The Navind Times
Published on: June 24, 2012 – 02:12

By Lida João

The church of São João Baptista founded by the Jesuits in Colva in 1581 was transferred to Monte hill of Benaulim in 1596. Soon after, in 1596, a church was built in the ward and was called ‘Povoaçao’.
Another church founded in 1539, is situated at Carambolim in Tiswadi taluka. And a church built in 1658 exists in Pilerne, Bardez. The Saviour of the World Church at Salvador do Mundo founded in 1565 in Serula, the largest village in Bardez, comprising of three parishes Salvador de Mundo, Penha do Franca and Succorro and the St Anthony’s church in Siolim celebrate the feast of São João with the traditional sangod.
The uniqueness of this festival is that the youth wear the kopel made of the São João vale on their heads and go from door to door singing by banging the piddes in front of the houses in the compound ‘San Juanv, San Juanv Ghunvta Mure’. The traditional Goan sweets like patoleo, sannas are served and so are traditional Goan dishes.
The celebration of St John’s Eve or Midsummer’s Eve was, from ancient times, a festival of the summer solstice. It is celebrated in the night from the June 23 to June 24, and on June 24. Traditions include singing songs and dancing until the sun sets, telling tales, searching for the magic fern that blossom at midnight, jumping over bonfires, greeting the rising midsummer sun and washing the face with morning dew. Young girls float flower wreaths and collect several species of medicinal plants that they arrange in a bunch and hang over doorways or dip in a vessel with water. These are exposed to the night’s dew with which they cleanse their faces. Tradition holds it that the medicinal plants mentioned above are most effective when dipped in water and collected from seven different springs. Women who wanted to be fertile had to bathe in the sea until they were washed by nine waves.
On St John’s Eve, boys usually collect bones and other rubbish and burn them. The fires, it is believed, is to drive away dragons from poisoning springs and wells. The best-known midsummer ritual is the lighting of the bonfire and jumping over it. When it is relatively safe to jump over the bonfire, it is done three times for good luck at the cry of ‘witches off’! This is seen as a way of guaranteeing prosperity and avoiding bad luck. Avoidance of lighting of fire invites the destruction of your house by fire. The fire also frightens away mischievous spirits thus ensuring a good harvest. Bigger the fire, the more the mischievous spirits stay away.
Rural life is celebrated through typical clothing, food, and dance. Square dancing/ quadrilha features couple formations in a mock wedding where the bride and groom are the central attraction of the dancing. A wheel is also rolled downhill to signify that the sun then rises to the highest point of its circle and at once turns back.
In folk magic, midsummer’s night was a very potent night for many small rituals, mostly for young maidens seeking suitors. An old Swedish tradition says that unmarried girls should, before bedtime, on midsummer’s eve pick seven kinds of flowers and jump over seven round pole fences and then sleep with the flowers under the pillow. During the night they will dream about the boys they will get married to. It is a tradition too for people to become godfathers and blood brothers on this day, as St John is a symbol of character and rectitude.
This is a festive day, when people eat Caldo Verde (cabbage and potato soup), Sardinha Assada (grilled sardines), bread and drink red wine and água-pé (grape juice with a small percentage of alcohol) and revel. This festival stresses on the importance of medicinal plants, especially in relation to health, youth and beauty; the protective character of fire to ward men off evil spirits and witches and, finally, the purifying and miraculous effects of water.

Studying Goan migration… Down Under

In today’s globalised world, distance seems to
matter less than every before. Economic
opportunity, access for jobs or cultural openness
can make Sydney, Doha or Perth seem like a suburb
of Mapusa or Margao. A book one recently received
and called ‘Goenkars in Western Australia’ only
further underlines such possibilities.

This book “recounts the voices of Goan migrants in Western
Australia and retraces their experiences as they came to this
land in pursuit of their aspirations and hopes of building
new lives.” A back-cover blurb also tells us, “the Goans are
often described as an exemplar minority migrant community in
multicultural Australia.”

So that makes you curious: why examplar? And how do they make
their impact felt? Goans in Australia, we’re told, have
multiple attachments to both Australia and Goa. They are
seen as a “multicultural success story”. Besides, they show
“high levels of integration and (a) successful impact on
Australian professional life.” And, who doesn’t want to hear
also that “they have successfully contributed to the creation
of multicultural Australia in multiple ways”?

This book flows out of a collaborative project
between the Goan Overseas Association (WA) Inc.
and Dr Jaya Earnest at Curtin University (email
contacts below), courtesy whom I managed to get a
copy. Its subtitle is “Voices and Images of a
Vibrant Goan Community”. Incidentally, the Goan
Overseas Association (WA) Inc is a 400-member
strong not-for-profit community.

This large-sized book throws up some interesting facts. For
instance:

* Only in 1966 did the Liberal-Country Party Government begin
dismantling the White Australia policy, and this meant
allowing “distinguished” non-Europeans in. Until the late
1960s, the contentious principle of “assimilation” was the
basis of admitting migrants.

* Goans began to migrate out of Africa in the late 1960s,
when British colonialism ended and the practice of
“Africanisation” became widespread in former British
colonies or protectorates. They began to look for a new
beginning, and Australia was among the countries sought for
resettlement.

* Opportunities for Goan migrants in the Middle East began to
decline during the mid-1990s, as local citizens acquired
new skills too. The Kuwait-Iraq crisis was a significant
event. Goans who migrated to Western Australia from the
Middle East arrived as recently as the late 1980s and
1990s. Their primary reason for migration (besides the
Iraq-Kuwait conflict) was a better future for their
children, and a lack of avenues for permanent settlement in
the Middle East.

* Australia is a preferred country for migration because
Goans feel it offers a way of life and culture more suited
to their upbringing and interests. Most Catholic Goans in
India receive an English education. The temperate climate
and proximity of Perth to India were other attractions.

In its various chapters, this book pieces the mosaic of Goan
migration Down Under. For instance, Goans made first contact
with the shores of Australia in the middle of the 19th
century, when they landed as crew members of sailing ships
from “British India” and called into ports such as Albany,
Fremantle and Bunbury in Western Australia.

We’re told: “Sailing on towards the seaports of Adelaide and
Sydney alongside Afghans, camels and other goods, Goans
helped open up the rugged and unexplored interior of the
continent. However, it was not until the late 1950s and
early 1960s that the first significant wave of Goan migration
occurred.”

Goans came from Uganda, Malawi and later Kenya and
Tanzania. By the mid-1970s, many more Goans got
visas through the newly-introduced points system.
Goans were able to qualify for immigration on
grounds of family reunion, professional skills or
the business criteria.

Apart from East Africa, Goan migrants also came from
Southeast Asia, the Middle East, India and the UK. In the
early 1970s, couples and families began to reach out to each
other. They did so via New Year’s Eve parties, burning the
old man, St Francis Xavier Feasts, and celebrations over the
Immaculate Conception and Mae de Deus feasts.

Apart from the brief historical overview, there are many
images, names and details about the experiences of Goans in
migration. Art-logos of the GOA over the years, youth
activities, and even the story of the live radio programme
“Goans on Air” (95.3 FM 6EBA World Radio, in 2006) are
detailed in the book. This, we are told, was the first and
only live Goan radio show hosted by the Goan community in
Australia. The book suggests it is still available from 7 to
8 am on EBA 95.3FM World Radio on each Friday morning.

There are discussions over the future of the
diasporic initiative GOA. “Beyond socialising, can
we do more?” asks one section of the book. A
crucial concern indeed. Issues of social justice,
creating space for families, and the elderly, are
raised.

Another section of the book focuses on “Goan Voices” and
covers narratives of Goans in Western Australia. Talking to
Goan expats Down Under, the book asks many why they shifted
to Australia.

Some complain about Africanisation, others about the
uncertainties of Gulf employment. There are issues about
having to learn Marathi and Hindi while speaking English at
home. A lady identified as Ruth is quoted saying: “My
husband knew about eight foreign languages, but he didn’t
know Hindi. His educational background was Portuguese and
French, so he found that getting jobs was very difficult, and
we decided to migrate here as teachers. He knew Italian and
French, and he immigrated as an Italian and French teacher.”

Also looked at is the first impressions of new migrants into
Australia, and how they managed to cope. Some found the
skies a deeper hue of blue, the cities “so clean after coming
from Bombay” and yet were shocked that everything closed at 5
pm. Employment and racism are other issues touched on here,
as is the lack of recognition for qualifications and previous
experience gained by the migrants prior to arriving in
Australia.

Acculturation, integration, settling-in,
contribution to the wider community, and a pride in
their Goan identity and values — all these themes
get touched upon. There is a section for youth
voices too, and another of photographs at the end.
One section is devoted to giving a history of Goa,
migration, celebration, song and food.

Tiny Goa has a big stake in migration. Yet, till now, it has
mostly been treated as a necessary evil at best, not as the
opportunity it could be strategically converted into. Or, it
is seen as something which should be conveniently ignored.
Yet, for many Goans, migration remains an important issue.

In the fallout of the recent election result, the NRI
Commission has been rendered headless. In the past too, it
did not always have at its helm individuals who have empathy
towards the many migrants and their valid concerns. One can
only wait and watch to see if Goa’s attitude towards her
not-so prodigal sons and daughters changes for the better.

Goenkars in Western Australia
Voices and Images of a Vibrant Goan Community
Jaya Earnest J.Earnest@curtin.edu.au
GOA (WA) Inc-Black Swan Press, Perth
97809 80631333 (pb) Pp 258

First published in Gomantak Times, April 9, 2012.

1. That the only state in India having two official state languages is Goa with Konkani and Marathi.

2. That Goa is the smallest state of India having a national highway road span of only 120 km N to S and around 80 kms E to W.

3. That Goas’ official language, Konkani, is the only Indian language that is written in two scripts, Devnagri and Roman English script.

4. That Goa is the only state where the state road transport is named after an old age dynasty called Kadamba.

5. That Goa is the second state after Orissa where the world famous Olive Ridley Turtles come to lay their eggs on Morjim beach.

6. That Goa is the state having the whole non-decompos-ing miraculous remains of St Francis Xavier at old Goa.

7. That Goa is the only Indian state with an active and enforced uniform Civil Code implemented by the Portuguese.

8. That if you are a Goan you can avail of Portuguese Nationality Passport.

9. That the first printing press of Asia was installed in Goa at St Pauls’ college in 1556.

10. That the first medical school of India was established in Goa set up in 1842 at Panaji, demolished in 2004.

11. That Goa is exporting 60% of Indias’ Mineral Ore to Japan.

12. That Goa is the first state in India to permanently host the international film festival.

13. That Goa is the only place where one can hire a two wheeler taxi called “pilots.”

14. That Goas’ only airport is military airport of the Navy.

15. That the one and only one Naval Aviation Museum of Asia is located at Vasco in Goa.

16. That India has only two temples dedicated to the Brahma of the Hindu Trinity. One is in Rajasthan and other in Goa; 17.7 km from Valpoi in the village of Carambolim Brahma Temple.

17. That Mumbai owes its daily bread to Goa more precisely, to migrant bakers from Saligao and Siolim who brought with them the blessed Pao to Mumbai.

18. That Goa, even though the smallest state in India, has the highest bank saving deposit.

19. That Asias’ only floating casino is launched in Goas’ coastal waters at Panaji harbour known as “Caravela.”

20. That Indias’ largest laterite stone carving of St. Mirabai is at ancestral Goa at Loutolim village.

21. That Goa is the only state of India having the highest forest destiny cover of 33% of total land mass.

22. That the first English medium high school in Goa was established in 1896 at St. Josephs’ High School, Arpora.

23. Goa is the first state in India werein one can register car, bike or other vehicle on line from the dealers directly which started in June ’06 and one need not go to R.T.O. for registration.

PROUD TO BE GOAN!

Dear Mr. Colaco,

I am writing to request the assistance of the Goan Overseas Association of NSW Inc in a research project called ‘Multiculturalism and Temporary Migration’, which is being conducted in the Department of Sociology at the University of Sydney. My name is Elsa Koleth and I am a PhD candidate in the Department, under the supervision of Professor Stephen Castles (Research Chair in Sociology). This study is being undertaken for the purpose of completing my PhD dissertation, with a view to disseminating the results of the study more broadly in conferences, journal articles and other publications.

The project investigates the way in which temporary migration challenges and extends existing visions of multiculturalism in Australia. The central case study of the project concerns people who have migrated to Australia from India, as India has become one of the main source countries for both permanent and temporary immigration to Australia. It examines the experiences of migrants from India who are in Australia on a long-term temporary basis, those who arrived in Australia on temporary visas and transitioned to permanent status in the last ten years, and more established migrants from India who have lived in Australia for longer than fifteen years.

It is hoped that the findings from the case study will contribute to a better understanding of the issues facing people who migrate on a temporary basis, as well as implications for Australian society in responding to the changing nature of migration (particularly the increase in temporary migration) and diversity in cities and local communities. In the process, it is also hoped the study will shed more light on the experiences of the growing population of Indian migrants in Australia.

I am seeking to recruit participants of Indian background who are living in Sydney and who meet one of the following criteria to be interviewed for the project:
– Individuals who migrated to Australia from India on a student visa and currently have temporary migration status in Australia
– Individuals who migrated to Australia from India on a Temporary (long stay) Business Visa (Subclass 457), or are dependents of a person who migrated on a 457 visa, and currently have temporary migration status in Australia
– Individuals who first migrated to Australia on a temporary visa (whether student or working visa) between 2000 and 2012 and have now acquired permanent residence in Australia
– Individuals who migrated to Australia from India prior to 1995 and are long-term settlers in Australia.

At this stage of the project I am writing to enquire whether your organisation would be willing to assist in communicating with eligible people to participate in the study. The assistance requested is the circulation of a notice that invites participation in the study amongst the organisation’s networks. The notice could be circulated, as appropriate, in the form of an email, and/or flyer notice in relevant publications circulated by the organisation (e.g. newsletter or bulletin), and/or at events held by the organisation (hardcopies of the flyer notice can be supplied for this purpose if required).

Your organisation’s assistance in communicating with potential participants for this study would be most valuable. I would be grateful if you could inform me whether this would be possible. If so, I can forward you a copy of an email and flyer notice to be circulated amongst your networks in the relevant forms.

I would be happy to discuss these matters further with you at your convenience. Please feel free to contact me at ekol7647@uni.sydney.edu.au or on 0438 809 662.

Yours sincerely,

Elsa Koleth

Elsa Koleth | PhD Candidate
School of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY
RC Mills Building, A26 | The University of Sydney | NSW | 2006
T +61 438 809 662 | E ekol7647@uni.sydney.edu.au
W http://sydney.edu.au/arts/transformation_migration/index.shtml

From: ” NRI office Goa”
Date: 3 May 2012 4:46:03 PM AEST
To: , , Cc:
Subject: Directory on Goan Diaspora
Dear Sir / Madam,

I am pleased to inform you that the Govt. of Goa, Department of NRI Affairs has
decided to bring out a Directory on Goan Diaspora. The idea is to include therein
the particulars of eminent Goans such as Doctors, Scientists, Architects,
Educationists, Information Technologists, etc. who have distinguished themselves
in the field of their speciality.

I am quiet sure that some of the eminent Goans settled in Sydney and New South
Wales in Australia are Members of your Association, and if not, are atleast known
to you or your colleagues.

On behalf of the Department of NRI Affairs, I would like to request you to kindly
furnish the particulars of such eminent Goans even though they may have taken up
Citizenship of foreign countries, to enable us to include them in the Directory on
Goan Diaspora.

Awaiting positive response from your end by 15th May 2012 and thanking you in
anticipation.

With Regards

(U.D. Kamat)