Carnival in Goa

Last updated
Goan Carnaval
Goa Carnaval.jpg
People dancing during Goa Carnaval.jpg
Floats at Carnaval in Goa 2.jpg
Floats for Goa carnaval.jpg
From Top left to right: City decorated for Carnaval, People dancing on streets, Floats during Carnaval
Also calledCarnaval, Carnival
Observed by Goans, communities worldwide
Type Cultural
SignificanceCelebration prior to fasting season of Lent
BeginsFebruary
2023 dateAfternoon, February 18 –
midday, February 21
2024 dateAfternoon, February 10 –
midday, February 13
2025 dateAfternoon, March 1 –
midday, March 4
2026 dateAfternoon, February 14 –
midday, February 17
FrequencyAnnual

Carnival in Goa, also called "Carnaval", "Intruz", "Entrado", [1] or (colloquially) "Viva Carnival" [2] refers to the festival of carnival, in the Indian state of Goa. Though significantly smaller than the well-known Rio Carnival or the Portuguese Carnival of Madeira, the Goa Carnival is the largest in India and one of the few traditional celebrations of the Western Christian holiday in Asia. [3] The current version of the Goa Carnival was modelled after the Rio Carnival by a local musician named Timoteo Fernandes and imposed in 1965 to attract tourists. It has since turned into a major tourist attraction for the small state. [2]

Contents

Origin

While the roots of the Carnival in Goa date back to the introduction of Roman Catholic traditions during the Portuguese conquest of Goa, being celebrated since the eighteenth century, [4] the festival itself fell into obscurity during the later days of colonialism, as Portugal's authoritarian regime known and is celebrated on the same day as Portugal Estado Novo limited freedom of assembly and press. [5]

After the end of Portuguese rule, the Brazilian version of the festival was imposed by Timoteo Fernandes in 1965, a Goan musician who modeled it after the famed Rio Carnival. [6] [4] This was done to attract more tourism. [2] Today, the urban parade includes floats from local villages, commercial entities, and cultural groups. It is still organised in a very traditional manner, including by the staging of streetside local plays called Khell tiatrs , in various villages, especially in the taluka of Salcete . According to the Government of Goa's Department of Tourism, the carnival is "Goa's most famous festival and has been celebrated since the 18th century." [7]

The Carnival usually starts off on Fat Saturday (known as Sabado Gordo) and concludes on Fat Tuesday (known as Shrove Tuesday), just before Ash Wednesday and the first day of the Catholic season of Lent. In Panjim, the capital of Goa, the festival is complemented by Grape Escapade, a local wine festival, and a dance at Samba Square in the centrally-located Garden of Garcia da Orta. [8]

According to local tradition, during Carnival Goa is taken over by King Momo, usually a local resident who presides over the festival during the four-day span. [9] King Momo traditionally proclaims the Konkani message Kha, piye aani majja kar (English: "Eat, drink and make merry"). In 2021 the King Momo for the Goa Carnival was Mr. Sixtus Eric Dias from Candolim.

Parade

The parade usually begins on Fat Saturday evening with a procession headed by King Momo. In 2021 the King Momo for the Goa Carnival was Mr. Sixtus Eric Dias from Candolim. Balloons, horse-drawn carriages, decorated bullock carts and elaborate floats are the highlights of the parade. The festivities during Goa Carnival include dancing troupes, revelers wearing masks and costumes, live music, sports competitions, floats and parades, and food and drinking. [10]

Dates

In 2024, the festival was celebrated from 10 February – 13 February. [11] In the urban areas, individual float parades were held in the Goan cities and towns of Panjim, Margao, Vasco and Mapusa.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnival</span> Christian festival before Lent

Carnival or Shrovetide is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panaji</span> Capital city of the Indian state of Goa

Panaji is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river estuary in the Tiswadi sub-district (taluka). With a population of 114,759 in the metropolitan area, Panaji is Goa's largest urban agglomeration, ahead of Margao and Mormugao.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazilian Carnival</span> Annual festival in Brazil

The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival held the Friday afternoon before Ash Wednesday at noon, which marks the beginning of Lent, the forty-day period before Easter. During Lent, Roman Catholics and some other Christians traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival", from carnelevare, "to remove meat."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samba school</span> Dancing, marching, and drumming club

A samba school is a dancing, marching, and drumming club. They practice and often perform in a huge square-compounds and are devoted to practicing and exhibiting samba, an Afro-Brazilian dance and drumming style. Although the word "school" is in the name, samba schools do not offer instruction in a formal setting. Samba schools have a strong community basis and are traditionally associated with a particular neighborhood. They are often seen to affirm the cultural validity of the Afro-Brazilian heritage in contrast to the mainstream education system, and have evolved often in contrast to authoritarian development. The phrase "escola de samba" is popularly held to derive from the schoolyard location of the first group's early rehearsals. In Rio de Janeiro especially, they are mostly associated with poor neighborhoods ("favelas"). Samba and the samba school can be deeply interwoven with the daily lives of the shanty-town dwellers. Throughout the year the samba schools have various happenings and events, most important of which are rehearsals for the main event which is the yearly carnival parade. Each of the main schools spend many months each year designing the theme, holding a competition for their song, building the floats and rehearsing. It is overseen by a carnavalesco or carnival director. From 2005, some fourteen of the top samba schools in Rio have used a specially designed warehouse complex, the size of ten football pitches, called Samba City to build and house the elaborate floats. Each school's parade may consist of about 3,000 performers or more, and the preparations, especially producing the many different costumes, provide work for thousands of the poorest in Brazilian society. The resulting competition is a major economic and media event, with tens of thousands in the live audience and screened live to millions across South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conspiracy of the Pintos</span> 1787 rebellion against Portuguese rule in Goa

Conspiracy of the Pintos, also known as the Pinto Revolt or the Pinto Conspiracy, and in Portuguese as A Conjuração dos Pintos, was a rebellion against Portuguese rule in Goa in 1787.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barranquilla Carnival</span> Colombian folklore festival

The Barranquilla Carnival is one of Colombia's most important folkloric celebrations, and one of the biggest carnivals in the world. The carnival has traditions that date back to the 19th century. Four days before Lent, Barranquilla decks itself out to receive national and foreign tourists to join together with the city's inhabitants to enjoy four days of intense festivities. During the carnival, Barranquilla's normal activities are put aside as the city gets busy with street dances, musical and masquerade parades. The Carnival Of Barranquilla includes dances such as the Spanish paleo, African Congo, and indigenous mice y mica's. Many styles of Colombian music are also performed, most prominently cumbia, and instruments include drums and wind ensembles. The Carnival of Barranquilla was proclaimed a Cultural Masterpiece of the Nation by Colombia's National Congress in 2002. Also the UNESCO, in Paris on November 7, 2003, declared it one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, and it was during Olga Lucia Rodriguez Carnival Queen year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rio Carnival</span> Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is a festival held every year before Lent; it is considered the biggest carnival in the world, with two million people per day on the streets. The first Carnival festival in Rio occurred in 1723.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King Momo</span> King of Carnivals in numerous Latin American festivities

King Momo or King Momos or King Momus, ‘’’ Rex Momus’’’ in Latin is considered the king of Carnivals in numerous Latin American festivities, mainly in Brazil and Colombia. His appearance signifies the beginning of the Carnival festivities. Each carnival has its own King Momo, who is often given the key to the city. Traditionally, a tall, fat man is chosen to fulfill the role because the original King Momo was of that physical stature.

The island of Divar lies in the Mandovi river in the Indian state of Goa.

This is a timeline of Goan history. It overlaps with the histories of other regions in South Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and colonial powers that influenced the region, including Portugal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bahian Carnival</span> Celebration of Carnival in Bahia state, Brazil

Bahian Carnival is the annual carnival festival celebrated in the Brazilian state of Bahia, mainly in its capital, Salvador. The event officially lasts for six days, beginning on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday and concluding on Ash Wednesday at noon. The term may also be used to comprise related events that happen immediately before or after, extending the duration for up to twelve days.

The Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Acadêmicos do Grande Rio is a samba school of the Special Group of the carnival of the city of Rio de Janeiro, being headquartered on Almirante Barroso street in Duque de Caxias.

The Culture of Goan Catholics is a blend of Portuguese and Konkani cultures, with the former having a more dominant role because the Portuguese ruled Goa directly from 1510 to 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnaval de Ponce</span> Annual celebration held in Ponce, Puerto Rico

The Carnaval de Ponce, officially Carnaval Ponceño, is an annual celebration of the Carnival holiday held in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The celebration lasts one week, and like most observations of the holiday ends on Fat Tuesday. Thus, like the Carnival holiday in general, it is usually held in February and or March. It dates back to 1858. Some authorities, such as the Smithsonian Institution, believe the Ponce Carnaval can be traced to as far back as 250 years ago. The Carnaval coincides with the Mardi Gras of New Orleans, the Carnival of Venice, and Rio de Janeiro's Carnival and hundreds of other places that observe this holiday around the world. The estimated attendance is 100,000. Scenes of the 2011 Carnaval Ponceño were featured in the Travel Channel on 7 August 2011.

The Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba União da Ilha do Governador was founded on March 7, 1953 by the friends Maurício Gazelle, and Quincas Orphylo, who were in Cacuia, the main site of the carnival parade of the Ilha do Governador, watching the presentation of small schools of samba and blocks of various districts of the island. It was then decided that the neighborhood of Cacuia should be represented by a samba school. Currently, the school is based in Estrada do Galeão in the neighborhood of Cacuia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">São Matias, Goa</span> Village in Goa, India

São Mathias also known as Malar is a village on Divar Island, Tiswadi or Ilhas, in the Indian state of Goa. The island is located 10 km upriver from Panjim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carnival of Madeira</span>

The Carnival of Madeira is an annual festival held forty days before Easter, that ends on Fat Tuesday the day before Ash Wednesday. On certain days of Lent, Roman Catholics traditionally abstained from the consumption of meat and poultry, hence the term "carnival," from carnelevare, "to remove meat."

Carnival in Mexico is celebrated by about 225 communities in various ways, with the largest and best known modern celebrations occurring in Mazatlán and the city of Veracruz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waldemar Esteves da Cunha</span>

Waldemar Esteves da Cunha was at the time of his death in 2013, the oldest King Momo in Brazil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cezar D'Mello</span> Indian playwright and theatre director (born 1956)

Cezar Aleixo Jose Fernandes de Melo, better known as Cezar D'Mello, is an Indian playwright, theatre director, actor, singer, dancer, and former amateur footballer known for his work in Hindi, Konkani films, television, tiatr productions, and folk plays.

References

  1. "Its Goa – What is the story behind Goa Carnival?". itsgoa.com. 14 February 2017. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "Oheraldo – The dawn of Viva Carnaval in Goa". heraldgoa.in. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  3. Kamat, Prakash (25 February 2017). "Goa carnival kicks off". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  4. 1 2 Bhalla, Kartar Singh (2005). Let's Know Festivals of India. Star Publications. ISBN   978-81-7650-165-1.
  5. "Dictatorship, liberation, transition in the short fiction of three Portuguese-language Goan writers: Alberto de Menezes Rodrigues, Ananta Rau Sar Dessai and Telo de Mascarenhas". researchgate.net. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  6. "How Goan is Goa's official Carnival?". Times Of India. 25 February 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  7. "Carnival". goatourism.gov.in. Goa Tourism. Archived from the original on 9 February 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  8. "Times of India – Red and Black Dance at Samba Square". The Times of India. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  9. "The Wall Street Journal – Goa Ready for King Momo and Carnival". wsj.com. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  10. "Goa Carnival 2018 | Festival in Goa". www.tourism-of-india.com. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  11. "Goa Carnival 2018". goaleisure.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.