TamiAndCedricInIndia: A Goan wedding to remember

By Tami & Cedric.

We had the honor of an invitation to a Goan Catholic wedding while in Goa. The bride is my sister-in-law's cousin and though we didn't know them, they extended us an invite and made us feel very welcome.

The Portuguese invaded and occupied Goa from the late fifteenth century till they were ousted in 1960. During the early years, they mass converted a large number of the native Indians to Christianity and to date, Catholics make up a significant portion of the Goan population. (The link is worth reading if you're Goan or just interested in the Portuguese/Catholic impact on the region).

The day before the wedding, we were invited to the bride's "Roas" ceremony (pronounced like roast without the last "t"). The ceremony starts with short prayer, after which, the bride is annointed with holy oil by her parents, close relatives, and the priest. Next coconut milk is applied to the bride by her parents, relatives & then friends. This symbolizes purity, and is also meant to make her skin & hair soft and beautiful. The coconut milk was applied carefully and lovingly by her parents, then the elders and applied more generously by sibling, relatives and friends. All throughout we felt the love for the bride. It was followed by songs & music performed by the guests - and dancing. Of course, it ended with a wonderful Goan dinner. By this time, we had been introduced to a lot of the family and felt quite at home.

Beginning with a prayer and a hymn

Holy oil being lovingly applied by the parents

A liberal application of coconut milk

To a dunking at the end.

Tami, Jo and Chinky singing along to the Sorpotel song

Members of the family are gifted musicians

That had people up and dancing.

The wedding took place in a beautiful chapel on a hill. My sister-in-law remembers walking up to this chapel on Sundays since there was only a very rough road. The road is still very narrow, but paved. Much of the wedding ceremony and reception would be familiar to anyone who has attended a western wedding.

The beautiful church where the wedding took place

Beautiful blue tile

The reception kicked off with the help of an MC, who introduced the couple and guided the party through the cake-cutting, bouquet and garter throwing, first dances, etc. The music included waltzes, jives, traditional Goan ballads, and modern dance pop.

The bride and groom spent quite a bit of time on the dance floor, enjoying dances with wedding guests, family, and each other. At one point, the men made a circle around the bride & took turns dancing with her, and the women did the same with the groom. After a while, the bridesmaids "broke" the men's circle to rescue the bride & reunite her with her husband. Near the end of the evening, the guests on the dance floor tied ribbons to the bride and groom and circled them while still dancing until they were good and properly bound. The night ended with the wedding guests wishing the bride and groom well, while getting final pictures taken to remember the joy and merriment of the evening.