M009: Narrating Goa: Intersections of Linguistic and Literary Traditions from its Different Cultural Communities

Organizer(s)

• 

  Cibele Aldrovandi

  University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Chair(s)

• 

  Cibele Aldrovandi

  University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Paper Presenter(s)

• 

  Cibele Aldrovandi

  University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
• 

  Helder Garmes

  University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
• 

  Cielo Festino

  UNIP - Universidade Paulista, Brazil
• 

  Viviane Souza Madeira

  University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Session Abstract:
Goa has been known for decades as tourist spot in India with its beautiful beaches by the Arabian sea. Despite modern stereotypes that emerged mainly during the sixties, the smallest of the Indian states has a rather lengthy and multifaceted social and religious history. As a colonial enclave under Portuguese domination from 1510 to 1961, and with Catholicism and the Portuguese language imposed upon its inhabitants, Goa developed a distinctive character that, after centuries of coexistence, has combined the faith brought by the Europeans with the preexisting Hindu and Muslim religions, its different languages and cultures. Portuguese-derived names and the Catholicism they indicate are still commonplace in Goa today though decreasing in number. As a result, a rich cultural and literary tradition emerged that includes Sanskrit sacred texts, literature in Portuguese alongside Konkani and Marathi, the two vernacular languages of Goa, as well as in English, the vehicular language of India and Goa. For these reasons, it would be inappropriate to speak of a single linguistic, cultural or literary tradition in Goa. A more productive approach, as the one proposed here, sees these traditions in terms of patterns of conflict and collaboration among all of them. In this context, this panel will discuss distinct literary and cultural manifestations of Goa in its different languages and from the perspective of its contrasting cultural and religious communities.

Presentations:

• Goddess Śāntādurgā goes to Goa: Sacred Topographies and Tropes in the Nāgāvhayamāhātmya of the Sahyādrikhanda
  

  Paper Presenter: Cibele Aldrovandi – University of Sao Paulo
• Literature and Regionalism in the Periodical "Goa Sociavel" (1866): A Publication from a Former Portuguese Colony in India
  

  Paper Presenter: Helder Garmes – University of Sao Paulo
• Songs Sung at the Grinding Stone by Goan Women
  

  Paper Presenter: Cielo G. Festino – UNIP - Universidade Paulista
• A Network of Women Writers Articulated through Letters and The Periodical Press in Goa, Brazil and Portugal
  

  Paper Presenter: Viviane Souza Madeira – University of Sao Paulo