Canhas (parish)

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... and crossing a stream that lies beyond this Ponta do Sol (‘point of the sun’), he marked out on a slope a church of the apostle St James, and further on he found the fire that he had ordered to be set along the coast; for which reason they could not pass, the woodland being very dense and a great fire burning in part of it. So they went down to a stream and, always following the sound of the water, came out at the sea, where they found the boats.’ This passage from Frutuoso, which refers to the first exploration made by Zarco and some of his companions in the discovery, tells us of their passage through the lands that later formed the parish (freguesia) of Canhas, and therefore of the people who first crossed the virgin forests that covered those lands.

The origin of this parish’s name is well known. A family with the surname Canha, which settled there in the earliest days of colonisation, gave its lands the name Canhas. The name later passed to the future parish, of which those same lands were the ancient, original nucleus. Some assert, among them the authoritative commentator of the ‘Island History’ (Historia Insulana), that João de Canha, squire to the Diogo, Duke of Viseu, was one of the first settlers of Canhas. He held lands there by sesmaria (royal land grant to settlers on condition of cultivation), which he leased on a perpetual tenure to Dona Constança Rodrigues de Almeida, widow of João Gonçalves Zarco; and his son Rui Pires de Canha founded the chantry (capela) of São Tiago, where the seat of the parish was later established. The illustrious annotator of the ‘Longing for the Homeland’ (Saudades da Terra), however, holds that Rui Pires de Canha was an earlier settler than João de Canha, without indicating what degree of kinship there may have been between the two men. The more common view, shared by several genealogies we have consulted, is that João de Canha settled there first, and that Rui Pires de Canha was one of his descendants who also acquired various lands within the bounds of this future parish.

The royal decree (alvará) of 30 January 1577 gave the diocesan bishop, Dom Jerónimo Barreto, the power to create this parish, which was only definitively constituted some years later, having been separated from the parish of Ponta do Sol. The first vicar appointed to it was Father Diogo da Silva, with an annual stipend (côngrua) of 20,000 réis (old Portuguese money of account; 1$000 = 1,000 réis, 1:000$000 = one conto = 1,000,000 réis). By the royal decree of 10 July 1653 this became 19,000 réis in cash, one and a half moios (dry measure of grain, 60 alqueires) of wheat and one and a half pipas (wine cask and measure, c. 400–500 litres) of wine. Diogo da Silva was succeeded as parish priests of this parish by Belchior Álvares de Araújo, António Fernandes, Amaro de Freitas, Francisco Rodrigues and António Novais Ferreira, in the period from its foundation up to the year 1647.

The new parish was established in the chapel of São Tiago, founded, as we have said, by Rui Pires de Canha, although others certainly attribute it to Braz da Camara or even to Rafael Castanho. We do not know when the seat of the parish was moved from this chapel to the new church, nor in what year the church was built. We conjecture that the new church went up in the first quarter of the 16th century. We do know, however, that in 1676 the Treasury Council (Conselho de Fazenda) ordered major repairs to its chancel, and that Joseph I, by a royal decree of 1752, ordered the parish church to be rebuilt. The foundation stone was solemnly laid on 22 July 1753, and on 4 March 1756 the episcopal decree was issued authorising its blessing and its opening for worship, which took place shortly afterwards.

During a pastoral visitation the diocesan prelate ordered the parish priest, Antonio de Caires, to petition for the creation of a curacy (curato), in view of the growth the population had already reached. The post of assistant priest (coadjutor) was created by the royal decree of 7 December 1731, with an annual stipend of one and a half moios of wheat and one and a half pipas of wine.

This parish has the chapels of St Andrew Avellino, Our Lady of the Angels and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It once had the chapels of São Tiago, Our Lady of the Mount e Sant’Ana, Nossa Senhora da Anunciação and Our Lady of Succour, but these have now disappeared. We shall refer to each of them specifically in the appropriate place.

This parish still preserves some of the old ways and typical customs of the Madeiran peasantry, which are everywhere disappearing altogether. The home-made skirts, woven in stripes of bright and varied colours and so picturesque in appearance, and likewise the short capes of dark cloth, with bands at the points and edged with blue silk ribbon, are still commonly worn in this parish. At festivals and popular gatherings they lend a characteristically regional and exceedingly interesting air, and it is a pity to see them replaced by ridiculous fashions that suit so poorly the simple and modest women of our countryside. An old usage that still prevails here in the manner of address, in which the second person plural is always employed, deserves due mention at this point. Podeis ajudar-me? (can you help me?), ide lá (go there), vinde cá (come here) and a great many others are phrases in common, everyday use when the inhabitants of this parish address one another familiarly.

Its principal localities are Lombo da Piedade, Achada and Levada do Poiso, Anjos, Barreiro and Feiteiras, Carvalhal and Carreira, Serrado and Cova, Cruz, Fajã and Eiras, Lombo dos Canhas, Outeiro, Poiso, Salões and Levada da Madalena, Socorro, and Vale and Cova do Pico.

There is a small landing place there, called the Porto dos Anjos (‘angels’ landing’) because it lies in the locality of that name, and in this locality stands a chapel known by its dedication to Our Lady of the Angels. The parish’s trade and passenger traffic pass mainly through the town (vila) and landing place of Ponta do Sol. Although it may be considered an inland settlement, since the sea washes only a very insignificant part of its coast, it is nevertheless a manufacturing centre of some importance, far ahead of a great many other coastal parishes. There are four butter factories, one cheese factory, two spirit (aguardente, distilled from sugar cane or wine) distilleries, one sawmill and one pasta factory.

It has a boys’ school, founded about 50 years ago, and a girls’ school of recent foundation.

The levadas (irrigation channels) of Pico and Cruzes rise in this parish and serve to irrigate it.

Canhas is bounded to the north by the uplands that adjoin the Paul da Serra (‘upland marsh’), to the south by the ocean and Madalena do Mar (‘Magdalene by the sea’), to the east by Ponta do Sol and to the west by Arco da Calheta (‘arc of Calheta’). It has 3,882 inhabitants.