Moira, Goa
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Moira मयडें Moiddem |
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|---|---|
| Village | |
 Moira
Moira
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| Coordinates: 15°35′39″N 73°50′24″E / 15.59417°N 73.84000°ECoordinates: 15°35′39″N 73°50′24″E / 15.59417°N 73.84000°E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Goa |
| District | North Goa |
| Sub-district | Bardez |
| Time zone | IST (UTC+5:30) |
| Postcode | 403507 |
| Area code(s) | 0832 |
Moira ([mɔjɽɛ̃ː]) is a village in the Bardez Taluka of the North Goa District in India. It has been home to a number of notable individuals from Goa, and is known for its bananas (known as Mundollchim kellim in Konkani).
In his essay "The Wise Fools of Moira", Prof Lucio Rodrigues writes: "Moira is a beautiful Village in the Taluka of Bardez , North Goa District in the tiny western State of India, Goa. It lies a few miles away from city of Mapuca, the capital of the Taluka and Sub-district of Bardez. The river of Mapuca flows along its southern, western and northern sides, making its soil very fertile. The village is famous for many things, among others for its banana plantations, which yield big, long bananas, called munnouchinz kellim in Konkani, and each fruit is equal to a square meal... But the bananas are not Moira’s chief claim to fame among Goan villages. The people are as famous, if not more than their kellim, so famous indeed that they have passed into simile and proverb and legend. They are among the most industrious people of Goa.... This wisdom has a stamp of its own which defies definition.... Even in Konkani it has not been possible to give this baffling quality an appropriate term. This is how the people of Bardez describe the indefinite trait. To moiddekar num re, he is a guy from Moira, sar-koch moiddekar, every inch like a guy from Moira; taka matxem moiddechem assa, he’s got a bit of it from Moira. That it is the thing."
Glenis Maria D'Souza, a native of Moira, describes the village and its people: "If you behave a little idiosyncratic [sic] in Goa, don't be surprised if you are called a 'Moidekar'. The legendary village of wise fools, Moira, is a cozy hamlet well located in the heart of Bardez, cuddled on either side by the Mapusa river branch of Mandovi and its Uskoi branch."
Historian Teotónio de Souza published a brochure on Moirá for its church's 350th anniversary in 1986. When the church was built, two Flemish brothers lived in Goa: diamond dealers Jacques and Joseph de Coutre. At the beginning of the 17th century, the arrival of the Dutch in the waters around India led the Portuguese administration in Goa to keep a close watch on the Dutch. Some, including the Coutre brothers, were arrested and sent back to Lisbon. Coutre's autobiographical account in manuscript is in the National Library of Spain. In it, he describes his adventures in Goa and elsewhere in Asia.
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