Diego had an attractive personality. He was extremely intelligent, possessed a philosphical bent of mind and could argue a case well. He possessed a good knowledge of civil and criminal codes and could draw up legal documents. This brought him Hindus and Christians for advice. Those who suffered from injustices ran to him for help which he gave freely. It was a special characteristic of Diego to assist the needy. He was a terror to the wicked. Oetgo had an inflexible character and was a man of action and would brook no opposition.

*Her name has come down to us from a paper left by her nephew, the late Joseph Noronha. She was the second child of Bastao Raai, the first being Anton Raai and the last Pasco Raai. We learn from Gracia the sixth child of Pasco Raai and the neice of Katherina that the latter was married to someone near Mangalore though she is not aware of any further particulars. Grace is still (1944) living and is very aged. He had also a balanced judgement, in consequence some people submitted him their disputes for settlement.

Diego had a fine memory and could repeat sermons he had heard as a boy. He had a fine voice and could compose and sing songs extempore to suit each and every occasion; he could also invent stories and narrate them in a pleasing manner, he was therefore invited to most of the social gatherings. On account of his special talent, an influential and clever person said about D~o Raai ” He has no equal in this parish nor in The taluka nor among the village parishes of South Kanara.

The foundation of the Karkal branch of the family

A few years after he was well established at Karkal and during the incumbency of Rev. Fr. Gonsalves, D~tgo married about the year 1862 Remedia belonging to the Rodrigues family of Hospet, thus establishing the first (Raai) Noronha family at Karkal. About the year 1867 OtEgo heard that his brother Jacob was ill at Yekkar. He proceeded there and when Jacob had sufficiently recovered he brought him with his family and an infant to Karkal* He kept them in his house for some time and later settled them in a useful plot of church land in a place known as Kundange close to the church. Thus a second family of the (Raai) Noronha’s was established at Karkal. Dttgo thereafter got all his sisters married and brought the youngest brother of the family Joseph, a young lad then also to Karkal. A few years later Joseph got married at Karkal and thus a third (Raai) Noronha family was established at Karkal. D~o took a special interest in the welfare of his relatives and helped them as much as he could, a rare quality in this world.

Diego’s interest in education

Diego knew the value of education well. He wanted his nephew Sebastian and his son Peter to be educated, so he engaged a tutor for the boys and later on sent them to an elementary school, Atoor Canara school (now defunct) about 1 1/2 miles distance from their home. ~hey then went to Karkal Middle school , the only English school then in the Taluk about 3 1/2 miles from their residence. About this time it so happened that Bishop Pagani came to Karkal on a pastoral visit. Young Sebastian was asked to read an address of welcome. The Bishop was impressed by his intelligence and made inquiries about him. He was told that the boy was the sacristan’s nephew. The holy Bishop had an intuition that the boy would be called by God to the priestly calling. He expressed a desire that the lad should persue his studies and the Bishop would help him. Sebastian was therefore sent to Mangalore where he joined St Aloysius High School. After completing his schoGl studies he joined the Diocesian Seminary. He was ordained a priest on 4th March, 1894 an event of no mean importance to the family. He is the first priest in the Karkal branch of the family. Fr Sebastian always remembered his uncle, ~ Diego Noronha and gave him credit for all his achievements * This infant was Rev Fr Sebastian Noronha S.J.

Priests in the family

God has chosen 4 members of this family to the dignity of priesthood: Rev. Fr. Sebastian Noronha (son of Jacob Noronha) was a well known figure among the clergy and laity of the Dioceses of Mangalore and Calicut. He was born,on 8th July, 1868 and was ordained a secular priest on 4th

1. Mangalore and held very important ecclesiastical positions. He joined the Society of Jesus at an advanced age and is now (1944) working in the Diocese of Calicut.
2.  Rev. Fr. Marian Noronha (son of Jacob Noronha) was born on 13th June 1883 and was ordained priest on 17th January, 1909 for the diocese of Mysore , which then included the present diocese of Bangalore . He is now (1944) working in the diocese of Bangalore.
3. Rev. Fr. Stanislaus W Noronha (son of Isidore Noronha) joined the Mysore diocese. He was born on 8th January 1909 . He was educated at the Propaganda College , Rome and was ordained priest in St John Laterian on 22nd December, 1934. He is now (1944) working in the diocese of Bangalore.
4. Rev. Fr. Francis Noronha (son of Peter Noronha or grandson of Jacob Noronha). He was born on 21st November, 1916 . He was educated in St Joseph ‘s Seminary at Mangalore for the diocese of Bombay and was ordained priest at Bombay by Archbishop Roberts on 8th March, 1942 and is working in Bombay . Whilst there are four priests in the family there is but one solitary nun and that is Sister March, 1894. He worked for many years in the diocese of Phara (Annie Noronha) of the Bethany Congregation of Mangalore. She is the daughter of Jacob Noronha.

* The dearth of nuns may be due to the fact that boys were given predominence over the girls and secondly the education of girls did not keep pace with the boys. It is hoped that with the increase of girls in the family and the education now being imparted to them would draw some of them to the service of God.
* It may be mentioned that there are besides two grand-daughters of Jacob Raai viz Sister Euphrosine in the congregation of the Sisters of Charity, Calicut and Sister Modesta at Goa in the Congregatiion of the Apostolic Carmel, Mangalore. These are the daughters of Augustine D’souza and Lucian (Rugembai), the latter being the daughter of Jacob Raai. Moreover, there is Sister Rosaline, the great grand daughter of Jacob Noronha at Gorakpur, North India at the Apostolic Carmel. She is the daughte~ of Jacob Goveas and Piadade D’souza, the latter being the daughter of Lucian    (Rugembai).

Conclusion  

The story of the Karkal branch of the family ends here. The Noronha (Raai) family of Karkal established by three brothers Jacob, Diego and Joseph has grown in ~%~g~,~u~~ers. They have spread out in various parts of the countrYLanaiife-Tound in every walk of life, the four priest adding lustre to the family. The writer haJ committed to writing as many details as he could collect from family sources with a view to keep alive the memory of our ancestors in the minds of the present and future generations. It is hoped that at some future date this family history will be updated and improved in contents.

Tradition tells us that the two sons of our known ancestor Jaki Raai were married and lived together under the same roof at Yekkar. Differences seem to have arisen between them over domestic affairs. There appears to have been quarrels between the two from time to time which on one occasion became so violent that in consequence there of, one of the brothers left Yekkar for an unknown destination. No one knew where he had gone until some years later a messenger arrived at Yekkar to intimate his wife that her husband was at Virajpet and that she should proceed thither to join him.

The explanation of tradition

The tradition is brief. The causes that led to the differences and the quarrel are not known at present. We could only surmise that these related to family matters. Most likely the younger brother wanted to have a portion of the property but the elder considering that the small plot of land would not produce enough for the two, if they lived apart, did not probably agree to the suggestion of his brother. Hence the trouble. The two brothers concerned were Bastian Raai and Mingel Raai, the two sons of our known ancestor Jaki Raai. The elder one was Bastian Raai who was born as is already shown about the year 1791 A.D. We shall show later that Mingel Raai was born about the year 1806 A.D. That would be about 14 years later than Bastian Raai. It is likely that there must have been some daughters born or some children dead before Mingel Raai was born. Our known ancestor Jake Raai must have had some daughters of which no information is available at present. Mingel Raai, as was natural, was married later than his elder brother Bastian Raai. If the marriage took place when he was about 18 years old that event would have occured sometime in 1824. The quarrel would have undoubtedly taken place after this period.  We know for a certainity that Mingel Raai was the founder of the Virajpet family. It was therefore he who had left Yekkar for an unknown destination. The quarrel must have been of a very serious nature, otherwise Mingel Raai would not have left the British territory for the kingdom of the independent Kodagu Raju whose rule in those days extended to the country very close to Buntval for we read that Bellur (a few miles from Buntval) Panja, Sulle and Amara were transferred to the South Canara district in 1834 after the conquest of Coorg by the British (Daksine Kannada Jilleya Prachuna Itihasa by M. Ganapathi Roa Aigal pp 261-263) Mingel Raai seems to have been a man of determination and action. Inspite of the difficulties of travel in those times he made up his mind to go to a distant place, which meant a trudge of at least 80 miles from his home. He obviously crossed the Gurpur river and passed into Bellur and Bantval which were as we have shown on the frontiers of the Kadagu kingdom. 

At Virajpet 

He must have met at Virajpet people quite different in language, customs and habits from what he was accustomed to. Besides thatja villager comes to a town not to pay a casual visit but to make a permanent abode, some of the christians must have helped him in getting work. Yet he had to earn his livelihood. He had undoubtedly to struggle hard for the few years to eke out his living. He must have laid his hands on any type of useful work that came his way. He might at times have worked in a coffee estate in the highlands. However his accumulated experience gained during the years of his struggles gave him an idea that if he started a little business of his own he might be successful in life. He started with the sale of Coffee beans and his kindly disposition, good manners, honesty and integrity and fair dealing with all brought him a large custom.  He became a successful businessman respected by all. His name began to be mentioned in the Royal Palace at Mercara and the King as a mark of his royal pleasure sent him a seer engraved with the royal seals to measure the produce sold at his shop. The writer learnt from Mr Cajetan Noronha of Mysore that the seer was in the possession of the family for many years but as it had neither any intrinsic nor archaelogical value, it has recently been disposed of. 

His Home

Mingel Raai was now esteemed by all. He was successful in his business. He might, have not been rich but he could easily run a home. Money, comfort and luzury did not at any time in history make a real home. He yearned for the coming of the home-maker whom he had left at Yekkar perhaps about 10 years ago. He could not send word to her of his whereabouts as there was no post office in the Kodugu kingdom then. News had to be sent by messengers and probably he could not arrange one to undertake the difficult journey. Moreover during the atrocious rule of the then Raja and the wickedness of his life, no woman’s honour was safe in that .country. Whilst in this predidcament war broke out between the British and the Kodugu Raja. It was swift and decisive. The Kodugu country was conquered in 1834 and passed into the hands of the British. There was peace and security right upto the west coast. Mingel Raai now decided to bring his wife to Virajpet. A trustworthy messenger was found and despatched to Yekkar with instructions to bring his wife and his youngest brother to Virajpet. His wife with her youngest brother-in-law arrived safely at Virajpet in 1835.  

Mingel Raai’s home was now made and the family established at Virajpet. In 1836 Mingel Raai had the happiness of seeing a so~ born to him and named him Sebastian after his elder brother. Mingel Raai had the misfortune of losing his wife soon after the brith of his second child a daughter by name Maria. He married again at an advanced age and had two sons by his second wife, Anthony and Mingel, the latter born posthumously and therefore named after his father.

Mingle Raai’s Mission  

During all his struggles at Virajpet and his success in life God was watching over this young man. He had special designs for him. His sons Sebastian by the first wife and Anthony by the second became priests. Then again Joh~n Marian the eldest son of his youngest brother Joseph Anthony, who had settled in Virajpet also became a priest. Thus we had the first three priests of the family. But for Mingel Raai’s coming to Virajpet these boys would not have had the same opportunity of education which the Petit Seminaire of Bangalore offered. Besides these three priests we have another in that family Fr Francis of Bangalore . He is the grandson of Mingel Raai (and his fathers name also was Mingel Raai)

Mingel Raai’s Age

In the absence of accurate records it is rather difficult to determine the year of Mingel Raai’s birth. As he was married at the time he left Yekkar, he could not have been less than 18 years old. He might have even been 20. We shall take the middle and say he came to Virajpet when he was 19 years before he established himself securely in the new country. That was by 1835 when his wife joined him. His son Sebastian was born in 1836. So if we deduct (19+10+1) = 30~ from 1836, we come to the figure 1806. If he had left Yekkar at the age of 20, he would then have been born in 1805. # We are allowing a period of 10 years for Mingel Raai’s establishing himself firmly in the new country from the time he came there and the arrival of his wife.

Priests in the family

As has already been stated there have been four priests in the family. We give here under their names and some details which have been collected during our investigations: 

1. Rev. Fr. Sebastian Noronha, son of Mingel Raai (founder of the Virajpet branch of the family) was born in 1836, ordained priest in 1864 and died in 1915. Fr Sebastian worked in almost all the parishes of the then Mysore diocese. He was a great preacher and few of the priests in those days could surpass him in teaching Christian doctrine to the little ones and also to non-christians. He had a way of explaining the sublime truths of our religion in such a simple manner that his hearers grasped the meaning without much difficulty.
2. Rev. Fr. Anthony Noronha, son of Mingel Raai and brother of Fr. Sebastian Noronha refered above was ordained in 1877 and died in 1906. He was an ascetic and a good carpenter too. He left many tabernacles he made himself in the churches to which he was posted. He had also a talent for engineering and built the tower of Virajpet church admired by all even to this day.
3. Rev. Fr. John Marian Noronha son of Joseph Anthony Raai and Maria Pinto was born on 8th March 1838, ordained priest on 7th March 1868 and died in 1912. He was of a very mild and gentle nature, was loved by his paris honers and Hindus alike. He was a very holy priest who drew large crowds to him and the people were charmed by his affable way of condoling, comforting and advising them on all matters. He was encouraged by government officials in his good work and was allowed by them to take from the government forest as much timber as he required to build churches.

All the three priests mentioned above worked in the then Mysore diocese* and were very popular among the clergy. The old Fathers of the Foreign Missions of Paris speak well of these three priests. In their old age the three fathers worked together at the Sacred Heart Church , Shoolay, Bangalore with Fr. John Marian as the Parish Priest.

4. Rev Fr. Francis Noronha grandson of Mingel Raai (his father’s name was also Mingel Raai) was born in 1896, ordained priest in 1920 and is now (1944) stationed at Blackpelly church, Bangalore.  

Conclusion

The history of the Virajpet family has been narrated at some length. The family of Anthony Joseph is now extinct except for two great grand-daughters of his, daughters of his grandson Bostu. They are at present (1944) living at Virajpet.

Of the family of Mingel Raai there are at present (1944) living two male members, Francis who is a priest and his brother Cajetan. The latter with his family has now settled in Mysore . He has four sons and three daughters. It is hoped that the family of Cajetan Noronha will expand itself in the near future and be united with the members of the other two branches namely that of Yekkar and Karkal.

* Mysore was erected into a vicarate in 1850 having previously in 1845 been separated from the vicarate Apostalic of pondicherry . This included the present diocese of Bangalore . The first vicar apostolic was Mgr. Stephen Louis Charbounaux who was nominated in 1841 as co-adjucator to Mgr. Bonnard vicar apostolic of Pondicherry and took charge of the diocese of Mysore in 1850. He intended to establish a petit seminaire at Bangaloreand was looking for suitable students. On a visit to Virajpet he saw the three lads Sebastian, John Marian and Anthony and with the consent of their parents took them to Bangalore for education at his own expense. We understand that he used to say that the Konkani boys formed good material for Priesthood. The three boys mentioned above were among the first entrants to the newly founded Petit-Seminaire and became priests in due course.  

On the death of Bastian it would appear that Antoni Raai took charge of the property and his brother Pasco Raai lived with him. Later on, apparently after the marriage of Pasco Raai the latter found that the property which was by no means large did not produce enough to meet the needs of 2 families. Thereupon we are told he moved to another plot which he obtained on a chalgeni tenure. He worked there for some years and thereafter came back to the ancestral plot of ground which means that he had not goven up his rights to his father’s property. It is not known whether this happened during the life time of his brother, Antoni Raai or after his death. At any rate Kotru bai, the widow of Antoni Raai executed a partition deed in favour of Pasco Raai and this was registered at Mangalore and signed by Mr J Sturrock, the district Collector at Mangalore on 24th July, 1886, that would go to prove that on the death of Antoni Raai the brother of Pasco Raai the property actually devolved on Kotru bai the former’s widow. 

It should now be noted that Antoni Raai had four sons Caiten, Jacob, O~o and Joseph, the last three had settled in Karkal but retained their rights to the shares in their fathers property. Kotru bai their mother lived at Yekkar with her eldest son Caiten who naturally managed the small property. For some reasons unknown at present it would appear that Kotru bai relinquished her title to the property in favour of her sons Caiten, Jacob, O~tgo and Joseph for, we find that a sale deed dated 20th August 1885 was executed by Caiten, Jacob and Otigo in favour of Jacob Kamti of Kunta Kumbla living at a distance of about 3 miles from Yekkar thereby transferring the whole of the holding to the said Jacob Kamti. However Caiten Raai with his family continued to occupy the land. About this time Oitgo brought his mother Kotru bai to Karkal where she died at a ripe old age.

Caiten Raai had an only son by name Lawrence . The boy appeared to have possessed very good qualities for the writer remembers that his father o~tgo was always speaking well of him. Unfortunately the boy died whilst just emerging from his teens and thus the family of Caiten Raai became extinct.  

Diego then conceived the idea that the ancestral property should be reclaimed and used for the benefit of all its members. He therefore with the concurrence of his brother Jacob and the consent of the widow of his brother Caiten, he had the property transferred to the name of Rev. Fr. Sebastian Noronha by a sale deed dated 21st May, 1900. The object of this transfer was that the net revenue from the property should be utilized for saying masses for the repose of the souls of the dtseasaimembers of the family and any balance left over to be used for the benefit of the poorer members of the family.

Rev. Fr. Sebastian Noronha on the acquisition of the property purchased in 1911, the muli rights of the property from one Ganapathi, Fr. Noronha also consolidated the property by exchanging a few plots of garden etc with Rozario Noronha in 1918. He also secured from government at his cost some darkasi land, adjourning the property measuring about 3 acres of land, he also built a wall around the property and whilst he was in charge saw to it that the property was well kept.

The property remained in charge of Rev. Fr. Sebastian Noronha until he joined the Society of Jesus. On 19th October, 1920 he executed the settlement deed in favour of Rev Fr Anthony Noronha at present (1944) vicar of Paladka church near Mudubidri. He is now the Trustee for the property and performs the duties in terms of the settlement deed, a copy of which, is given on another page. It will be noted there from that ultimately the property will be taken over by the Bishop of Mangalore who will then continue to have the masses said and see to the distribution of the balance of the net revenue to the poorer members of the family as and when required.  

For the benefit of the members of the family a copy of Rev. Fr. Sebastian Noronha letter dated 25th November, 1920 to the procurator of the mission is also attached hereto together with the declaration of Rev. Fr. Sebastian Noronha dated 21st October 1942 explaining who the poorer members of the family entitled for the receipt of help are to be.

The property has now become very valuable as, apart from the general increase in the value of land, it has also a large number of valuable timber trees. Actually in 1943 there had been about 76 teakwood trees alone. These were counted by the writer of these notes personally. 

Diego seemed to have been more intimate with Montu Patrao than his brothers as is obvious from an invitation which Montu Patrao sent to Oe~o to visit that city. Accordingly Otigo accompanied by his son, the writer of these notes then a mere lad of about 10 years paid a visit to Bombay in 1890 and they were the guests of Montu Patrao. Another person that went to Bombay later, for the purpose of sight seeing was Rev. Fr. Sebastian Noronha, that was in 1898. On his return to Mangalore he sent his brother Robert Noronha to Bombay for technical studies but he could not get admission in the technical school there. Unfortunately whilst there, this young man contracted plague but by the providence of God escaped falling a victim to this dreadful disease. He was obliged to return to Mangalore. 

The first settler of our family in Bombay was the writer himself. He went there at the end of 1902, this time in search of employment. He was followed soon after by his brother Isadore and then by their cousin Lawrence. These three pioneers of the family had a great deal of uphill work to do in a city where they had few friends and the number of Mangloreans at that time there could have been counted on one’s fingers tips. However with push and perseverance they were able to work their way through and were held in respect by the Mangalorean community in Bombay. These three pioneers were later followed by other members of the family. Isadore being a married man before he went to Bombay had the honour of establishing the first Raai Noronha family in Bombay. The others married later. There are a number of members of our family in that city now and it is hoped that there will always be some of our people in the future there either permanently settled or makeing their abode temporarily. There have been two members of the family in Bombay have become priests. One is Rev. Fr. Stanislaus Noronha, son of Isadore Noronha and Francis Joseph, son of Peter Noronha. Their names are mentioned in the chapter dealing with the Karkal branch of the family. 

Isadore being a married man before he went to Bombay had the honor of establishing the first Raai Noronha family in Bombay. The others married later. There are a number of members of our family in that city now and it is hoped that there will always be some of our people in the future there either permamnently settled or making their abode temporarily.

Two members of the Raai Noronha family in Bombay have become priests. One is Rev. Fr. Stanislaus Noronha, son of Isadore Noronha and Francis Joseph, son of Peter Noronha. Their names are mentioned in the chapter dealing with the Karkal branch of the family.

Now Anthon Raai, the elder brother of Pascoo Raai had 4 sons Caitan, Jacob, Diego and Joseph. The last three settled at Karkal and founded a branch of the family there. Their history is dealt with in a separate chapter. Caitan Raai died at Yekkar leaving behind him his widow, 4 daughters and an only son Lawrence. This boy died at Yekkar before he was out of this teens. The family of Caitan Raai has therefore become extinct. Hence none of the descendants of Anthon Raai, the eldest son of Bastao Raai are found in Yekkar or in any village around.

Pascoo Raai was left alone at Yekkar. He had 2 sons Mingel Raai and Rozario Raai. The family of the latter is extinct. Mingel Raai had, however two sons Diego and Anthony. Anthony is a priest and Diego with his family continues to live at Yekkar. This is all that is left of the Raai Noronha’s at the ancestral settlement of Yekkar.

As stated previously the second son of Mingel Raai is a priest, Rev Fr Anthony Noronha who was born on 9th June, 1896 and was ordained priest on 3rd December, 1925. He is at present Vicar of St Ignatius Church Paladka near Moodbidvi. Fr Anthony is at present managing the property of Anthon Raai for the benefit of his descendants. Full particulars on this subject will be found in a separate chapter. Fr Anthony has been good enough to supply the attached genealogy of Pascoo Raai.  

Now we know the age of Jacob Raai of the Karkal branch of the family. We have to work our figures on his age. In order to make the calculations intelligible we give here-under the genealogy showing the descent of Jacob Raai from Jaki Raai our known ancestor.

Jacob Raai died in 1908 at the age of 72 which would mean that he was  born in 1836 A.D. Jacob Raai being the second son of Anthon Raai, the latter would be 24 years when Jacob was born. This would mean that Anthon Raai was born in 1812 A.D. Anthon Raai being the oldest son of Bastao Raai the latters age at the time of Anthon Raai’s birth would be 21 thus bringing the year of Bastao Raai’s birth to 1791 A.D.

Bastao Raai being the eldest son of Jaki Raai our known ancestor the age of Jaki Raai at the time of Bastao Raai’s birth would be 21 years and therefore the year of Jaki Raai’s birth would approximately be 1770 A.D.

Hyder Ali conquested Canara in 1763 and died in 1782 . His son and successor Tipu Sultan carried the Christians of Canara in captivity to Seringapatam in 1784. At this time Jaki Raai our known ancestor was about 14 years old – hardly an age for a settler to come from Goa . It is therefore obvious that his parents were with him at the time of the persecution.  The original settler who came from the village of Raya in Goa should therefore have been Jaki Raai’s father. We have no means to find out his name and when he actually came to Yekkar. At the time of the captivity our ancestor did escape being captured by fleeing into safety, the thickly wooded valley of Yekkar afforded facilities for hiding. This is confirmed by Magdeline the widow of the late Joseph Noronha. She is still living in 1944 and is aged 88. She had heard of this escape from her husband and from the late Detgo Noronha. Undoubtedly this is correct as we have no tradition in the family that any of our ancestors were carried into captivity.   

At the time of the captivity our ancestor did escape being captured by fleeing into safety, the thickly wooded valley of Yekkar afforded facilities for hiding. This is confirmed by Magdeline the widow of the late Joseph Noronha. She is still living in 1944 and is aged 88. She had heard of this escape from her husband and from the late Diego Noronha. Undoubtedley this is correct as we have no tradition in the family that any of our ancestors were carried into captivity.

*According to our calculations there is a gap of 14 years between the birth  of Bastian and Mingel Raai and about 8-9 years between the latter & Joseph Anthony. It is therefore obvious that our ancestor had some daughters in the intervening period of whom no information is available.   

To our knowledge ours is the only family in the whole of South Canara* that is known by the Indian Patronymic of Raai. With a view to trace the origin of this name Rev Fr Sebastian Noronha S.J and his uncle Diego Noronha had carried out investigations about 50 years ago and had come to the conclusion that this name emanated from the name of a place in Goa whence our ancestors immigrated. Further investigations have since been carried out and all view-points on the subject having thoroughly been considered, our studies show the correctness of the conclusions previously arrived at by two of the most ,eminent members of our family referred to above.

The investigations show that our ancestor came to Canara from the village of Raya (written Raia in Portuguese) a village about 3 miles from Margao in Salcete ( Goa ). This village is inhabited mainly by Bamman Christians, @ descendants of the Gaud Saraswats who had settled there centuries ago and were converted to Christianity by the Portuguese Missionaries**. All people that came from this village are known as Rainers# or simply Raai. As our ancestor came from this village he got the surname Raai among the families of Canara where he had settled. 

In those days the number of families in each village was limited and they knew exactly who the new settler was and whence he came. The Bamman families who had the Paik surname$ would not have admitted into their groups in those days of conservative orthodoxy any other than those who belonged to their own race. Our family has been well known in these groups not only in Yekkar but also in the adjoining villages such as Pezar, Renta Kumba, Ferar and even in distant places like Hospet, Omzoor etc. What could then have been the paik surname of our ancestor in Goa? We do not know. It should be remembered that a few years after the conversion of the people in that country the Portuguese citizenship was conferred on the Christians with the result that the local Christians began to discard their Hindu customs and habits of life. It may therefore be that the family of our ancestor had already discarded the paik surname long before our ancestor settled in Canara.

It would be necessary here to sound a note of warning about the Indian surnames. India is populated with heterogeneous races and communities. The constant social contact among cultured races, local usages among others and other causes may have contributed to the evolution of similarity of surnames in some of the members of the various communities; take for instance the surname Raai, one finds similar surnames such as Ray or Roy among Bengal; Saraswat brahmins of Goa, Canara and elsewhere and Deshashasta brahmins of Southern India bear the surname of Rao which is a contraction of Rayaru (nobleman). Some of the families of the Bunts (Oravidans) of Canara have adopted the surnames of Rai. Howsoever they may be written or pronounced, they all sound similar. The name Raai appears in such honorific titles as Rai saheb or Rai or Rao Bahadur. Even place have this name such as Raigarh, Raigad, Raichur, Raimangel etc. Therefore a mere similarity of words, remote or proximate is no guidance in tracing the origin of a family or community. The origin of our family with the Indian Patro~mic of Rayi has no connection whatsoever with the other communities who bear similar sounding names.

* Canara in those days extended from somewhere near Sunkeri (near Karwar) to Nileshwaram in the South and bounded by the Arabian Sea on the west and the Ghats on the east. This land especially the Southern part of it was known as Tulwa or Tululand.

@ We understand that Raya is known as a Bamman village

** This is confirmed by Dr Augustine Lobo M.B.B.S of Mangalore who had spent 15 years in Goa in his professional capacity and also by Mr Govind Pai B.A a research Scholar of Manjeshwar who had made inquiries on the spot in Goa . Mr Govind Pai further states that the Gaud Saraswats in the olden days had their family diety Sri Kamaksha installed there. This temple was destroyed by the Portuguese in the 16th Century.  

Such is the case, with very few exceptions among the old catholic families of Canara*.  One should have however thought that in the case of our family some historical data would be available from the church records at Pezar. Unfortunately this church was unroofed during the time of the captivity of the Christians in 1784 and was restored only in 1802**. No records of any kind are therefore available prior to 1802, though there had been a succession of 8 priests at this Church from 1800-1835 @.  We learn from a priest friend who was stationed at the church a few years ago that no records of this period are available there. Moreover we understand from two priests who have seen the existing old records at the Pezar church that they are written mainly in the Portuguese Language and their condition is such that it would be very difficult to decipher them at present #.

In view of this we have only to rely on the tradition preserved in the family ever since it was founded in Canara. It has always been held by all members of the three branches of the family viz those of Yekkar – Virajpet – Karkal that our ancestor came from Goa and settled at Yekkar.

* We learn that a similar state of affairs exists with the families of the Saraswat and Gaud Saraswat communities. Vide Saraswats families Part I p 60 by S.S. Talmeke B.A II B and Chitrapur Sarawats – Directory p1 by H Shankar Rau B. A. C. I. E.

** History of the Diocese of Magalore p 254

@ History of the Diocese of Mangalore p 255

# Very Rev Fr M S Fernandes Vicar of the Pezar Church (1944) was approached on the subject but we could obtain no further information from him.