18) THE TOMBSTONE OF VASCO DA GAMA IN FORT COCHIN-MISCONCEPTIONS

Grave Marker of Vasco da Gama in St Francis Church, Fort Cochin

24th December, 2024 marks the 500th death anniversary of Vasco da Gama da Gama. Today, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Fort Cochin is the grave of Vasco da Gama shown inside the St Francis CSI Church, often boasted as the first European church in India. However, not many realize that the actual remains of Vasco da Gama are preserved in the Jeronimos Monastery [Mosteiro dos Jerónimos] of Lisbon in Portugal and what is shown in Cochin is not a grave but a tombstone only. Therefore, what is Cochin's connection to Vasco da Gama’s death? It was in Cochin where Gama died of Malaria on 24th December, 1524, barely three months after his 3rd journey to India. He is said to be buried in the ‘Main Chapel of St Antony’s Monastery’ [Capella mor de Mosteiro de Santo Antonio], which is the current St Francis church. In 1538, his remains were transferred from Cochin to Monastery of Nossa Senhora das Relíquias, Vidigueira in Portugal by one of his sons, where they remained for three centuries. On 8th June, 1880, his remains were brought to St Jeronimos Monastery, where it is preserved now. Thus, although Vasco da Gama was originally buried in Cochin, his body remained there only for 14 years.

Interestingly, St Francis Church is not the only candidate in Cochin named for Gama's burial site. Early Portuguese writers suggested the ‘Monastery of St Antony’ [where the current Head Post Office building behind the St Francis Church is located] and the Santa Cruz Cathedral [no longer exists as the grand Portuguese church was demolished by the Dutch, and followed by the British] as other candidates. An English lawyer, Thomas Chisholm Anstey who visited Cochin in mid-19th century, wrote specifically of the tomb of Vasco da Gama in the Santa Cruz Cathedral, and that it was defiled when the British destroyed the church in 1806. Nonetheless, today, St Francis Church in Fort Cochin is widely accepted as the first burial site of Vasco da Gama.

Another issue is with the current tombstone of Gama on display in the church. For a legendary explorer such as Vasco da Gama, one usually expects a grand epitaph carved with elegant designs. On the contrary, the current simple tombstone has no decorations and other than 7 or 8 faint letters engraved on the top, barely any inscriptions are visible. There is also no trace of the 'Coat of Arms' of the da Gama family on the current headstone. This is surprising considering many of the tombstones preserved in the church are lavishly decorated with heraldic designs and lengthy inscriptions. A possibility is that the inscriptions and designs have faded out significantly. One has to remember that if the original tombstone of Vasco da Gama exists, it has survived 500 years of wear and tear! 

Inscription on the tombstone of Vasco da Gama

17] THE GRAVE OF C. A. [CORNELIUS ARNOLD] SCHIER [d. 1935], VELI CEMETERY, FORT COCHIN

Grave of C A Schier, Cemetery of St Francis CSI Church, Veli, Fort Cochin

In this post, I will write briefly about a German grave in the C. S. I. Cemetery at Veli, Fort Cochin (former British Cemetery). See Grave No. 23 [II Set] in my earlier post on Veli Cemetery here. Though European grave monuments in Portuguese, Dutch and English languages are not uncommon in Kerala, very rarely you find an epitaph in German. The tombstone of 31-year-old C. A. [Cornelius Arnold] Schier who died in 1935 is very concise, yet it gives you details such as his occupation, native place and the exact date of birth and death. Recently, I was contacted by Vera Richter from Germany, who sent me a link to an interesting report on Cornelius and how his grave was rediscovered in 2010 by a close family member. In fact, the Schier family had only received a picture of the fresh grave in 1935 and they saw the picture of the gravestone for the first time after 75 years! The article not only contains details of the family, but also some rare photographs of C A Schier with his daughter and videos. What is more fascinating is that, his daughter 94-year-old Elma Hoek (Schier) is still alive and shares her fond memories. Here is the link to the aforementioned article [German] and special thanks are due to Vera for sending me this important information. Today, Elma lives with her daughter Hille in Paraguay and she was kind enough to reach me sharing details about her wonderful story.

The epitaph of C A Schier

To summarize, Cornelius Arnold Schier was born on October 14, 1903 and was a native of Rhauderfehn, Germany. He was the 2nd officer of the steamer (Dampfer) Liebenfels. Cornelius died unexpectedly (reason unknown) at sea on March 29, 1935 at the age of 31 and was buried on March 30 in Cochin (Veli Cemetery). At the time of his death, Cornelius was left behind his young wife (Gesine Schier, nee Sinning, 27-year-old) and daughter (Elma Hoek, nee Schier, 5-year old). The current grave slab was probably donated by the Hansa shipping company of the ship ‘Liebenfels’.

The register preserved in the St Francis Church at Fort Cochin has information on C A Schier's burial. This register has 8 columns. The columns 4 to 8 has the following details: 4] Surname- Schier; 5] Age- 31; 6] Quality, Trade or Profession, &c &c &c- 2nd officer s/s Liebenfels; 7] When buried- 30th March 1935; and 8] Signature by whom buried-John Francis, C M S Pastor. Unfortunately, details in the first 3 columns, viz. 1] When died; 2] Cause of death; and 3] Christian [first name] are lost irrecoverably as the register is mostly moth eaten and in tatters. 

16) MEMORIAL TABLETS AND PLAQUES IN THE MOTHER OF GOD CATHEDRAL, KOZHIKODE

  Interior of Mother of God Cathedral, Kozhikode

Inside the Mother of God Cathedral of Kozhikode are two memorial tablets after 1] James Munro Anderson [d. 1920] and Lucy Veronica Anderson [d. 1944]; and 2] Francis Joseph de Rozario [d. 1946]. The memorial plaque of Alice [d. 21st April, 1873; aged 14 years], the daughter of Thomas and Agatha Barbosa, mentioned by Roberts and Chekkutty [2017] is not to be seen. A Quin Centennial [500th anniversary] plaque installed outside the church commemorates Fr. Pedro de Couvilhany [d. 1498], the first missionary of Calicut [Kozhikode].  

1] Francis Joseph de Rozario [d. 1946]

15) TOMBSTONES DISPLAYED IN THE COMPOUND OF THE MOTHER OF GOD CATHEDRAL, CALICUT [KOZHIKODE].

Tombstones displayed in the Mother of God Church, Kozhikode.

In the courtyard of the Mother of God Roman Catholic Cathedral at Kozhikode are displayed 15 tombstones. The gravestones are mounted near the northern compound wall of the cathedral. All the inscriptions are in English, except for one tombstone which is in French. The headstones are dated from the mid-19th to the early 20th century, the oldest from 1861 and the latest from 1908. Among the deceased are three Septuagenarians, two French infants, an Austrian born German machinist and an Indian Sub Assistant Surgeon. The 16th century Portuguese church has undergone extensive renovation and refurbishment and the current structure after major renovation was rededicated and inaugurated on 2009. Apparently, there was a burial ground in the churchyard or nearby, the exact location unknown. Roberts and Chekkutty (2017) has an inventory for this cemetery with 32 burials reported, the earliest dated to 1857. However, only 27 are recorded with a gravestone and the oldest from 1866. Today, the functional cemetery of the Cathedral is located 3 km North in the West Hill area of Kozhikode.

Mother of God Roman Catholic Cathedral, Kozhikode

Details of the Tombstones

No	Name	Death	Age
1	Whelelmina Cornelia	9/1861	27y
2	Joanna De Souza Rodrigues	6/1864	70y
3a	Henri Profumo	4/1866	1y + 7m
3b	Emilie Profumo	6/1866	10m
4	Joseph Manuel De'rozario	6/1881	71y
5	John Anthony De'rozario	8/1885	71y
6	John Schloss	3/1886	45y
7	H. J. King	12/1887	NA
8	Clarissa Josephina	6/1890	31y +4m + 6d
9	Emily Mary	4/1895	18y +10m + 25d
10	Ernest Augustus Godfrey	1/1896	66y
11	Josephine Clara	3/1899	49y
12	Domingo Manuel De'siqueira	2/1902	35y + 8d
13	Joseph Victor	6/1908	40y
14	Child	NA	NA
15	D Rajendram Pillai	9/1895	NA

Interestingly, the first two gravestones (Whelelmina and Joanna), also the oldest in the lot, are not seen in the inventory collected by Roberts and Chekkutty (2017). Along with the photographs uploaded below, I am attaching the full transcripts of the epitaphs. 

TOMBSTONES PRESERVED IN THE MOTHER OF GOD CATHEDRAL, KOZHIKODE

14) THE TOMBSTONES FROM THE OLD EUROPEAN BURIAL GROUND (OLD ST. MARY'S CEMETERY) OF CALICUT-Curently preserved in the compound of St. Mary's C. S. I. Church (English Church), Nadakkavu, Kozhikode.

Tombstones from the old European cemetery of Calicut, now on display in the premises of St. Mary's CSI Church, Nadakkavu, Kozhikkode.

In Calicut (Kozhikode), near the Government General Hospital (former Beach Hospital) was an European cemetery. Known variously as old Dutch cemetery, old English or Anglican cemetery, old St. Mary's cemetery-Zillathodie etc., the graveyard became almost full by 1878 and was eventually closed. Today, in the site of the cemetery is a park named after the famous British administrator of Malabar, Henry Valentine Connolly. He was the Collector and Magistrate of Malabar, who held the post for 14 years before brutally murdered by four Mappila insurgents on 11 September, 1855 and was buried in the same graveyard of Calicut. 

 Conolly or Kanoli Park, Kozhikode- the site of former old European cemetery today.

Tombstone of Henry Valentine Conolly

The earliest recorded burial in the cemetery is said to be of Richard Harrison, son of Edward Harrison-Governor of Fort St. George, who died on 14 April, 1717 at the age of 20. The site is assumed to be a Dutch cemetery before the British, but no records of Dutch burials are known. According to William Logan (1887), the earliest inscription in the cemetery goes back to the 17th century; whereas Charles A Innes (1908) assigns an even earlier date (16th century), but none of them have come with any specific burial details. Roberts and Chekkutty (2017, pp. 17-28) have collected an inventory which lists 149 burials in the cemetery, the oldest are from the 18th century. In addition to Richard Harrison (d. 1717), this inventory gives the names of three more individuals from the 18th century, viz. William Burchell, d. March 1793 (1794 is the date on the actual tombstone); John Stevens Agnew, d. May 1793 and Alexander Porter, d. May, 1795. According to this list, the last person to be interred in the old cemetery is an infant named Sidney Smith, dated 28 December, 1879. Ironically, in 1905, when Julian James Cotton surveyed the cemetery, he enumerated only 14 graves, which surprisingly, include all the four burials from the 18th century. Another noted burial in the site is Ensign Robert Anderson Wyse, who was killed by the Mappila rebels at Manjerry in 1849 (see my previous posts on his burial monument). Robert Hodges Peirce (d. 28 November, 1878), co-founder of the famous Peirce & Leslie Co, and two of his infant children were also buried in this cemetery. He was one of the last to be interred in this cemetery.

Memorials for Robert Hodges Peirce and his two infant children in the walls of the St. Mary's CSI Church, Kozhikode

Apparently, in 1958, the Calicut Municipality removed all the crumbling gravestones and converted the place into a 'Conolly Park'. However, it is not clear if the tombstones were shifted to the St. Mary's English church immediately or it was done later. In a report (see here), the transfer of the tombstones to the English church happened only in 1997. Today, 22 tombstones from the old cemetery are on display in the premises of the St. Mary's CSI Church (English Church) at Nadakkavu, Kozhikode. Out of which, 18 tombstones are arranged horizontally on a slanting concrete platform joining the western compound wall of the church, in a section south to the western gate of the church. Conolly's tombstone is kept in a vertical standing position and preserved separately by inserting to the same compound wall, north to the western gate of the church. On either side of the main (west) door of the church are memorials for Robert Peirce and his two infant children who were buried in the old cemetery. However, whether these markers are actual tombstones retrieved from the old cemetery or they are just memorial tablets added afterwards needs to be scrutinized. On a positive note, the sculptor's identity is revealed at the end of the stone tablets as 'C. S. Trotter, Madras', a name seen in tombstones made during the mid-to-late 19th century in South India. Nevertheless, it is unusual that Cotton failed to observe these grave markers in the old cemetery in 1905.  Eastwick (1879) states: "the English burial ground, which is close to the pier (of Calicut) is now so full (1878) that it is about to be closed, and land has been purchased for a new cemetery" and that "many of the inscriptions on the tombs have become wholly obliterated or illegible". 

St. Mary's CSI or English church, Nadakkavu, Kozhikkode

Only 22 tombstones have survived from the old cemetery, and yet not all these epitaphs are complete, because many inscriptions have worn away with time and the letters are faintly visible; some are broken and their fragments lost. The eulogy verses written in some of the epitaphs are beyond recognition. Nevertheless, since they contain usual Biblical verses, Latin phrases etc. used in typical headstones, by identifying the key words, I could retrieve the illegible texts. The biggest challenge was to identify the blurry or obliterated numerals representing dates and ages of the deceased. Thanks mainly to the inventory in Roberts and Chekkutty (2017), I could fill the missing gaps in the difficult grave markers. I am hereby uploading the close-up images of all the 22 tombstones. Among the tombstones from the 18th century, it seems only that of William Burchel (d. 8 March 1794) has survived. Interestingly, it is the only non-rectangular (oval shaped) tombstone in the lot and also one of the best preserved. The latest tombstone is for an infant named George Andrew Frederick Daniel, who died on 21 March, 1882. The youngest interred in the cemetery are the two children of Robert Hodges Peirce, both died at the age of 6 days! Here I have the epitaphs of all the tombstones and their complete inscriptions added along with the corresponding images. 

Following is the list of the 22 tombstones in the ascending chronological order of death (i.e from the earliest to the latest burial).

No	Name	Date of Death	Age
1	William Burchall	8 March, 1794	36
2	Eliza Babington	25 May, 1822	33
3	William Milnes	24 November, 1830	29
4	Daughter of Robert & Margaret Nelson	3 June, 1836	2 months
5	Samuel Adolphus Rehe	14 November, 1837	48
6	Jane Fraser	12 August, 1838	26
7	Christie Hewett	6 March, 1839	24
8	John Shaw Grieve	6 April, 1846	33
9	Harry Gough	22 April, 1846	27
10	Harriet Buchanan	7 August, 1846
11	John Fullerton Brown	30 January, 1848	47 years 9 months 4 days
12	Robert Anderson Wyse	28 August, 1849
13	Frank Arthur Bolton	29 May, 1855	16 days
14	Henry Valentine Conolly	11 September, 1855	48
15	William Ebery	6 December, 1859	57
16	Jessie Caroline	10 March, 1863	6 days
17	Thomas Gwynn	11 August, 1864	65
18	Sarah Montgomery	19 August, 1864	20
19	Charles Gore	17 July, 1871	6 days
20	David Joseph	16 June, 1878	9
21	Robert Hodges Peirce	28 November, 1878	51
22	George Andrew Frederick Daniel	21 March, 1882	4 months 27 days