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CONVENTION OF THE GOAN DIASPORA FROM GOA INTO THE WORLD
Lisbon, Portugal June 15-17, 2007 Details at:
http://www.goacom.org/casa-de-goa/noticias.html
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On 29 May 2007 Selma Carvalho <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote Re: [Goanet] Is Goa heading the way of the Ojibwe Indian?
Dear, cher Arnold,
Being a Goan from the heart of Salcete, I cling to my
identity as a Goan Catholic and I can be as jingoistic
as Churchill if need be.
However, the older I grow and the more I travel, I
realise how futile it is to cling to our narrowly
defined identities because time is the great
assimilator. If we refer to the Greek civilisation, a
lesser known fact about it is, there was no Greece as
we know of it today. There were the Mycenaeans, the
Dorians, the Minoans, the Athenians, to name a few and
it took centuries of warfare to create Greece. And
yet, today these ancient principalities are seamlessly
assimilated.
Much of what you are proposing bears merit on economic
grounds but will do little to preserve us culturally.
Today, culture is not defined by clansmanship,
geography or religion. It's defined by economics and
access to information and education. There is a world
culture developing and my sincere hope is one day we
will define ourselves as citizens of the world.
Goa will be a pleasant footnote in the annals of
history, but it will assimilate seamlessly into the
folds of the Indian subcontinent.
Take care,
selma
Sweet Shastikar Selma:
With regard to the accepted concept of culture, your astute and indulgent
response is on point. Yes indeed culture is not an immutable quality. Au
contraire its an evolving human refinement dictating a code of behavior
that is constantly subject to metamorphosis because of factors such as the
dynamics of new discoveries, political and environmental changes, scientific
advancements and ideological developments. That moving quality of
metastasis gives culture its regal status in the Pantheon of Diet,
Etiquette, Law and order, Value systems and Aesthetics. The catharsis of
new thinking and invention progressively acculturates our civilizations to
improve cultures. : The old order changes giving way to the new Like
Natures behaviour patterns, culture tends to mutate.inexorably. Hence,
I agree wholeheartedly that following the trends of History, eventually all
civilizations become footnotes to the chronology of human events and as a
result their concomitant cultures become extinct or modified far beyond
their original recognizable identities. Ergo, there is no dispute about
your contention that Goas extant culture will suffer evanescence with the
passage of time and changing circumstances.
I also have congruency with the aspects of your notion that in this day and
age, governed essentially by economics, culture has no boundaries insofar
as religion or geography goes.. But I believe clansmanship and
geographical origins do still provide cohesive bonds of social polarization
and identity. . I aver those among those of us who choose to be called Goan
but barely know any Konkani words or customs still instinctively retain
some of our unique Goan heritage in habits or at least some of our Goan
traits like diets and other discernible characteristics. Besides, we
instinctively tend to gravitate together in social gatherings,
communications and private settings because were comfortable with one
another despite our usual bickerings and social infighting, Our diatribes
may not be on par with the sophistication of the Socratic Dialogues but we
Goans can certainly give the Greeks a run for their money. For a classical
example, our very Cyberspace Goanet epitomizes this phenomena.
Your pertinent mention of Greek city states interrelationships and their
role in shaping the History of the Civilized World has merit in explaining
political phenomena and the incongruities of socio/political units within
one of the most advanced .civilized systems of its Era. However, lets not
forget, Greeks, despite their political differences, had a common culture.
Their internecine warfare did not unite them but eventually their common
enemy, the Persians did. The fabric of Goas ethos shares two common
characteristics with Greece; it has a single homogenous culture and a
common language too, if you accept Konkan as our mother tongue.
Im no scholar of things Greek; in fact much of Hellenic history is
Greek to me.(no pun intended). Youre absolutely right in citing Greek
culture as a valid example to conceptually make your case about the
eventual obsolescence of civilizations and related cultures. But original
Greek traditions and philosophy still solidly remain the underpinnings of
modern civilization today. Thats the role I envisage for our Goan
traditions and native intelligence. Our cuisine and home-spun wisdom in
folk lore, music and thiatre are a cornucopia for the benefit of everyone.
. Our legacy to succeeding generations could be even the mere vestiges of
our culinary fare like sorpatel, our dances like the mando, our attire
like the kashti, our cantars like ge, ge, re, saiba .and our intoxicating
spirits like caju feni. Granted, in measuring a nations contribution
to the Worlds thinking and advancement, Goas hand-me-downs to posterity
may not compare with Greeces intellectual impact reflected in Platos
Republic. . Nonetheless in a mundane way, our present Goan consuetude can be
just as effective in contributing to Humankinds welfare by perpetuating
creature comforts ad infinitum..
In conclusion, I draw a distinct line in the dichotomy between tradition
and culture. While our culture may sink into oblivion with the ravages
of Time and societal changes, buoyantly we valiant Goans can preserve
our traditions with the arduous efforts and proper strategies indefinitely.
Hopefully the World will always relish Polish sausages and dance the Polka.
Even more euphorically, why not let the World also enjoy gastronomic Goa
sausages and the merry Mando midst the exhilarating ambience of convivial
Goan Society?.. Kathor re Bhaji !!!
Cheers
Arnold
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