Due to mass emigration of people (mainly Goan Catholics) from Goa, as well as mass migration from mainland India, since 1961, the ethnic, religious and cultural demographics of Goa have been severely altered. This exchange of population has made the Goan natives a virtual minority in their homeland.[5]
Note: This article is for information on the ethnic Goan people (many in diaspora), and not residents living within the state of Goa.
Goans are generally multilingual, but mainly speak the Konkani language, a Prakrit based language belonging to the Southern group of Indo-Aryan Languages. Various dialects of Konkani spoken by the Goans include Bardezkari, Saxtti, Pednekari andAntruz. The Konkani spoken by the Catholics is notably different from those of the Hindus, since it has a lot of Portuguese influence in its vocabulary.[10]
Konkani was suppressed for official documentation use only not for unofficial use under the Portuguese governance, playing a minor part in education of the past generations. All Goans were educated in Portuguese in the past when Goa was an overseas province of Portugal. A small minority of Goans are descendants of the Portuguese (Luso-Indian ethnicity) and speak Portuguese.[11] However, a number of native Christians also used Portuguese as their first language prior to 1961.
Goans use Devanagari (official) and Latin script (liturgical and historical) for education as well as communication (personal, formal and religious). However the entire liturgy of the Catholic church is solely in the Latin script, having been influenced by the Portuguese colonial rule. In the past other scripts such as Goykanadi, Modi, Kannada and Persian were also used, but later fell into disuse owing to many social, political and religious reasons.[12][13]
Portuguese is still spoken as a first language by a number of Goans, though it is mainly restricted to upper-class Catholic families and the older generation. However, the annual number of Goans learning Portuguese as a second language has been continuously increasing in the 21st century through introduction in schools and the opening of Instituto Camões.[14][15][16]
As per the 1909 statistics, the Catholic population stood at 293,628 out of a total population 365,291 (80.33%).[18]
Within Goa, there has been a steady decline of Christianity as a percentage of the total population due to Goan emigration to other Indian cities (especially Mumbai) and foreign countries,[19] and a rise of other religions due to non-Goan migration from the other states of India.[20]Religious conversion seems to play little role in the demographic change.
According to the 2011 census, out of the Indian population residing in Goa (1,458,545 persons), 66.1% were Hindu, 25.1% were Christian, 8.32% were Muslim, and 0.1% were Sikh.[21]
Christianity
The Catholics display Portuguese influence, due to over 451 years of direct rule and interaction with the Portuguese people as an overseas province.[22]Portuguese names are common among the Goan Catholics.[23] A variation of the caste system is followed, but not rigidly due to Portuguese efforts to abolish caste discrimination among the local converts and homogenise them into a single entity.[24] There are some distinct Bamonn, Chardó, Gauddo and Sudir communities in Goa that are mainly endogamous.[25] Most Catholic families also share Portuguese ancestry, and some openly count themselves as 'mestiço' (lit. mixed-race).[26]
Hinduism
Goan Hindus refer to themselves as "Konkane" (Devanagari Konkani: कोंकणे), meaning the residents of an area broadly identified as Konkan.[27] Hindus in Goa are divided into many different castes and sub-castes, known as Jatis. They use their village names to identify their clans, some of them use titles. Some are known by the occupation their ancestors have been practising; Nayak, Borkar, Raikar, Keni, Prabhu, Kamat, Lotlikar, Chodankar, Mandrekar, Naik, Bhat, Tari, Gaude are some examples.
Islam
Only a small number of native Muslims remain and are known as Moir, the word is derived from the Portuguese Mouro, which means Moor. Muçulmano was the word later used in Portuguese to identify them, which is still the world used in today's Portuguese.[28][29]
Many Goans have also chosen to migrate to the former Portuguese territories (especially Mozambique) and to Portugal itself.
Pre-Portuguese migrations
There are no definitive records of Goan migration prior to the Portuguese conquests in the region corresponding to nowadays Goa. One reason being that the Goan people were not a distinct ethnic group as yet.
Migrations from 1510–1700s (first phase)
The first recorded instances of significant emigrations of Goans could be traced back to the Portuguese conquest of Goa in 1510 and the subsequent flight of the surviving Muslim residents to the territories ruled by the Sultanate of Bijapur.[32] Sizable numbers of Hindus also later fled to Mangalore and Kanara during the 16th–17th centuries due to the increasing Christianization of Goa. They were soon followed by some newly-converted Catholics, who fled the Goa Inquisition.[22] There were also emigrations from Goa to Kanara to escape the War of the League of the Indies, the Dutch–Portuguese War, the Maratha Invasion of Goa (1683), taxation as well as epidemics during the same time period.[33] Goan Catholics also started traveling overseas during the latter part of this time period. There were migrations of Goan Catholics to other parts of the global Portuguese Empire, such as Portugal, Mozambique,[26]Ormuz, Muscat, Timor, Brasil, Malaca, Pegu, and Colombo. 48 Goan Catholics permanently migrated to Portugal during the 18th century.[34] Goan involvement in Portuguese trade around the Indian Ocean involved both Hindu and Catholic Goan communities.[35] However, upper-caste Goan Hindus did not travel to foreign countries due to the religious prohibition imposed by the Dharmaśāstras, which states that crossing salt water would corrupt oneself.[36]
A small number of Goans moved to Burma, to join the already established community in Pegu (now Bago). Another destination for mainly the Catholic community, was Africa. Most of the emigrants hailed from the province of Bardes, due to their high literacy rate, and the Velhas Conquistas region in general.[38] Immigration into Africa came to end after the Decolonisation of Africa, during the 1950-60s.
In 1880, there were already 29,216 Goans living outside of Goa. By 1954, the number had risen to 180,000.[41]
Migration from 1960s–present (current phase)
After the Annexation of Goa in 1961 by the Republic of India, there has been a steep rise in the number of emigrants of Goan origin. Many had applied and were granted Portuguese passports in order to obtain a European residence. The educated class found it difficult to get jobs within Goa due to the high influx of non-Goans into Goa, and this encouraged many of them to move to the Gulf states.[22]
Until the early 1970s there were substantial populations of Goans in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. There have also, historically, been Goans in former British colonies of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, and Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola. The end of colonial rule brought a subsequent process of Africanisation and a wave of expulsion of South Asians from Uganda (1972) and Malawi (1974) forced the community to migrate elsewhere.[40]
Currently it is estimated that there are around 600,000 Goans living outside India.[42]
Professions
Since the Second Phase of migrations, Goans have had a variety of professions. In British India they were personal butlers or physicians to the English and Parsi elite in India. On the Ships and Cruise liners they were sailors, stewards, chefs, musicians and dancers. Many have also been working on oil rigs. Many Goan doctors worked in African colonies of Portugal, as well as being also active in British India.[43]
^Pereira, José (2000). Song of Goa: mandos of yearning. Aryan Books International. pp. 234 pages. ISBN9788173051661.
^Cabral e Sá, Mário (1997). Wind of fire: the music and musicians of Goa. Promilla & Co. pp. 373 pages(see page 62). ISBN9788185002194.
^Pinto, Cecil (2003-11-07). "Goanese & non-Goans". Goa Today magazine. Goa Publications. Archived from the original on 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
^Anvita Abbi; R. S. Gupta; Ayesha Kidwai (2001). Linguistic structure and language dynamics in South Asia: papers from the proceedings of SALA XVIII Roundtable. Motilal Banarsidass, 2001 – Language Arts & Disciplines -. pp. 409 pages (Chapter 4 Portuguese influence on Konkani syntax). ISBN9788120817654.
^ abcda Silva Gracias, Fatima (1997). "The Impact of Portuguese Culture in Goa: A Myth or Reality". In Charles J. Borges (ed.). Goa and Portugal: Their Cultural Links. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. pp. 41–51.
^Kulakarṇī, A. Rā (2006). Explorations in the Deccan history Volume 9 of Monograph series. Pragati Publications in association with Indian Council of Historical Research. pp. 217 pages(see page 129). ISBN9788173071089.
^Śiroḍakara, Pra. Pā; Mandal, H. K. (1993). People of India: Goa Volume 21 of People of India, Kumar Suresh Singh Volume 21 of State Series, Kumar Suresh Singh. Anthropological Survey of India. pp. 283 pages. ISBN9788171547609.
^de Souza, Teotónio (1979). Medieval Goa. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company. p. 116.
^Disney, Anthony (1996). The Gulf Route from India to Portugal in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. Actas do XII Seminário Internacional de História Indo-Portuguesa. p. 532.
^
Sequeira Anthony, Philomena (2008). "Hindu dominance of Goa-based Long Distance Trade during the Eighteenth Century". In Stephen S. Jeyaseela (ed.). The Indian Trade at the Asian Frontier. New Delhi: Gyan Publishing House. pp. 225–256.