======================================================================== You can post to GoaNet. Send in your views and comments to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ========================================================================
----- Original Message ----- From: Eddie Fernandes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Goanet@Goacom. Com <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, November 01, 2002 8:30 PM Subject: [GOANET] The Mississauga News: Multi-faiths define Goa's Konkanis > > Quote: In Mississauga alone, there are quite a few significant personalities > from the Konkani community. > > Source: The Mississauga News (Canada) Nov 1, 2002 at: > http://www.mississauganews.com/mi/news/story/695054p-824781c.html > Title: Multi-faiths define Goa's Konkanis > By: Bikram Lamba > > The Konkanis are artistic by temperament, and two famous Bollywood names -- > Girish Karnad and Shyam Benegal -- immediately spring to mind. Another > famous Konkani film personality of yesteryear is Guru Dutt. Still another > famous name is Rimo Fernandes -- a pop singer. Lata Mangeshkar, the famed > singer is a Konkani, and there is a dedicated temple "the Mangeshi Temple", > which is associated with their family name. The Konkanis do not lag behind > in sports. The international badminton star Prakash Padukone is a Konkani. > Somebody should inform the author of the article that the pop singer's name is REMO and not RIMO. > > The carnivals of the Konkanis are famous, and during their famed Christmas > carnival, people from all over the world converge to the silver sands of the > Goan beaches to celebrate the Christmas carnival. At one time Goa was the > hippie capital of the world. > Another correction to be made is that "Christmas carnival" should actually read "Christian carnival", and that it is not celebrated in the beaches but in the cities and villages. And ... it is to be wondered why no mention is made in the article to the Hindu Shigmo. > > The Konkanis are quite liberal in their attitude. So much so that even their > food is free from any inhibitions. Even the Brahamins amongst them eat fish, > which is normally a taboo to this sect. > "Even the Brahamins..." should read "Even the Hindu Brahmins..." > > The Hindu Konkanis observe their traditional rituals. They call these > rituals nitya or naimittika or kamya. The nitya rituals are obligatory, the > naimittika rituals are as per the occasion, and the kamya rituals are > optional. These rituals govern their birth, marriage, death, and even their > business transactions. > > Every household has a home shrine where the home-deity is worshipped. The > deity is treated like a royal guest and is awakened, given a ritual bath, > offered fruits and flowers and worshipped. The morning meal is first offered > to the deity for its blessings. > > The Christian Konkanis follow the Catholic rituals and their patron saint is > St. Francis of Assisi. The Muslims amongst them celebrate Id and other > festivals. In spite of different religious denominations, the Konkanis > maintain absolute harmony. These three religious groups have more than 20 > castes, sub-castes, and sects -- each speaking a distinct dialect of its > own. However, the Konkani language is understood by the community and is > widely spoken at home. Outside the home, English and Portuguese are the > language. > The patron saint is not St. Francis of Assisi but St. Francis Xavier (and, now, our own Blessed Joseph Vaz as well, the latter having officially been chosen as Patron of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman in lieu of St. Catherine of Alexandria). > > The Goan food is a mixture of meat, (especially pork, except for the > Muslims) and all kinds of seafood. Usually, the entire family sits at a long > table to partake of the food. A meat or fish dish is a must at every meal. > The vegetables are usually cooked without any spices. There is a strong > Portuguese influence on the Konkani cooking. Palm vinegar, coconut, garlic, > and tamarind are used for meat delicacies. > Instead of "The Goan food is a mixture of meat, (especially pork, except for the Muslims)" the author should have said "The Goan Catholic food is a mixture of meat (especially beef and pork)" because, while it is true that Muslims don't eat pork, it is also true that Hindus don't eat neither pork nor beef, whereas Catholics eat both. I think that other meats like mutton and chicken are eaten by all the three Konkani communities. > > Their most famous dish is vindaloo, which was originally an extra hot and > sour pork curry, but now is made from meat and fish as well. Some other > famous dishes are: chourico, made from red sausages; sarpotel, made from > pickled pig heart; leitao, made from suckling pig; chicken or mutton > xacutti, made with a sauce of lemon juice, peanuts, coconuts, and other > spices; camarao, spicy prawn pie with rice and semolina crust. > "camarao" should read "apa de camarao". > > Konkanis are fully westernized in their dress and are fun-loving people. > Jorge ---------------------------------------------------------- What's On In Goa (WOIG): * Nov 1-17: Swimming classes for children, others. SAG pool, Fatorda * Nov 1: Antonio Costa's painting exhibition opens, F.Oriente 6.30pm * Nov 3: Children's Day by Jan Ugahi, Navelim Perpetual Convent morning. * Nov 4: Book release, on Dr Gama Pinto, Lourdes Convent Saligao ----------------------------------------------------------
