Goans
Encyclopedia
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-Iranian
s ethnic and/or linguistic ancestries.They speak different dialects of Konkani
natively. Goan Hindus proudly style themself as Konkane (Devanagari
:कोंकणे), meaning, the residents of Konkan. Catholics do not describe themselves as Konkanes, and are very proud of their separate identity and Portuguese heritage, but they address the Hindus as Konkane. The Hindus are sometimes also known as ,(Devanagari
:गोमंतकीय).Goanese is an incorrect usage for Goans, and is considered offensive by some.
,a Prakrit
based language belonging to the Southern group of Indo-Aryan Languages.Various dialects of Konkani spoken by the Goans include Bardeskari,Sashtikari,Pednekari,Antruj bhas,whereas Konkani spoken by the Catholics is notably different from those of the Hindus, with a lot of Portuguese
influence in its vocabulary. A lot of the Goan Catholics
in the upper strata, such as the rich land owners, preferred speaking Portuguese over Konkani, and this can still be seen today in some of the old house holds in Goa. Konkani was suppressed under the Portuguese rule,and has never played a part in education of the past generations.Most of them are bi-lingual and Marathi has played a significant role in their lives.Some Goans were educated in Portuguese in the past.
They use Devanagari
and Roman script for education as well as communication(personal,formal,religious).In the past Goykanadi
, Modi
, Kannada scripts were used which later fell into disuse owing to many social,political and religious reasons.
and Roman Catholic
population and a small Muslim
community. The majority of them follow Hinduism, and are divided into many different castes and sub-castes, known as Jati
s. They use their village names to identify their clans, some of them use titles. Some even are known by the occupation their ancestors have been practicing; Nayak, Borkar, Raikar, Prabhu, Kamat, Lotlikar, Chodankar, Naik, Bhat, Tari, Gaude are few examples.
The Catholics on the other hand display a strong Portuguese influence, because of the 451 years as a Portuguese territory. Portuguese names are common among the Christians. The Caste system is still followed by Goan Catholics.
The native Muslims are very few in numbers.
,residing in the states of Karnataka
, Maharashtra
and Kerala
who do no recognise themselves as Goans. Although many Goans have settled in Mumbai
since last century and still identify themselves as Goans.
Goan population is mainly concentrated in the mega cities of India like Bangalore
, Kolkata
, Delhi
, Chennai
, Pune
.
Until the early 1970s there were substantial communities of Goans in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The end of colonial rule and the subsequent waves of explusion of Indians from Kenya, and Uganda made the community migrate elsewhere.
The Gulf News
put the number of Goans residing outside India as approximately 300,000. Reportedly, minorities of Goans still reside in Canada
(Nilofer D'Souza), Pakistan
, Kenya
(Nilofer D'Souza's Uncle) and Portugal
.
Demonym
A demonym , also referred to as a gentilic, is a name for a resident of a locality. A demonym is usually – though not always – derived from the name of the locality; thus, the demonym for the people of England is English, and the demonym for the people of Italy is Italian, yet, in english, the one...
used to describe the people of the Indian state
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...
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...
who form an ethno-linguistic group which is a result of assimilation of Indo-Portuguese
Luso-Indian
Luso-Indians are Indian people who have mixed Indian and Portuguese ancestry or people of Portuguese descent born or living in India. Most of them live in former Portuguese colonies in India such as Goa, Kerala and Daman and Diu.-Early History:...
, Indo-Aryan
Indo-Aryan
Indo-Aryan refers to:* Indo-Aryan languages* Indo-Aryan migration, a supposition that holds that the Indo-Aryans migrated to India.* Indigenous Aryans, a theory that holds that the Indo-Aryans are native to India....
, Dravidian
Dravidian languages
The Dravidian language family includes approximately 85 genetically related languages, spoken by about 217 million people. They are mainly spoken in southern India and parts of eastern and central India as well as in northeastern Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, and...
, Proto-Australoid
Proto-Australoid
The Proto-Australoids are a hypothesized group of ancient hunter-gather people descended from the first major wave of modern humans to leave sub-Saharan Africa ~100,000 years ago...
, Indo-Scythian, Indo-Greeks and Indo-Iranian
Indo-Aryans
Indo-Aryan is an ethno-linguistic term referring to the wide collection of peoples united as native speakers of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-Iranian family of Indo-European languages...
s ethnic and/or linguistic ancestries.They speak different dialects of 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...
natively. Goan Hindus proudly style themself as Konkane (Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
:कोंकणे), meaning, the residents of Konkan. Catholics do not describe themselves as Konkanes, and are very proud of their separate identity and Portuguese heritage, but they address the Hindus as Konkane. The Hindus are sometimes also known as ,(Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
:गोमंतकीय).Goanese is an incorrect usage for Goans, and is considered offensive by some.
Language
Goans speak the Konkani languageKonkani 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...
,a Prakrit
Prakrit
Prakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
based language belonging to the Southern group of Indo-Aryan Languages.Various dialects of Konkani spoken by the Goans include Bardeskari,Sashtikari,Pednekari,Antruj bhas,whereas Konkani spoken by the Catholics is notably different from those of the Hindus, with a lot of Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
influence in its vocabulary. A lot of the Goan Catholics
Goan Catholics
The Goan Catholics are an ethno-religious community of Roman Catholics and their descendants from the state of Goa, located on the west coast of India. They are Konkani people and speak the Konkani language...
in the upper strata, such as the rich land owners, preferred speaking Portuguese over Konkani, and this can still be seen today in some of the old house holds in Goa. Konkani was suppressed under the Portuguese rule,and has never played a part in education of the past generations.Most of them are bi-lingual and Marathi has played a significant role in their lives.Some Goans were educated in Portuguese in the past.
They use Devanagari
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
and Roman script for education as well as communication(personal,formal,religious).In the past Goykanadi
Goykanadi
' is an extinct script used in the territory of Goa .This script was also called as and .This script was similar to the Halekannada and Kadamba script and was extensively used to write Konkani and sometimes Marathi. Similarly this was used by the trading Saraswat and Daivajna families along with...
, Modi
Modi
Modi can refer to:* Monochorionic-Diamniotic, a type of twin* Modi , a surname used in India* Móði, one of Thor's sons* Modi Rosenfeld, stand up comedian* Modi script, a historical script used in the Maratha empire...
, Kannada scripts were used which later fell into disuse owing to many social,political and religious reasons.
Religion
Goans comprise a predominantly HinduHindu
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...
and Roman Catholic
Goan Catholics
The Goan Catholics are an ethno-religious community of Roman Catholics and their descendants from the state of Goa, located on the west coast of India. They are Konkani people and speak the Konkani language...
population and a small Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
community. The majority of them follow Hinduism, and are divided into many different castes and sub-castes, known as Jati
Jati
Jāti is the term used to denote clans, tribes, communities and sub-communities in India. It is a term used across religions. In Indian society each jāti typically has an association with a traditional job function or tribe, although religious beliefs Jāti (in Devanagari: जाति Tamil:சாதி) (the...
s. They use their village names to identify their clans, some of them use titles. Some even are known by the occupation their ancestors have been practicing; Nayak, Borkar, Raikar, Prabhu, Kamat, Lotlikar, Chodankar, Naik, Bhat, Tari, Gaude are few examples.
The Catholics on the other hand display a strong Portuguese influence, because of the 451 years as a Portuguese territory. Portuguese names are common among the Christians. The Caste system is still followed by Goan Catholics.
The native Muslims are very few in numbers.
Geographical distribution
Majority Goans are found in Goa, ←though they have been migrating all along the coast since last six centuries because of many socio-religious and economic reasons,the diaspora are commonly known as the Konkani peopleKonkani people
Konkani people , form a group of people mainly found in the Konkan Coast of western India whose mother-tongue is the Konkani language....
,residing in the states of Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
and Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
who do no recognise themselves as Goans. Although many Goans have settled in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
since last century and still identify themselves as Goans.
Goan population is mainly concentrated in the mega cities of India like Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
.
Until the early 1970s there were substantial communities of Goans in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The end of colonial rule and the subsequent waves of explusion of Indians from Kenya, and Uganda made the community migrate elsewhere.
The Gulf News
Gulf News
Gulf News is a daily English language newspaper published from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates with a December 2009 BPA audited circulation of over 117,036 qualified copies...
put the number of Goans residing outside India as approximately 300,000. Reportedly, minorities of Goans still reside in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(Nilofer D'Souza), Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
(Nilofer D'Souza's Uncle) and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
.
See also
- Konkani peopleKonkani peopleKonkani people , form a group of people mainly found in the Konkan Coast of western India whose mother-tongue is the Konkani language....
- Goan cuisineGoan cuisineGoan 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...
- Hinduism in GoaHinduism in GoaHinduism is an ancient tradition in Goa. Goan Hindus proudly call themselves Konkane ,meaning ,the residents of Konkan Presently Hindus form about 70% of the population of Goa...
- Goan CatholicsGoan CatholicsThe Goan Catholics are an ethno-religious community of Roman Catholics and their descendants from the state of Goa, located on the west coast of India. They are Konkani people and speak the Konkani language...
- List of people from Goa