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Finally, the tomb stone dating back to 1629 and lying discarded and neglected under a layer of sand and fallen leaves and wild brush near Bolar has reached Rosario Cathedral.

Going by the inscription on the tomb stone, it pertains to the Portuguese Captain of the first Fortress opposite the confluence of two rivers (Nethravathi and Gurpura) - in Mangalore.

Ever since the stone was discovered in March 2009 by I J S Shet, a retired personnel and a fan of local history (and also the resident of the area), he and other like-minded persons had tried to restore the tomb stone, but in vain.

However, when Alan Machado, author of ‘Saraswathi’s Children’ and ‘Shades within shadows’ (both books tracing the intricate history of Catholic community in the coastal region), took interest on the same and succeeded in deciphering the inscriptions with the help from Portuguese experts, he (and many others who had worked for it) was thrilled.

The inscription translates as “Domingos de Mourao Coutinho, the captain of the fortress of Mangalore, who died on April 30, 1629.”

Perhaps, it would have been installed over his grave which in all probability was located within the first church in Mangalore, the Portuguese “Nossa Senora de Rosario,” known as the ‘Poyyeda ingreji’ (in Tulu) or ’Church in the sand,’ within the fortress.

The first Nossa Senora de Rosario was allowed to stand and came to be known as the poyada ingreji or the church on the sands, and also as the factory church. The church had a thatched roof and was in a dilapidated condition when Padre Jose Vaz came to Mangalore in 1684. He had the church repaired and it survived until it was pulled down by Tipu in 1784.

‘Safe journey’

The tomb stone made its safe journey under the leadership of Rosario Parish Priest Rev Fr Stany Goveas and Steven Fernandes, a resident of "Hale Kote" where the stone rested for centuries. The owner of the plot too extended co-operation so that the historic stone can be preserved and conveniently seen by interested public. It will be aesthetically set alongside a stone of 1712, (can be seen in the far left of the picture) with fading French markings that existed at Rosario Cathedral.

Besides the newly shifted stone, the stone of 1712 is probably the only identified existing monument, related to the Portuguese fort which since the 1500s formed a part of old Mangalore’s history.

The familiar stone at the entrance of Rosario Cathedral bears the court of arms of Dom Joao V, the king of Portugal from 1706 to 1750. Unfortunately, the letters are all defaced and cannot be deciphered.

The court of arms, however, dates the stone and the construction of the Portuguese factory or trading warehouse at the site of the present Cathedral.

“It probably stood at the entrance of the factory when it was built and confirms it came up only during the reign of Joao V, not before. Two numerals are decipherable, 7 and 2, which dates the stone to 1712, for the factory and church existed by 1718 as confirmed by Alexander Hamilton who visited Mangalore that year,” according to Alan Machado.