Culture of Goa
Encyclopedia
This article is about the culture of natives of the Indian
state of Goa
. A common generalisation about Goans
is that they are born with music
and football in their blood. This can be attributed to the fact that football and music are deeply entrenched in Goan culture.
Goa has a history of communal harmony.
are Ganesh Chaturthi
(Chavoth-Konkani), Diwali
, Christmas
(Natalam -Konkani), Easter
(Paskanchem Fest -Konkani), Samvatsar Padvo or Sanvsar Padvo, Shigmo
and the Carnival
(Carnaval or Intruz -Konkani). Goa is also known for its New Year's celebrations. The Goan Carnival is known to attract a large number of tourists.
with fish
curry
(Xit kodi in Konkani
) is the staple diet in Goa. Goan cuisine
is renowned for its rich variety of fish dishes cooked with elaborate recipes. Coconut
and coconut oil
is widely used in Goan cooking along with chili peppers, spice
s and vinegar
giving the food a unique flavour. Pork
dishes such as Vindaloo
, Xacuti
and Sorpotel
are cooked for major occasions among the Catholics. An exotic Goan vegetable stew, known as Khatkhate
, is a very popular dish during the celebrations of festivals, Hindu and Christian alike. Khatkhate contains at least five vegetables, fresh coconut, and special Goan spices that add to the aroma. A rich egg
-based multi-layered sweet dish known as bebinca
is a favourite at Christmas
. The most popular alcoholic beverage
in Goa is feni
; Cashew feni is made from the fermentation of the fruit of the cashew tree, while coconut feni is made from the sap of toddy palms.
http://goajesuits.in/bomjesus
and a few designated convents. The Basilica holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier, regarded by many Catholics as the patron saint
of Goa (the patron of the Archdiocese of Goa is actually the Blessed Joseph Vaz
). Once every twelve years, the body is taken down for veneration and for public viewing. The last such event was conducted in 2004. The Velhas Conquistas
regions are also known for its Goa-Portuguese style architecture.
In many parts of Goa, mansions constructed in the Indo-Portuguese style architecture still stand, though in some villages, most of them are in a dilapidated condition. Fontainhas
in Panaji has been declared a cultural quarter, showcasing the life, architecture and culture of Goa. Some influences from the Portuguese era are visible in some of Goa's temples, notably the Mangueshi Temple
, although after 1961, many of these were demolished and reconstructed in the indigenous Indian style.
. Cricket
, athletics, chess
, swimming, table tennis
and basketball
are other popular sports in Goa. Fishing
is also a popular recreational activity.
and dulpod
are traditional goan musical forms.
Goan Hindu
s are very fond of Natak
, Bhajan
and Kirtan
. Many famous Indian Classical
singers hail from Goa, such as , Kishori Amonkar
, Kesarbai Kerkar, Jitendra Abhisheki
, Prabhakar Karekar
.
Many Goans also perform Western classical music
, and corridinho
. Western social dancing is a part of most celebrations.
Starting in the late 1990s, Goa began to attract a more "upscale" audience, which in turn drove prices up, which in turn drove many in the "hippie" community to other less-expensive areas. Arambol—the beach community furthest away from "civilization", like electricity and running water—became the center of a battle between those wanting to turn Goa into a more traditional upscale resort area, and those wanting Goa to retain its traditional rustic counterculture appeal.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
state of Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
. A common generalisation about Goans
Goans
Goan is the demonym used to describe the people of the Indian state of Goa who form an ethno-linguistic group which is a result of assimilation of Indo-Portuguese, Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Proto-Australoid, Indo-Scythian, Indo-Greeks and Indo-Iranians ethnic and/or linguistic ancestries.They speak...
is that they are born with music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and football in their blood. This can be attributed to the fact that football and music are deeply entrenched in Goan culture.
Religion
Festivals
The most popular celebrations in the Indian state of GoaGoa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
are Ganesh Chaturthi
Ganesh Chaturthi
Ganesh Chaturthi , also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi is the Hindu festival of Ganesha also called Vinayagar in Tamil Nadu, the son of Shiva and Parvati, who is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees in the duration of this festival...
(Chavoth-Konkani), Diwali
Diwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
, Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
(Natalam -Konkani), Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
(Paskanchem Fest -Konkani), Samvatsar Padvo or Sanvsar Padvo, Shigmo
Shigmo
Shigmo , or Shishirotsava, is a spring festival celebrated in the Indian state of Goa, where it is one of the major festivals of the Hindu community...
and the Carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
(Carnaval or Intruz -Konkani). Goa is also known for its New Year's celebrations. The Goan Carnival is known to attract a large number of tourists.
Cuisine
RiceRice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
with fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
curry
Curry
Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
(Xit kodi in Konkani
Konkani language
KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...
) is the staple diet in Goa. Goan cuisine
Goan cuisine
Goan cuisine consists of regional foods popular in Goa, located along India's west coast along the Arabian Sea. Seafood, coconut milk, rice and paste are main ingredients of Goan delicacies. The area is located in a tropical climate, and spices and flavors are intense. Use of Kokum is another...
is renowned for its rich variety of fish dishes cooked with elaborate recipes. Coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
and coconut oil
Coconut oil
Coconut oil is an edible oil extracted from the kernel or meat of matured coconuts harvested from the coconut palm . Throughout the tropical world, it has provided the primary source of fat in the diets of millions of people for generations. It has various applications in food, medicine, and industry...
is widely used in Goan cooking along with chili peppers, spice
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
s and vinegar
Vinegar
Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods generally are used with traditional...
giving the food a unique flavour. Pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
dishes such as Vindaloo
Vindaloo
Vindaloo is an Indian curry dish from the region of Goa. It is popular globally in its Anglo-Indian form as a staple of curry house menus, often renowned as a particularly spicy dish, though it is not necessarily always the hottest available. The name Vindaloo is derived from the Portuguese dish...
, Xacuti
Xacuti
Xacuti is a curry prepared in Goa, India with complex spicing, including white poppy seeds, sliced/grated coconut and large dried red chilies. It is usually prepared with chicken or lamb...
and Sorpotel
Sorpotel
Sarapatel, also called Sorpotel, is a dish of Portuguese origin now commonly cooked in the coastal Konkan region of India primarily Goa and Mangalore and in northeastern Brazil. Ingredients include meat and offal, which varies depending on region from pork to lamb and even beef...
are cooked for major occasions among the Catholics. An exotic Goan vegetable stew, known as Khatkhate
Khatkhate
-Khatkhate Surname:Khatkhate is a well-known last name in Saraswat Brahmin community hailing from Konkan province of Maharashtra State and the coastal region of Goa in India. Additional information on Khatkhate as surname is available at link.-Khatkhate Curry:In Indian Cuisine, Khatkhate Curry...
, is a very popular dish during the celebrations of festivals, Hindu and Christian alike. Khatkhate contains at least five vegetables, fresh coconut, and special Goan spices that add to the aroma. A rich egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
-based multi-layered sweet dish known as bebinca
Bebinca
Bebinca, also known as bibik or bebinka, is a type of pudding and a traditional Goan dessert. The ingredients include plain flour, sugar, ghee and coconut milk....
is a favourite at Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
. The most popular alcoholic beverage
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
in Goa is feni
Fenny
Fenny or Feni is a Goan Spirit made from either coconut or the juice of the cashew apple. The popular brands of fenny are 'Cashyo' , 'Reals' , and 'Big Boss'...
; Cashew feni is made from the fermentation of the fruit of the cashew tree, while coconut feni is made from the sap of toddy palms.
Architecture
Goa has two World Heritage Sites: the Bom Jesus BasilicaBom Jesus Basilica
The Basilica of Bom Jesus or Borea Jezuchi Bajilika is located in Goa, India, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The basilica holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier. The church is located in Old Goa, which was the capital of Goa in the early days of Portuguese rule.'Bom Jesus' is the...
http://goajesuits.in/bomjesus
and a few designated convents. The Basilica holds the mortal remains of St. Francis Xavier, regarded by many Catholics as the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of Goa (the patron of the Archdiocese of Goa is actually the Blessed Joseph Vaz
Joseph Vaz
Blessed Joseph Vaz was a Catholic Oratorian priest from Goa. He is known as theApostle of Ceylon....
). Once every twelve years, the body is taken down for veneration and for public viewing. The last such event was conducted in 2004. The Velhas Conquistas
Velhas Conquistas
The Velhas Conquistas or “Old Conquests” are a group of four concelhos or administrative districts in Goa which were incorporated into Portuguese India in the 16th century...
regions are also known for its Goa-Portuguese style architecture.
In many parts of Goa, mansions constructed in the Indo-Portuguese style architecture still stand, though in some villages, most of them are in a dilapidated condition. Fontainhas
Fontainhas (quarter)
Fontainhas is an old Latin Quarter in the city of Panaji in Goa, India. It maintains to this day its Portuguese influence, namely at the architectonic level, such as narrow streets, old villas and buildings painted in lively colors. The quarter shows how Panaji was during the Portuguese rule of...
in Panaji has been declared a cultural quarter, showcasing the life, architecture and culture of Goa. Some influences from the Portuguese era are visible in some of Goa's temples, notably the Mangueshi Temple
Mangueshi Temple
Shri Mangueshi temple is located at Mangeshim in Priol, Ponda taluk, 1 kilometer from Mardol close to Nagueshi, 22 km from Panaji the capital of Goa and 26 km from Margao....
, although after 1961, many of these were demolished and reconstructed in the indigenous Indian style.
Sports
Football is the most popular sport in Goa, followed by hockeyField hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
. Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, athletics, chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, swimming, table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
are other popular sports in Goa. Fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
is also a popular recreational activity.
Music
MandoMando
Mando refers to:*Mando , a Greek singer*Mando , a Goan musical form*Mando Diao, Swedish garage rock band.*Mando Corporation, a Korean automotive parts manufacturer...
and dulpod
Dulpod
Dulpod is a Goan dance song with quick rhythm and themes from everyday Goan life. The plural of dulpod in Konkani is dulpodam. The dulpod is a folk song, anonymous, freely improvised, and sometimes lacking in thematic unity. The tunes of the dulpod are usually in the six-eight measure, though the...
are traditional goan musical forms.
Goan Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
s are very fond of Natak
Natak
Natak is a 1975 Bollywood film directed by Sohanlal Kanwar. The film stars Vijay Arora and Moushumi Chatterjee....
, Bhajan
Bhajan
A Bhajan is any type of Indian devotional song. It has no fixed form: it may be as simple as a mantra or kirtan or as sophisticated as the dhrupad or kriti with music based on classical ragas and talas. It is normally lyrical, expressing love for the Divine...
and Kirtan
Kirtan
Kirtan or Kirtana is call-and-response chanting or "responsory" performed in India's devotional traditions. A person performing kirtan is known as a kirtankar. Kirtan practice involves chanting hymns or mantras to the accompaniment of instruments such as the harmonium, tablas, the two-headed...
. Many famous Indian Classical
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
singers hail from Goa, such as , Kishori Amonkar
Kishori Amonkar
Kishori AmonkarN- is an Indian singer who performs in the classical genre khyal and the light classical genres thumri and bhajan. Amonkar trained under her mother, classical singer Mogubai Kurdikar of the Jaipur gharana , but experimented with a variety of vocal styles in her career...
, Kesarbai Kerkar, Jitendra Abhisheki
Jitendra Abhisheki
Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki was an Indian vocalist, composer and scholar of classical, semi-classical, and devotional music...
, Prabhakar Karekar
Prabhakar Karekar
Prabhakar Karekar is an award-winning Indian Classical vocalist born in Juvem, Goa, who received training from masters of the Agra gharana and Gwalior gharana. Karekar is also an All India Radio artist. He was initiated in classical music by Suresh Haldankar. The famous exponents Jitendra...
.
Many Goans also perform Western classical music
Dance
Some traditional Goan dance forms are dekhnni, fugdiFugdi
Fugdi is a Goan folk dance performed by the women in the Konkan region during Hindu religious festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Vrata or towards the end of other dances like Dhalo.-Traditional Roots:...
, and corridinho
Corridinho
The corridinho is a form of Portuguese dance, namely in the Algarve. It is danced with the pairs always embraced, forming a circle, girls inside and the boys outside the circle. By rotating the circle the pairs evolve side by side. At a certain time, when the music as a stronger beat, their feet...
. Western social dancing is a part of most celebrations.
Tourism
Goa developed an international reputation in the 1960s as one of the prime stops on the legendary India-Nepal "hippie" trail. In the mid-1960s, several Westerners, including "Eight Finger Eddie" walked over the hill to Calangute, and decided to create a community for Westerners. In the early years, Calangute and Baga were the center of this scene, but it grew over the years to include other nearby cities like Anjuna Beach, which became, and arguably still is, the epicenter of the Western youth culture of Goa. By the mid-1980s, there were over 8000 Westerners living in Goa, mostly from Western Europe. The scene was marked by drug culture, trance music and free love. Goa remains today an international epicenter of youth culture.Starting in the late 1990s, Goa began to attract a more "upscale" audience, which in turn drove prices up, which in turn drove many in the "hippie" community to other less-expensive areas. Arambol—the beach community furthest away from "civilization", like electricity and running water—became the center of a battle between those wanting to turn Goa into a more traditional upscale resort area, and those wanting Goa to retain its traditional rustic counterculture appeal.