[Goanet] SOIRIKEN KAZAR (Arranged marriage) ? Part 2

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------------------------------------------------------------------------SOIRIKEN KAZAR (Arranged marriage) – Part 2

KAZARACHI DOTORN (Marriage catechism)

Once the “soirik” was accepted and marriage was fixed by both the parties, 
the parents would go to the Padr Vigar (Parish Priest - Vicar) to make the 
necessary arrangements of a church marriage where he posed a barrage of 
questions like:

Vicar: 	“Cheddo/cheddum ganvan khuimcho/khuimchem?”  (Where is the boy/girl 
from?)

Parents:	 “To/tem Siolecho/Siolechem, Padr Vigar” (He/she is from Siolim, 
vicar.)

Vicar:	“Tumi cheddeachi/cheddvachi sarki khobor kaddlea vo nam?  Magir 
lofdde nakat.”  (Did you enquire about the boy/girl properly?  We don’t want 
problems later on.)

Parents:         “Hoi, Padr Vigar” (Yes vicar.)

Vicar:  “To/tem Kristanv mu?”  (Is he/she Christian?)

Parents:        “Hoi Devache kurpen, Padr Vigar.’ (Yes by the grace of God, 
vicar.)

Vicar:	“Cheddeak/cheddvak kazar zavnk khoxi asa vo tumi taka forsan kazar 
kortat?”  (Is the boy/girl willing to get married or are you forcing him/her 
to get married?)

Parents:        “Taka khoxi asa Padr Vigar.”  (He/she is willing, vicar.)

Vicar:	“Cheddea/Cheddvacher voklantlean nodor firavn oso vinchar korta:  
(The vicar glances at the boy/girl through his spectacles and asks:  “Tuka 
kazar zavnk khoxi asa mure/mungo?” (Do you wish to get married?)

Boy/Girl replies:  “Hoi Padr Vigar.”  (Yes vicar.)

Vicar:	 “Dotornicho azun ugddas asa vo visorleat?”  (Do you still remember 
the catechism or have you forgotten it?)

Boy/Girl:     “Ugddas asa Padr Vigar” (I remember vicar.)

Vicar:	“Borem asa, dotornik ietokoch gomtelem”:  (Good, we will know about 
it when you attend the catechism class.)

“Padr Vigar cheddvache avoicher nodor marun vincharta” (The vicar looks at 
girl’s mother and questions):   “Cheddum randunk zannam vo sasumain 
xikovchem poddetelem ghe?”  (Does the girl know to cook or will the 
mother-in-law have to teach her?)

Girl’s mother replies:  “Hanvem taka randunk xikoilam Padr Vigar.”  (I have 
taught her to cook, vicar.)

The question-and-answer session would go on for a long time after which the 
Padr Vigar would set a schedule for catechism classes followed by exam.

One of the strict prerequisites of marriage in the olden days was “kazarachi 
dotorn” (marriage catechism) for which the bride and groom had to attend 
catechism classes in the church as per parish priest’s schedule. It was 
called ‘marriage catechism’ because besides catechism it also included 
counseling.  Initial sessions were conducted by Padr Kur (the curate) and 
the final session-cum-exam by Padr Vigar.  Each concerned parish priest 
lectured the bride/groom on married life and how to love, understand and 
accept each other.  They were also explained the importance of prayer which 
brings about peace and harmony in a house, and that if they didn’t know the 
catechism, they wouldn’t be able to guide their children on the right path 
of Christianity.  We had a tough “Kodkoddo” (Shaky – his neck shook all the 
time) Padr Vigar in Anjuna church in the early 1950’s.  Besides 
catechism-related questions, he sometimes posed odd questions like:

“How many altars are there in your church?  Tell me their location with the 
saint’s name on each altar.”

“How many priests are there in the church?”  He would pose this question 
whenever one of the priests was transferred to another parish.  Perhaps he 
wanted to know, if, as a parishioner, the to-be bride or groom was aware of 
what was going on in the church.

If a boy/girl didn’t pass the catechism exam, no marriage announcements 
would be read in the church and there were cases when weddings had to be 
postponed until the boy/girl passed the exam satisfactorily.

In the past, each church had three priests – the Vicar, the curate and an 
assistant.  In case of family problems, people approached the parish priest 
and he sorted out their problems.  The word “divorce” was not heard of; so, 
it never crossed a couple’s mind.  They knew only one thing; that they were 
to spend their lives together till death did them part.  Moreover, the 
church does not favor a divorce.  It however, annuls a marriage under 
extreme circumstances and also allows a widow to remarry in the church.  
Marriage was something sacred – it’s no longer nowadays.

Presently, the church has formed a “Marriage Counseling Unit” which is 
attended by today’s ‘lovers’ before their marriage but despite all the 
counseling which takes place, misunderstanding is the main cause between the 
so-called ‘love-marriage’ husband-and-wife.  As a result, within a short 
span of time, the couple lands at the feet of the parish priest in the 
church to work out a compromise and when all efforts fail, they knock at the 
door of the legal Court of Justice resulting in a divorce.  In the olden 
days, we hardly heard of a divorce but today the courts are full of divorce 
cases.  In fact, they are so many that the courts do not have time to attend 
to them.

KAZARACHI CHITT (Marriage announcement)

Marriage announcements known as “kazarachi chitt” were made in respective 
churches of the bride and groom at the end of each Sunday mass thus:

“Devache kurpen kazar zata Caraciolo Nazareth Fernandes, put Francisco Jose 
Rosa Fernandes ani Avelina Magdalena Fernandes hancho, ganvan Anjuncho, ani 
Manisha Juliet D’Mello, dhuv Thomas Patricio D’Mello ani Ana Gilhermina 
D’Mello hanchi, ganvan Moddgonvchem.  Zorui hanchea kazarak koslich adkoll 
aslear Igroz-Mathechea kaidea khal tumi ievn ti Padr Vigarak kollit korchi.  
Dev borem korum.”

“Poili Chitt” (First Announcement), “Dusri Chitt” (Second Announcement) and 
“Tisri Chitt” (Third Announcement) were made around a month in advance of 
the wedding to give ample time to the parishioners or anyone else to report 
to the church authorities of any affinity, consanguinity known to them 
though sometimes only one announcement was made and a short cut to marriage 
was declared. In such cases, the parishioners smelt something was fishy and 
immediately drew their own conclusions, especially if the bride/groom were 
from far away places, including Bombay.  To back up their doubts, there were 
incidents of boyfriends and girlfriends who were friendly with each other 
for a long time but had ditched each other and were trying to get married 
stealthily by making only one marriage announcement in the church instead of 
three.  Once the news of marriage announcement reached such aggrieved 
persons, they approached the parish priest and stopped the marriage process; 
of course with proof and witnesses.  There were times when girls who had 
become “ankvarponnar maim” (single mother) walked to the altar, presented 
the child/children to the parish priest and stopped the nuptials.

Many incidents took place among the Non-Resident Goans in the recent past 
where already married men with families fell in love and remarried.  This is 
exactly why the church in Goa now does not allow a marriage of a 
non-resident unless the parish priest receives an NOC (No Objection 
Certificate) from the parish concerned of the bride/groom where he/she 
resides and is employed.

“KAZARACHEA GHORAK KOIAR” (Painting of a wedding house)

One of the preparations of a marriage was to have the house painted prior to 
a wedding.  By the beginning of the 1960’s many houses in Goa were built 
with stones and most walls were plastered with “kos-chuno” (a kind of 
plaster made of mud and sand); a few were plastered with cement.  The norm 
in Goa then was to have the inside and outside walls of a house painted with 
“simpianchem dovem koiar” (white paint made from shells.)  Most everyone 
painted his house yearly just before Christmas celebration and boy, was it a 
sight to watch?  The white houses shone brightly even at night, especially 
during fullmoon nights!  If a wedding was planned in the summer, people 
postponed painting of a house until after Christmas.  Here is how “koiar” 
was prepared:

One of the women from Siolim, Carmulem (Carmeline), supplied “bazleleo 
simpieo” (baked shells) to people from Siolim to Betim.  These shells were 
used to prepare white local paint known as “koiar”.  To my knowledge, she 
was the only woman who supplied simpieo door-to-door; hence, she was known 
as “Simpiakarn Carmulem”.  She traveled daily by the 7:30 a.m. “caminhão” 
(bus) from Siolim to Betim with a big “panttli” load of “simpieo”.  She 
alighted from the bus according to customer’s location.  She always returned 
home (Siolim) on foot and this is when she arranged customers for next day’s 
business and sometimes for a whole week.  She halted at my house on her way 
back and rested for a while.  My mother always kept her some “pez” (canja).  
She rarely ate lunch at my place, as she preferred to have lunch with her 
family.  During the mango season, Carmulem collected fallen mangoes from the 
road and carried them home in her “panttli”; she ate some when she was 
hungry.

Almost every plastered house had a big “mathiechem bhand” (clay pot) 
half-burried in the ground which was used to prepare “koiar”.  The pot was 
filled with water.  Carmulem brought a panttli-load of simpieo and emptied 
them in the pot; “simpieo” were sold in a measure known as “kuddov” – two 
measures of a “paili” make one “kuddov”.  The moment simpieo were placed in 
water, a sizzling sound was heard followed by a little smoke.  The pot was 
covered with a lid and the mixture was left there for at least a week during 
which time the shells melted completely and formed a thick paint.  The 
“koiar” was not allowed to dry up; water level was always maintained.

Among daily laborers there were some who were specialized in painting the 
houses with “koiar”; they were called “koiar marpi.”  In Gaumvaddy we had 
two brothers Ganesh and Atmaram (Gozo’s father - owner of ‘Palm Groove 
Hotel’ in Anjuna) and Rajaram from Tembi who were experts in the job.  They 
would come to the house holding a large empty paint tin in one hand and a 
big “pixol/iskov” (brush) made of “sumb” (coir rope) fitted to a long bamboo 
stick in the other hand.  They stirred “koiar” in the pot with a stick and 
then added as much water as was needed to produce the required thickness.  
They painted the top of the walls first by standing on a “nisonn” (ladder) 
and then finished the lower part of walls.  Usually, two coats of “koiar” 
were applied.  The first was called “poilo mão” (first hand) and the second 
was called “dusro mão” (second hand) – in Portuguese language “mão” means 
hand.  The “koiar marpi” were ever ready to do the job at a “Basurkar’s” 
house, especially if he was at home on vacation, because he would give them 
good “resanv” at the end of the day in the form of “kop” (drinks), foreign 
cigarettes and extra amount over and above their daily wage.

Once the house was painted, some of the elderly from the ward would look at 
the bright white house and comment:  “Ghor borem chokchokit dista; igorje 
vochon kumsar ba zavn ontoskorn chokchokit kelam ki nam?”  (The house is 
shining bright alright; similarly, I hope you all went to church, confessed 
and cleaned your conscience.)  Strangers who passed by the house commented:  
“Fevrerachea muinean ghorak koiar martat zalear jerul kazar asonk zai.”  (If 
they are painting the house in the month of February, surely there must be a 
wedding lined up.)

CUSTOM MADE GOLD JEWELRY

One of the early preparations of a wedding was to make jewelry.  Gaumvaddy 
was famous for custom made jewelry.  In fact, one of the sub-wards in 
Gaumvaddy is called “Sonar-vaddo” (goldsmiths’ ward).  The eldest person I 
have known in the ward was Shridar (he also gave tuitions in Portuguese) who 
had four sons, Laxman, Govinda, Narayan and Bhaskar.  With the exception of 
Bhaskar all carried on with their father’s profession.  We also had very 
good goldsmiths in Chinvar, the most famous among them was, Inttesh.  He was 
a good craftsman.  He always kept himself updated with the latest jewelry 
fashion and had many jewelry catalogs.  He was our goldsmith.

As soon as a wedding was fixed, the news would spread all over the village 
like wild fire, which also reached the “sonar” (goldsmith.)  The bride’s 
parents sent a word to their family goldsmith to come and see them as soon 
as possible, which he did.  Sometimes, the family goldsmith visited them 
without invitation.  Once with the family, the first thing he asked was:  
“Tumi kitlea toleanchem bhangar korunk sodtat?”  (How many tolas worth gold 
would you like to make?)  The most important jewelry for a bride was a 
“jogh” (a set consisting of a necklace, matching pair of earrings and a 
finger ring, followed by attractive bangles and finger rings for the bride 
and a wedding ring for the groom.

Once the goldsmith had the idea, he would ask:  “Tumchea lagim joghachi 
nokxi asa?”  (Do you a design for the necklace set?)  If not, he would 
produce a catalog, which the bride and family members would browse and 
choose a design of their liking.  If the bride didn’t like any design on the 
catalog, the goldsmith drew a sketch of a design on the spot (most 
goldsmiths are good in drawing) on a piece of paper which he always carried 
in the pocket of his coat – most goldsmiths then wore a “puddvem (a white 
muslin type cloth worn around the waist and tucked in between both the 
legs), “khomis” (shirt) and a coat.  If they liked the sketch, he would take 
it home, make a fair drawing and bring it back on the next morning/evening.  
Satisfied with the drawing of necklace, the family members would then choose 
a design for bangles and rings.

Once the designs were chosen and approved, the goldsmith would give an 
estimate of the gold required.  If the customer happened to be a “Basurkar”, 
he would ask:  “Tumi bhangar ditat vo bhangar amchem?”  (Are you giving gold 
or should we use ours?)  The goldsmith asked the question because in those 
days practically every “Basurkar” brought gold bar(s), especially if a 
daughter’s wedding was planned.  The “Basurkar” would immediately say:  
“Hanvem dha toleancheo don bhangaracheo kanddieo haddleat; matso rav ghevn 
ietam.”  (I brought two gold bars of 100 grams each; wait a moment, I will 
bring them.)  He would go inside and come out holding a shining gold bar in 
his hand.  The moment goldsmith saw the gold bar, his face blushed and he 
would say:  “Borem asa; itlea bhangara bhitor tumcheo vostu zata zalear 
polletam; goroz poddlear amchem bhangar zoddttam.”  (Good, I will try to 
make your jewelry within this gold; if needed, we will add our gold.)  If a 
family was poor, they would tell the goldsmith they would get back to him 
after a couple of days.  They needed this time in order to approach their 
relatives, neighbors and friends to raise the required money from them or to 
arrange for a loan.

Once the jewelry order was confirmed, the goldsmith began to work on the 
project immediately after he returned home.  He worked on the project day 
and night and finished it as per the agreed schedule.  Normally, it took 
around ten days for him to make all the ornaments.  He carried the finished 
product in a “theli” (small bag) and walked to the house.  Everyone liked 
the ornaments and praised the goldsmith for a job well done.  The goldsmith 
always received “alvis” from the head of the family.  He got very good 
“alvis” if the head of the family was a “Basurkar” or “Afrikander” (a Goan 
who was employed in East Africa then.)

I still have my mother’s “jogh” with me.  My grandmother’s generation had a 
common design for “jogh” called “fator” (stone), perhaps named after the 
rectangular laterite stone used for construction.  The necklace consisted of 
three green/red coral stones - one in the middle, about 2 1/2” long and 1” 
thick, and two smaller stones - one on either side.  The end of each stone 
was covered with beautifully crafted gold caps; the middle portion was left 
uncovered.  Similar earrings formed part of the set.  These sets formed part 
of gold given to a girl at the time of her marriage in the 19th and 20th 
century and they can be seen on some of our ancestors’ wedding photos.  My 
late brother’s family has our paternal grandmother’s set of “fator” with 
them.  Just like clothes fashion, gold ornaments fashion, too, resurfaces 
every now and then.  The last time I noticed fashion of “fator” necklace and 
earrings was at the end of the last century when I bought a pair of earrings 
for my wife.  The fashion is still making rounds.

In India they say one can never trust a goldsmith - no insult meant.  No 
wonder whenever you want to sell used gold ornaments, you get only around 
60% of the original value; that’s because the goldsmiths, in general, know 
very well the percentage of “pittul” (brass) mixed with the gold!  One good 
thing in the Gulf is that goldsmiths cannot mix brass and cheat the 
customers.  If caught, there is severe punishment, including the 
cancellation of the C.R. (Commercial Registry) number.  Nowadays, no gold 
ornaments can be sold here without a seal of the government which certifies 
whether the gold used is 18K, 21K or 22K.

“CHUDDO SOROMB” (The bangle wearing ceremony)

In the olden days, people believed in simplicity.  Bangles, that decorative, 
cylindrical ornament which adorns the arm, have over the centuries acquired 
a cultural, social and religious significance.  Literature has glorified 
this ornament and made it the epitome of feminine grace.  No wonder women 
always believed that wearing glass bangles kept their marriage alive.  Hindu 
unmarried girls always wear some bangles round both their wrists, as it is 
considered inauspicious to be bare armed.  Bare hands are symbolically 
associated with widows who were denied the right to wear bangles or any kind 
of adornment.  Even today in rural India, a wife breaks her glass bangles by 
hitting them at the coffin or aarthi when she is widowed.  Urban India with 
its veneer of liberation shuns the barbaric ritual of bangle breaking but 
then even the city-bred woman, conditioned as she is by the traditional 
custom and culture, wears only gold bangles, which have no significance, 
after widowhood and not “konvchechim kanknnam” (glass bangles.)  Gold 
bangles, however, form a part of the bride’s dowry and are more an 
investment or a loud statement of wealth.

The bangle wearing ceremony that is held once in life for the bride-to-be is 
called the “CHUDDO SOROMB”.  Today, many things seem strange to us but those 
very things were guidelines to our ancestors.  The wear of glass bangles in 
arms does not only add beauty to a woman’s appearance but it also adds value 
to a marriage; it symbolizes married life for the bride, as they are broken 
only on her dead husband’s coffin.  Keeping this in view, a bride was 
decorated with a “chuddo” (a set of multi-colored, checkered glass bangles; 
usually seven colors of a rainbow.)

This ceremony is performed after marriage announcements are made in a 
church.  It is done at the house of the maternal uncle of the bride.  In the 
normal case, these bangles are put on her arms by an “ol’lar” (bangle 
seller).  He expertly slip-wrist size bangles past heavy knuckles without 
breaking any, but this was not possible with Goan working class girls 
“karann kottin kam kelelean tanche hath ful’lele astale” (because their 
hands were always in expanded form due to hard work.)  Other relatives and 
those present at the ceremony are also given a pair or more of bangles by 
the “ol’lar”, free of charge.  There are songs sung during this time which 
are typical and appropriate to the occasion.  There are women who are 
experts in singing in parables and pointed metaphor in the form of “Zoti” as 
well as throwing aside all taunts to them and other home people, i.e., 
relatives and would be relatives.  Offerings of money in token of blessings 
are put in a tray placed before the bangle seller.  The money collected thus 
is taken by him over and above the fat payment that he gets for the work 
done.

After this ceremony at the maternal uncle’s house, the said uncle sends his 
niece home with a “vojem in a panttli” (a parcel of sweet-meats in a special 
type of bamboo woven basket) containing sweet meats, bananas, bread – twelve 
each in number.  This system is known as “Pergunto”.  Similar “Pergunto” 
calls without the festive bangles are made when other relatives invite her 
at their place for lunch or dinner of farewell.  She receives a special 
bunch of flowers from her uncle and others on this occasion.  Even if the 
parents of the bride do not happen to be on speaking terms with the said 
uncle or relatives, she has to go and drink at least water from their well.  
If they have no well, or if it is not possible to get water from there, then 
some water has to be taken from their house by the bride.

Whenever the girl went out with “chuddo” in her arms, people immediately 
knew she was about to get married or that she was just married because, 
besides “chuddo” in her arms, her husband walked beside her which was an 
indication that they belonged together – no, they didn’t hold each other’s 
hands nor they walked holding each other in public because that was not the 
norm then.  Once married, the “chuddo” remained in bride’s arms for as long 
as she wanted.  When removed, the bangles were safely kept in the cupboard 
which the bride brought as “dennem” (gift) only to be worn on the day of her 
husband’s death when they were broken by hitting on the coffin.

Since most women in the past worked in the fields, the possibility of the 
bangles getting broken was high, but they always made sure that they 
replenished them through an “ol’lar” who visited villages on foot once a 
forthnight.  Everyone knew the “ol’lar” was in the village through his loud 
and lengthy call “OH-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H-H!”  He carried bangles in a large box 
which was wrapped in a bed sheet.  The ends of the bed sheet were then tied 
into a knot and the whole load was balanced on the forehead and rested on 
the back.  The ol’lar always “pong ghalun choltalo” (walked with a hump.)  
When a wedding was fixed, he was informed in advance of the “chuddo” 
ceremony which meant an extra trip but it was good news for him because he 
would get good “alvis” (present).

Glass bangles for a married woman are considered “surngar” (adornment) of 
her married life.  Those women, whose husbands are away from them, have a 
close look at their bangles before they retire to bed and visualize their 
husbands in them.  It is believed, as a result, they always get good dreams 
about their husbands.

Here is a beautiful poem by Lino Dourado, Utodd-ddekar (from Utorda) on 
glass bangles:

KONVCHECHIM KANKNNAM (Glass Bangles)

Vaddeant sad ghaltokoch kankonnkar
Cheddvam-bailo ubheo dharar
Su-se-gad kanknnam choddoita hathar
Bosun ghorachea modlea humbrear

Konvchechim kanknnam hathar astokoch
Cheddvam-bailanchi sobai vaddtali
Hokol baien chuddo ghaltokoch
Novreak pollovpak dis meztali

Tore-torecho kanknnancho rong
Ostoreanchem mon ekdom bulgaitalem
Samballtoch avoiponnancho poilo gorb
Ramu kankonnkarachem giraik fultalem

Zolman ietokoch malgoddem bhurgem
Sezarnnink apovn kanknnam ghaltalim
Mogall ghorkarachea melelea moddear
Dukhest ghorkarni kanknnam foddtalim

Adhunik zala aicho kal
Hathak kanknnam ghatlelim dissonant
Kankonnkarancher aila mottoch far
Mov-mov hath damunk mellonant.

CIVIL MARRIAGE

Goa is a unique case as far as personal laws are concerned. The Uniform 
Civil Code in force in Goa today is the same as it was during the Portuguese 
regime.  It is in fact the envy of the rest of India since it is an 
extremely advanced and liberal piece of legislation exclusively applicable 
to Goa. In Goa, Christians have a civil marriage first and Church marriage 
afterwards; elsewhere Christians have only a church marriage which is 
recognized as a civil marriage. Church authorities in Goa do not perform 
nuptials unless a civil marriage certificate is produced. This is exactly 
why the Indian government decided to give Goans the benefit of a status-quo 
in respect of civil law even after Goa's liberation in 1961.

Civil marriages were registered at the "Registo Civil" (Civil Registrar's 
office - colloquially known as ‘Reicil’) in Mapusa.  They can be registered 
at any time but most people from all over Bardez came to the office to 
register their marriages a week prior to wedding date.

As soon as a civil marriage was registered, both families celebrated the 
occasion at Café C. D'Souza, which was located a few meters away in the same 
lane, and the trend continues to date in Cafés/Hotels in Mapusa. How does 
one know that a particular group of people are celebrating their civil 
marriage in a Café? Obviously, through their talk but more particularly 
because the bride would be wearing "konvchechea kanknnancho chuddo" stacked 
round both her wrists! Curious elderly women (EW) present in the Café look 
at the bride and say:

EW: "Reicil zalem gho bai?" (Has the civil marriage been registered?)

Bride: "Hoi ghe mavxe." (Yes aunt.)

EW: “Kazar kednam tor?” (When is the wedding?)

Bride: “Fuddlea Aitaradis ghe mavxe; kazarak ieo ham!” (Next Sunday aunt; 
you are invited for the wedding).

EW: “Zanv, Devachem bessanv tumcher poddovm; tum ganvan khuimchem gho bai?”  
(Good, may God bless you; where are you from?)

Bride: “Sangoddechim ghe” (I am from Sangolda).

EW: Looks at the groom and asks him: “Ani tum khuimcho re baba?” (And, where 
are you from?)

Groom: “Hanv Siolecho ghe mavxe.” (I am from Siolim).

EW: “Borem asa; dogaimche ganv “s” akxeran suru zatat. Tumi sodankal suki 
ani bore bolaiqen asonk hem mojem kirkoll magnnem!” (Good; the names of both 
the villages begin with an “s”.  May you always be happy and enjoy good 
health; this is my humble prayer.)

WEDDING PREPARATIONS

In the past, wedding preparations began at least a month in advance.  One of 
the first things that a girl’s parents did was to arrange for a tailor and 
his team to do customize stitching at home for the bride and bridesmaid and 
new dresses for close relatives.  I have explained in detail in my article 
“XIVONN SUTH” (Needlework) a tailor’s hiring at a bride’s house and his 
activities there.  If anyone of the family members was left without taking 
measurements, it would be a big disappointment which sometimes resulted in 
unnecessary arguments and criticism.  Nowadays, one has to book a tailor at 
least a couple of months in advance in order to stitch wedding clothes both 
for the bride and groom.  If a wedding falls close to Christmas/New Year or 
Easter celebration, one has to reserve the tailor at least three months in 
advance.

Whenever a wedding was to take place, close relatives and friends from far 
away villages visited the house of the occasion with their horde of children 
as far in advance as a fortnight.  The wedding house became a crowded palace 
where children ran around screaming at the top of their voices and making 
all sorts of noises having fun in their own world.  The guests spent another 
week at the house after the wedding was over.  Most people those days lived 
on home grown produce and cattle.  As such, they didn’t go to the market to 
buy pork but butchered one of their pigs which sometimes lasted only for a 
day – keep in mind people were hard workers; as such, voracious eaters.  The 
word ‘cholestrol’ was not heard of then.  Although people were not highly 
educated, they knew very well how to plan in advance.  They made sure that 
at least four pigs were fattened and kept ready for the wedding of their son 
or daughter.

The moment neighbors heard a pig’s squeals early in the morning, they knew 
that one of the pigs from the wedding house which used to frequent their 
courtyard was about to be butchered because there is a saying in Konkani 
“dukor posunkui velear roddta ani marunkui velear roddta” (A pig squeals 
when brought to be domesticated and when it is about to be butchered.)  When 
the squeals suddenly stopped, they knew throat was cut and the pig was 
silenced.  The blood, which constitutes one of the ingredients of the famous 
Goan pork dish “sorpotel”, was saved in a container.  After the pig was 
silenced, children from the house gathered around the butcher and watched 
him clean it.  The pig was placed on a “konn’nn” (a wowen coconut leaf), the 
hair was burnt with lit dry coconut leaves and the skin cleaned with a big 
knife; sometimes a shaving machine was used to clean small patches of hair 
on the body.  The “dukor maro” (pig butcher) then cut the pig into exact two 
halves.  The first thing he did was to secure the brain in a small 
container, which was collected by one of the women present on the spot.  She 
took it to the kitchen and prepared a kind of omlette mixed with eggs.  She 
did it so fast that she served it to the butcher and people around him.  The 
“dukor maro” then separated the intestines and organs - heart, liver, 
kidneys, etc., which also form part of ingredients of “sorpotel.”  He 
carefully removed the “poskotto” (bladder), blew it with his mouth, put a 
knot to it and passed it on to children around him who immediately left the 
site and began to play football with it until it burst.

We all know how restless children are.  Some of the inner circle children 
would pester their mothers and ask them to give them pork to eat, which was 
not possible because it had to be cooked.  But there was a solution.  The 
mothers approached the “dukor maro” and asked him to give them “dakttule 
sutachea masache kuddke” (small pieces of meat without fat) to which they 
applied a little salt and buried them in the “murmuro” (embers) and voilà, 
within around ten minutes the pieces were done and children ate them 
sometimes without even cleaning the ash!  Pig’s tail was also fried in 
embers.  Children also enjoyed eating pork rind and fat remnants after 
“chorob” (fat) was removed, which was used for frying purposes.

The “dukor maro” then cut the pig into pieces according to dishes - special 
pieces were made for “ros-mas” (pork roast); fine pieces were made for 
“sorpotel”; and “haddam” (bones) with meat attached to them was used to cook 
“hadd-masachem” dish.  Some men/women, who were experts in cleaning the 
intestines walked away with the whole set, took it to a corner and began to 
clean it; they sometimes went to a “vall” (stream) to clean the intestines.  
They prepared a special dish of the tripe called “buch”, which tastes as 
good as sorpotel and it, too, tastes better if it is left to marinade 
overnight and much better if it is left to marinade for a couple of days.  
The intestine cleaning process is quite tedious because of which sometimes 
nobody volunteered to do the job.  In that case, the head of the family 
requested one of the helpers to dig around the base of a chickoo tree and 
burry the intestines there; it is considered a very good fertilizer for the 
tree.  To know more about Goan pigs, please read my article “DUKOR ANI 
DUKRACHEM MAS” (Pig and Pork).

Children of our times were courageous; they didn’t get scared to watch a pig 
butchered.  Today’s children, especially those living abroad, are so scared 
that if they witness a pig butchered, they refuse to eat pork.  I don’t know 
if it is because they detest the killing process or if it is out of concern 
for the animal rights!

Just as people didn’t buy pork from the market, they didn’t go to the market 
to buy beef but they butchered one of their calves or a cow/ox and everyone 
ate to his/her heart’s content.  “Gaiechea haddancho sop” (beef-bone soup) 
was prepared and served to all guests.

“RANDPACHO MATTOV” (Cooking Shed)

One week prior to the wedding, a small shed was erected behind the house 
where a “randpinn” (female cook) with women assistants and women folk from 
the neighborhood as well as close relatives did all the cooking.  It was a 
custom for women folk – relatives and neighbors – to be present in the 
“kazarachea ghoran” (house of marriage) and to render help in whatever way 
they could in cooking the food, grinding massala on a “ghonnsunno” or 
grinding gram flour on a “dantem” to prepare “doce”; sweeping the inside and 
outside of the house, cutting the weed in the compound, helping men in 
preparaing a “nachachem angnnem” (dancing floor) by fetching water from a 
well and soaking the ground, etc.  Nowadays, hardly anyone comes to help; 
not even relatives.

PURCHASE OF LIQUOR FOR THE WEDDING

Most people then were hard workers and the only consolation for them in the 
evenings was a good drink which would take care of their tiredness and give 
them sound sleep; even women drank but in moderation.  This being the case, 
one of the wedding preparations was to arrange for the best “canjunchi ani 
maddanchi fenni” (cashew and palm liquor).  If the hosts were to follow the 
Portuguese saying: “Minha casa è sua casa” (My house is your house), they 
had to provide the guests the same comforts they enjoyed in their homes and 
make them feel at home.  In those days, people bought the liquor in 
“kollxeanim” (pots) directly from the manufacturers – cashew fenni and 
cashew urrak was bought from a “dongrar bhatti” (distillery on a hill) and 
palm fenni from a “ghorakodde bhatti” (distillery at home.)  Men then did 
not mix anything with fenni - no water or soda – they drank it neat.  As 
such, the fenni had to be of good quality, otherwise, they would comment at 
the very first sip:  “Ar’re, hi fenni pochpochit.”  (Hey, this liquor is 
worthless.)

As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, people were God-fearing.  
The home crowd and their guests did not forget to assemble in the ‘osro’ 
(hall) in front of the ‘olotor’ (home altar) to say rosary every night.  
Drinks were served after the rosary.  People drank and ate and later they 
went for a deep slumber on plain “anturn” (bedding) which consisted of a bed 
sheet spread on a “dali” (bamboo mat) and a home-made “kapsachem unxem” 
(cotton pillow); eldery men used a “bankin” (small low wooden seat) instead 
of a pillow.

                                                                            
                           To be continued ……….

Moi-mogan,

Domnic Fernandes
Anjuna/Dhahran, KSA

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