Panaji was

formally declared, by royal decree, to

be the capital of Portuguese India,

and renamed it as “Nova Goa” a new

city. It was conceived to encompass a

larger area, including Ribandar and

Old Goa, but in view of the declining

fortunes and power, by this time, this

was not feasible, and “Nova Goa”,

came to mean only Panaji. 27

• The Governor, Viscount of Ourem

Joaquim Jose Januario Lapa (1851-

55) did commendable work by

draining the Fontainhas creek and

building marginal roads on both

sides.28 The Ourem road on

Fontainhas side is named after him.

This changed the original relationship

of the built fabric with the waterfront.

Refer fig 4.4.

• During his time the fountain

“Phoenix”at Fontainhas, which the

area derives its name. It was the

prominent orientation point of the

urban space and a popular interaction

space.

• The greatest sweeping change came

at the time of the Governor, Caetano

de Albuquerque (1878-82) who with

his foresight linked Fontainhas with

the central zone of Panaji by cutting

the Conceicao hill in length of 302

meters. There was only one road

“Quatro de Abril”, later on a new

road was made by acquiring land and

some buildings including Old chapel,

now called 31st January road.29

• In 1881 a road was opened going

through many houses (demolished)

coming in the way in front of old

Chapel, this road was named St.

Sebastian road. This road linked the

Rua Quatro de Abril and Rau Natal

with the Rua de Ourem.30 (Refer

plan-4.6) This led to the creation of

the Largo Sao Sebastiao-the main

Fig-4.4 View of Rua de Ourem. 1950’s Source- Souza and Paul

References: - 26-27-28. Fish, Curry and Rice- Pg.104. 29. Fish, Curry and Rice- Pg.105. 30. Goa – Notas Historicas Volume-1Panjim, atraves dos seculos. Pg-27 Antonio Meneses



open space of the populous ward,

situated in its very heart. The present

chapel was completed in 1887.31 See

fig .4.5.

• During this period, in (1882-1885),

were added two more important

features of the urban scape-the Natal

well and the flight of steps leading to

it, creating an important public

space.32 Consequently, more

stairways were built, giving access

too different parts of the linear

settlement. This was in answer to the

increasing water needs of the habitant

and also to facilitate communication

within the settlement, which by the

time was rapidly rising to an

important neighborhood.

Later Development.

20th century-

• In 1931, electrification and tarring of

the ward, a good network of drainage

was laid.33

• In 1956, regular water supply was

provided.34

After 1961-

• After liberation in 1961, Panaji

remained the capital of the union

territory of Goa, Daman and Diu all

former Portuguese colonies.

• In 1977, sewage system was

introduced.35

• In 1984, the Government of Goa,

recognizing the Special character of

the Fontainhas and some areas in

Goa, constituted a committee to make

recommendations regarding the

preservation of buildings and other

sites, localities and places of historic

importance.36

• In 1987, Panaji retained the capital of

State of Goa.

Fig -4.5 Present St. Sebastian Chapel Source- unknown

References: - 31. Goa – Notas Historicas Volume-1Panjim, atraves dos seculos. Pg-27 Antonio Meneses. 32. Fontainhas- Living with the past. - Pg.4. Article by- Percival Noronha. 33-34-35-36. Fontainhas- Living with the past. - Pg.5. Article by- Percival Noronha.

Area of Fontainhas.-Way of Life and Buil t Form.


Section d- Area of Fontainhas.

5. Way of Life and Built Form. 5.1 Built Form.

The area of Fontainhas forms the old

residential quarter of the city. Most of the

houses here date back to the period 1840-

1950.

On the urban level the settlement has

come up at the foot of the hill on the west

and marshy lands and a creek on the east,

giving it a linear profile. (Refer plan 5.1)

Stretching north south along a main spine

with back-lanes. Along the spine the

houses are lined and open directly on the

street. (Refer plan 5.2)

The resulting style of these houses is a

product of interaction and assimilation

and adaptation of Portuguese influences

on local house types. Most of the house

forms in Fontainhas are rectangular in

plan. (Refer plan 5.2)

5.2 Communities

The major communities in Goa either

belong to Hindu or Catholic faiths. If one

studies any place in Goa, the observation

will be that these settlements have

distinct communities and they have

definite boundaries. In these settlement a

temple or a church/chapel acts as the

center or core around which the

settlement might have evolved.

Originally the houses of Fontainhas were

built largely by those attached to the

Fontainhas.

Plan 5.1 City of Panaji showing Fontainhas.



administration service of the erstwhile

Portuguese government and thus they

were educated and highly placed people.

The inhabitants of this place are largely

belonging to Christians and Hindu faiths

and their castes. In 1774, among the

various reform measures from the

Pombaline administration of the

Portuguese State of India, one granted all

natives rights equal to those of people

living in Portugal. After this event

conversion of Hindus to catholic came to

a stand still.

During the time of research the

researcher observed a common belief of

the people of rest of Goa, “that

Fontainhas was a catholic dominated

settlement”. But during the time of

research this was proved wrong, after the

color-coding it was realized that both the

Hindu and the Catholic community are

almost equal in proportion. Refer plan-

5.2 the other observation was these

communities had a distinct boundary. It

was also observed that there are few

houses, which belongs to Muslim people.

These Muslim houses placed far way

from the main settlement.

Finding-The main communities in

Fontainhas are 1) Hindu community 2)

catholic community.

5.2.1 Location of the Communities

a. Hindu Settlement.

The Hindus that came here during

urbanization were basically government

employees mostly working in some

institution. These people were usually

Brahmin, shet, etc basically placed in

higher order of caste system. These

people settled on the southern side of

Fontainhas near the fountain, “Fonte

Phoenix” from where the area derives it

name. Usually the local people refer the

Hindu area as Mala. (The original name

of Fontainhas).

In Hindu Puja and rituals was an

important part of the culture. Each Hindu

was devoted to a particular deity, which

their ancestor worshiped. During

conversion these deity were shifted from

their original places to places like Ponda,

Pernem etc. where there was no

Portuguese influence during that period.

They exist there till date. The Hindus

visited their temple (goddess/deity) once

a month or only during festival time or

on an occasion. The temple that exist

today in Fontainhas area came up only

during the end of 1800s, by these time

the settlement was already present. In a

urban settlement like Fontainhas, the

temple never acted as a point of

orientation in.

b. Catholic Community.

The major Settlement-

The original settlers in Fontainhas were

mostly Hindus belonging to lower caste.



In 1811, Due to the shift of Government

offices and institution to Panaji,

Catholics people who were employed in

these institutions shifted to Fontainhas.

The Catholics settled vary close to the

church of Our Lady of Immaculate

Conception built in 1541 renovated in

1619, which was about 200m away at a

walking distance. Refer fig 5.1 A church

is an important symbol in any catholic

settlement because Catholics usually

prayed in communities and they visited

the church once in a week.

In 1818, a Chapel dedicated to St.

Sebastian was erected for the spiritual

need of the people. This chapel existed

just 50m away in front of the present

chapel (built in 1887), around this the

later settlement grew. Color-coding the

settlement of Fontainhas, reveled that the

Catholic settlement exits within 200m

radius (walking distance) of the chapel.

Apart from the chapel, within the 200m

radius of the chapel there exist 5 crosses

(for a example refer fig-5.2) spaced at a

distance of 100m to 50m meters apart

from each other. Refer plan- 5.2.

Minor Settlements-

These settlements were basically people

of lower caste or of a lower economic

status (Caste is directly related to

occupation and occupation was directly

related to economic status). Therefore

this people were placed away from the

main settlements. During the time of

research there was an interesting

observation, wherever these settlements

existed within their 50m radius there

existed a cross. It might be this cross

might have been built later by those

people. They’re also another observation

that this settlements and the crosses were

located between 50-100m apart. That

mean these settlements were at walk-able

distance, so in other words there is a kind

Fig 5.1 Our Lady of Immaculate Conception church. Source-Gopal Bhodhe

Fig 5.2 A cross next to the chapel.



communication (interaction) between

these settlements.

5.3 Landmarks and the Communities.

Rationale- Landmarks are always a point

of orientation or evolution in an urban

settlement. Since it is one form (element)

which gave a sense of orientation to the

settlement and the user. It always acts as

a core in term of activities, and the

prominent people in the area stayed

around the major landmarks. It might

also be that the landmark was built

around a place where the prominent

people of the settlement lived. So

landmark from the either side of the

settlement was selected because the

people around will have similar level of

status in their respective area.

In the Hindu settlement Fountain of

Phoenix was the major landmark, around

which the settlement evolved. While in

case of the catholic settlement the St.

Sebastian chapel was built at the center

of the settlement, which further shaped

the settlement.

1. The Fonte Phoenix-. As Fontainhas

was developing as a settlement in the

19th century, an artistic reservoir in

basalt stone was built at this spring

around 1851-55. This natural spring

located at the foot of the hill provided

clear crystalline water for the settlers,

around which the initial settlement

grew. Refer fig. 5.3. The importance

of this feature can be gauged from the

fact that this ward derives its name

Fontainhas, from this feature and

marks one of its extremities today.

Besides providing a constant supply

of potable water for sustaining the

growth of the settlement, this also

emerged as a space for social

interaction for the inhabitants of the

Hindu settlement thus is a prominent

landmark in the area.

2. St Sebastian Chapel- In 1818, a

Chapel dedicated to St. Sebastian was

erected for the spiritual need of the

people, and later the settlement grew

around this chapel. In 1881 a road

was opened going through many

houses (demolished) coming in the

way in front of old chapel, this road

was named St. Sebastian road. This

road linked the Rua Quatro de Abril

Fig-5.3 The Fonte Phoenix.



and Rau Natal with the Rua de

Ourem. This led to the creation of the

Largo Sao Sebastiao-the main open

space of the populous ward, situated

in its very heart. Refer fig 5.4 the

present chapel was completed in

1887. Within 200m radius (walking

distance) of the chapel the catholic

settlement exists. 5.4 Hindu Community.

Selection of samples- the Hindu houses

around the Fountain the landmark in the

area were selected randomly for the

purpose of the study.

5.4.1 Social Strata - the study area

consists of major Hindu settlement with

small patches of catholic settlement.

Refer plan 5.2. The majority of the

inhabitants are Hindus belonging to the

higher order of caste system. The Fonte

Phoenix (Fountain) Was built in 1855-55

while the houses which were selected for

the study around the fountain came up

later in between 1875-1890.

The houses around the Fountain were

people belonged to the people of high

order in the caste system. These people

were either government servant or mostly

goldsmith in occupation. Along with this

prominent people there also existed

people of lower order in the caste system,

these people in small house settled in the

back-lanes. Looking at the settlement,

one came make out this difference, in

term of the area (scale) of the houses.

5.4.2 Built Open Relationship- most of

the houses in the area were aligned along

the road (the man made feature). While

the houses which occupied the back-

lanes of the settlement were oriented

according to the option provided by the

topography of the area. Within these

option the settlement in the back-lanes

evolved.

The houses studied in this area are

mostly right on the edge of the road, with

a small buffer that the raised platform

which is hardly 50 cm in length. Refer

fig 5.5.

Fig-5.4 St. Sebastian Chapel.

Fig. 5.5. The small raised platform along the road acting as buffer.



placed on the first floor in a separate

room, they have only one dinning space

in their house. Refer plan5.7.

some houses even had 2 kitchens, like of

Mr. Pai Raikar and Mr. Raikar house.

The kitchen placed behind the Puja area

was basically to prepare vegetarian items

(sacred kitchen) while the other kitchen

was used to prepare non-vegetarian

items. Refer plan 5.8.

In most of the Hindu house the services

were placed at the rear of the house. The

most common element that is present in

most of the houses is a well at the rear

end (in the backyard). Basic necessity

like water was available within the

private space of the house, so there was

no need for the women to go out to fetch

water. The well was placed mainly close

to the Kitchen and the bath. Refer plan

5.9. In Mr. Pai Raikar house the well is

placed in a very interesting manner,

where it can be accessed from the

Kitchen as well as bath area.

LIVING

BEDROOM BEDROOM

DINNING

COURTTULSI

KITCHEN

01M 3M 6M

Plan 5.7. Ground floor of Mr. Wagle’s house.

KITCHEN

BATH

KITCHEN

DINNING

BEDROOM

LIVING

WELL

BEDROOM

BATH

TOI

DINNING

PUJA SPACE

KITCHEN

COURT

STORE

HALL

01M 3M 6M

Plan 5.8. Ground floor plan of Mr. Raikar’s.

WELL KITCHEN

PUJA SPACETIOLET BATH

STORE

DINNINGKITCHEN

BEDROOM

STORE

LIVING/HALL.

COURT

01M 3M

DINNING

BEDROOM

BEDROOM

Plan 5.9. Ground floor plan of Mr. Pai Raikar’s



Women Space- the private spaces like

sacred space, dining space, kitchen and

the service area like well, bath and

toilets, all these areas were placed at the

rear of the house for one main social

factor, which was the extreme need for

privacy for women. Women had a sacred

religious symbol in Hindu culture; this

element was the Tulsi or Tulas. Mostly

the Tulsi was placed in the court, which

was a part of the private area of the

house. Like in case of Raikar’s and

Verlekar’s house. (Refer plan 5.8) While

in some cases like the Mr. Madkaikar’s

house in absence of court, the Tulsi was

placed in the backyard. Refer plan 5.10.

Women activity core- the core of women

activity was the kitchen where they use

to spend their whole day in cooking. This

space was an inward looking space.

Where all the openings were placed on

the inward side. If there was an opening

on the exterior side there was a high

compound wall was built e.g. Mr.

Wagle’s house. Refer plan 5.11

The women had a separate stairway from

the dinning area leading to the first floor,

in case if there was any occasion in the

house, which was held in the hall mostly,

placed on the first floor. Refer plan 5.11.

Privacy was not only by the blank walls,

opening on the inward side, and other

physical devices, but also by custom.

Guest or outsiders were invited inside the

house; the spatial organization of the

BATH

WELL

KITCHEN

BATH

LIVING

TOILET

TOILET

TOILET

TOILET

01M 3M 6M

Scale

BEDROOM DINNING

DINNING

BEDROOM BEDROOM

STORE

PUJA SPACE

Plan-5.10. Ground floor plan of Mr. Madkaikar’s house-Tulsi placed in the backyard.

LIVING

BEDROOM BEDROOM

DINNING

COURTTULSI

KITCHEN

01M 3M 6M

Plan –5.11 Ground floor plan of Mr. Wagle’s -The high compound wall.



area. Even in case of the individual

houses the main doors and subsequent

doorway inside the house was always

staggered to prevent transparency. This

applied even to the window layout in

houses. Since the houses were right on

the edge of the road and the windows

openings of the respective house were

staggered and even if a window was

aligned with a doorway inside the house,

the door way would be a dark spaces

which prevented the transparency. Most

of the Hindu houses usually dark

interiors. (Very less light)

Most of the cases except Mr.

Madkaikar’s, even these houses were

bang on the edge of the road, There was

a small strip of raised platform about

50cm in length, which gave a minimum

kind of buffer for the houses.

The sill level in these houses was another

important feature. The sill height was one

of the important elements to

communicate with the street. The sill

levels were usually very low in height

from the floor level of the house ranging

from 73-85cm, which was quite low.

These allow the commination of the

inhabitant of the street to communicate

with the street while on the other side the

plinth played an important role the

windows which were very low from

inside, the sill level from the road was

almost 1.1m high. Only in case of Mr.

Verlekar’s house, it is only one of a kind

that has French windows on the ground

floor. But the plinth level of this house is

high enough to achieve the level of

privacy needed from the street. (Plinth

almost 80cm high) Refer fig 5.6

The windows, which were not facing on

the main road, were designed in the form

of a bay window. Since the thickness of

the wall was almost 90cm, a platform

was placed at the sill level, which helped

the people to use this space in their

leisure time to experience the

surroundings.

Most of the houses has a first floor level,

it may be partial or throughout. The

houses had the hall on the first floor, the

windows in the hall were French window

decorated quite intricately depending on

the status of the inhabitant. The French

window also helped in lighting and

ventilating the room in better way than

the other rooms, and most of the time

these windows were placed parallel to

each other to help cross ventilation in the

Fig –5.6 Mr. Verlekar’s house- high plinth used in case of French windows.



room.(like in case of Mr. Madkaikar and

Mr. Raikar house refer table 5.2.)

b. Façade – the façade feature are that

which give the place the character. The

elevation aspect of the area is very low-

rise, seldom beyond two storeys. The

houses are a result of a basic façade with

a sloping tiled roof on top, with a wall

punctured with regular sized openings.

Façade in these old houses was an

important mean of communication to the

stranger on the street. If even today if one

happens to walk through this area,

looking at the façade one can have an

idea about the people living in the

houses. That was exactly what the

inhabitant intended. Facades of these

houses were detailed and plastered

according to the status of the people.

(One factor that effected these detailing

was the type of material available at that

time).

Each house had different design for the

pilasters, the corbelling etc. the window

usually had a plaster band around which

even differed in most of the houses. The

windows pattern very different in each

house, from flat lintel to the curved ones.

Even shutter design of 2 different houses

won’t match. In case of French window

the lower railing was different in each

case.

Façade was an element that had variety.

Even the houses that had common wall

and common roof had their windows and

doors profile in a different way. Refer fig

5.7 this area is a perfect example to

realize that that each family was different

and so was the façade, giving uniqueness

to each house and a sense of diversity to

the whole area. But it was the scale and

the common features with variations that

tied up the whole settlement.

5.5 Catholic Community.

Selection of samples- the Catholic houses

around the St Sebastian Chapel was

selected randomly for the purpose of the

study.

5.5.1 Social Strata- the study area

consists of major catholic settlement with

a few Hindu Houses (belonging to

prominent people). As the Catholic

settlement was growing in size, for the

spiritual need of the people a chapel

dedicated to St. Sebastian was

constructed in 1818, which stood 50m in

Refer fig 5.7 – Mr. Wagle’s house- the house has a common wall and roof but still the windows and the doors differ in design.



Sebastian chapel) known as the St

Sebastian square is the main open space

in the area and the natal well square

acted as the second open space(Refer fig

5.9). After shading the built form of the

area on a plan. It gives a clear picture

that the main breathing space in the area

was the St Sabestian square. Refer plan

5.13. Since the backyards were absent in

catholic houses the road acted as the

open space.

Most of the cases the houses had

common walls. If there was a gap in

between houses, it was basically done for

the purpose giving access to the houses

in the back lanes. This was the only

reason there were gaps at certain

intervals. The road was the main element

in this area, which shaped the built form

of the settlement.

5.5.3 Typologies- the basic house

typologies that exist in the area are –

Linear house with a entrance

porch/balcao, Linear house, Rectangular

house with a verandah in front,

Rectangular house with the verandah at

the side, Square house, L-shaped etc.

The house samples that were selected for

the study basically belonged to 4

different category- 1) Squares house 2)

Rectangular house with a verandah in

front, 3) Linear house with a balcao, 4)

rectangular house with a verandah at the

side. The ground area of this house

ranges from 144-216 Sq. m.

5.5.4 Scale- scale is one of the most

important aspects in order to determine

the effect of socio-cultural factor on built

Fig. 5.8 a Houses having almost 2m shoulder in front of St. Sebastian Chapel.

Fig. 5.8 b. The small raised platform along the road acting as buffer.

Fig. 5.9. The Natal well.



Fig-5.10. Altar space in Mr. Ribeiro’s house.

form. The total area of a house (scale of

the houses) will be directly related to

what position a person hold in the

community. In case of the study area if

one list out the scale of the house in term

of area, the conclusion will be that there

is a relation between the scale of the

house and the social status. Refer table

5.3

Table-5.3

Owner Occupation. Area.

Mr. P. Noronha.

Govt. treasurer.

353 Sq. m.

Mr. Ribeiro.

Doctor. 282 Sq. m.

Mr. Noronha.

Police Officer.

275 Sq. m.

Mr. Sequeira.

Business person.

244 Sq. m.

5.5.5 Arrangement of Spaces.

5.5.5.1 Sacred Core – the scared core in

catholic houses was the altar or the

prayer space. Catholic’s visited church

every week since they believed in

community praying. The placement of

altar space in the Catholic house was

never fixed. It was placed either in the

living, dinning, or even in the bedroom in

some cases. This was a space where the

whole family got together and prayed.

Since the altar space dint have a specific

placement. Some time it was even placed

in the living space because of this a level

of secrecy was achieved by placing it

high from the plinth level (more than

1.5m above from the plinth level). See

fig 5.10.

5.5.5.2 Private Spaces- in the catholic

houses, private space like dinning

depending on the area and position

determined whether the space was

private or semi-private space. In case of

house of Mr. Sequeira’s (refer plan-5.14)

and Mr. Noronha’s (Now Fernandes)

(refer plan-5.15) house the dinning were

more of a private space. In Mr.

Noronha’s house the dinning was placed

close to the living, where the doorway

was staggered and the dinning area space

was much at a smaller scale than the

living. (The living were 16% of the entire

house area while the dining were just 8-

10 %) while in case of Mr. Sequeira’s

house the dining is placed at the rear of

the house. (Refer plan-5.14.)

The bedrooms were mostly located after

the living and the hall space. The no. of

bedroom depended on the need of the

inhabitant.



The kitchen, bathroom, and toilet were

placed at the rear portion of the house for

the purpose of privacy. To the rear of

these houses the there was a service door

which could be access from a passage

leading from the main road. (Refer plan-

5.15)

Position of Women- kitchen and the

service area, bath and toilets, all these

areas were placed at the rear of the house

for one main social factor, which was the

need for privacy for women.


activity was the kitchen. Kitchen space in

case of catholic houses was mostly

outward looking; the only exaction to

this is Mr. Sequeira’s house in which the

kitchen is inward looking opening into a

court. (Refer plan-5.14).

Since the interior spaces were mostly

outward looking, the catholic houses

usually had curtain and lot of other

upholstery used on the door and the

windows, which gave a level of privacy

needed. Refer fig 5.11.

COURT

KICHTEN/ DINING

BEDROOM

BALCAO

LIVING

01M 6M

PASSAGE

3M

Fig. 5.14. ground floor plan of Mr. Sequeira’s. Showing the placement of dinning/kitchen.

01M 3M 6M

KITCHEN

DINNING

LIVING

TIOLET

BATH

BEDRROM

BEDROOM

VARENDHA

PASSAGESTORE

Fig 3.15. ground floor plan of Mr. Noronha’s. Showing the placement of dinning area.

Fig 5.11 upholstery used for the windows a typical feature in these houses.



5.5.5.3 Semi Private Space- these places

were basically placed in front portion of

the house. Most of the catholic houses

had a living on the ground floor and a

hall on the first floor. Guest was usually

received in the living area. On only

particular occasion the hall was used to

entertain the guests. The access to the

hall was directly from the entrance lobby

(mostly from a passage space). The

exception to this was Mr. Sequira’s

house where the access was right from

the living space. Refer fig 5.16. Hall was

one of the most important spaces in

catholic houses, since it was often

converted as a ballroom on occasion like

wedding and parties. The social events

within the house were held in this space.

There were some houses which were

owned by people who had a very high

economic and social status; in their

houses the dining area was as

proportional to the hall area. Since these

people use to have grand occasions very

often, they required a large dinning area

which was more of a semi-private space.

A very good example of this is Mr.

Rebeiro’s house, the hall was 17.3% of

the total area of the house while the

dinning was 16.3% which is almost

similar in proportion, and same was the

case in Mr. P. Noronha’s house. (Refer

5.17 for Mr. P. Noronhas’s house).

In relation to private and semi-private

spaces, the private spaces ranged from

40-64% while the semi private spaces

COURT

KICHTEN/ DINING

BEDROOM

BALCAO

LIVING

01M 6M

PASSAGE

3M

Fig 5.16 Ground floor of Mr. Sequira’s house. - The access way to the hall in the living area

01M 3M 6M

GUEST BEDROOM

STORE

KITCHEN

DINNING

ENTRANCE

LIVING ROOM

TIOLET

Fig 5.17 Ground floor of Mr. Noronha’s house. - The dining area is as proportional to the hall area.



Fig 5.13 view of Mr. Noronhas’s house- the varendha is more of a private space.

which allow a kind of privacy to the

houses. Since catholic house had wide

openings and their interior spaces were

very well lighted by natural light because

of these to get the desired privacy level

the houses had upholstery for their

window, which blocked the vision

(transparency) of the any person passing

by from the street. More no. of opening

were placed on the side, which had a

garden with a compound wall ex. Mr.

Rebeiro’s house see fig 5.12 –the houses

had maximum opening on the front

façade on if there was a verandah

(Without a gallery on top of it) and this

verandahs had a parapet wall going all

around it.

The houses, which were bang on the

roadside, have sill level higher than the

other ones. These allow the commination

of the inhabitant of the street to

communicate with the street while on the

other side the plinth played an important

role the windows which were very low

from inside; the sill level from the road

was to almost 1.1m high

The windows on the first floor were

mostly French windows where the people

from the house were able to

communicate with the street. These

French windows were decorated quite

intricately depending on the status of the

inhabitant. The French window also

helped in lighting and ventilating the

room.

Verandahs, galleries and balcoa- these

were the main element by which the

catholic community uses to interact with

the street and neighborhood. There

existed two kinds of verandah one which

was public oriented like the one of Mr.

Rebeiro’s (refer fig 5.12) where the

individual was able to access it while in

the other case Mr. Noronha’s (refer fig

5.13) was one that had parapet wall

going all throughout, which was more of

a private space. This space was mostly

used as an interaction space at the

neighborhood level. There even exists a

house with a balcao, which was one of

Fig 5.12 view of Mr. Ribeiro’s house- on the garden side more openings were placed.



the main interaction space elements in

most of the houses in Goa.

b. Façade – façade in these old houses

was an important mean of

communication to the stranger on the

street. If even today if one happens to

walk through this area, looking at the

façade one can have an idea about the

people living in the houses. That was

exactly what the inhabitant intended to

do. The catholic house facade was more

much more detailed and plastered

according to the status of the people.

(One factor that affected these detailing

was the type of material available at that

time)

Each house had different design for the

pilasters; the corbelling etc. the window

usually had a plaster band around which

even differed in most of the houses. The

windows pattern very different in each

house, from flat lintel to the curved ones.

Even shutter design won’t match in

different houses. In case of French

window the lower railing was different in

each case.

Façade was an element that had variety.

This area is a perfect example to realize

that each families staying in different

houses are different and the façade

projected the same.

Area of Fontainhas.-Socio-Cultural aspects and Buil t Form.


6. Socio-Cultural Aspects and

Built Form. A comparative study of the two major

communities in Fontainhas, -the Hindu

and Catholic community.

6.1 Settlement Pattern-

During 1800, the first people to shift to

Fontainhas belonged to the catholic faith.

These people were mostly government

employee. They settled very close to the

existing church of Our Lady of

Immaculate Conception. (Northern side)

While the Hindus stayed together on the

southern side in a community, near the

Fountain which was the source of fresh

water. (Incase Hindus the basic needs

were more important). Till today there is

some Hindu houses that exists in the

catholic settlement. These houses

belonged to the people, who had high

social status and they settled here some

where in 1780-1830’s. The other houses

were bought by Hindus from Catholic’s

after Goa liberation. Similarly on the

Hindu side (southern side of Fontainhas)

there are Catholic houses, these houses

exist in patches forming a small

community of their own. These people

were actually lower caste people who

shifted from the northern side of the

Fontainhas in 1800’s .

Religious symbol was very important in

Catholic community the main settlement

had a chapel built right in the core area of

the settlement. Along with the chapel

there also existed small crosses placed at

a distance of 100-50m. Similar case was

on the Hindu side where the small

patches of Catholic settlement occurred

they had a cross within the 50m radius,

which bounded them together. (Refer

plan 6.1)

6.2 Social Strata –

a. In both the cases, the Houses around

the major landmark belonged to the

people of high order in the caste

system (mostly prominent people). In

Hindu settlement the major landmark

was the fountain-Fonte Phoenix

(Basic need), while in catholic

settlement it was the St. Sebastian

Chapel.(Religious symbol)

b. Caste played an important role in

term of the settlement pattern. In both

the settlements (Hindu and Catholic)

along the roads, squares and the

prominent location were occupied by

people of higher order in caste

system while the back-lanes were

occupied by people placed in the

lower order in the caste system.

Looking at the settlement one came

make out the difference in term of the

area (scale) of the houses. Refer plan

6.1

6.3 Built Open Relationship-



a. In both the settlements (Hindu and

Catholic) most of the houses

belonging to people of high order in

the caste system were built or aligned

along the road. In case of the catholic

settlement during the 19th century

proper roads and accesses where

planned, because of this the

settlement was aligned along the

roads, the houses belonging to the

Catholics of lower caste occupied the

left over space behind the prominent

houses belonging to the people of

higher caste. While in case of Hindu

settlement the houses where aligned

along the linear spine which is now

called the 31st January road, the

houses behind belonging to the lower

caste were placed according to the

option provided by topography of the

area. Refer plan 6.1.

b. In both the settlements most of the

houses in their particular strata had

common walls. (the people having

similar status had common wall)

There are even cases were 2 houses

have the common roof, in other term

these shows that the inhabitant of

these place had strong community

feeling. (Refer fig 6.1) If there was a

split or a gap between houses that

was because of the road (actually

passages) which gave access to the

houses in the back-lanes.

6.4 Typologies-

a. The basic house typologies that exists

in both the settlements are-, Linear

house, Rectangular house, squares

house and L-shaped house etc.

b. The only variation in Hindu and

Catholic houses were, the Hindu

houses had courts and courtyards

while the catholic houses had

verandah, galleries and porch/balcao.

In other terms the Hindu houses were

inward looking, opening into the

courtyard. Where the interaction

space was within the house. While

the Catholic houses were more

outward looking, opening into

verandahs and galleries. In catholic

houses the interaction space was

outer side.

6.5 Scale-

The total area of a house (scale of the

houses) will be directly related to what

position a person hold in the community.

In case of the study area if one list out

Fig 6.1 view of the street on the Hindu side of the settlement- the people having similar status had common wall.



the scale of the house in term of area, it

concluded that there is a relation between

the scale of the house and the social

status. Refer table 6.1a, 6.1b.

Table no-6.1a -Hindu Houses.


Mr. Pai Raikar.

Govt. Officer.

509 Sq. m.

Mr. Verelekar.

Goldsmith 385 Sq. m.

Mr. Madkaikar.

Govt. servent.

376 Sq. m.

Mr. Raikar. Goldsmith 346 Sq. m.

Mr.Wagle Govt. serevnt.

330 Sq. m.

Table-6.1.b. -Catholic Houses.


Mr. P. Noronha.

Govt. treasurer.

353 Sq. m.

Mr. Ribeiro.

Doctor. 282 Sq. m.

Mr. Noronha.

Police Officer.

275 Sq. m.

Mr. Sequeira.

Business person.

244 Sq. m.

6.6 Arrangement of Spaces.

6.6.1 Sacred Core –

a. Religious ceremonials has almost

always preceded and accompanied a

house from foundation, erection and

occupation. The placed where God

was placed, was considered the

sacred space in a house. In Hindu

house, the Puja space was the sacred

core of the house and the access to

this only limited to the inhabitants.

The Puja area occupied the central

space in the house. In most cases the

Puja space is located in the dinning

room of the house. The reason for

this was In Hindu culture on most of

the occasions the meal is offered first

to the God and then the meal is

served to the rest.

b. In catholic houses the altar or the

prayer space was considered scared.

The way of life was very different,

the catholic believed in mostly

community worship because of this

they visited the church every week.

Unlike the Hindu houses, the altar in

catholic houses did not have a

specific place. It was mostly placed

either in the living, dinning, and even

in the bedroom in some cases. (Refer

table 6.2 a.b.) Since altar was even

place in the semi private area, a level

of secrecy was still achieved by

placing it high from the plinth level.

6.6.2 Private spaces-

a. In the catholic houses, dinning

depending on the area and position

determined the privacy of the space.

In other term it determined whether

the space categorized as private or

public space. While in the Hindu

houses since the Puja space was

placed in the Dinning area it always

acted as a private or sacred area. In

these Hindu houses there were



actually 2 dinning areas. One was the

sacred one, which housed the Puja

space. Other one which was used to

serve the non-vegetarian meals. The

Hindu in Goa were very particular

about their caste, a Brahmin class

would never have lunch or dinner in a

house belonging to a person of lower

caste then them. Dinning space in

Hindu houses was always a limited to

inhabitant and their relatives,

strangers were never allowed.

b. In both the communities, number of

bedroom depended on the need of the

inhabitant. And this was usually

placed after the living and the hall

spaces.

c. In both the cases kitchen, bathroom,

and toilet are placed at the rear

portion of the house because of the

need of privacy for women. In case

of Catholics, these people had

servants working for them so they

had a separate access door from the

rear of the house.

d. Even though the Hindu houses were

close to the Fountain area, still each

house around the Fountain area had

well in the backyard. (these feature

was present only in houses belonging

to the higher caste) This feature was

completely missing in all catholic

houses. The reasons for having well

in the backyard was – when the

Portuguese built the reservoir and

they installed a cross at the

originating point of the spring. The

way in which conversion were

carried out for 150 years prevented

the people from using the water from

the Fountain, even though the

conversion were stopped by then, the

fear still remained. The Hindu way of

life way such that the women always

stayed within the private area of the

house, and before performing any

rituals one needed purify themselves

(have bath). Because of this the well

was within the private area, near the

kitchen or the bathroom area

Position of women

a. In the Hindu as well as Catholic

houses the cases kitchen and the

service area, bath and toilets

(services) were placed at the rear of

the house for one main social factor,

which was the need for privacy for

women. The core of women activity

was the kitchen. Kitchen space in

case of catholic houses was mostly

outward looking with opening

(windows) on the outward side. In

Hindu houses the kitchen space was

an inward looking space with

opening (windows) on the inward

side. (Refer table 6.2 a.b.)

b. In Hindu houses women also had a

sacred religious symbol, according to



the Hindu culture, this element was

the Tulsi which was located in the

courtyards or courts.

c. In Hindu houses Privacy was not

only by the blank walls, opening on

the inward side, or separate access

way for women (Refer plan 6.2 and

table 6.2 a.b.) and other physical

devices, but also by custom. Guest or

outsiders were invited inside the


house was such that the women

portion of the house was strictly

prohibited.

6.6.3 Semi private space-

a. These spaces in both the cases were

basically placed in front portion of

the house. In both Hindu and catholic

houses the living was placed on the

ground floor and a hall on the first

floor. Guest was usually received in

the living area. On only particular

occasion the hall was used to

entertain the guests.

b. The access to the hall in case of

catholic houses was directly from the

entrance lobby (mostly a passage

space). While in case of Hindu house

the access was right from the living

space (Refer plan 6.2). Unlike the

Hindu houses the hall was one of the

most important spaces in catholic

houses, since it was often converted

as a ballroom on occasion like

wedding and parties

c. There were some Catholic houses,

which were owned by people who

had a very high economic and social

status; in their houses the dining area

was as proportional to the hall area.

Since these people use to have grand

occasions very often, they required a

large dinning area, which was more

of a semi-private space.

d. In Catholic house relation to private

and semi-private spaces, the private

spaces ranged from 40-64% while the

semi private spaces ranged from 42-

33%. The percentage of semi private

spaces was quite proportional to the

percentage of private spaces. In

BATH

WELL

KITCHEN

BATH

LIVING

TOILET

TOILET

TOILET

TOILET

01M 3M 6M

Scale

BEDROOM DINNING

DINNING

BEDROOM BEDROOM

STORE

PUJA SPACE

Fig 6.2. Ground floor plan of Mr. Madkaikar. Showing the separate access ways.



Fig 6.3 view of Mr. Noronhas’s house- the verandah is more of a private space.

Hindu house relation to private and

semi-private space, the range of %

was from 76%-80% of private spaces

compare to semi-private spaces.(refer

table 6.2 a.b.)

6.6.4. Communication with the street.

1.Openings-

a. Privacy from the street was an

important aspect in both Hindu as

well Catholic houses but they were

achieved in different way. In both the

Hindu and the catholic houses, the

opening layout was planned in such a

way that the house door on the

opposite sides of the street may not

face each other.

b. In Hindu houses the main doors and

the next doorway on the inner side of

the house was always staggered to

achieve privacy. Since in most of the

Hindu houses the front door was

always kept open. In catholic houses

entrance door and the subsequent

door in the interior layout mostly

faced each other. From the entrance

door one would see half way through

the house, but these was possible

only if the main entrance door was

open. In most of the catholic houses

the door are closed most of the time.

c. Incase of the Hindu houses the

interior were dark enough to achieve

the privacy level that was need from

the street. While in case of catholic

house the houses were quiet well lit

and interior of the houses were quiet

bright. For this reason the catholic

used upholstery for their window

which blocked the vision of the any

person passing by from the street.

d. In Catholics houses More number of

opening were placed on the side

which a garden with a compound

wall ex. Mr. Rebeiro’s house (refer

fig 6.2) the houses had maximum

opening on the front façade on if

there was a verandah (without a

gallery on top of it) and this

verandahs had a railing going all

around like in case of Mr. Noronha’s

houses (refer fig 6.3) since privacy

Fig-6.2. view of Mr. Ribiero’s house



was an important factor in Hindu

houses the window opening only in

the hall and living were much bigger

than the other opening.

e. In Hindu as well as catholic houses

the windows on the first floor were

mostly French windows where the

people from the house were able to

communicate with the street. These

French windows were decorated

quite intricately depending on the

status of the inhabitant. The French

window also helped in lighting and

ventilating the room.

f. The catholic houses had Verandahs,

galleries and balcoa- these were the

main element by which the catholic

community uses to interact with the

street and neighborhood. The

Verandahs, galleries and balcoa-

these were the main element by

which the catholic community uses to

interact with the street and

neighborhood. These element were

mostly absent in the Hindu

settlement.

2. Façade –

a. Façade in both Hindu and Catholic

houses was an important mean of

communication to the stranger on the

street. If even today if one happens to

walk through this area, looking at the

façade one can have an idea about the

people living in the houses.

b. The Hindu and the catholic house

facade was much more detailed and

plastered according to the status of

the people. (One factor that effected

these detailing was the type of

material available at that time)Each

house had different design for the

pilasters, the corbelling etc. the

window usually had a plaster band

around which even differed in most

of the houses. The windows pattern

very different in each house, from flat

lintel to the curved ones. Even shutter

design was different in each house. In

case of French window the lower

railing was different in each case.

Façade was an element that had

variety. (refer fig 6.4) Only Christian

houses were more detailed than the

catholic houses.

Fig 6.4 a view of the Hindu settlement area –showing the variety in facades. Source- Ayesha Souza



6.7 Cross cultural influence.

To cross check the influence of socio-

culture factor on built form. In the

interface area houses were identified

(These houses were bought by Hindus,

which originally belonged to catholic

community). These houses were tested

with the same criteria as above. (For

location of these house refer plan 6.3.)

The 2 houses, which were studied, are

presently belonging to Mr. Gude and Mr.

Chopdekar. Mr. Gude bought his house

in 1936 from a catholic government

servant. While Mr. Chopdekar bought his

house in 1957 from a catholic Doctor.

(in case of Gude’s house the earlier was

assumed on the basic of the clues

available on site.)

6.7.1Arrangement of spaces.

Sacred core- like in case of Hindu

houses in Mr. Chopdekar’s house the

Puja room is placed at the rear end of the

house in a sacred room similar to that of

the Hindu houses in the Hindu

settlement. Since there were no niches on

the wall the Puja space is setup on

ground. (Refer fig 6.5). In Mr. Gude’s

house the Puja room is placed on the first

Fig 6.5 Puja space setup on the ground in Mr. Chopdekar’s house.

HALLLIVING

BEDROOM

FAMILY SPACE.

KITCHEN

LIVING

KITCHEN

BEDROOMBEDROOM

BEDROOMBEDROOMBEDROOM

TOI.

BEDROOM

FAMILY SPACE.

KITCHEN/DINNING

PUJA SPACE

01M 3M 6M

FIRST FLOOR PLAN.

TULSI

KITCHEN

Plan – 6.4. Mr. Gude’s house. Now.



floor in the bedroom space since the

dinning and kitchen were common.

(Refer plan 6.4) Puja space was

considered very secret in Hindu houses it

was place in sacred dinning room where

only vegetarian food was consumed and

there was a separate dinning space for

non vegetarian. Since Gude’s house had

dinning and kitchen common it was not

possible to place it in the dinning like

other Hindu houses. Since the space was

most sacred it was placed Above the

other, so that nobody steps on top of the

Puja area

6.6.2 Private spaces- placing services at

the rear of the house were common in

both Hindu as well as catholic houses.

Well was another important element in

Hindu houses so these feature was added

in Mr. Gude’s house, in case Mr.

Chopdekar’s house was bought in 1957

and In 1956, regular water supply was

provided, well was not required.

Position of women- sacred space, dining

area, kitchen and the service area like

well, bath and toilets. All these areas

were placed at the rear of the house for

one main social factor, which was the

extreme need for privacy for women. The

Tulsi element was also introduced in

these houses since it was an important

element in Hindu house. In Mr. Gude

house Tulsi was placed in the court refer

plan 6.4- but in case of Mr. Chopdekar

house the Tulsi was placed in the space at

the back. Refer plan 6.5 b.

All Hindu elements were adopted in

these houses.


activity was the kitchen where they use

to spend their whole day in cooking. This

space in catholic houses was outward

Fig – 6.4

01M 3M 6M

LIVING

HALL

CIRCULATION

TIOLET BATH

SPACE FOR

STORE

KITCHENHEATINGWATER

TIOLETDINNING

BEDROOM

BEDROOM

BEDROOM

PUJA ROOM

01M 3M 6M

DESPENSARY

HALL/DINNING

BEDROOM

BEDROOM

FAMILY ROOM

BEDROOM

TIOLET BATH

SPACE FORSTORE

STORE

KITCHEN

HEATINGWATER

TIOLET

VARENDHA

LIVING

TULSI

Plan – 6.5 a. Mr. Chopdekar’s house-Before. Plan-6.5 b. Mr. Chopdekar’s house-Now.



looking space. But when the houses were

bought by Hindu in Mr. Chopdekar’s

kitchen was shifted to a different room at

the back of the house refer plan 6.4 a and

6.4 b. and In Mr. Gude’s house there

were a lot of changes that were done and

the new kitchen which were added were

inward looking. (Refer plan-6.4)

6.7.3 Semi-Private spaces-

Semi private spaces-there were no

structural changes in the house the

stairway were retained. But the usage

pattern was changed.

In Mr. Chopdekar house the earlier % of

semi-private spaces were 33% but was

now it is reduced to 13%(refer plan 6.5)

same is the case of Mr. Gude house from

53% of semi-private space it was brought

down to 20% which show that like in

Hindu house where the semi-private

space was less than private, modification

were done in usage pattern so to adopt

the Hindu way of life.

6.7.4. Communication with the street.

Façade and openings- in Mr.

Chopdekar’s house had a very detailed

façade, which was not modified at all.

Only it was not painted for years. But in

case of Mr. Gude’s house was an old

house with simple façade. When the

internal layout was modified and some

opening placements were changed to suit

the needs this is evident from the façade

(refer fig 6.6). Windows of these houses

no longer uses any upholstery as they

used to use.

From the cross culture influenced house

study it reveled that Houses which

belonged to other catholic culture were

modified according to the need of Hindu

culture, the following modification was

made-

• The Puja space was introduced and

placed according to the Hindu

beliefs and culture.

• Hindu element like Tulsi was

introduced. The houses, which were

bought by Hindus before 1957 built

wells in theirs backyards, this feature

was present in other Hindu houses in

the settlement.

• Like other Hindu house where the

semi-private space was less than

private, modification were done in

Fig 6.6 façade of Mr. Gude’s house- window placement were modified, which is reflected in the façade.



usage pattern in these houses so to

adopt the Hindu way of life.

Thus showing the strong impact of

culture in built form in the area.

Finding, Conclusions and Recommendations.


Section e- Findings, Conclusions

and Recommendations.

7. Findings, Conclusions and

Recommendations.

7.1 Findings. At the Settlement Level.

1. Fontainhas has 2 major communities

the Catholic and the other Hindu

community. These settlements are

quite distinct in their location. The

major catholic community is on the

northern side of Fontainhas while on

southern side of Fontainhas is

occupied by Hindu community and in

this Hindu settlement there are minor

catholic settlement in patches.

2. The original settlers in Fontainhas

were mostly Hindus belonging to

lower social order. In 1811, Due to

the shift of Government offices and

institution to Panaji, Catholics people

who were employed in these

institutions shifted to Fontainhas,

which was an ideal setting then. This

marks the starting point in

development of the urban residential

settlement in Fontainhas.

3. Catholics had to visit the church at

least once a week since they believed

in praying in a community. The

Catholics settled vary close to the

church of Our Lady of Immaculate

Conception built in 1541 renovated in

1619, which was about 200m away at

a walking distance.

4. Later because of the spiritual need of

the people the St. Sebastian chapel

was built in 1818, along which the

settlement grew further. Which now

acts as the core of the catholic

settlement, which exists within the

200m of the chapel.

5. Wherever the minor catholic

settlement existed within its 50m

radius there is a cross. It might be this

cross might have been built later by

those people. The crosses were

located between 50-100m apart. The

cross was a symbol that bounded the

minor catholic settlements.

6. The Hindus settled on the southern

side of the settlement. Even though

the conversion had stopped long

in1774, still the Hindus had social

insecurity and hence they lived

together in a community, away from

the prominent catholic settlement.

7. The temple never acted as a point

of orientation in the Hindu

settlement like in case of catholic

settlement. Hindus were devoted

only to a particular deity, which their

ancestor worshiped. The Hindus

visited their temple (goddess/deity)

once a month even or only during

festival time or may be on an

occasion. The temples that exist



today came up only during the end

of 1800s.

8. In case of Fontainhas, the social

hierarchy determines the order in the

settlement. The people who were

placed higher in the social order

occupied the prominent places along

the street, around the squares,

temple/church or landmark. While

the other people from the lower

social order, occupied the back-lanes

of the area. Theses people were

basically from the economically

weaker section and use to serve the

houses of the higher order.

9. In both the cases, the Houses around

the major landmark belonged to the

people of high order in the social

system (mostly prominent people). In

Hindu settlement the major landmark

was the fountain (Fonte Phoenix),

while in catholic settlement it was the

St. Sebastian Chapel.

10. Scale of the house in term of area,

reflected the social status of the

inhabitant.

11. Since the settlement come up at the

foot of the hill on the west and

marshy lands and a creek on the east,

giving it a linear profile. Stretching

north south along a main spine the

area, it evolved as a tight settlement.

Along the spine the houses are lined

and open directly on the street.

At House Level.

1. Since the Hindus had complex set of

rituals, the Puja space was the most

sacred part of the house and the

access to this only limited to the

inhabitants. The Puja area was mostly

placed either in the center of the

houses or at the Rear of the House. In

most cases the Puja space is located

in the dinning room of the house. In

some houses there were actually 2

dinning areas. One was the sacred

one, which housed the Puja space.

Other one which was used to serve

the non-vegetarian meals

2. In catholic houses was the altar or the

prayer space was the sacred core. The

catholic believed in mostly

community worship. They use to visit

the church every week. The altar in

the house was actually a Hindu

influence since the Catholics were all

converts. This space didn’t have a

definite placement pattern in the

catholic house. Since altar was even

place in the semi private area. A level

of secrecy was still achieved by

placing it high from the plinth level.

3. In both the communities’ kitchen,

bathroom, and toilet are placed at the

rear portion of the house for the

purpose of privacy for women.

4. The core of women activity was the

kitchen. Kitchen space in case of



catholic houses was mostly outward

looking with opening (windows) on

the outward side. In Hindu houses the

kitchen space was an inward looking

space with opening (windows) on the

inward side.

5. In most of the Hindu houses had a

well at the rear of the house, which

was placed near the kitchen and the

bathroom, basic necessity like water

was available within the private space

of the house, so there was no need for

the women to go out to fetch water.

These feature was missing in catholic

houses, but they had more of a

community wells.

6. In Hindu houses women also had a

sacred religious symbol, the Tulsi.

Tulsi was mostly placed within the

private space of the house mostly in

the courtyard or courts and if courts

were absent than it was placed in the

backyard in order to give privacy to

women.

7. In Hindu houses Privacy was not

only by the blank walls, opening on

the inward side, or separate access

way for women and other physical

devices, but also by custom. Guest or

outsiders were invited inside the


house was such that the women

portion of the house was strictly

prohibited.

8. The catholic houses had bright

interior spaces so they usually used

curtain and lot of other upholstery on

the door and the windows, which

gave a sense of privacy. Since the

Hindu houses mostly had dark

interior, the upholstery was not

required.

9. In some cases in catholic houses the

inhabitant were more social in nature

the dining space was as proportional

to their respective hall space. These

dinning spaces were used in most of

the social events. So it was more

semi-private space than private.

10. In Catholic houses the private spaces

ranged from 40-64% while the semi

private spaces ranged from 42-33%.

The percentage of semi private

spaces was quite proportional to the

percentage of private spaces. While

in Hindu houses the range of % was

from 76%-80% of private space

compare to semi-private spaces.

Since in catholic houses the private

and the semi private space were quite

proportional than the Hindu houses.

Hence can be concluded that the

catholic houses was more social

oriented.

11. Privacy from the street was an

important aspect in both Hindu as

well Catholic houses but they were

achieved in different way.



12. In both the Hindu and the catholic

houses, the opening layout was

planned in such a way that the house

door on the opposite sides of the

street may not face each other.

13. In Hindu houses the main doors and

the next doorway on the inner side of

the house was always staggered to

achieve privacy. Since in most of the

Hindu houses the front door was

always kept open. While In catholic

houses entrance door and the

subsequent door in the interior layout

mostly faced each other. From the

entrance door one would see half way

through the house, but these was

possible only if the main entrance

door was open. In most of the

catholic houses the door are closed

most of the time.

14. In both the Hindu and catholic house,

which had a first floor mostly, had

French window

15. The Verandahs, galleries and balcoa-

these were the main element by

which the catholic community uses to

interact with the street and

neighborhood. These element were

mostly absent in the Hindu

settlement.

16. Façade in both Hindu and Catholic

houses was an important mean of

communication. If even today if one

happens to walk through this area,

looking at the façade one can have an

idea about the people living in the

houses.

17. Façade was an element that had

variety, but the consistency of

detailing and scale of the façade

bounded the settlement of

Fontainhas. Only Christian houses

were more detailed than the catholic

houses.



7.2. Conclusions. An important part of history of

settlements concerns human behavior

and through cultural approach one can

understand some of the basis for urban

settlements. Understanding of cultural

origins of urban settlements allows one

to understand important aspects of how

human behavior patterns resulted in

subsequent urban settlement patterns. In

other words is it’s the socio-cultural

factor which is most dominating factor

that determines the built-form and it hold

true in case of Fontainhas.

Goan communities are very specific in

term of it cultural background. Goan

culture has evolved over time and

influences. Like Aryans introduced caste

system, this is still prominent till today.

The caste system was based on the

occupation and social-status, thus

forming a social Hierarchy in the

communities. The original communities

of Goa were mostly Hindus. After the

advent of Portuguese, followed with their

missionaries led to a lot of conversions of

Hindus to Catholics. The Hindu’s which

were converted to Catholic’s, during

conversion transformed caste system in

their religion. Thus the Hindu and the

Catholic communities were unique; they

followed the caste system thus creating a

social order in the settlement.

Similarly historic settlement of

Fontainhas is an expression of Socio-

cultural background of the communities.

The settlement of Fontainhas is

consisting of 2 major communities 1) the

Hindus 2) Catholics.

The socio-cultural factors played an

important role in shaping the settlement

of Fontainhas. The way of life and

beliefs of the Catholics were such that

they had a strong association with

religious symbols like church, chapel,

cross and these symbols bounded the

settlements together. So catholic

happened to settled close to an existing

religious symbol which was the Our

Lady of Immaculate Conception church

and then as their needs increased they

built other religious symbol that was the

St. Sebastian Chapel which further

provided the base for further evolution of

the settlement. Unlike the catholic the

Hindu evolution or the settlement pattern

in an urban scenario like Fontainhas had

no religious symbols (like temples etc.),

but it was the social insecurity that

bounded the community (they stayed in a

community away from the major

Catholic settlement). Thus causing a

very distinct Catholic and Hindu

settlement in Fontainhas. Since the two

communities had a caste structure, it led

to a creation of a social stratification,

with people of higher order occupying



the prominent location while the lower

order settled in the back-lanes, further

creating social stratification which

shaped the settlement pattern in both the

communities

The socio-cultural aspects also an

important factor in determining the house

forms in each community. The culture

(way of Life) was based on the beliefs of

each community. The Hindu houses had

mostly inward looking houses while the

catholic house had more of outward

looking houses and it can be proved on

the bases of following points. The

Hindus followed strict rituals, since the

religious symbol like the temple was

missing at the settlement level. The

location of the Puja space inside was

important; the placement was such that it

maintains a level of secrecy. While in

Catholic the religious symbols at the

settlement level was more important,

than the altar space at house level.

Privacy for women was very an

important factor in both the communities,

but in Hindu community it was seen very

strongly. The Hindu kitchens were

inward looking with women having

separate access, while catholic kitchen

space was more of a outward looking

space. Privacy was even achieved in

Hindu house by planning the type of

lighting for each space. (The semi-

private spaces were well lighted while

the private spaces were dark enough to

prevent transparency. The breathing

spaces inside the house in case of Hindus

were more inward looking (the

courtyards and courts) while in case of

catholic it was outward looking (galleries

, balconies etc.) the main differences in

the house layout was that the % of

private space was much more than the

semi-private spaces. While in case of

catholic it was almost equal.

In both the cases the socio-cultural

(unique way of life) factor played an

important factor in the house layout and

the house form.

Fontainhas a settlement shaped by two

major communities having different

socio-cultural background had common

elements that bounded both the

communities together it was the common

architectural language spoken by the

façade. The façade in each house was a

reflection of the socio-cultural

background of the inhabitant each. Since

each inhabitant was different so was the

façade. But it was the scale and the

proportion, colors and the detailing that

bounded the place as one settlement.

In a settlement, Physical factors-

involving climate and topography,

materials and technology only provides

possibilities, but it’s the social-cultural

(way of life) factors that determines the

build form. In other terms it the man



(people) who decide. So the human

aspects (people) are very important in

any settlements because they were the

one who built it they were the one who

stayed there and they will be staying

there so in order to study any built form,

like historic settlement of Fontainhas it is

very important to understand their socio-

background. Because architecture of such

historic settlement is always an

expression of socio-cultural background.



7.1. Recommendations- 1. Settlements like Fontainhas, which

is not only rich in its Architecture

but its also rich in its socio-cultural

background. Such settlements need

to be conserved because these

historic settlements constitute the

basic record of past human

activities. Its protection and proper

management is therefore essential to

enable scholars to study and

interpret it on behalf of and for the

benefit of present and future

generation. So to conserve place like

Fontainhas and to maintain its

essence, the socio-cultural

background will play an important

role. Because it’s these background

of the people, that led to the kind of

settlement that exists. 2. It was also absorbed during the

process of the study that even a

cross-culturally influence (house

changing hands) also led to the

major changes in the house form. In

such cases happen it going to change

the overall fabric of the settlement.

In an attempt to conserve the place it

should be noted that like above,

even the concept like adaptive reuse

is going to destroy the sensitive

socio-cultural fabric of the place

leading to commercialization of the

place. (e.g place like Mahabaleshwar

etc.) 3. Fontainhas was always looked and

talked only about the facades of the

houses. One should always look at a

house in totality. It’s the plan form

that is reflected in the facades and it

the house that is reflected in the

settlement. So it is very important to

study houses a house in totality

along with the settlements in order

understand it. 4. A house reflects the image of the

inhabitant; hence the plan forms and

the facades in Fontainhas differ in

all houses. Even in historic

settlements identity of an inhabitant

of the house was very important.

There is no sense of diversity today

in architecture, while a historic

settlement like Fontainhas had

diversity yet identical. But today’s

world no diversity, ten different

people stay in similar houses that

have the same facades and plan-

form. 5. Scope for further studies-

More studies were should be

conducted on different settlements to

test the socio-cultural impact There is even future scope of study

on Fontainhas, were one can study

the house of the lower strata.

Bibl iography


Bibliography. Books-

1. ACTAS. 2001-Coloquio International.Universo Urbanistico Portugues. 1415-1822,

Published by-ACTAS, Lisbon.

2. Bowden, John. 2000 – Writing a Report. Published by-How to books Ltd. Oxford.

3. Cabrel Sa, Mario. 2002-Redefining Horizons. Goa Four Decades of Freedom.

Published by-Department of Information and Publicity. Government of Goa, Panaji.

4. Carita, Helden.1996- Palaces of Goa. Models and Types of Indo-Portuguese Civil

Architecture. Published by Fundacao Oriente, Panaji.

5. Da Costa, Anibal. 1999- A Goan Potpourri. Published by-Anibal Da Costa.

6. Gune, T.V. 1979- Gazetteer of the union territory. Goa, Daman and Diu- Part 1

Goa.

7. Hall, Maurice. 1992-Window on Goa. A History and Guide. Quiller Press Ltd.,

London.

8. Kostof, Spiro. 1992- The City Assembled. The element of urban form through

history. Thames & Hudson. London.

9. Larsen, Kartin. 1996-Faces of Goa. Gyan Publishing House, New Delhi.

10. Pandit Heta, 1999- Houses of Goa. Published by Architecture Autonomous, Panaji.

11. Patwardhan, S.J. 1995- A Citizens Report on the State of Goan Environment, published

by -The Other Indian Press, Pune.

12. Meneses, Antonio.1977 -Goa – Notas Historicas, atraves dos seculos. (Volume-

1Panjim). Published By- J.D. Fernandes, Panaji.

Bibl iography


13. Malgonkar, Manohar.1982-Inside Goa. Directorate of information and publicity

Government of Goa, Daman and Diu. Panaji.

14. Pereira, Gerald. 1973 -An outline of Pre-Portuguese history of Goa. Published by-

Gerald Pereira, Goa.

15. Rossa, Walter. 1997- Cidades Indo-Portuguesas Indo-Portuguese Cities. Lisbon.

16. Sugden, Virginia. 1973- The Graduate Thesis. The complete guide to planning and

preparation. Pitman Publishing corporation. New York.

17. Rapoport, Amos. 1969- Houses Form and Culture. Prentice-Hall, Inc, New Jersey.

Research Paper and Articles.

1. Nachinolkar, Ketak. 2001-Historic City Panaji Goa. The architectural style in

Panaji. New Delhi.

2. Nachinolkar, Ketak. 2001-The Relationship of Three 16th Century European

Cities and their Relevance to the Old City of Goa. Understanding places through

their visual experiences, New Delhi.

3. Nachinolkar, Ketak. 2001- The Importance of 16th –17th Century Architectural

Influences in Goan Architecture 19th Century, New Delhi.

4. Noronha, Percival. 1996 -The growth and conservation of Panjim city. Panaji.

5. Noronha, Percival. 2002-Fontainhas- living with the past. Panaji.

Reports. 1. Conservation of buildings and sites of historic and aesthetic important. 1984, By-

Government of Goa, Panaji.

2. Conservation of historically important buildings. (Goa Medical college, Panaji),

1998, Goa college of Architecture, Panaji.

Bibl iography


3. Census Report of 1961-Census of India, Volume XXVII. Goa, Daman and Diu.

Published by Superintendent of Census Operations, Panaji

4. Conservation Areas. Panaji. 1984, by School of Planning and Architecture, New

Delhi, for Panjim Planning and Development Authority. Panaji.

5. Towards revitalization of the traditional settlement of Fontainhas, Panaji. A case

study in Goa, India. Through guidelines for its future development, 1994, by Ritu

Prasad Aron- For the fulfillment of the course in Institute for Housing and Urban

Development Studies, Netherland.

Internet 1 -www.goahub.com/introduction/panji/history legends.html. 2 -www.egoahotels.com/history.html. 3 -www.goacom.com/goatoday/2001/aug/architecture.html 4 -www.goacentral.com/goacities/Panaji.html 5 –www.mapsofindia.com/stateprofiles/goa.html

Appendices.

Investigation of built form of Fontainhas based on socio-cultural aspects. A-1 Goa College of Architecture. 2002-2003. Rohit Nadkarni .

Plan of Panaji.

Appendix –1 Location of Panaji.

Map of Goa- Locating of Panaji. Source-www.maps of India .com

Map of India- Locating of Goa. Source-Internet.

Appendices.


Appendix -II

Questionnaire for the Occupants? Name of the owner. Santana Ribiero.

Occupation : Doctor

Location of the House: Near the St. Sabestian Chapel.

Year of Construction: 1915.

Religion: Catholic.

Caste: higher order. (Brahmins).

Reason for Location: prominence of the are during the time.

Modifications if any: reducing the dinning area.

Which is the most prominent area in the house: The hall/living.

Space used for entertaining the guest: Mostly the living only on occasion the living is used.

Areas where these functions are held: the hall and dinning.

How often do one visit the church: Once in a week.

The location of Altar: Bedroom.

How often is the Altar is used: every evening during rosary.

Areas in the house most preferred : the verandah or balconies

Any other observations:

Appendices.


Appendix –III

Observation Schedule? Name of the owner. Santana Ribiero.

Location of the House: Near the St. Sabestian Chapel.

Location of secret core: In the bedroom.

Plan form: Rectangular.

Location of courts/courtyards if any-

Location of kitchen and the location of the windows: at the rear of the house, windows

open on the exterior side.

Private areas in the house: Kitchen, Bedroom, Service areas.

Semi-private area in the house: the living/hall and dinning.

Semi-Public area in the house: the verandah and dispensary.

Sill level: .93m.

Lintel level: 2.3m

Plinth height: .3m

Height of the Building: 9.9m

N0. of storey: 2 storey.

Detail drawings of the house:-

investigation of built form of fontainhas based on socio-cultural aspects report - a dissertation...

Documents

panaji goa

goa university

area of fontainhas

people of fontainhas

sociocultural aspects

rohit nadkarni

goa state archives department

nachinolkar rohit