Goan Catholics


Goan Catholics are an ethno-religious community of Christians following the Roman Rite from the state of Goa on the west coast of India. They are Konkani people and speak the Konkani language.
Seafarers from Portugal arrived in Goa in 1510 CE, and Catholic missionary activities soon followed, as Pope Nicholas V had enacted the Papal bull Romanus Pontifex in 1455 CE which granted the patronage of the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia to the Portuguese.
Their culture is an amalgam of Indian-Hindu and Portuguese-Christian cultures, with the latter having a more dominant role as Goa had been an overseas colony of Portugal from 1510–1961. The notion of Goan identity as a distinct culture among other Luso-Asians or Luso-Indian cultures was forged into India after the annexation of Goa in 1961. However, contemporary Goan Catholic culture can be best described as an increasingly Anglicised Indo-Latin culture and is widely seen as distinct, both in India and the rest of the world.
The Goan Catholic diaspora is concentrated in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, the Lusophone world, especially Portugal, and the Anglophone world, especially the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and the United States.

Ethnic identity

Christian adherents to the Roman Catholic Church who originate from the present state of Goa, a region on the west coast of India, and their descendants are generally referred to as Goan Catholics. An overwhelming majority of Goan Catholics belong to the Konkani ethnicity while a minuscule proportion are Luso-Indians. Goan Catholics played a pivotal role in the formation of the state of Goa and in designating their native language Konkani as a scheduled language of India. Diaspora communities usually speak English as their first language while regarding Konkani as their ancestral language. A few from the elite social classes in Portuguese-ruled Goa had adopted Portuguese as their primary language.
Portugal took control of Goa in 1510 CE, and the Portuguese soon consolidated their power by imposing their own government and culture by converting the local population to Catholicism. Many pre-Portuguese Hindu traditions were adapted or retained by the Goan Catholics. This often includes the Indian caste system although it is not widely practiced. Throughout the Portuguese Empire a large part of civic administration was initially maintained by the religious orders. Under Portuguese nationality law, Goans born before 1961 in the then Portuguese territory of Goa are entitled to Portuguese citizenship. As per the law of Portugal this is extended up to two generations, that is to their children and grandchildren. All naturalised citizens from Goa receive their citizenship through descent from their parents or grandparents who were once Portuguese subjects. All Goan Catholics born in Goa before 1961 were Portuguese citizens by birth.
Distanced from Portugal after the seventeenth century, Goans like the people of Macão and Timor had been left much to their own affairs with a higher degree of independence, although still a part of Portugal. Goans moved considerably to other parts of the Portuguese Empire, and metropolitan Portugal and it is possible to find Goans with roots in America, Africa, Europe as well as Asia.
During the late 1800s, there began a large-scale emigration of Goan Catholics to Bombay, in search of employment opportunities. The British saw them as Portuguese citizens and favoured them in administration due to their ease in the use of English and predominantly Western culture. At that time Bombay was under the British rule and there existed another established Luso-Indian Catholic community; the East Indians, who were former residents of Portuguese Bombay prior to being granted to the British East India Company in the seventeenth century. Since the Goan and East Indian Catholic communities were converted to Christianity by the Portuguese, the British referred to them as "Portuguese Christians". They congregated in the same churches, attended many of the same religious functions, and shared Portuguese surnames and culture.
On 3 February 1951, to avert international criticism over decolonisation, the Salazar dictatorship amended the Portuguese Constitution to declare Goa and Damaon as an overseas province. After Goa was merged into India in 1961, Goan Catholics continued to distinguish themselves as "Goan" as they found it hard to adapt to the term "Indian".
After 450 years of being a part of Portugal, during the first post-Liberation years, Goans found it difficult to embrace their new status as part of India and many emigrated to other nations, a trend that often continues to date. However, Goan-Catholics in India today are proud of their Portuguese-Indian Catholic culture, their Konkani language and their role in modern multi-religious India. Hence, many aspects of their social and religious life are well displayed in their exquisite mixed Portuguese-Konkani heritage. For examples, they celebrate Goan Carnival, a Western European cultural event that is celebrated before Lent, and their religious literature is kept in Konknni in the Roman script, or simply Romi Konkani, their Konkani dialect also borrows many loanwords and expressions from Portuguese Indian creoles.

History

Pre-Portuguese era

Pre-colonial Goan history includes Hindu, Buddhists and Islamic religious phases. It was believed till recently that there was no concrete evidence that Christianity prevailed in Goa before the Portuguese arrived, but it was believed that St. Bartholomew, one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, brought the Gospel and spread it in Konkan, including Goa, just as St. Thomas had done in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, in Southern India.
However, the work of the historian Jose Cosme Costa, Apostolic Christianity in Goa and in the West Coast. He suggests that the Apostle Thomas might have made his way over land from northern India to Kerala. He also examines the evidence of the Apostle Bartholomew having done more or less the same thing. Ch. 6 is dedicated to the examination of Pre-Portuguese references to Christianity in Goa. Ch. 7 examines the vestiges of Pre-Portuguese Christian Customs in Goa and the Konkan. Ch. 8 concludes the book with the "latest archaeological discovery": a "Thomas Cross" hidden in a smallish monument, surmounted by a Latin Cross, near the old Goa harbor. The Thomas Cross bears an inscription in Pahlavi, which, Costa reports, was the liturgical language of the church associated with the Metropolitan of Fars. Costa also suggests that the 'Betal' worshipped quite commonly in Goa is a corruption of 'Bartholomew'. Fr H.O. Mascarenhas, reports Costa, even proposed that there were Christian temples dedicated to the persons of the Trinity: Abanath / Bhutnath, Ravalnath / Bhai rav, and Atman / Bhavka Devta, Santeri, Ajadevi. W Costa proposes that the Portuguese destroyed the vestiges and forcibly assimilated these Christians to their own form of Christianity. Those who resisted were among those who fled Goa, he says. It could also be when the zealous Bahmani Muslim empire ruled over Goa.

Portuguese era

The Portuguese came to India with the ambition of capturing the Asian trade to Europe through the Arab world and by-passing the traditional Silk Route from China to Europe. They also hoped to create an empire and propagate Christianity. The Portuguese first reached the west coast of India in 1498 when Vasco da Gama landed at Calicut. On 25 November 1510 Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur and made it their headquarters since 1530. By 1544 the Portuguese conquered the districts of Bardez, Tiswadi, and Salcette. Around the same time Pope Nicholas V enacted the Papal bull Romanus Pontifex. This bull granted the patronage of the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia to the Portuguese and rewarded them a trade monopoly in newly discovered areas. Trade was initiated shortly after Vasco da Gama arrived in India in 1498, but the Portuguese were initially not interested in converting the locals. The Catholic Church was granted the responsibility of missionising in Asia, and all missionaries had to call at lisbon before departing for Asia. In Goa different orders were designated different areas, with the internationally powerful Society of Jesus or Jesuits granted to Salsette province in the South, and the Franciscans granted the northern province of Bardez. Carmelites, Dominicans, and Augustinians were also present in Portuguese Goa.
, in Old Goa, was built by the Portuguese in 1510. It is one of the oldest churches in Goa and one of the largest in Asia. It also holds a miraculous cross that is venerated to date.
In 1534 the Diocese of Goa was created from the Diocese of Funchal to serve as a common diocese for the western coast of India, including Goa and the area in and around Bombay. Missionaries of the newly founded Society of Jesus were sent to Goa; the Portuguese colonial government supported the Catholic mission with incentives for baptised Christians. They offered rice donations for the poor, good positions in the Portuguese colonies for the middle class, and military support for local rulers. Many Indians were converted opportunistic Rice Christians who continued to practise their old religion. The Portuguese, in their efforts to keep Christian purity, insisted the converts should avoid anything Hindu. Portuguese rulers insisted the natives should adopt foreign food habits and dress. They also gave European names to the natives. But Konkani Christians wanted to preserve their language, culture and manners. At the same time the Portuguese colonizers in Goa imposed excessive taxes on the native Christians. The taxes were so huge that in 1642 some native Goans sent a memorandum to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal.
In 1542 St. Francis Xavier of the Society of Jesus arrived in Goa and noticed the newly converted Christians were practising their old customs and traditions.
The Portuguese built various churches; the most notable are Basilica of Bom Jesus built during the sixteenth century—a UNESCO World Heritage Site dedicated to the Infant Jesus—and the Se Cathedral, the largest church in Asia dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria, the construction of which was started in 1562 during the reign of King Dom Sebastião and completed in 1619. It was consecrated in 1640. The Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church was built in 1540. The Church and Convent of St. Francis of Assisi, Church of Lady of Rosary, Church of St. Augustine, and St. Michael's Church, Anjuna, built in 1613, were also erected during the Portuguese reign.

Modern era

In 1787, inspired by the French Revolution, several Goan Catholic priests, unhappy with the process of promotion within the Church and other discriminatory practices of the Portuguese, organised the Pinto Revolt against the Portuguese. This unsuccessful action was the first open revolt against the Portuguese from within Goa. Britain gained control of Goa twice, the first time in 1797–1798 and the second time from 1802 to 1813. In 1843 the capital was moved to Panjim and by the mid 18th century the area under occupation by the Portuguese expanded to Goa's present-day limits.
In 1900 there were 262,648 Goan Catholics in Goa and 200,144 Hindus.
By 1921 it was estimated that 200,000 out of 670,000 Goans, mostly Christian, resided outside Goa.
On 1 May 1928 the Diocese of Goa was renamed and was promoted to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Goa and Daman. It is the oldest diocese in terms of activity in the East, with its origins linked to the arrival of the Portuguese on the Malabar Coast. The Metropolitan Archbishop of Goa and Daman also uses the title of Primate of the Indies or Primate of the East and honorifically receives the title of Patriarch of the East Indies.
By this time the Portuguese Empire had started declining and further resistance to their occupation in Goa started gaining momentum. When the rest of India gained independence in 1947, Portugal refused to relinquish control of Goa. On 18 December 1961 India moved in with troops and after hostilities that lasted 36 hours the Portuguese administration was forced to surrender. On 30 May 1987 Goa was elevated as India's 25th state.
By 1960 Goan Catholics accounted for of the total population in Goa. During the early 20th century, they started migrating to other parts of India, especially to Mumbai and Bangalore in the 1920s and 1930s. They also started migrating to Portuguese territories, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Today, Goan Catholics form 26.01 percent of Goa's total population. During the 1970's coastal communication increased between Bombay and Goa, after introduction of ships by the London-based trade firm Shepherd. These ships facilitated the entry of Goan Catholics to Bombay.

Geographical distribution

According to the 2001 census there were around 359,568 Christians in Goa, and most of them are Roman Catholics following the Latin Rite. Many Goan Catholics live in Mumbai and Bangalore. In the 1960s there were around 100,000 Goan Catholics in Bombay, of which 90,000 were in urban Bombay, and 10,000 in suburban Bombay. Other regions of India which have a small proportion of Goan Catholics are Delhi, Calcutta, Madras, Pune, Ahmednagar, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Nasik, and Ranchi.
Goan Catholics are also found abroad, either as Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin, with some people born abroad. They are found in Arab states of the Persian Gulf in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. Some have migrated to the Anglophone world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, the USA, Australia and New Zealand. In 1954 there were around 1,000,000 Goan Catholics in India and 1,800,000 Goan Catholics outside Goa. Before the First Gulf War there were probably around 150,000 Goans outside India. There are 100,000 Goan Catholics in Portugal. A large number are found in Karachi, Pakistan. Recent emigrants are found in Germany and Austria.
In 1999 the Goan Overseas Association, the Canorient Christian Association, and other Goan associations estimated that there were around 23,000 Goan Catholics in Canada, out of which 13,000 were in Ontario. During 1954 it was estimated that there were 20,000 Goan Catholics in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, while 30,000 were living in Pakistan, out of which 10,000 were settled in Karachi. In 1931 it was estimated that there were around 1,772 Goan Catholics in Tanzania of which 700 were in Dar es Salaam. In Uganda during 1931, there were around 1,124 Goan Catholics, out of which 500 were settled in its capital of Kampala. Prior to the 1960s it was estimated that there were around 5,000 Goan Catholics in Nairobi, Kenya. By the 20th century there were around 6,000 Goan Catholics in London, while in 2001, 9,000 were present in Swindon, United Kingdom.

Culture

Architecture

Goan Architecture is heavily influenced by Portuguese styles, a result of being a territory of Portugal for over 450 years. Houses influenced by Indian architecture were inward-looking with small windows and roofed with Mangalore tile. Houses were constructed with walls of wooden planks, mud, laterite brick, or stone. Most of these houses were rebuilt or refurbished from the mid-18th to the 20th century, and replaced by buildings with a mix of neo-Classic and neo-Gothic styles. Contemporary urban and rural housing display a strong Portuguese influence. It shows a variety of laterite brick structures and Mangalore tiled-roofed houses with steeply sloped roofs, design features common to houses in Portugal. Sometimes the walls are made of wooden planks, mud, or brick and stone. Inside the house a spacious hall is present, while outside there is a large porch in front. A plinth that indicates the owner of the house is present in front of the house. Courtyards are present in front of the houses, consisting of a grotto of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a Holy Cross made of hard laterite clay.

Cuisine

Coconut, coconut oil, and are common ingredients in most curries. Sorpotel—meat cooked in a spicy sauce—is one of the most popular dishes of the Goan Catholic community. Other popular meat preparations include Xacuti, Chorisa, Vindaloo, Pork Indad, and Assado de Leitoã. Canja de galinha and Chicken Cafreal are well-known chicken dishes. Fish curry and rice form the staple diet of Goan Catholics. Par-boiled rice, also known as red rice, is the traditional rice eaten and preferred over raw rice. Feni, a country liquor made from cashew apples, is a popular alcoholic beverage.
Patoleo are prepared on the Feasts of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 15 August, São João on 24 June and Konsâcheñ fest which occurs across Goa during the month of August. Kuswad is a term used for the sweet delicacies prepared during Christmas which include Kulkuls, Neuries and Perada.

Names and surnames

s, having variants in both Konkani and English, like Mingel and Magdu are common among Goan Catholics. Portuguese surnames like Lobo, D'Souza, Rodrigues, Fernandes and Pinto, are common among Goan Catholics. Goan Catholics use the native language Konkani forms of their surnames in Konkani-language contexts, along with their English forms in English-language contexts, such as Soz, Rudrig, and Pint instead of Sousa, Rodrigues, and Pinto. Some families use their original Konkani Brahmin :Category:Konkani-language surnames|surnames such as Prabhu, Kamat, Naik, Shet, and Shenoy.

Language and literature

Language

Goan Catholics speak the Konkani language which is key to the community's identity. Konkani is an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Indo-European family of languages, which is spoken predominantly on the west coast of India. According to linguists this dialect is largely derived from Maharashtri Prakrit and is similar to Bengali in terms of pronunciation. This dialect has a significant infusion of Marathi and Kannada loanwords. The Ethnologue identifies this dialect as the "Goan" dialect. The Goan Catholic dialect is written in the Roman script. Portuguese influence can be seen in the dialect's lexicon and syntax. 1,800 Portuguese lexical items are found in the Goan Catholic dialect. The syntactic patterns adopted from Portuguese include mostly word order patterns, such as the placement of the direct and the indirect object and of the adverb after the verb, the placement of the predicate noun after the copula, and the placement of the relative or reduced relative clause after the head noun. There are, however, some transformations as well among these patterns. Such syntactic modification is most evident in this particular dialect. It is observed only in the written word and in formal speech such as sermons. In recent times, more and more periodicals have abandoned the Portuguese syntactic patterns. The dialect is significantly different from the dialect spoken by the Hindu Goans not only with respect to Portuguese influence, but also with respect to grammatical and lexical characteristics.

Literature

The origin of their literature dates to 1563, when the first Konkani grammar was published by Fr Andre Vaz at St Paulo College at Old Goa. In 1567 the first Konkani-Portuguese dictionary was published by missionary priests at Rachol, Goa. In 1622 Thomas Stephens, an English Jesuit, published Doutrina Christam em Lingoa Bramana Canarim, which was the first book in Konkani and any Indian language. On 22 December 1821 the first periodical, Gazeta de Goa, edited by Antonio Jose de Lima Leitao, was published. On 22 January 1900 the first Portuguese newspaper, O Heraldo, was started by Prof. Messias Gomes. It was transformed into an English daily in 1987. Periodicals such as Amcho Ganv by Luis de Menezes, Vauraddeancho Ixxt, a weekly by Fr. Arcencio Fernandes and Fr. Gracianco Moraes, Aitarachem Vachop, a Konkani weekly run by the Salesians, and Gulab by Fr. Freddy J. da Costa were published in Goa. Konkani-Portuguese perodials such as O Concani, a weekly by Sebastiāo Jesus Dias, Sanjechem Noketr by B.F. Cabral, O Goano by Honarato Furtado and Francis Futardo, and Ave Maria edited by Antonio D'Cruz were published in Bombay. In February 1899 Udentenchem Sallok by Eduardo J. Bruno de Souza, the first Konkani periodical, was published as a fortnightly in Poona. The first Konkani book in the Devanagri script, Kristanv Doton ani Katisism by Dr. George Octaviano Pires, was published in Sholapore in 1894. Fr. Ludovico Pereria's monthly Dor Mhoineachi Rotti was published in Karachi in 1915. In 1911 the first Konkani novel, Kristanv Ghorabo, was published. Modern literature is diverse and includes themes such as historical awakening in Lambert Mascarenhas' Sorrowing Lies My Land, feminism in Maria Aurora Couto's Goa: A Daughters' Story, and fantasy in Nandita da Cunha's The Magic of Maya. In 1974, the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman published the Novo Korar of the Holy Bible in Konkani. Later, on 4 June 2006, the Archdiocese released the complete Catholic Bible in Konkani employing the Latin alphabet known as Povitr Pustok. In 2018, Archbishop of Goa and Daman Filipe Neri Ferrao launched the Povitr Pustok, a Konkani Bible app, a mobile phone application software with the entire Konkani Bible text.

Traditions and festivals

Traditions

Many Indian customs and traditions persist among the Goan Catholics, which are more conspicuous during their marriage festivities.
Traditionally, as in other Indian communities, arranged marriages were the norm. Pre-marriage traditions include Soirik, Utor, Mudi, Amontron, Porcond, Chuddo ceremony wherein the bride's forearms are adorned with colourful glass bangles of green, yellow, and red which are symbolic of fertility and married life, Saddo ceremony of cutting and sewing the bridal dress, the bridegroom's Hair-cutting ritual, and Bhuim jevon or Bhikream jevon. Dennem is sent to the groom's house the day before the wedding.
The Ros ceremony held on the evening before the wedding involves the parents, relatives, and friends blessing the soon-to-be-wed couple before they begin their married life. It is conducted at the bride's and bridegroom's respective homes, who along with their bridesmaids and best men are ceremonially bathed with Apros. The bridegroom's/bride's mother dabs her thumb in coconut oil and anoints her son's/daughter's forehead by placing the sign of the cross on it. Special commemorative songs called Zoti are sung for the occasion. On the wedding day, the bridal couple receive Besanv ceremoniously from their parents and elders before the families leave their individual homes for the church to celebrate the Resper which is followed by the wedding reception later in the evening.
Traditions post the reception include Hatant dinvcheak the bride solemnly by the father or the guardian of the bride to the groom's family, Shim ritual which involves crossing an imaginary boundary created by pouring liquor on the ground as the Vor prepare to leave for the groom's house. After the ritual, one or two relatives from the bride's side formally invite the newlyweds to the bride's home for a celebration the next day. This is known as Apovnnem in Konkani and the occasion is called Portovnnem.

Festivals

Konsachem fest celebrated on 15 August that involves blessing of new harvests are other Goan Catholic celebrations.
In addition to common Christian festivals like Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter, the community celebrates many other festivals of religious and historical significance. The Zagor, mainly celebrated in Siolim, in Bardez taluka, is a festival highlighted by dance, drama and music. The Feast of Saint Francis Xavier, one of the major festivals of the Goan Catholics, is celebrated on 3 December annually to honour the saint's death. Monti Saibinchem Fest or Moti Fest, which commemorates the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a major festivals celebrated on 8 September, especially in Chinchinim, Goa. Milagres Saibin is the feast of Our Lady of Miracles, celebrated at the Mapusa, Goa. The Goa Carnival is another major festival in Goa, highlighted with color, songs and music.

Costumes and ornaments

In the past, Goan Catholic women wore a hol, a white sheet over their saris, while going to Church.
In the early period of Portuguese rule, Goan Catholic women were married in whites saris and changed into a red dress or sari, known as saddo, at home. Women of the upper strata wore the Fota-Kimao after the Church ceremony. Fota was a blouse made of red velvet and satin with a black border and embroidered with gold thread. Accessories used along with the fota included a variety of jewellery worn on the head, ears, neck, and arms. The fator was an ornament that consisted of a green stone between two corals held by double chains. Together with the fator, women wore a set of five intricate chains known as contti, and other chains. Women wore bangles known as nille with matching carap on their ears. They also wore few small chains from the ear to the head, combs made of gold, silver, or tortoise shell, and rings on every finger. During the later period of Portuguese rule, women got married in Western clothes. The Cordao was a necklace of with two black-beaded chains reminiscent to the Hindu Mangalsutra, interspersed with roughly twenty gold coins, which formed a gold pendant, often in the shape of Jesus or the cross. A widow had to wear black clothes for the rest of her life and was not allowed to wear ornaments.

Society

Goan Catholics retained the same caste system which their ancestors had followed. A village in Goa was known as Ganv, its freeholder was the Ganvkar, and Ganvkari included the Ganvkars' village associations and co-operatives. Village communities were known as Ganvponn, which the Portuguese referred to as Comunidades.
The mass was celebrated in Latin; the Homily was delivered to the congregation in Konkani.

Caste

The community was divided into five castes: Bamonns, Chardos, Sudirs, Gauddos, Mahars, and Chamars.
The Bamonns were originally members of the priestly caste, and had taken up various occupations like agriculture, trade, commerce, and goldsmithy. Several sub-castes, such as the Goud Saraswat Brahmins, the Padyes, the Daivadnyas, the goldsmiths and some merchants, were lumped into the Christian caste of Bamonn.
The Chardos were converts from the Kshatriya caste, and included a few members from the Vaishya caste. Those Vaishyas who were not incorporated into the Chardo caste were called Gauddos, and formed the fourth group. The artisan converts formed the third-biggest group and were known as Sudirs. The Dalits or "Untouchables" who converted to Christianity became Mahars and Chamars, who formed the fifth group. They were later merged to the Sudirs. The Christian converts of the aboriginal stock known as Gavddis were termed Kunbi. Although they still obeserve the caste system, they consider it the unhappiest heritage of their pre-Christian past.

Occupation

After conversion, the most preferable occupation of Goan Catholic men was that of working on a ship, while others served as officers to the Portuguese, became doctors, architects, lawyers, or businessmen. Agriculture was mainly done by orthodox women, since they were skilled farmers, while orthodox men practised carpentry, constructing Churches and other structures for the Portuguese. In the late seventeenth century, many women had received education and became employed as teachers or factory workers. Other crafts and industries were nonexistent.

Performing arts

On 24 April 1950, Mogacho Aunddo, the first Konkani film by Al Jerry Braganza, was released at Mapusa, Goa. Frank Fernandes, whose stage name was Frank Fernand, was a renowned film maker and musician and is remembered for his movies like Amchem Noxib in 1963 and Nirmonn in 1966. Other films produced in Goa include Bhunyarantlo Monis and Padri. Remo Fernandes, a singer and musician, was the first person to introduce fusion music in India.
The Konkani hymn Asli Mata Dukhest, which was translated into Konkani from the Latin hymn Stabat Mater, is sung during Lent. Jocachim Miranda, a Goan Catholic priest, composed Riglo Jezu Molliant during his Canara mission. Diptivonti, Sulokinni, an eighteenth-century Konkani hymn, was performed at a concert held in the Holy Spirit Church, Margao, Goa. Other hymns composed by Goan Catholics include Dona Barrete's Papeanchi Saratinni, Carlos Jrindade Dias' Sam Jose Bogta Bagvionta, and Fr. Pascal Baylon Dias' San Francisco Xaveria. Konkani pop music became popular after Indian Independence. Chris Perry and Lorna Cordeiro are known for the Bebdo in 1976 and Pisso in the 1970s, while Frank Fernand's Konkani ballad Claudia from 1966 is popular.
The Mando, a contemporary form of dance music, evolved in Salcette in the first half of the nineteenth century out of wedding music, specifically the Ovi. The songs in this style are serene and sedate, generally a monologue in the Bramhin Konkani dialects of the South Goan villages of Loutolim, Raia, Curtorim, and Benaulim. They are traditionally sung during the Shim ceremony. Early composers of the Mando were Ligorio de Costa of Courtarim and Carlos Trindade Dias. Deknni is a semi-classical dance form. One woman starts the dance and is later accompanied by other dancers. The Mussoll, believed to be first performed by the Kshatriyas of Chandor, commemorates the victory of King Harihara II over the Chola Empire at Chandrapur fortification in the fourteenth century. Other dances are the Portuguese Corridinho and Marcha. Dulpod is dance music with a quick rhythm and themes from everyday Goan life. Fell is a music genre performed by men and women during the Goa Carnival. Other dances performed at the Goan Carnival are Fulwali, Nistekaram, Vauradi, and Kunbi. The Ghumot is a musical instrument played, especially during weddings, and is used while performing a Mando. The instrument has the form of an earthen pot that is open at both sides. One end is covered with the skin of some wild animal, and the other is left open.
Konkani Plays, known as Tiatr, a form of classic stage performance with live singing and acting, were written and staged in Goa. The form evolved in the 20th century with pioneer tiatrists such as Jao Agostinho Fernandes. Tiatr's themes include melodramas about family and domestic life, with each lyricist offering his own explanation for life's varied problems. Tiatrists include Prince Jacob and Roseferns, and in the past M. Boyer, C. Alvares, and Alfred Rose. On 17 April 1982 the first tiatr Italian Bhurgo by Lucasinho Ribeiro was staged in Mumbai. In 2007, the Government of Goa started the Tiatr Academy to facilitate the development of the Tiart. The tradition Of Voviyo, ancient folk songs that were sung by women during a Ros, began prior to 1510 A.D. The tradition had to be discarded due to Portuguese prosecution, and the songs now live in the form of archives. The few which still prevail are recited to this day at weddings, expressing lofty sentiments that give vent to the feelings of the people about the marriage partners and their families and invoke the blessing of God on them like machlies.
Goan Catholics have also played an important role in Bollywood music.

Organisations

Goenkaranchi Ekvot is a registered organisation of Goan Catholics residing in Delhi. In Bangalore, associations such as the Karnataka Goan Association serve the community. The Kuwait Konknni Kendr is a well-known Goan Catholic organisation in Kuwait. The Goan Overseas Association in Toronto, Indian Catholic Association of Central Texas, the Indo-Pakistani Christian Association, and the Canorient Christian Association are popular organisations in North America. In the United Kingdom, Goan Voice UK, the Young London Goan Society, Goan Community Association, and Siolim Association, based in London, are popular organisations. In the Middle East, the Goan Community of Oman is well known.

In popular culture

Goan Catholics have been a part of many Bollywood films owing to their musical skills. They are seen in many films playing Goan Catholic families and speak Hindi with a Goan accent.
Goan CatholicsNotes
Adeodato BarretoIndo-Portuguese poet and writer
Abade Faria19th century priest
Teresa AlbuquerqueHistorian
Alfred RoseSinger, Tiatrist
Bruno CoutinhoIndian Arjuna Award winning footballer
Charles CorreaArchitect
Claude MoraesMember of the European Parliament for the Labour representing London elected in 1999 and re-elected in 2004 and 2009
Dinesh D'SouzaAmerican writer and public speaker
Dom MoraesIndian poet, writer and columnist
Eduardo FaleiroFormer member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament
Evarist PintoArchbishop of Karachi, Pakistan
Francisco Luís GomesIndo-Portuguese physician, politician, writer, historian, and economist
Ivan DiasArchbishop of Bombay from 8 November 1996 – 20 May 2006, Prefect of Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Rome
Keith VazBritish Labour Party politician, Member of Parliament for Leicester East
Valerie VazBritish Labour Party politician, Member of Parliament for Walsall South
Luís de Menezes BragançaJournalist, writer and anti-colonial activist
Oswald GraciasCardinal, Archbishop of Mumbai
Pio Gama PintoKenyan independence-era journalist and politician. He was assassinated on 25 February 1965
Leander PaesInternational tennis player
Lorna CordeiroGoan Konkani language singer and tiatrist
Nicole FariaFirst woman from India to win Miss Earth
Remo FernandesIndian singer and musician
José Gerson da CunhaIndo-Portuguese physician, orientalist, historian and numismatist
Froilano de MelloIndo-Portuguese microbiologist, medical scientist, professor, author and independent MP in the Portuguese parliament
Wallis MathiasPakistani ex-cricketer
Anthony MascarenhasExposed war crimes in East Pakistan that altered international opinion. Won international journalism awards
Jerry PintoWriter
Patricia RozarioMumbai-born British soprano OBE
Joseph VazCatholic missionary, "Apostle of Sri Lanka", ministered to Sri Lankan Catholics persecuted by Dutch colonial regime

Citiations