Colonialism, Migration and the International Catholic Goan Community
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Colonialism, Migration and the International Catholic Goan Community Stella Mascarenhas-Keyes 2020 Copyleft, 2020. This edition is released under the Creative Commons. Some rights reserved. May be copied and shared for non-commercial purposes, with due acknowledgements to the author and publisher. © Stella Mascarenhas-Keyes [email protected] First edition: December 2011. This ebook edition: August 2020. Published by Goa,1556, Sonarbhat, Saligão 403511 Goa, India. http://goa1556.in [email protected] +91-9822122436 Goa,1556 is an alternative initiative to promote book publishing and the written word locally. It is named after the year of the accidental arrival in Goa of Asia’s first Gutenberg-inspired printing press. Today, perhaps more than ever, Goa needs opportunities for its many voices to be heard, its diverse people to understand themselves and articulate their priorities. Project coordination by Frederick Noronha +91-9822122436. Editorial assistance by Nomratha Fernandes. Cover design by Bina Nayak http://www.binanayak.com Front cover photo courtesy Ondˇrej Žvácek,ˇ Wikipedia. Cover photo of the author by Jennifer Booth http://jenniferbooth.carbonmade.com Typeset using LYX, http://www.lyx.org Text set in Bera Serif 10/15 pt. ISBN 978-81-940107-6-0 This ebook is being made available free of charge to readers. In return, please consider making a donation to the Goan Welfare Society, UK (Registered Charity No. 280542 https://goanwelfaresocietyuk.com/) Dedicated with fondest love to my parents Constantino and Teresa Mascarenhas (Saligão, Nairobi, Mira Mar) and my children Aidan, Christopher, Douglas and Matthew (Saligão, Sheffield) What the Others Say Mascarenhas-Keyes has applied a rich theoretical framework to her ethnological research in Goa and goes beyond the traditional methods of social anthropology... insider knowledge makes her study particularly valuable. —Dr Teotonio R. de Souza, Indo-Portuguese historian and former-director of the Xavier Centre of Historical Research, Goa. [A]n important book in the renewal of Goan studies and an equally important read for identity revival for the Goan diaspora. —Dr Rudolf Heredia, SJ, sociologist and author. The Native Anthropologist approach is brilliant in the way she both uses the rules of social anthropology and undermine them, thus crossing barriers and being both objective and personal, inventing strategies for dealing with what she shows is a complex Goan world. —Peter Nazareth, Professor of English, University of Iowa, USA. An important study on the female emigration of Goans. — Prof Susana Sardo, University of Aveiro, Portugal. Stella’s book will make an important contribution to educate peo- ple about Goa and its historical position geographically, culturally and economically. I am sure that it will resonate with many individuals from the Goan diaspora as well as provide a broader analysis of the significant relationships between colonialism, migration and education in an international context. —Rt Hon Valerie Vaz, M.P., Member of Parliament, Walsall South, UK. Shadow Leader of the House. Hosted reception for the book at the House of Commons, 2012. iv Insightful, exhaustive, and helps the reader to understand Goan migration. —Eduardo Faleiro, ex-NRI Commissioner Goa and former Union Minister, Government of India. With so much historical and sociological research behind this book, Stella Mascarenhas-Keyes has produced a very enlightening and in-depth account of Goan migration from both a global and local perspective – a legacy for posterity. For those interested in gaining a better understanding of their roots and the Goan diaspora, I would thoroughly recommend reading this excellent book. —Flavio Gracias, former President, Goan Association (UK), and current Chair of Trustees, Goan Welfare Society UK. Stella Mascarenhas-Keyes’ extensive research findings illustrate how Goans come to spread their influence across the globe. This book will help you understand why you can take a Goan out of Goa but you will never take Goa out of a Goan. —Cllr. Rabi Martins, former Chairman and President of the Goan Association UK. v Contents What the Others Say ...................... iv A note for the 2020 edition .................. xiii FOREWORD: The Goan Spider’s Web ............ xiv PREFACE: Reasons – academic and personal . xviii Acknowledgements ...................... xxvii Theoretical Perspectives 1 Introduction ........................... 1 Definition of Migration .................... 4 Why Migrate? .......................... 7 Who Migrates? ......................... 14 The Destination on Migrants ................. 21 The Organisation of Migration ................ 22 Effects of Migration... ..................... 23 Unit of Analysis ......................... 30 Organisation of the Book ................... 35 Notes .............................. 37 vi CONTENTS CONTENTS Background Setting: Goa and the Village Amora 39 Introduction ........................... 39 Goa: Location and Population ................. 41 Portuguese Colonial Era .................... 45 Politico-economic policy ................. 46 Religious policy ...................... 50 Post-Colonial Era ........................ 55 Selection of Village ....................... 61 Amora: General Characteristics ............... 64 Amora: Patterns of International Migration ......... 71 Notes .............................. 75 Portuguese Colonialism and the Social Construction of a Local Catholic Goan Community 82 Introduction ........................... 82 Territorial Basis ........................ 84 Structural Features ...................... 95 Cultural Chracteristics ....................106 The Retention of Traditional Practices ............ 113 Conclusion ........................... 121 Notes ..............................123 The Economic Deterioration of Goa and the Development of External Job Opportunities 134 Introduction ........................... 134 vii CONTENTS CONTENTS The 16th Century Village Economy ............. 135 Changes in the Agrarian Economy under the Portuguese . 139 Private property ......................139 Shareholding .......................142 State intervention ..................... 144 Food production ...................... 147 Occupational structure ..................149 European Colonialism and Employment Outside Goa . 153 Conclusion ........................... 157 Notes ..............................158 Migration and the Emergence of an International Cath- olic Goan Community 170 Introduction ...........................170 The Nature and Extent of International Migration .... 171 Case History 1: Peter ...................172 Case History 2: Vincent ................. 177 Case History 3: Sebastian ................ 179 Case History 4: John ...................180 Case History 5: Anne ................... 181 Categories of Migrants and Type of Migration ....... 183 Organisation of International Migration ........... 189 Jobs and Inter-Generational Occupational Mobility . 197 General background ................... 197 viii CONTENTS CONTENTS Caste and occupation ................... 204 The Reproduction of International Migration and the Role Played by Remittances .................. 211 Changing educational provision and access ......... 219 Conclusion ...........................228 Notes ..............................230 Marriage, Family and Kinship in the International Cath- olic Goan Community 234 Introduction ........................... 234 Patterns of Marriage and Their Historical Development . 235 Marriage according to ideas of parents ........ 235 Marriage according to ideas of parents with consent of son/daughter ..................236 Son/daughter own choice with consent of parents . 239 Son/daughter own choice without parents’ consent . 240 The Implications of Marriage Patterns ............ 243 Inter-caste and inter-ethnic marriages ......... 243 Territorial links ...................... 251 Marriage payments .................... 251 Age at marriage ......................253 Celibacy ..........................256 Residence Patterns and Household Organisation ...... 258 Residence patterns ....................258 Household composition ..................259 ix CONTENTS CONTENTS The predominance of nuclearisation .......... 262 Single households and homes for the aged ...... 264 The Development and Practice of Progressive Motherhood in the ICGC ........................ 267 Female Autonomy and Respnsibility ............. 275 The Maintenance of Kinship and Affinal Links ....... 278 Conclusion ...........................280 Notes .............................. 281 Socio-Economic Links of the International Catholic Goan Community with Goa 282 Introduction ...........................282 The Remittance Economy ...................283 House Ownership in Goa ................... 287 Changing Land Rights in Goa and implications for Tenure by the ICGC ........................298 Post-colonial agrarian reform .............. 299 Effects of agrarian reform and international migra- tion on land tenure ................ 303 Case Histories .........................310 Case History 1: Tony ...................310 Case History 2: Baptist ..................312 Case History 3: Philip ..................313 The Development of New Modes of Production in the ICGC 315 The Role of the ICGC in Village Resources and Administra- tion .............................322 x CONTENTS CONTENTS Conclusion ...........................328 Appendix: Problems in Data Collection on Land Rights . 329 Notes .............................. 334 The