goan tibes
Tribal Life in Goa: An Intrinsic Part of Goan Lifestyle
A popular holiday destination known for its sandy beaches, azure Arabian Sea, salubrious climate and laid back ambience, Goa is a destination of a life time. The people living in Goa are extremely friendly, hospitable and welcoming. The population of Goa also includes the descendants of several ancient tribes. Notwithstanding the fact that the ethnic tribes in Goa form an intrinsic part of Goa, their importance is undermined in comparison to the popular tourism aspects. A lot of first time visitors to Goa especially enquire about tribal tours during winters.
When it comes to the tribal lifestyle, they firmly follow their ancient practices, customs and routines. It’s not that they are not aware of the modern development in their surroundings, they still preferred to stay connected to their roots. The four chief tribes of Goa include Gowdas, Kunbis, Velips and Dhangars. All these tribes live in segregated villages.
Gowdas
The Gowdas are the highest populated tribe in Goa. They inhabit the interior regions of the Goan villages. However, there is no documented fact regarding the migration of Gowda tribal people in Goa. Most of the Gowdas are farmers and are quite hard working. The tribal people of this clan follow Hindu religion and their chief deity is Lord Mallikarjun, which is an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Although they follow Hindu religion, they conduct burial of the dead ones, which is contradictory in this religion. The Gowda tribe is very strict in guarding their ethnicity and blood lines. It is not allowed to marry outside the community and they have laid down laws for safeguarding their blood lines. This feature of Gowda tribe is attributed by their practice of endogamy, i.e., not marrying outside Gowda tribe. People of this clan are allowed to tie knot between cousin brothers and sisters.
During the reign of Portuguese, Gowdas were asked to get converted into Christianity. During this
A popular holiday destination known for its sandy beaches, azure Arabian Sea, salubrious climate and laid back ambience, Goa is a destination of a life time. The people living in Goa are extremely friendly, hospitable and welcoming. The population of Goa also includes the descendants of several ancient tribes. Notwithstanding the fact that the ethnic tribes in Goa form an intrinsic part of Goa, their importance is undermined in comparison to the popular tourism aspects. A lot of first time visitors to Goa especially enquire about tribal tours during winters.
When it comes to the tribal lifestyle, they firmly follow their ancient practices, customs and routines. It’s not that they are not aware of the modern development in their surroundings, they still preferred to stay connected to their roots. The four chief tribes of Goa include Gowdas, Kunbis, Velips and Dhangars. All these tribes live in segregated villages.
Gowdas
The Gowdas are the highest populated tribe in Goa. They inhabit the interior regions of the Goan villages. However, there is no documented fact regarding the migration of Gowda tribal people in Goa. Most of the Gowdas are farmers and are quite hard working. The tribal people of this clan follow Hindu religion and their chief deity is Lord Mallikarjun, which is an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Although they follow Hindu religion, they conduct burial of the dead ones, which is contradictory in this religion. The Gowda tribe is very strict in guarding their ethnicity and blood lines. It is not allowed to marry outside the community and they have laid down laws for safeguarding their blood lines. This feature of Gowda tribe is attributed by their practice of endogamy, i.e., not marrying outside Gowda tribe. People of this clan are allowed to tie knot between cousin brothers and sisters.
During the reign of Portuguese, Gowdas were asked to get converted into Christianity. During this