Celebrated throughout Goa, and finishing two days before the season of Lent that precedes Easter, the Carnival (or Carnaval) in Goa is a non-stop 3-day festival of color, song and music, providing a healthy entertainment for all, young and old.

'Carnival' is derived from two Latin words - 'Carne', meaning meat, and 'Vale', which translates as 'good-bye'. Some also link the word to 'Carnislevamen' ('the pleasures of meat') focusing on the enjoyment of meat during the festivities, before the abstinence that follows during Lent. Another belief holds that the word came from 'Carrus Navalis', the horse-drawn, boat-shaped carriage that was paraded during the Roman festival Saturnalia, in honor of Saturn. It carried men and women in fancy dresses, wearing masks, and singing obscene songs. It is possible that the present-day concept of a carnival emerged from this parade.

The Carnival in Goa is an integral part of the Portuguese heritage of the state. It was introduced by the erstwhile rulers as a rowdy celebration in which flour, eggs, oranges, lemons, mud, sand-filled gloves along with dirty water, various liquids and glue were aimed at passersby. Used pots, pans, and other kitchen utensils were also thrown out of windows. Perhaps this was done to discard the old and the dirty before the Lenten fast. Fierce battles were waged in the streets, with plaster-of-Paris eggs, wax lemons, corncobs and beans. Blows were dealt out liberally, with brooms and wooden spoons. It was also an occasion when people gorged on rich food at lavish feasts, and convents distributed cakes and pastries.

Though celebrated for only three days, the preparations for the festival take days, and builds up a frenetic pitch by the eve of the carnival. The carnival in Goa still retains the core of the original. A King of Chaos, called King "Momo", is elected, after which begins a weeklong spurt of revelry - presided over by King Momo. It is a time of unbridled festivity and orgy just before the austere 40 days of Lent. The Carnival concludes with the famous red-and-black dance held by the Clube National in Panaji on the final day.

The carnival is not celebrated anywhere else in India and was in decline even in Goa in the last few years of Portuguese rule. It was revived with the Liberation of Goa, and a boost to tourism. So from being almost on the brink of decline, this three day festival now attracts thousands of tourists to Goa from all over India and abroad every year. Although, the three-day festival is primarily celebrated by Christians, it has also absorbed Hindu tradition revelry, western dance forms, and turned into a pageantry of sorts.

Last Updated on 4^th October 2010