DAMAN GLOBAL eNEWSLETTER - Issue -2 uploaded!


Issue -2 (Vol. I) of the DAMAN GLOBAL eNEWSLETTER has been uploaded!

You can download the PDF file by going to http://public.me.com/noelgama where I've also archived the previous issue.
If the link doesn't work, kindly copy and paste it into your web browser.

Enjoy!

Call the chilli by any other name!!

Portuguese-based Creole of Damao came closest to Standard Portuguese in the seven years or so preceding the liberation in 1961 during the time the Portuguese troops camped in Daman. This is also the period when the Indo-Portuguese culture leaned more on the European side, again, as a result of the influence of the troops and their families.
Further, this happened more in Small Daman than Big Daman as most of the troops and their families lived there. Also, almost all of the elite of Damanense society lived in Small Daman. It was the elite of that time that interacted most with the 'White' officers and their families. Hence the slight difference in the Portuguese of Small Daman and Big Daman.

Even the same dishes are named differently in Small Daman and Big Daman, eg., a common fish dish is called, 'Coco manteiga' in Small Daman and 'Caldo doce' in Big Daman; a Christmas sweet is called, 'Teia de aranha' in Small Daman and 'Aranha do ceu' in Big Daman; a blossom is called, 'flora de ice cream' in Small Daman and 'Coco ralado' in Big Daman; a roadside flower is called, 'Flora de ardoza' in Small Daman and 'Flora de Virgem Maria' in Big Daman. (Excuse the spellings:)

When the Portuguese left in 1961, there was an exodus of the locals too, mostly from Small Daman when most of the elite left. Big Daman became the new seat of Indo-Portuguese culture by default - it had more catholics and it's original creole and Indo-Portuguese culture was not affected much during the last seven years of the Portuguese as Small Daman was.

But the language is certainly not dying despite the convent school discontinuing Portuguese as a second language and more and more Goan priests who do not know the language being posted in Daman not to mention the large numbers of south Indian Christians in Small Daman. The number of people speaking Portuguese as their mother tongue may be declining for the simple reason that they're migrating to the UK and definitely not because they're switching to another language as has happened in other parts of India where P'guese based creole was spoken. Not only that - quite a few traders/shop-keepers in Big Daman who migrated to Daman (Rajashtanis being the most prominent) as recently as five years ago, speak Portuguese with their Portuguese-speaking customers!

Well, for good or for bad, Damanense Portuguese says it best - people feel they heard a 'real' mass when it's said in P'guese and nothing could give them more satisfaction than using a P'guese swear word... the English SOB is a sob before it's P'guese translation. And there's a variation that was used by the Pguese to name a local chilli!!

Eu Falo Português!

The topic about the Portuguese language spoken in Daman by Damanenses is very popular on the forums.

Here's my take on the current status of the language...

There are four main types of Portuguese in today's Daman:

1. The most popular is the 'remix' version - Portuguese (ungrammatical), garnished with English words, a dash of Gujarati and of late, a sprinkling of Hindi! This is spoken by everyone up to the age of 50 to 55. If you're at a distance where the speech is audible but the words are not decipherable, the 'tune' is Gujarati! To cite an example, I was attending mass in the Se Cathedral in the Fort a few years back when a group of Portuguese tourists entered from the main door. The mass was in Portuguese and therefore, the choir was singing a Portuguese hymn. A good three minutes into the hymn, one of the Portuguese men tapped the shoulders of his colleagues and whispered, "E Portugues!"

2. Badrapor Portuguese - same as above but grammatically the most incorrect and with a few dozens of words that are said to be 'original' Portuguese and decidedly old. Badrapor Portuguese is romanticized the most by Westerners and locals 'scholars.'

3. The Portuguese spoken by those who studied it at least up to 'segunda grau.' These are in the age group of 55+ and have also studied English post-liberation. They are the self-appointed ambassadors of the Indo Portuguese culture of Daman, forming a closely knit circle that is as impenetrable as the forts of Daman. They swear by 'Badrapor Portuguese,' but try to speak their best 'European Portuguese' in the presence of whites. Interestingly, they speak the 'remix' version amongst themselves and in their homes:)

4. The Portuguese spoken by the endangered species of Damanenses in Daman - the erstwhile elite of Damanense society, who speak grammatically correct though 'old' Portuguese, even in their underwear - before whites as well as amongst themselves in their own homes. They are old, 70+, have an old-world aura, old-world values and have seen or rather heard it all but have chosen to remain silent and let the babble go on and on...

Noel Gama
Daman