Shadow Puppets, Songs, and Sacred Feasts
Celebrations of the Indo-Portuguese Nuns in the Eighteenth-Century Real Convento de Santa Mónica, Goa, India. A Bilingual Edition
Daniel Michon translator D A Smith translator Daniel Michon editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Iter Press
Publishing:4th Jun '25
£41.00
This title is due to be published on 4th June, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
The two eighteenth-century texts translated here offer a rare glimpse into the creative lives of cloistered nuns in Asia, providing a valuable example of early modern "other voices" in a colonial context.
The Entrada de Bonifrate para Festa dos Reis, a shadow puppet play for the feast of the Kings, and the Cartepaço da Muzica, a songbook for the feast of St. John, showcase the imaginative minds of the nuns at the Indo-Portuguese Real Convento de Santa Mónica, Goa, India. Composed for private convent audiences, these texts blend Portuguese and Spanish baroque elements with local Goan traditions. The uncensored verses celebrate convent life, critique local social norms, and affirm the nuns’ community identity, exhibiting the Mónicas’ musical talents and literary sensibilities.
"In Shadow Puppets, Songs, and Sacred Feasts, Daniel Michon and D. A. Smith present a bilingual edition and translation of two unique works, a puppet show and a choral program, composed and performed in the eighteenth century by the nuns of the Indo-Portuguese Convent of Santa Mónica in Goa, India. Michon and Smith have deftly interwoven the rich traditions of puppets in both early modern Portuguese and South Asian societies. Given the diverse nature of the body of nuns in Santa Mónica, a mix of these two parallel traditions is inevitable, and is discussed amply in the scholarly introduction. This is an important work: It is a delightful example of two cultures entwined, never intended for our eyes and ears but rather for internal consumption within the Convent. Here we are offered a revealing glimpse into the dynamics of daily life in the convent. And who doesn’t love puppets?" * Timothy Coates, Professor Emeritus of History, College of Charleston *
ISBN: 9781649591258
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 454g
232 pages