Siolim

Census town in Goa, India

Siolim is a village in Bardez taluka, and a census town on the central west coast of India, in the North Goa district of Goa. The 2001 population was 10,311, and 10,936 in 2011. Siolim is also the name of a constituency in the Goa assembly, which includes Assagao, Anjuna and Oxel, in addition to Siolim. A person from Siolim is known as a Siolcar or even as Shivalkar .

Siolim is situated about 7 km (4.3 mi) from Mapusa. It is located around the Chapora River. There is a bridge over River Chapora, in place of the prior ferry. To Siolim's north lies the quiet village of Oxel; green hillocks hedge it towards Assagao in the south and the east. Camurlim to lies to its east, and in the west flows the Chapora river with Morjim and its pine wooded beach on the northern bank in Pernem.

Siolim has several different types of subdivisions, which are independent of one another. They include:

There are nine vadde (or village wards, subdivisions vaddo is singular and vadde is plural). These are: Igrez Vaddo, Gaunsa Vaddo, Bamon Vaddo, Marna, Dcruz Vaddo, Costa Vaddo. Porta Vaddo, Tarchi Bhatt, Guddem, Aframent, Vaddi and Oxel in Siolim Marna panchayat. Besides this, there are seven vadde in Siolim Sodiem panchayat.

There are three panchayats, which govern diverse areas of the village: Siolim Marna, Siolim Sodiem, and Siolim Oxel.

There are two comunidades, which are ancient self governing and village agriculture promotion bodies: Siolim and Marna.

There are three parishes in the area: Siolim, Oxel and Tropa.

The name "Siolim" is believed to have come from two words 'Xinv' and 'Halli' "Xinv" (pronounced 'Shiu') means "lion" and "Halli" refers to a village or place. This probably means that there once were lions in the hills of Siolim. This origin of the name has been documented in Fr. Moreno de Souza's book. An argument in favour of this origin is that the village on the other side of the Siolim (not Marna) hill is called Vagali, which could also come from the words 'Vag' + 'Halli' ("Vag" meaning "tiger" in the local Konkani language). Another explanation is that the name comes from 'Shivalaya' , which means a temple of Shiva, but there is no documented evidence for this origin

Franciscan missionaries first built a church the Church of Mae de Deus at the Sonarkhett hill, wedged between Siolim and Assagao. It was located centrally to serve the spiritual needs of the people in the villages of Anjuna, Assagao, Siolim and Oxel. But being situated on the rising hill and probably being a makeshift kutcha structure, it did not survive many years, leaving behind the black stone cross at Sonarkhett. This first church in Siolim was built near the site of the Mae de Deus chapel in Gaunsa Vaddo in 1568. There is a plaque commemorating this fact in the chapel compound. This church was probably a kutcha (temporary) structure, and it survived for merely 32 years. The Gaunsa Vaddo Chapel of Mae de Deus was constructed in 1847.

Siolim's church is dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. The church possesses two steeples on the frontispiece and a statue of St Anthony holding a serpent on a leash. This depicts an incident that occurred during the construction of the church when a snake is believed to have been disrupting construction work. The people are said to have interceded with St. Anthony for help, and placed his statue at the construction site. The next morning, the snake was found caught in the cord placed in the statue's hand. In the church, the statues, paintings, and even the church bell, depict St. Anthony holding a serpent tied with a cord to commemorate this miracle. The First Church: In 1600, the missionaries planned for a new and larger church in another location more central to the Christians of Siolim. But this project is said to have been caught in doubts due to lack of funds. At that time, two Portuguese merchants were caught in a severe storm while sailing from Portugal. They had with them a statue of St. Anthony and vowed that if they made it to port safely, they would build a church where they landed. Their ship is said to have entered the Chapora River and docked on the left bank near the village of Marna. It was here they met the Franciscan missionaries looking out for funds. The new church was dedicated to St. Anthony, instead of Mae de Deus (the Mother of God), and completed in 1630. The Second Church: In the early part of the 20th century, the ravages of time took their toll on the first church of Saint Anthony. Attempts to repair the wall and renovate the roof appeared futile. The whole structure was in danger of collapsing. The parishioners decided to build a new church on the same site. The foundation stone of the church was laid in November 1902. Its consecration took place on 28 December 1907.

Earlier, the local Christians would attend religious services at the Military chapel at Tropa, which was raised to a Church in 1971. During Portuguese rule, this place was well fortified by the Portuguese with police to ward off the Bhosle attacks. The word tropa which means 'military troops', still survives in the name given to Tropa parish. Its church is dedicated to Our Lady of Consolation of the Persecuted.

The church at Oxel Siolim dedicated to Our Lady Of The Sea.

Shri Datta Mandir: Developed and designed by architect Nandan Sawant. Dedicated to Shri Dattatreya, the trinity, known for its serenity austere rites. The deity worshipped is Ekhmukhi which is considered sacred and rare. Located at Ghol Marna Siolim, away from traffic and human settlements. A huge mandam has been built in front of the temple. Festivals there include Gurupadwa, Vardhapan Divas (foundation day), Gurudwadshi, and Dattajayanti, among others. This temple was established by Kai. Gopinath Dattaram Prabhu (Porob) (1900–49), a Marathi immigrant born poor and religious from a young age. His father died when he was 20. He went to Narsobaa Vaddi to perform the required rites. Influenced by Lord Dattatreya, he loved visiting Narsoba Vaddi. He later resided there and occupied himself in worshipping Lord Dattatreya. At 31, he established a portrait of Lord Dattatreya at Mapusa. He then established a temple. After a few months, he came to be Kai Atmaram Fulari's resident. There, he would bathe near the spring at Ghol Marna. It was set amidst nature, thick forest, tall coconut trees, medicinal water emerging from springs, and hills on all sides. In 1942 he sought the owner's, Visnum Ranga Kamat Dalal, permission and built a small hut where he started worshipping a portrait of Lord Dattatreya. Devotees started visiting this place. Festivals like Gurudwadashi, Dattajayanti, and Gurupadwa were celebrated. He got known as Baba Maharaj. After his death, his samadhi was constructed in front of the temple. Shreepad Fulari continued the worship. Sateri Temple: Designed by Goan architect Ralino de Souza after 1961, this temple is situated in Shelim, Siolim. Dedicated to goddess Sateri, it is known for the festival of Diwsans, when the temple is surrounded by a long feri. Many women go round the temple in a procession with oil lamps in their hand and on their head.

Siolim is part of Siolim (Goa Assembly constituency) and North Goa (Lok Sabha constituency).

There are five schools in Siolim, linked together in a community known as "Siolim Super School Complex". Every year, the Super School Complex organises a common exam for students of Std X (tenth) in October. The Super School Complex also organises competitions for students of these five schools. These schools are:

Holy Cross High School: Popular convent, founded by the Congregation of the Daughters of the Cross in 1933. Since 1975, it has been run as a co ed school, with boarding facilities only for girls. St Francis Xavier's High School and Higher Secondary School was established in Corlim, Mapusa, in 1937 by Miguel Antonio D'Souza, and transferred to Bamon Vaddo, Siolim, in 1950. Since 1953 it has been run by the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales. Shri Shanta Vidyalaya: Situated in Sodiem, and founded on 9 July 1973. It is managed by Vidya Bharati. Mrs. Prajeeta Sangale is the current Headmistress. Shri Vasant Vidyalaya: Situated at Porta Vaddo. Keerti Vidyalaya: Situated at Portawaddo, set up in 1969 and managed by Swami Vivekanand Seva Sangh, Siolim.

Siolim has over a dozen doctors. At one time, everyone rushed to "Gauddo dotor" and (Late) Dr Zeferino de Souza. Patients from the surrounding villages were known to throng the consulting room of Dr. Datta Ramnath Naik. Dr. Frank Pereira, Dr. Vinaik Chodankar, Dr. Bidhan C Das, Dr. Edna Pereira, Dr. Ramchandra Naik Bandorkar, Dr. Thaly, Dr. Ragunath L. Naik, Dr. Donald D’Souza, Dr. Sachin Yeshwant Govekar, Dr. Jawaharlal Henrique, Dr. Belarmino Ribeiro, Dr. Geeta S Govekar, Dr. Anil Humraskar, Dr. Lalita Fernandes, Dr. Noel Henrique, Dr. Minaxi S Gawas, Dr. Hortencia Sophia Pereira, Dr. Aditi S Parulekar, Dr. Diksha C Vaingankar have been among Siolim’s recent physicians.

Native clergy include Bishop Leonard Monteiro, former Archbishop of Nagpur. Former Bishop of Belgaum, the Rt. Rev. Ignatius Lobo is from Gaunsa Vaddo. The present Bishop of Sindhudurg diocese, Rev. Allwyn Baretto is from Fernandes Vaddo, Siolim. Fr. Moreno D’Souza, SJ, the popular Jesuit who edited the Konkani monthly Roti too hailed from Siolim. Other prominent clergymen include Mgr Aires Fernandes, Fr. Walter Mathias, Fr Antonio Paulo Cyriaco, Fr. Cyriaco Fernandes, Fr. Damien Fernandes (MSFS), Fr. Matthew Fernandes, Fr. Francis Fernandes, Fr. Anthony Fernandes (MSFS),Fr. Reggie D’Souza (MSFS) Fr. Bruno Rodrigues (MSFS), Fr. Archie Fernandes (MSFS), Fr. Vivian Lobo s. j. (former Principal of St Britto High School at Mapusa), Fr. Ross, Frs. Francis & Xavier Pinto (C. Ss. R.), and lately, Fr. Valerian Carvalho (MSFS), Fr. Marcos (MSFS),Fr. Rawson (MSFS) among others.