The Goan Culture
The Goan Catholic culture is a combination of Indian and Portuguese cultures.Konkani is a official language of Goa.Religious practices are followed by everyone whoever settles in Goa.Most people tend to have a thinking that Goa is predominantly a Christian state but the major religion of Goa is Hinduism.
The most popular festival in Goa is Goa Carnival, Ganesh Chaturthi,Diwali, Christmas,Easter.
Traditional Goan Attire
The women wear a traditional sari with a tied knot using their ‘Kunbi palloo’ and have a very distinctive dressing style. Goan Catholic women wear dresses/gowns, while Hindu women wear sari called Nav-vari. Other traditional costumes of Goa people are Pano Bhaju, Valkal is a string of beads and leafy loincloths which is still worn in tribes. Kashti is a tied knot and saree. Goans catholic brides wear a white gown
Food of Goa
The staple food of the people of Goa is rice and fish curry. Most of their dishes use coconuts, rice, fish, pork, meat and local spices like kokum. Goa was a Portuguese colony prior to 1961 and hence the Portuguese influenced most of their food.
Goan food is considered incomplete without fish. Rice, seafood, coconut, vegetables, meat, pork and local spices are some of the main ingredients. Goan cuisine consists of regional foods popular in Goa, an Indian state located along India’s west coast on the shore of the Arabian Sea.
Bebinca, also known as bibik or bebinka, is a famous sweet of Goa. It is a type of pudding and a traditional Indo-Portuguese dessert.Traditional Bebinca has seven layers. The ingredients include plain flour, sugar, ghee (clarified butter), egg yolk, and coconut milk. It is a traditional sweet of Goa, specially popular during Christmas.
Traditional Dance of Goa
- Dekhni dance, folk dance from Goa-The dekhni represents an attractive mixture of folk culture and Western music, danced mostly by Christian girls in fully Indian dress. Dekhni in Konkani language means “bewitching beauty”.
- The Fugdi is a traditional dance of Goa that is quite popular among the womenfolk of Goa.
- Dhalo is a popular ritual folk dance form Goa, India. The dance is performed by women and serves as a prayer of protection for their households. The songs to which the dance is performed are usually sung in Konkani language or Marathi.