GOAN HISTORY and CULTURE: This is the regular Sunday account of some aspect of Goan Culture. In response to several requests to transmit this message to other Goan websites, please feel free to do so! Please use our name and e-mail address so that we can receive direct feedback from the readers; which is welcome! Those expressing a desire to see this narration in the native language are welcomed to translate it into Konkani. Additionally the literal translation may be a good way for people to become skilled at our native language.
Those NOT interested in Goan History or Culture: And Those who know it all! Please feel free to hit the DEL button NOW. I invite Goans to review what they read, add their own views and use the information to start a dialogue with their family as a Sunday talk or a mid-week dinner-conversation. Or it could be a topic for conversation of a Goan club meeting. Hopefully this will stimulate among all of us, including our families, a discussion on the language of Goan culture. It will also help us review some of our own personal experiences and the practices of other native communities. Please feel free to pass this on to any young Goan couple planning their wedding. Those who have not followed all these rituals (and there are many of us), it is nice to know "the right thing" without having a chip on our shoulder. This is our cultural language!!! We will be called upon many times to guide other young Goan couples and our own children in planning their wedding. We hopefully will be better informed. GOAN WEDDINGS Abstracted from the book Amchi Khobor - Our News - Inside Goa By Philomena Lawrence and Gilbert Lawrence Hope you read our last week's posting on the Hindu Lagan since there are some pre-& post-nuptials rituals that over-lap between Hindus and Catholics. Catholic weddings are not scheduled during lent or advent, and the monsoon season is not suitable for weddings. The bride and groom begin their wedding day by praying, along with members of their family, at the family altars in their own homes. They also receive blessings (bessaum) from their parents and older relatives before leaving to go to church. The marriage ceremony (cazar or Kazar) is usually held after the noon hour, and celebrated with mass. The groom is traditionally led to the altar by his mother, followed by the bride who is escorted by her father (for the last time). The bride is usually preceeded by the page boy, flower maids, bridesmaid. Today, many couples choose to have the officiating priest escort them together to the altar. The important event is the public exchange of vows that the young couple makes "to take each other ...till death do us part." Marriage is symbolized by the exchange of wedding bands/rings, which are external signs of marriage. In both Hindu and Christian customs, the couple is blessed by the community (panch karya) manifested by showering them with turmeric soaked rice (akshata). The groom wears traditional dress or a suit. The bride wears a red sari or white wedding gown. The Catholic wedding party includes the bride's-maids (dhedyo), flower girls, page boys and the best man (dhedo). After the wedding rite, the party goes off for the memorable photo session. The groom's sister then places a gold necklace on the bride. One thing is definite! Goans do not practice drive-through weddings nor do they elope! There is no pre-marital live-in arrangement! Like all societies, marriage is a cultural institution. Contrary to what some think, marriage is not a private affair between two individuals. Hence while some like to give their wedding their own personal touch, it would help if they added on to the core cultural custom rather than replacing it. It is often said (with some truth and some fiction) in Indian culture one marries and then falls in love as opposed to falling in love and then marrying. With either approach, the success of a marriage requires the couple to live and work together to make the partnership a success. Culture helps define roles and relations between the couple especially when the two are estranged. Close relatives and friends try to help preserve the marriage which is more important that economic success. As is often the case, there is need for common priorities. This cultural sermaum replaces the padre-vigar's religious sermaum delivered during the ritual, which we have not described in detail. A wedding (lagan, shadi, cazar) is followed by a reception and a marriage feast (jeevan). At the reception there is gaiety, frivolity, expressions of good wishes and music. Goans know how to have a good time. Young boys and girls (even pre-teens) may get their first opportunity to meet, dance and perhaps have their first taste of wine when the toast is raised. Guests sing traditional wedding songs, other folk music and dance. The couple cuts the wedding cake. A respected member of the society known to both parties raises a toast and extols the virtues of the couple and the lineage of the two families. A bit of history is revisited for the community. In his response, the groom thanks his and his wife's family and the guests. The celebration is not complete without a lunch for the poor "Bhikareanchem Jevonn." Traditionally, after the wedding, the couple returns to the boy's home. They are received and felicitated by the head of the family. The bride is given a gold chain with a locket or gold coin (pod) and a red dress (sad). Prayers are recited in front of the family altar. The following day the couple visits the girl's parents (appoune or portonnem); the above ceremony is repeated, the groom receives gifts, the bride a 'sad' and her parents' part of the wedding cake which is distributed to the other relatives. They stay there for one to five days (panch dis) and there may be another reception for the young couple. Following this, the couple returns to the boy's parent's home where they may stay for a month. The new wife learns cooking and other practices of her new home. They then may again visit the girl's home before starting their life in their own home in the boy's village or a new town or go on their honeymoon. The new bride wins the heart of her mother-in-law with respectfulness and diligence. The new groom is on top of the world. =:)). All the relative and guests are waiting for those wedding photographs. Regards, Philomena and Gilbert Lawrence Now we will give the young couple and this most important ritual (in any culture) of marriage a rest. If we survived this presentation to a Goan audience, where nothing is without controversy, I guess we are doing well. For more Goan nostalgia check-out the www.goaday.com for this year's GOA DAY cultural events in your area and across the world (WGD) and of course the superb Goenkar website? ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
