Carnival in Goa, also called ''Carnaval'', ''Intruz'', ''Entrado'', or (colloquially) Viva Carnival refers to the festival of

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

, in state of Goa, India. Though significantly smaller than the well-known

Rio Carnival The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro ( Portuguese: ''Carnaval do Rio de Janeiro'') is a festival held every year before Lent; it is considered the biggest celebration of Carnival in the world, with two million people per day on the streets. The first ...

or the Portuguese Carnival of Madeira, the Goa Carnival is the largest in India and one of the few traditional celebrations of the Western Christian holiday in Asia. The current version of the Goa Carnival was modelled after the Rio Carnival by a local Goan musician named Timoteo Fernandes and imposed in 1965 to attract tourists. It has since turned into a major tourist attraction for the small state.

Origin

While the roots of the Carnival in Goa date back to the introduction of

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

traditions during the

Portuguese conquest of Goa The Portuguese conquest of Goa occurred when the governor Afonso de Albuquerque captured the city in 1510 from the Sultanate of Bijapur. Old Goa became the capital of Portuguese India, which included territories such as Fort Manuel of Cochin, ...

, being celebrated since the eighteenth century, the festival itself fell into obscurity during the later days of colonialism, as Portugal's authoritarian regime known and is celebrated on the same day as Portugal Estado Novo limited freedom of assembly and press. After the end of Portuguese rule, the Brazilian version of the festival was imposed by Timoteo Fernandes in 1965, a Goan musician who modeled it after the famed Rio Carnival. This was done to attract more tourism. Today, the urban parade includes floats from local villages, commercial entities, and cultural groups. It is still organised in a very traditional manner, including by the staging of streetside local plays called ''Khell tiatrs'', in various villages, especially in the

taluka A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

of Salcete . According to the

Government of Goa The Government of Goa is a state government created by the Constitution of India and has executive, legislative and judicial authority of the state of Goa. It is headquartered in Panaji, the capital city of Goa. History The governor's is large ...

's Department of Tourism, the carnival is "Goa's most famous festival and has been celebrated since the 18th century." The Carnival usually starts off on Fat Saturday (known as ) and concludes on Fat Tuesday (known as

Shrove Tuesday Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday or Pancake Day) is the final day of Shrovetide, which marks the end of the pre-Lenten season. Lent begins the following day with Ash Wednesday. Shrove Tuesday is observed in many Christian state, Ch ...

), just before

Ash Wednesday Ash Wednesday is a holy day of prayer and fasting in many Western Christian denominations. It is preceded by Shrove Tuesday and marks the first day of Lent: the seven weeks of Christian prayer, prayer, Religious fasting#Christianity, fasting and ...

and the first day of the Western Christian season of

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

, observed by Christians of the

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

and

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

denominations, among others. In

Panjim Panaji (; , , )also known as Panjim, is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river est ...

, the capital of Goa, the festival is complemented by Grape Escapade, a local wine festival, and a dance at Samba Square in the centrally-located Garden of Garcia da Orta. According to local tradition, during Carnival Goa is taken over by

King Momo King Momo or King Momos or King Momus, (Rei Momo in Portuguese or Rey Momo in Spanish) ‘’’ Rex Momus’’’ in Latin is considered the king of Carnivals in numerous Latin American festivities, mainly in Brazil and Colombia. His appeara ...

, usually a local resident who presides over the festival during the four-day span. King Momo traditionally proclaims the

Konkani __NOTOC__ Konkani may refer to: Language * Konkani language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Konkan region of India. * Konkani alphabets, different scripts used to write the language **Konkani in the Roman script, one of the scripts used to ...

message (English: "Eat, drink and make merry"). In 2021 the King Momo for the Goa Carnival was Sixtus Eric Dias from Candolim.

Parade

The parade usually begins on Fat Saturday evening with a procession headed by

. Balloons, horse-drawn carriages, decorated bullock carts and elaborate floats are the highlights of the parade. The festivities during Goa Carnival include dancing troupes, revelers wearing masks and costumes, live music, sports competitions, floats and parades, and food and drinking.

Dates

In 2024, the festival was celebrated from 10 February – 13 February. In the urban areas, individual float parades were held in the Goan cities and towns of

Margao Margao (, ) is the commercial capital of the Indian state of Goa. It stands on the banks of the river Sal. It is the district headquarters of South Goa, and administrative headquarters of Salcete sub-district. It is Goa's second largest ci ...

, Vasco and Mapusa.

References

{{reflist

External links

Donna Noronha's Viva Carnival (link via JazzGoa)
Festivals in Goa Carnivals in India

Origin

Parade

Dates

See also

References

External links