The name is credited to the
Saraswat Brahmin immigrants who emigrated to the
Konkan via
Magadha plains in northern India. Bardez, or more properly
bara (twelve)
desh (country), means "twelve countries" (or territories). The form 'country' probably refers to clan territorial limits, or to the Brahmin
comunidades, of which the twelve are: •
Aldona •
Anjuna •
Assagao •
Candolim •
Moira •
Nachinola •
Olaulim •
Pomburpa •
Saligao •
Sangolda •
Serula •
Siolim Bardez is delimited on the north by the
Chapora River, on the south by the
Mandovi River, on the east by the
Mapusa River, which originates in Bardez itself near the capital city of
Mapusa, and on the west by the
Arabian Sea. A native of Bardez is called a
Bardeskar or
Bardescar (
IPA: ) in the
Konkani language. Bardez is the site of the legislature of Goa, in the southern parish village of
Penha de França (Britona), in Serula. Other famous sites are the
Fort Aguada, the beaches of
Candolim,
Sinquerim,
Calangute,
Baga,
Anjuna, and
Vagator villages, the hilltop monastery and boarding school of Monte Guirim, which was restored by Padre Luna after Pombal's devastation, the village communities of Salvador do Mundo, Penha da França, Siolim, Moira, Porvorim, Colvale, Saligao, and Sangolda, to name but the most prominent. Goa's Indian Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) and
St Xavier's College, Mapusa are located in Bardez. The village and
comunidade of
Anjuna was a prime
hippie destination. Bardes is famous as the birthplace of
Rev Fr
Agnelo de Souza, who is expected be recognised for
sainthood in the near future. He is one of the two most prominent religious
Goan Christians, the other being St
Joseph De Vaz, the "Apostle of
Ceylon". ==Demographics==