Hi Dominic
I love your posts, they bring back memories of my
childhood.
Although I am from Verna (Salcete) my holidays were
spent in Aldona ( Bardez) where my mother is from. It
was a treat to go to Mapuça, and all those little cold
drink houses with patties thrown in, I remember my
aunt buying that fish Korli that was full of fish
bones, but so very tasty, we never get it in Verna.
Festa de Milagres was a TREAT we went to my aunt's
friend.
I do not know Anjuna, I have been there only once on a
picnic and walked from there to a tiny little beach
Ozran, that was such a beautiful, beautiful place, I
will never go back there again as I want to see it in
my mind's eye as an unspoilt place, do you know that
we found tiny rock pools, whose edge had salt and we
scooped it out for our mother who had not gone for the
picnic, there was such a variety of shells.
Thanks Dominic, you brought it back for me.
Incidentally, you forgot the 'vers' that are sung by
all those besanv giving ladies, they were very
characteristic of Bardez, I have never heard them in
Salcette. They were sung for each member of the
family, but there are no vers nowadays, when my
cousins, both girls got married and on the way to the
Church there were no ladies singing 'vers', it was a
beautiful tradition that should not be lost. Dominic,
I think you should write these down, I would have, but
we do not have these in Xasti.
Thanks again, I have saved yourpost of your trip from
Anjuna to Mapuca, I can imagine those little hearts,
thudding with fear once you reached the Posto, with
those sentries, particularly the Negro with the gun.
Recad tuka anudev borem korun
Sonia do Rosario Gomes
--- domnic fernandes [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Dear GoaNetters,
I am posting the following personal message on
GoaNet with the consent of
the party for the benefit of all:
Moi-mogan,
Domnic Fernandes
Anjuna/Dhahran, KSA
Hi Juliet!
First of all, please accept my heartiest
congratulations in advance on your
daughter's wedding in August! Secondly, it is great
to know that though in
America, you would like to follow Goan custom. Hats
off to you Juliet for
keeping up Goan culture and traditions in a foreign
land!
Here is the information you asked for:
As soon as the bride is dressed up and before she
proceeds to the car to go
to church to attend the nuptials, she is made to
stand ghorchea altara
mukar (in front of home altar) for Bessanv. Please
do not forget to light
the candles at the altar.
In the olden days, until the early 1960's, the only
photo that was taken on
the auspicious day, was a wedding photo that, too,
in a studio. But today,
the camera and video man arrive at a bride's place
well in advance and begin
to click photos and video film right from the time
the bride begins to dress
up. The clicking and filming continues in the
church and ends up in the
reception hall. Times have really changed, Juliet!
In Goa, besides relatives and friends, neighbors
from the ward also come to
give Bessanv to the okol because she was a part of
the community from her
childhood until she grew up. Now that she chose a
life time partner, she
has to leave the place and shift to her husband's!
Therefore, the neighbors
feel it is their duty to wish her last good-bye as a
spinster; hence, they
join in the last farewell wish to the bride along
with her parents,
relatives and friends.
In Goa, it is still a fashion to give a gift to the
bride mostly in the form
of cash which is placed in bride's hand along with
Bessanv. In the olden
days, people placed chear annem, att annem or one
rupee coins; some old
folks still place 50 paise or 1 rupee coins and so
do children. Nowadays,
it is mostly bills - Rs.50, 100 or 500; seldom,
people place a Rs.5 or 10
bill. Relatives and friends from far away places
who do not wish to return
to the house after the nuptials or will not be
present for the reception,
hand in their gifts at Bessanv.
There are no special prayers at Bessanv before the
bride leaves for the
church. However, here is the order of blessing as I
recall:
1) The parents - father followed by mother
2) The grandparents - grandfather followed by
grandmother
3) The eldest brother and his wife, if married,
followed by other brothers
and their wives
4) The sisters and their husbands
5) Brothers' children - beginning from the oldest
to the youngest
6) Sisters' children - beginning from the oldest to
the youngest
7) Uncles and aunts - paternal followed by
maternal
8) Cousins beginning with the first and followed
by the second, third,
etc.
9) Bride's relatives - beginning with the eldest
and followed by the
youngest
10) Elderly neighbors followed by other neighbors
11) Friends in general
I hope the above information serves you.
Best regards,
Domnic Fernandes
From : Juliet De Souza [EMAIL
