Goan Wedding Traditions

Clafer Silva F.Y.Bcom B   C183260 wedding in a Goan village is an elaborate affair and everyone looks forward to these happy occasions. But none more so than those classified as “poor”. For, a couple of days before the wedding, preferably on a Tuesday, these otherwise unfortunate folk are treated to a lavish feast-known as Bikareanchem Jevonn or Beggars’ Lunch. This traditional Goa wedding custom persists even till today. For the beggars’ lunch, seven or nine persons (always an odd number) are invited from among the poor of the village, although there are as such no objective criteria to determine who can be classified as poor. The beggars’ lunch meal is a sumptuous banquet, with delicious preparations of pork, beef, fish, rice and a curry of a special type called samarachi koddi -- a heavily spiced aromatic concoction that is often quite pungent as well. Of course, the dishes would vary depending on which faith the hosts follow, but invariably, the me

Assima Lourdes F.Y.Bcom B  C183245   On the  wedding day, a close relative of the groom who is supposed to help the bride dress up comes to her house with the wedding dress and other items. Before going to the church all close relatives and friends bless the bride and the groom in their respective residences. The wedding car comes to pick the bride after reaching the groom to the church.  During the Holy mass, especially in the celebration of the sacrament of marriage there is a blessing of the rings followed by the exchange of rings. While they exchange both make promises to be faithful until death to each other before the priest presider. After on their return from church, the newly wedded couple comes to the grooms house and the grooms mother put a gold chain on the brides neck and place the"saddo" on her shoulder. Then they proceed to the venue for the reception where the wedding cake is cut and all dancing and merrymaking takes place wit

Sabina Fernandes F.Y.Bcom B   C183229 Matao,  is installed in front of the house. Spreading a fragrance of marriage sentiments and celebration.  The making of Doss,  in making the doss, the family members, with neighbors and friends gathers together and sing to reiterate the same blessing upon the new bride and groom. The doss is beautifully decorated with colourful sweets.  "bhikrea Jevonn"- where the elderly prayer the rosary for the intention of the bride and groom, imploring the blessings of the departed soul of their family members. Which is followed by family meal with the elders. "Shoj" -is made and is shared, along with bun and plankton, with the surrounding ward members. "Bhaje laddu " which is a speciality of Goan marriage which begins in the evening, and may go even in midnight.

Wilman Cardozo F.Y.Bcom B   C183206   For weddings  in Goa generally, a day or two preceding the traditional Goan wedding day it was customary for the families of the bride and groom to separately hold a ceremonial bath function at their respective houses for the Goan bride-to-be and the Goan groom-to-be. Most Goan Catholic families observed this Ros Kaddunk ceremony before the wedding in Goa, and while it is not as common today, this traditional practice does take place even among Goan families who have settled in other parts of India or the world.  The Ros Kaddunk ceremony before the weddings in Goa first involves the application of a cupful of juice extracted from shredded coconut pulp (coconut milk) kept in a pot, on the head, face or hands of the groom or bride. This application is done by close relatives one by one in proper order of priority, followed by neighbours and friends, to the accompaniment of special verses called zotis sung in Konkani by trained women.

Eunice Arantxa Dacosta F.Y.Bcom B  C183211  As in other parts  of Goa, the months of April and May  are witness to a number of feasts and weddings. In the Goan weddings of old, bangles formed an important bridal accessory, among Christians as well as Hindus. It was customary for the Goan bride to wear the best bangles possible, in specified colours, purchased from the regular bangle-seller of the village, known as the volar or kankonkar.   A day or two before the actual Goan wedding ceremony there was a special and solemn bangle-wearing ceremony known as chuddo, usually performed at the house of the maternal uncle of the bride. The bangles symbolise married life for the bride, as they are broken only on her dead husband’s coffin.  This chuddo among some Christians consists of a set of 15 glass bangles of green, brown and yellow on each wrist. The number and colour of the bangles differs from village to village. For instance, in Moira it is 13 or 15 bangles and the colours are

Levy Marques F.Y.Bcom B   C183241 In bygone days most weddings in Saligao and the northern parts of Goa were preceded by an elaborate ceremony that went by the name  saddo . During the traditional Goan wedding custom of  saddo , there is the ceremonial cutting of the cloth that will be used to stitch the dress to be worn by the bride in the house on the wedding day. This cloth is usually pink or red, with a flowery design, and the dress to be made, also itself known as a  saddo , is a variant of the traditional Indian sari. While in many parts of Goa the  saddo  is simply presented to the bride by a maternal uncle, in Saligao and other villages of north Goa the proceedings are more intricate. The tailor hired for the occasion sits on a mat on the floor. From the cloth, two tiny strips are cut, lengthways. These are then placed one over the other to form a cross, next to a small statue of the Infant Jesus, also kept on the mat nearby. To begin with, there is the  noman ,