About Goa…
Goa is India’s smallest state by area. Located in West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its western coast. Goa is India’s richest state with a GDP per capita two and a half times that of the country as a whole. Konkani is the official language of Goa. Portuguese was the sole official language during Portuguese rule. It is now, however, mostly spoken by only the elderly and educated population.
Panaji, also called Panjim, is the state’s capital, while Margao, Vasco da Gama and Mapusa are the other major cities.
The Portuguese, who first landed inGoain the early 16th century conquered the region definitely in 1510. The Portuguese overseas territory of Portuguese India existed for about 450 years until it was annexed by India in 1961. During this period Goa was relevant for the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia. St.Francis Xavier (1506 – December 3, 1552), co-founder of the Society of Jesus, was a pioneering missionary in Asia, most notably in India. His corpse is now in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa. And St. John de Brito (Portuguese: João de Brito, born in Lisbon, Portugal, on March 1, 1647 – died at Oriyur Tamil Nadu, India, on February 11, 1693) was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary and martyr often called “the Portuguese St. Francis Xavier” by Indian Catholics.
The Portuguese also founded the famous St. Paul’s College, a Jesuit college, circa 1542 at Old Goa. It was once the main Jesuit institution in India. It housed the first printing press in India, having published the first books in 1556. The original building, however, was abandoned progressively after the outbreak of the plague in 1578. Regarding education the Portuguese were pioneer in Goa founding the oldest medical college in Asia (the Escola Médico-Cirúrgica de Goa) in 1842.
Some eminent Portuguese lived and worked inGoa. Garcia de Orta (1501 or 1502–1568) was a pioneer of tropical medicine and settled in Goa. Luís Vaz de Camões (c. 1524 – 10 June 1580) is considered Portugal’s and the Portuguese language’s greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of Shakespeare, Vondel, Homer, Virgil and Dante. He wrote some parts of his epic work Os Lusíadas (The Lusiads) in Goa.
During the portuguese era there were worldwide famous Goans such as Abbé Faria (Abade Faria in Portuguese) (1746 – 1819), who was one of the pioneers of the scientific study of hypnotism, following on from the work of Franz Anton Mesmer. Or Júlio Gama Pinto (1853-1945) a famous ophthalmologist inEurope.
The result of four and half centuries of Portuguese rule contributed to what Goais today: a unique, rich blend of western and eastern culture. This unique blend which is apparent every where in Goa, from art and architecture to food and music, is the state’s trademark. The Portuguese built extensive churches with exquisite architecture and still today one can see the Portuguese influence even in private buildings.
…and Lusophony
A Lusophone is someone who speaks the Portuguese language, either as a native speaker, as an additional language, or as a learner. As an adjective, it means “Portuguese speaking”. The word itself is derived from the name of the ancient Roman province of Lusitania, which covered the mid-southern area that is today the Republic of Portugal and part of Spain. The notion of Lusophony reaches beyond the dictionary definition of “Portuguese speaker”. It extends to refer to people who are culturally and linguistically linked to Portugal, either historically or by choice. The term does not have an ethnic connotation, in that a lusophone may not have any Portuguese ancestry at all. The Lusophone world is mainly a legacy of the Portuguese empire, although Portuguese diaspora communities have also played a role in spreading the Portuguese language and Portuguese culture.
The Community of Portuguese-speaking countries CPLP (Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa) is composed of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Timor-Leste. The Chinese Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Macau and some countries like Equatorial Guinea and Sri Lanka are cooperating with the CPLP. Goa (through India) could join as associate member of CPLP.
The 2013 (2-10 November) Lusofonia Games in Goa
The Lusophony Games (Portuguese: Jogos da Lusofonia) is a multinational multi-sport event organized by the ACOLOP (Associação dos Comités Olímpicos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa; English: Association of the Portuguese Speaking Olympic Committees). ACOLOP is an Olympic-related non-profit organisation officially established on June 8, 2004, in Lisbon. It was founded by the national Olympic committees (NOCs) of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Macau (Chinese SAR), Mozambique, Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe; it also includes Equatorial Guinea as an associate member. On April 2006, India (represented by the Goa Olympic Association) and Sri Lanka were admitted also as associate members, based on their common historical past with Portugal. The 2013 Lusofonia Games will be the 3rd edition of the Lusophony Games (Portuguese: 3.os Jogos da Lusofonia), and will be hosted in Goa.
