HISTORY

A tiny beauty spot on the face of mother India, Goa is a true kaleidoscope of colors, customs, traditions, attires, cuisines, feasts, festivals, history and culture.

Goa presents a breathtaking celebration of life in vivid hues. Her equally fascinating destination characteristics range from the emerald Western Ghats in the east, the remnants of history at the Terekhol fort crowning her northern borders, the blazing silver sands on the West coast flanked by the Arabian Sea to the valiant, southern taluka of Canacona. The sun-kissed beaches, the quiet of the village life to the vibrancy of the modern-day city life, Goa is a fascinating history and culture, an experience in her diversity, which breathes her very essence. Goa is an exploration.

The evolution of the Goan society and culture offers a fascinating story, deeply rooted in her glorious past. The changing face of Goan society and culture can be traced through three distinct periods of the history: the Pre-Portuguese, the Portuguese and the post liberation period. This superlative description of Goa is not for touristic consumption but her very true face. Before musing on Goa's historic evolution one tries to dwell on the etymology of the name of the state i.e. Goa, a lusitanised and Eurocentric version of her name as baptized by her erstwhile colonial masters--the Portuguese--to rhyme with their own Lisboa (Lisbon). As their maxim went, with reference to their first Capital in Goa i.e. today's Old Goa, "Those who have seen Old Goa need not see Lisboa."

Since ancient and medieval times Goa has been called ‘Gomantak', ‘Goparashtra', ‘Gorashtra', ‘ Goem', ‘ Gove ‘, ‘Sindabur', 'Goembab', ‘Kave', ‘Kalyangude', ‘Goa Revati Dvipa', ‘Konkanam', ‘Goi', ‘Aprant', ‘Sunaprant', ‘Gomantha Durgha'; the etymological root in most of these names of yore is ‘Go', a Sanskritic reference too the cow, the sacred and economically viable animal. Goa has a long and chequered history beginning in her creation till the present day.

Her earliest settlers were the pre-historic prote-Australoid races like the Gavdas, Kunbis, Kharvis (Kols), Mahars, collectively called the ‘Konks', the Konkani-speaking race, Konkani being the original language of all Goans. Her later settlers are the Aryans like Goud Saraswats, Brahmins, Bhatts, Kshatriyas, Sheths, Vaishyas, etc.

The Gavdas or Kunbis formed the ancient village communities of Goa called the ‘Gaunkaris'. They started the earliest Panchayat system in Goa called the ‘Gaunponn' (the village Council). Their staple food comprise of rice called the Ukdo (parboiled), fish, fish-curry (kodi or uman), rice gruel (pez), amil (of nachnni), etc. They possess their own specific culture, folk songs and dances like Dhalos, Fugdi, etc. The Goud Saraswats are supposed to have migrated from North India. The Aryans took over the leadership of the village Communities from the original settlers of Goa.

PRAJAL A SAKHARDANDE,
a lecturer in History at the Dhempe College or Arts & Science, Miramar-Panjim. He is likely to continue recounting the History of Goa in the forthcoming issues.