Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

is a state of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Goans Goans ( Romi Konkani: , ) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, formerly part of Portuguese India (''Estado Português da Índia''). They form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, ...

are commonly said to be born with

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

in their blood because both are deeply entrenched in Goan culture.

Religion

According to the 1909 statistics in the ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', the total Catholic population was 293,628 out of a total population 365,291 (80.33%). Within Goa, there has been a steady decline of Christianity due to Goan emigration, and a steady rise of other religions, due to massive non-Goan immigration since the

Annexation of Goa The Annexation of Goa was the process in which the India, Republic of India annexed the Portuguese State of India, the then Portuguese Indian territories of Goa, Daman and Diu, starting with the armed action carried out by the Indian Armed ...

. Native Goans are outnumbered by non-Goans in Goa, but Christianity remains prevalent in the state, with a higher percentage of Christians than the national average. Conversion seems to play little role in the demographic change. According to the 2011 census, in a population of 1,458,545 people, 66.1% were

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 25.1% were

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 8.3% were

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and 0.1% were

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

Festivals

The most popular celebrations in the Indian state of Goa include the

Goa Carnival Carnival in Goa, also called ''Carnaval'', ''Intruz'', ''Entrado'', or (colloquially) Viva Carnival refers to the festival of carnival, in state of Goa, India. Though significantly smaller than the well-known Rio Carnival or the Portuguese Car ...

, (Konkani: ''Intruz''),

Shigmo Shimgo, or Shishirotsava is a spring festival celebrated in the Indian state of Goa, where it is one of the major festivals of the Hindu community. It is also celebrated by Konkani diaspora and Indian festival of Holi is part of it. Etymology ...

and São João (Feast of John the Baptist). The most popular festivals in Goa include

Ganesh Chaturthi Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: ), also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi () or Vinayaka Chavithi () or Vinayagar Chaturthi (), is a Hindu festival celebrating the birthday of Hindu deity Ganesh. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's ''m ...

(Konkani: ''Chavath''),

Diwali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

(Konkani: ''Natalam''),

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

(Konkani: ''Paskanchem Fest''), Samvatsar Padvo or Sanvsar Padvo and the feast of St.

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus ...

, who is known as ''Goencho Saib'' by the Catholic Community in Goa.

Education

Cuisine

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

with

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

curry Curry is a dish with a sauce or gravy seasoned with spices, mainly derived from the interchange of Indian cuisine with European taste in food, starting with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and British, and then thoroughly internatio ...

(''Xit kodi'' in

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 ...

) is the staple diet in Goa.

Goan cuisine Goan cuisine consists of regional foods popular in Goa, an Indian state located along India's west coast on the shore of the Arabian Sea. Rice, seafood, coconut, vegetables, meat, bread, pork and local spices are some of the main ingredients in ...

is renowned for its rich variety of fish dishes cooked with elaborate recipes.

Coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

and

coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut fat) is an edible oil derived from the kernels, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat below around , and a clear thin liquid oil at higher temperatures. Unrefined varieties have a disti ...

is widely used in

Goan Goans ( Romi Konkani: , ) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, formerly part of Portuguese India (''Estado Português da Índia''). They form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, ...

cooking along with

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

s and

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

giving the food a unique flavour.

Pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

and beef dishes such as Vindalho,

Xacuti Xacuti ( ''Shāgōtī'') is a curry prepared in Goa, India, with complex spicing, including white poppy seed Poppy seed is an oilseed obtained from the poppy plant (''Papaver somniferum''). The tiny, kidney-shaped seeds have been harveste ...

and

Sorpotel Sarapatel (, ), or Sorpotel, is a dish of Portuguese origin now commonly cooked in the Konkan—primarily Goa, Mangalore, and Bombay—the erstwhile ''Estado da Índia Portuguesa'' colony. What came to India was the version popular from Alent ...

are cooked for major occasions among the Catholics. An exotic

vegetable stew, known as

Khatkhate {{Use Indian English, date=July 2017 Khatkhate surname Khatkhate (खटखटें) is a well-known last name in Saraswat Brahmin (GSB) community hailing from Konkan province of Maharashtra state and the coastal region of Goa in India. Addition ...

, is a very popular dish during the celebrations of festivals, Hindu and Christian alike. Khatkhate contains at least five vegetables, fresh coconut, and special

spices that add to the aroma. A rich

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

-based multi-layered sweet dish known as

bebinca ''Bebinca'' or ''bebinka'', (Konkani; ''bibik'') is a layer cake of Indo-Portuguese cuisine in former Estado da Índia Portuguesa, Goa. In traditional baking, a bebinca has between 7 and 16 layers, but bakeries can modify the cake recipe a ...

is a favourite at

. Cashew feni is made from the fermentation of the fruit of the cashew tree, while coconut feni is made from the sap of toddy palms.

Architecture

The architecture of Goa shows a distinct Portuguese influence. Fontainhas in Panaji has been declared a cultural quarter, showcasing the life, architecture and culture of Goa. The

Churches and Convents of Goa Churches and Convents of Goa is the name given by UNESCO to a set of religious monuments located in Goa Velha (or Old Goa), in the state of Goa, India, which were declared a World Heritage Site in 1986. Goa was the capital of Portuguese India ...

are a group of six churches that are a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. The

Basilica of Bom Jesus The Basilica of Bom Jesus (; Konkani language, Konkani: ''Borea Jezuchi Bajilika'') is a Catholic Church, Catholic basilica located in Goa, in the Konkan region of India. The iconic church is a pilgrimage centre and recognised by UNESCO as ...

holds the mortal remains of

St. Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus and, as a representative o ...

, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of Goa. Once every ten years, the body is taken down for veneration and for public viewing. The last such event was conducted in 2024. Influences from other eras (

Kadambas of Goa The Kadambas of Goa were a dynasty during the Late Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, who ruled Goa from the 10th to the 14th century CE. They took over the territories of the Shilaharas and ruled them at first from Chandor, later ...

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

) are visible in some of Goa's temples, notably the Mahadev Temple and

Saptakoteshwar Temple Saptakoteshwar Temple is a Hindu temple, dedicated to Lord shiva at Narve in Goa, India, is considered to be one of the six great sites of temples of Shiva in the Konkan area. History Saptakoteshwar, a form of Shiva, was one of the chief deit ...

Sports

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

is the most popular sport in Goa along with

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

are other popular sports in Goa.

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

is also a popular recreational activity.

Science

Arts

Music

Goan Catholics have been performing

Western classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

since the 1500s, because it is an integral part of the

Catholic liturgy Catholic liturgy means the whole complex of official liturgical worship, including all the rites, ceremonies, prayers, and sacraments of the Church, as opposed to private or collective devotions. In this sense the arrangement of all these s ...

. Mando, dekhnni,

dulpod Dulpod is a Goan dance song with quick rhythm and themes from everyday Goan life. The plural of ''dulpod'' in Konkani is ''dulpodam''. The dulpod is a folk song, anonymous, freely improvised, and sometimes lacking in thematic unity. The tunes of th ...

and

tiatr ''Tiatr'' (; ) is a type of musical theatre that is popular in the state of Goa on the west coast of India, as well as in Mumbai and among the Goan expatriate communities in the Middle East, United Kingdom, and other cities with a significant pr ...

are traditional Goan musical forms in

developed from Western Music. Goan

s are very fond of

Natak Hum TV HD is a 24-hour Urdu general entertainment TV channel based in Karachi, Pakistan. It was founded by Sultana Siddiqui and Duraid Qureshi. It is owned by Hum Network Limited and traded on the Pakistan Stock Exchange as (HUMNL). Hum Net ...

Bhajan Bhajan is an Indian term for any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Dharmic religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root w ...

and

Kirtan Sikh ''kirta''n with Indian harmoniums and '' Kenya.html" ;"title="tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya">tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya (1960s) ''Kirtana'' (; ), also rendered as ''Kiirtan'', ''Kirt ...

. Many famous

Indian Classical Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindusta ...

singers hail from Goa, such as,

Kishori Amonkar Kishori Amonkar (10 April 1932 – 3 April 2017) was an Hindustani classical music, Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana, Jaipur Gharana, or a community of musicians sharing a distinctive musical style. She is cons ...

Kesarbai Kerkar Kesarbai Kerkar (13 July 1892 – 16 September 1977) was an Indian classical vocalist of the Jaipur-Atrauli gharana. A protege of Ustad Alladiya Khan (1855–1946), the founder of the gharana, from age sixteen, she went on to become one of t ...

Jitendra Abhisheki Ganesh Balawant Nawathe (21 September 1929 – 7 November 1998), better known as Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki, was an Indian vocalist, composer and scholar of Indian classical, semi-classical, and devotional music. While he distinguished hims ...

Prabhakar Karekar Pandit Prabhakar Karekar (1944 – 12 February 2025) was an Indian Hindustani classical vocalist, born in Goa, Portuguese India. He was awarded Tansen Samman in 2014 and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in the year 2016. Background Prabhakar Janard ...

Dance

Some traditional Goan dance forms are dekhnni,

fugdi Fugdi is a folk dance performed by the womenfolk of some communities of Konkanies in the Konkan coastal region of Goa and Maharashtra states during the Hindu religious festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Vrata or towards the end of other dances ...

corridinho The corridinho is a form of Portuguese folk dance, namely in the Algarve region. The origin of the dance itself is unclear and believed older, although it gained popularity in the 1800s. The name derives from ''correr'', ''to run'' which partly d ...

and

dashavatara The Dashavatara (, ) are the ten primary avatars of Vishnu, a principal Hindus, Hindu god. Vishnu is said to descend in the form of an avatar to restore cosmic order. The word ''Dashavatara'' derives from , meaning "ten", and , roughly equi ...

. Western social dancing is a part of most celebrations.

Theatre

Goans are very fond of theatre and acting. ''Kalo'' and ''dashavatar'' were popular art forms. Marathi Nataks have been very popular among Hindus in Goa for the past two centuries.

Tiatr ''Tiatr'' (; ) is a type of musical theatre that is popular in the state of Goa on the west coast of India, as well as in Mumbai and among the Goan expatriate communities in the Middle East, United Kingdom, and other cities with a significant pr ...

is the major Goan form of theatre common amongst Catholics and is the most commercial offering as it has entertained Goans not only in

but also in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

and

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

(which are major cities of

and have a sizeable Goan population) and in the ''Gulf'' regions of

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

and so on.

Cinema

Literature

Language

The majority of Goans speak Konkani as their first language, while the remaining speak other languages, like Hindi, Portuguese or Marathi as their primary language. However, practically all Goans can speak and understand Konkani. Konkani is an important part of the Goan identity that binds together all Goans.

Tourism

Goa developed an international reputation in the 1960s as one of the prime stops on the legendary India-Nepal "

hippie trail The hippie trail (also the overland) was an overland journey taken by members of the hippie subculture and others from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s travelling from Europe and Western Asia, West Asia through South Asia via countries such a ...

". In the mid-1960s, several Westerners, including " Eight Finger Eddie" walked over the hill to Calangute, and decided to create a community for Westerners. In the early years, Calangute and Baga were the center of this scene, but it grew over the years to include other nearby cities like Anjuna Beach, which became, and arguably still is, the center of the Western youth culture of Goa. By the mid-1980s, there were over 8000 Westerners living in Goa, mostly from Western Europe. The scene was marked by drug culture, trance music and free love. Goa remains today an international center of youth culture. Starting in the late 1990s, Goa began to attract a more "upscale" audience, which in turn drove prices up, which in turn drove many in the "hippie" community to other less-expensive areas. Arambol—the beach community furthest away from "civilization", like electricity and running water—became the center of a battle between those wanting to turn Goa into a more traditional upscale resort area, and those wanting Goa to retain its traditional rustic counterculture appeal.

References

External links

Goan culture article
{{Goa topics