Sorry Elisabeth that I have to break the bad news to you and many other ex pats who thought that castes do not exist outside of Goa. They do - very much. Whether in Toronto, Vancouver, and all the big cities in the USA where our community has spread and of course in the UK. Maybe as a kid growing up in the Middle East you did no notice it but the ME because it has a very recent immigrant populace is especially culpable. Yes its more stratified that our much loved bebinca. Why do moms bring their kids back to Goa to get married? Because marriage is the one big highlight of our otherwise prosaic lives when castes really matter.Please dont get me wrong - I am sure there are many whose conscience is lily white but there are many others who actually enjoy their 'status'. To your "I've always been very curious to know how one could tell the "caste" of a person" - no its not tattooing for that would have been too brazen. Fred quite astutely figured out a long time ago the cunningness that delves in the question: "Where in Goa are you from?". We should speak about this more viva voce. Helga
I'm so glad I grew up in the Gulf. There, second generation expat Goans were oblivious to the caste system of Goa. Initially there were so few of us Goan families, that we banded together just for friendship and cultural comfort, regardless of caste or creed. We had Goan clubs for all Goans, wonderful dances and football tournaments, and most of us went to a school run by Italian nuns and affiliated to the University of London. That de facto became a Goan Catholic school. It was only when I returned to Goa as an adult, that the hideousness of the caste system in Goan Catholic families became apparent to me. Elisabeth ---------------------------- --- Tony Barros <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > As for the Goan Gymkhana Club in Nairobi, membership > was restricted > to the "cream" de "creme"- the "Touchables" > Brahmins. And after > membership was opened following Kenya's December > 1963 independence, > subtle forms of prejudice by brahmins continued to > prevail. As > also stated in my previous postings on the same > subject, it was > very apparent at dances when brahmin girls would > refuse to dance with > non-brahmin boys, and brahmin boys would not dance > with non-brahmin > girls- even though they studied with them from Grade > 1 thru > to Grade 12. > > > Tony Barros. > Union, New Jersey. > U . S . A . > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list Goanet@lists.goanet.org http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list Goanet@lists.goanet.org http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org