The Lost Goddess of Assolna, Cuncolim, Velim & Veroda
When you think of Assolna, Cuncolim, Velim, and Veroda, you think of lush green fields, clear blue skies, and water that glows as it reflects the sun. These four South Goa villages look idyllic today, but beneath their calm surface runs one of the most important stories in Goan history—a story of a displaced goddess, a community that refused to forget her, and a return that reshaped an entire region.
This is the legend of the lady in the water.
Before Portuguese Rule: The Goddess Who Protected South Goa
Centuries before colonisation transformed Goa, the maternal guardian of these villages was Goddess Shantadurga, also known locally as Sateri.
Water played a central role in her worship, which is why so many local legends begin near temple tanks, springs, and riverbanks.
Her presence anchored the spiritual identity of Assolna, Cuncolim, Velim, and Veroda—until the late 16th century, when everything changed.
1583: The Cuncolim Revolt and the Forced “Replacement”
In 1583, the villages rose up in what is now recognised as the first armed rebellion against European colonial rule in India: the Cuncolim Revolt.
The aftermath was devastating.
Following the revolt, the Portuguese state and missionaries “replaced” the village deity with Our Lady of Health (Saude) and later devotion to Mother of Perpetual Succour spread across the area. Temples were destroyed or abandoned, and religious life was forcibly restructured.
This moment marks one of the biggest turning points in the cultural identity of South Goa.
The Migration: 12 Chardo Clans Carry the Goddess Inland (based on local legend)
According to deeply rooted Goan oral tradition, 12 Kshatriya (Chardo) clans carried the idol of Shantadurga inland—beyond Portuguese control—to protect her from desecration.
Their journey reshaped the religious landscape of South Goa.
They established or strengthened temple settlements across: Fatorpa (the most significant),Quepem,Canacona and nearby interiors
These migrations explain why inland Goa still holds some of the oldest, most culturally intact Shantadurga traditions.
Conversion, Land Loss & the Aforamento System
The families who remained in Assolna, Cuncolim, Velim, and Veroda were soon converted to Catholicism. Yet their devotion to “their lady” never fully disappeared.
Many locals maintained covert, emotional ties to the displaced goddess.
This loyalty came at a cost.
The Portuguese imposed aforamento, a land-redistribution system where land belonging to resisting Goans was confiscated and granted to Portuguese loyalists.
This single act changed village ownership patterns for generations.
18th Century: Fatorpa Falls, But the Temple Survives
In the 1700s, even Fatorpa—where the goddess had been taken—came under Portuguese rule.
But by then, outward resistance had decreased, and the administration allowed the new Shantadurga temple to remain untouched.
It was the first time since the 1580s that her presence was tolerated within colonial Goa.
200 Years Later: The Clans Return to Their Ancestral Villages
Nearly two centuries after the revolt, families descended from the original migrants began returning to their ancestral villages of: Assolna, Cuncolim, Velim, Veroda
Their return permanently reshaped the demographic and cultural landscape.
Even today, these communities remain deeply rooted in the region’s heritage, holding memories of both exile and homecoming.
Why This Story Matters
The story of the “lady in the water” is not just about a goddess.
It is about:
Identity: how a community holds on to what defines it
Resistance: the earliest uprising against European power in India
Faith: adapting without losing its essence
Memory: the way water, landscape, and culture are intertwined in Goa
To walk through Assolna, Cuncolim, Velim, or Veroda is to walk through a landscape where history still whispers through the fields and the water.
This is the heritage that shapes South Goa—quietly, powerfully, and forever.
content for this article was sourced from American anthropologists Robert Newmans book Mothers, Miracles and Mythology.
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