Goa Carnival

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Goa Carnival

***** Location: Goa, India
***** Season: Early Spring
***** Category: Humanity

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Explanation

Carnival, Carneval, Carnaval
25th to 28th February
Make a date with GOA !!

The most vibrant and colorful of all GOA festivals is the CARNIVAL or CARNAVAL [as the locals call it] which offers four days of unbridled fun and feasting.

Following a decree from a mock sovereign, King MOMO, Goa breaks out into a riot of color, music, dance and healthy fun!

The CARNIVAL is kicked off with the staging of a massive and glittering RIO-STYLE FLOATS parade in the GOAN Capital- PANAJI . The celebrations then spill over to every town and village in GOA , with street plays, traditional CARNIVAL dances, costumes parties and entertainment extravaganzas becoming a daily feature!

Extract taken from department of tourism
Festivals of India - THE GOA CARNIVAL

Kala Ramesh

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One of the most popular festivals of India, the Goa carnival, a three-day fest, had its birth in Goa during the era of King Momo. He ushered in the Goa carnival just before the Lent season (Lent is the period of fasting and penance in the Christian calendar and corresponding somewhat to the Mohammedan fast before Ramzan Id).

This festival of Goa usually starts off on Sabado Gordo (Fat Saturday) and concludes on Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday) - the eve of Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of the season of Lent.
http://www.goacarnival.com/

Read a lot more about this festival in our library:
Goa Carnival

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Originination Of The Festivity

The Goa Carnival is an integral part of the Portuguese heritage of the state, which was a dominion of Portugal till 1961. The carnival epitomizes the fun-loving culture that is characteristic of Goa.

It was introduced by the erstwhile rulers as a rowdy celebration in which flour, eggs, oranges, lemons, mud, sand-filled gloves along with dirty water, various liquids and glue were aimed at passersby. Used pots, pans, and other kitchen utensils were also thrown out of windows. Perhaps this was done to discard the old and the dirty before the Lenten fast.

Fierce battles were waged in the streets, with plaster-of-Paris eggs, wax lemons, corncobs and beans. Blows were dealt out liberally, with brooms and wooden spoons. It was also an occasion for unchecked eating. People gorged on rich food at lavish feasts, and convents distributed cakes and pastries.

Though celebrated for only three days, the preparations for the festival would take many days, and build up to a frenetic pitch by the eve of the carnival. The carnival in Goa still retains the core of the original. A King of Chaos is elected, called King "Momo". He presides over the three-day festivities, which attract visitors from all over India and abroad.
http://www.aryabhatt.com/fast_fair_festival/Festivals/The%20Goa%20Carnival.htm

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Fun And Frolic In Goa

February heralds the Carnival, three days of abandon and hig spirits before the austerities of the 40-day lent begin in Goa. For three fun-filled days and nights, the legendary king Memo takes over the state and the streets are alive with colourful revelry.

Dancing, music, eating and drinking continue all night while mock battles are fought and a procession of floats and banner wends its way through trunk roads. Dancers bring great scene of pageantry to Goa, with the red and black dancers of Panjim being a highlight of the Carnival which attracts hoards of India and foreign tourists every year.

The Carnival is a wonderfully festive manifestation of the gregarious nature and spirit which characterises the Goan community. The typical guitar music with its enticing rhythm and harmony, heard all over Goa, is part of the rich musical heritage adopted from Portugal. It has further strengthened the distinctive identity of this region.

The mingling of eastern and western cultures has created a truly rich synthesis.
http://travels.talash.com/india-fairs-festivals/carnival-february-fairs-festivals-india.html


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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

Goa is known for the grave of Francis Xavier,
the first Christian missionary to Japan.




monsoon ...
the grave of Xavier
in the old church


Gabi Greve

quote
He died at Sancian in the year 1552 on the 3rd of December while he was waiting for a boat that would agree to take him to mainland China.

He was first buried on a beach of Shangchuan Island. In 2006, on the 500th anniversary of his birth, the Xavier Tomb Monument and Chapel on the island, in ruins after years of neglect under communist rule in China was restored with the support from the alumni of Wah Yan College, a Jesuit high school in Hong Kong. His incorrupt body was taken from the island in February 1553 and was temporarily buried in St. Paul's church in Malacca on 22 March, 1553. An open grave in the church now marks the place of Xavier's burial. Pereira came back from Goa, removed the corpse shortly after April 15, 1553, and moved it to his house.

On 11 December, 1553, Xavier's body was shipped to Goa.
The body is now in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa, where it was placed in a glass container encased in a silver casket on December 2, 1637.
Source : wikipedia
Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jaso y Azpilicueta


St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552), by Kate O'Brien

CLICK here for more PHOTOS !


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HAIKU

the waves
get boisterous too!
goa carnival

Kala Ramesh, 2006

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Goa Carnival !
the crowded buses
even more crowded

Gabi Greve

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Related words

***** Canreval, worldwide

***** Festivals of India, all are kigo

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Monsoon in India


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