Paper short abstract:

Oral tradition of Catholic Gaudde in Goa, who traditionally were illiterate and had no land, acknowledges their own version of religious conversion, the underprivileged position in the Catholic caste system and their resistance to colonialism, by secretly rebuilding pre-Portuguese rituals and songs.

Paper long abstract:

The literature of Portuguese colonialism on Goan society has been centered on the elite, lacking knowledge on subaltern groups. Oral history is thus an important source to access voices that could not be heard as the ones of Gaudde, an original group that over time split into three different ones: the Hindus, the Catholics and the Neo-Hindus (Catholic Gaudde who became Hindu in 1928).

The representations of Catholic Gaudde on their own religious conversion from Hinduism are part of their oral tradition and have reconstructed their collective memory, contesting their naturalized inferiority in the Catholic hierarchical social system. Furthermore, simultaneously to Christian practices, the Dhalo ritual and songs are also creatively followed by Catholic Gaudde, who claim to perform it since their Hindu ancestors prior to the arrival of Portuguese. The lyrics of these Dhalo songs need to be read in the light of Hindu logic, although the names of gods have been replaced by Christian saints. The analysis of Gaudde's oral heritage allows us to see how Hindu ritual purity continues to structure contemporary ritual and social relations between Catholic Gaudde, side to Catholic forms. Moreover, they reveal a less known aspect of Portuguese colonialism: the invisible resistance of the Gaudde. Their resilience has developed through the maintenance of the songs, dances and rituals of their Hindu ancestors in secret because they were forbidden by the Catholic Church for being "non-Catholic" and have acquired nowadays a new meaning with their repositioning towards touristic audiences.