Hi Cornel, After a few lines, I stopped reading your post. If you have any class, you would first apologize to Goan Catholics for your statement: "Unfortunately, this made them half-baked Hindus and half-baked Catholics --- an unfortunate and sad legacy to this day. " It would appear that you are ignorant of the many pious Goan men and women, including nuns and priests. Among them are two recognized near-saints - Blessed Joseph Vaz (Patron of Goa and Apostle of Sri Lanka) and Venerable Agnelo de Souza.
Yet beyond my dismay at your less than intelligent (being polite) comments, I should continue my dialogue with Goanetters on the cultural differences among Goa's populace during the 16th to 19th centuries. Goan society was / is very unique in my perspective. The Goan Catholics combined a Western religion with Eastern cultural Practices. The Goan Hindu (like other Hindus who interacted with the British) combined an Indian religion with a western lifestyle. Combining a Western (Roman Catholic) religion with Eastern cultural practices very likely baffled the Europeans. I am not defending their puzzlement nor attacking it. I am merely writing this to state and explain the confusing perceptions between the two groups. Today, in spite of widespread knowledge and education, we in the healthcare field (in our hospital) have to go through cross-cultural training to care for and understand the different immigrant groups to our area. Some of the Indian cultural practices of the 16th -19th century that were 'foreign and strange' to Europeans likely were: 1. Extended and Joint family systems. 2. Caste practices, other social segregation and discrimination. 3. Arranged marriages with occasional betrothal at birth and sometimes before birth. 4. Child marriages (girls and boys). 5. Educational and other disparities between sexes. 6. Strong reverence to and roles of deceased ancestors. 7. Strong attachment to past and perhaps irrelevant social practices. 8. Strong beliefs in superstitions, myths and legends. 9. Native approaches to healthcare and use of herbal remedies. 10. Hygienic practices including during monthly cycles. 11. Dress codes including wearing the loin cloth. 12. Native religious rituals and beliefs. In our cross-cultural training program, the following was the definition of Societal Culture - The integration of patterns of human behavior that includes language, thoughts, communications, behaviors, customs, mores, beliefs, values and institutions of different racial, ethnic, religious and / or social groups. Regards, GL ---------------- CORNEL DACOSTA: Just a short reply to avoid both of us going endlessly round in circles.
