TOMBSTONES 46 to 53

Tombstones in St Francis Church not mentioned by Cotton (1905)

There are 9 tombstones in this category which include the famous grave marker of Vasco de Gama. However, what is surprising is that none of the three documents we discussed (Rivara, 1866; Pelioth, 1886; and Cotton, 1905) mention Gama's tombstone inside the church! The list of Pelioth (1886) has three tombstones which Cotton (1905) fails to record:  

1) Simeon de Miranda (the oldest European gravestone in South India, if not the whole country); 

2) an unidentified Portuguese epitaph; 

3) Simon Silvestre (a Dutch Captain in the service of VOC). 

Though Cotton (1905) describes the discovery of the  tombstone of Simeon Miranda while digging the foundations of the new Port office in Fort Cochin, its relocation to the St Francis church is not mentioned. All the above 4 tombstones can be traced inside the church.

Another specimen is a huge Portuguese gravestone with well-engraved epitaph for Briamda Couceira, wife of Balthasar Diaz, which is also not reported before. In addition, there are 4 tombstones displayed without any inscriptions (3 horizontally and 1 vertically mounted). There is a Dutch stone slab near the main door which will appear first as a gravestone, but its only a dedication stone to commemorate a Dutch house built in 1784, and therefore not original to the church.

In this post, I am uploading 8 tombstones, The oldest tombstone, the grave marker of Simeon de Miranda will be uploaded as the final post in this series. 

1. VASCO DE GAMA (24 December, 1524)

Early reports suggest that the tombstone of Vasco Pimentel (d. 1567) was shown as the grave marker of Vasco de Gama, and at least that was the case in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. In fact, even Julian James Cotton, who has meticulously recorded the funerary monuments of Cochin fails to report about the this famous headstone in 1905. Its a mystery why the current tombstone of Gama remained hidden for long, and more importantly how and when was it discovered? It must also be noted that St Francis church is not the only candidate for Gama's burial site in Cochin. I have discussed about these issues and more in my early post in the blog 'Jewish Monuments of Kerala'. 

The photograph on the left was taken recently when the fencing was removed during the renovation of the church, so you can appreciate the full tombstone without any interferences. The right-side image is how you usually find the tombstone while visiting the church. 

2.  SAEEMON (SIMON) SILVESTRE (1670)-Captain of VOC, shot at Cranganore

The left panel is the photograph of the tombstone taken recently, whereas the right panel is the sketch of the gravestone made by Pelioth in 1886. Cotton (1905) does not have this epitaph in his list, but Pelioth (1886) has provided the full inscription except for the small section lost with the broken piece at the bottom right end. Today, the slab is difficult to read because of the faintly visible letters. The first part is deciphered by Rene ten Dam (sharedcemeteries) as- "To the reward of virtue and honour; In dark grave enclosed; Here Silvestre Lies Down; Shot at Cranganoor". The year given in Roman numerals MDCLVVVV=1670. Thanks to Pelioth, we can read the second part which I assume is- "Saeemon (Simon) Silvestre, in his life was Captain of the East India Company. Died in the year...".

3. BRIAMDA COUICERA wife of BALTHESAR DIAZ

This Portuguese tombstone from 16th century is one of the largest grace markers preserved inside the church. The slab does not appear in any of the documents we discussed, so most probably it was also brought from outside. My take on the inscription is as follows: "Aqui jaz Briamda Couceira Molher de Baltesar Diaz Nobre Filha Depero Couceiro he de Luzia Vaz Morena Faleceo a27 dAbril de 1551 Anos". This would translate therefore to-"Here lies BRIAMDA COUCEIRA wife of the noble BALTESAR DIAZ, and daughter of DEPERO COUCEIRO and LUZIA VAZ MORENA. Died on 27 April, 1551"
 

4. UNIDENTIFIED PORTUGUESE TOMBSTONE-with inscriptionI am yet to identify this Portuguese tombstone. The left panel is the photograph of the tombstone taken recently, whereas the right panel is the sketch of the gravestone made by Pelioth in 1886.

5 and 6. TOMBSTONES without inscriptionsBoth these tombstones are placed on the floor horizontally. Though they lack inscriptions, heraldic design with motifs (left tombstone) and markings with special characters (right tombstone) are observed. 

7 and 8. TOMBSTONES without inscriptionsThe left tombstone is located on the floor and it has a plane heraldic design. The right black-coloured slab is bricked-in one of the walls of the church and it is completely blank without inscriptions or heraldic designs.

Dedication Stone of a Dutch House (23 November, 1784)