(Re)contextualizing Goencho Saib's basilica: the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa as a paradigm of contested transcultural heritage

Abstract

The Basilica of Bom Jesus is a major symbol of Goa (India): it holds the tomb of Saint Francis Xavier, the “Apostle of the East”, and gives a glimpse of the former “Golden Goa” and “Rome of the East”, when Goa was one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world. This basilica was built by Jesuits between 1594 and 1624, and in 1659 it received the saint’s body; in 1759 the Society of Jesus was expelled from all the Portuguese territories, and the Jesuit building was assigned to other institutions. While the basilica was being built, the city of Goa begun a process of decay, and in 1843 the capital changed to Panaji; the former capital was already in ruins, with few churches still standing, as the Jesuit basilica. This basilica is a paradigmatic case of transcultural heritage, incorporating multiple challenges since its first moments of existence. In the first half of the 1950’s, facing the independence of India and its claims over the Portuguese India, Baltazar Castro, a well-known restorer, was sent to Goa by the Portuguese nationalist dictatorship. As happened in Portugal, the regime intended to use heritage as an ideological propaganda instrument, and among other works, the Basilica of Bom Jesus was restored, causing a radical change in its image and, at the same time, provoking problems to its conservation. This essay intends to discuss several issues concerning the Basilica of Bom Jesus: not only the construction of an Indo-Portuguese architectural master piece, but also the contemporary harsh debate between those who consider the basilica a colonial symbol, the ones who reclaim it as a Goan symbol, the heritage lovers who demand the returning of the basilica’s pre-restoration shape, those who subsisted from the (hazardous) touristic commodification, and Goan Catholics who merely wish their temple free of ideological meanings. Issues concerning transculturality and heritage authenticity among different cultures will be also addressed.