31st May 2006 marks the 250th birth anniversary of Jose Custodio de Faria
(better known as the Abbé Faria), hailed as the father of modern
hypnotism. To mark this event and to make the Abbé contribution to
science, better known to the world, several of his compatriots in his
motherland, Goa, have been striving to draw public attention and awareness
to the Abbé's life and achievements and build a permanent memorial to him.
A website http://www.abbefaria.com/ has been created and a petition has been
lodged before the Indian government to issue a postal stamp to commemorate
the Abbé's 250th birth anniversary. Well-known Goan academic
and playwright, Prof Isabel Santa Rita Vas has produced a play about
the life and times of Abbé Faria. Abbé Faria's sermon
on the Advent of the Holy Spirit, delivered in Latin in the Sistine
Chapel at the invitation of and in the presence of His Holiness, Pope
Pius VI, has been translated into English by Fr. Ivo Souza, Professor
at the Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol, Goa.
On the international plane too, there has been a revival of interest
in the life and the work of Abbé Faria. In 2004 US based French hypnotherapist
and veteran translator, Laurent Carrer has translated the Abbé's opus
"De la cause du sommeil lucide" into English and in July 2005, French
publishing house, Harmattan, published "De
la cause du Sommeil Lucide". Revue La France Pittoresque
carried an article
on the Abbé Faria in its 16th issue (Oct/Nov/Dec 2005) . A commemorative
postcard will also be released by the postal authorities in Portugal.
Luis Santa Rita Vas (who has worked hard to make the Abbé contribution
to science better known to the public) and I have been thinking of bringing
out an edited volume of essays on the life and the legacy of the Abbé.
This is a non-profit publication project and we would like to invite
potential contributors who have researched on the Abbé Faria's legacy
to send us a detailed one page proposal for an article of 6000-8000
words . Please send the abstracts to maria-suzette.fernandesdias@anu.edu.au
or address below. Deadline for proposals: 30th July 2006.
Contact Information:
Dr Maria-Suzette Fernandes Dias
Centre for Cross-Cultural Research
The Australian National University
Acton ACT 0200
Dr Luis Santa Rita Vas
203 C, La Chapelle
Evershine Nagar, Malad West
Mumbai 400 064
India
