Dear Vidyadhar,
Goan caste system and ambiance is not basically very different from what you see in Maharashtra. As I had mentioned in an earlier posting, it is not difficult to trace the caste in Goa if we know the surname and the original village of the person. I say "original", because some persons could have moved to another village different from that of the ancestors. Original Souzas of Moir� are brahmins, but if a Sousa from Calangute has moved to Moir�, he would be a Chard�. For those who may be interested in knowing more about the caste system of Goa and caste locations in Goa, I would recommend the following readings: A. B. Bragan�a Pereira, * Etnografia da India Portuguesa*, 2 vols. (Delhi, AES, 1991) - reprint Filipe Nery Xavier, *Bosquejo Hist�rico das Comunidades*, 3 vols, Bastor�, 1903. P.S.S. Pissurlencar, "O elemento hindu da casta chardo", *Oriente Portugu�s* 12-12 (1936), pp. 203-232. Rui Gomes Pereira, *HIndu Temples and Deities*, Panaji, 1978. Rui Gomes Pereira, * Goa: Gaunkari - The Old Village Associations,* Panaji, 1980. Mariano Feio, *As castas hindus de Goa*, Lisboa, 1979. Incidentally, the Goan proverb I had quoted earlier in a message is incomplete. It should read: Vigaracho sermanv uniek nhoi. Teotonio R. de Souza ---------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2005 08:04:54 +0530 From: Vidyadhar Gadgil <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [Goanet]Will the anti-casters identify themselves? To: Goanet mails <[email protected]> Reply-To: [email protected] Teotonio's request may strike many as peculiar, but is not off the topic. While not supporting a deterministic viewpoint (i.e. a person's views on caste are determined by her/his caste), caste background can be an important ingredient of how one relates to the issue of caste. Not sure how this works in Goa, but in Maharashtra (the birthplace of the dalit movement as well as the most obscurantist brahminical organisations), from a person's name one almost automatically knows that person's caste background. Maybe that's the case among Goan Hindus? What about Goan catholics? What is the correlation between surname and caste? Incidentally, jc, Kunbi is a caste. VG ------------------- jc: ...... and Kunbis. (outcastes like moi)
