Moira is a village in the district of Bardez in Goa. It lies a few miles away from Mapuça, the capital of the district, and the river of Mapuça flows along its southern, western and northern sides, making its soil very fertile.
The village is famous for many things but it is not their industriousness that signals them out for unique honour among their Goan fellows. It is for a legacy that they have inherited from their forefathers – a wisdom that is traditional.
Imagine a people as simple as simplicity itself, with an innocence and faith that belonged to the ancient world, disarming in their naïveté, winning in their irrationality, and you will have some faint idea of the people and their capacity for illogic. But it is best to let their ancient adventures speak of their ancient wisdom.
As their numbers increased from year to year, the people of Moira found that the village church was not big enough to contain the growing population. They called up a meeting to consider the problem.
“Let us have an extension,” said one of the elders.
“It is better that we break down the old structure and erect a new and bigger one,” said one of the younger ones, who believed in new things.
“To break it down and reconstruct another will be very expensive,” said a grey haired elder.
“We have no funds for it.” “Why break it down at all?” said the most wizened of them. He was easily the eldest Moiddekar alive.
“When a coconut tree or a mango tree is stunted, what do we do? We loosen the soil at the base, dig it up, and lay manure. Everything in nature grows.
Why not a church?” and he looked round to the nodding heads, and repeated, “Why not a church?” “Yes, why shouldn’t the laws of nutrition and growth apply to the church?” chirped one of the younger men who had learnt to read and write.
“Manure quickens growth!” the elder continued.
“Let’s manure the church,” he concluded. “A small church today will grow big tomorrow.” “Let’s manure the church,” the whole gathering echoed approval. The solution appealed to the assembly. It had the irresistible logic of two plus two makes four.
So said, so done. The four sides of the church on the outside were vigorously dug up, and cart-loads of manure poured in.
Source: The Wise Fools of Moira and Other Goan Folk Tales, A Collection by Prof Lucio Rodrigues
Artwork: 1944 Untitled (High Street, Goan Village), Grosvenor Gallery, London
