The Goan Institute Zanzibar

Wherever Goans have gone, it would seem that before long, they would get themselves institutionalized.  This sounds very innocuous.  What I mean to say is that Goans have always felt a need to band together and form an association.  Legend has it that a Goan Association (call it Club if you must) was a necessary component of Goan life because it gave Goans an opportunity to meet, expand their friendships, and preserve their “Goanness” whatever that might be.  To some it meant the preservation of Konkoni while to others it probably meant the exchange of Goan recipes that was bound to bring disparate groups of Goans together.  Finally, it was hoped that through social interaction, children could ultimately find their mates locally rather than have them travel all the way to Goa in search of one. It was never articulated, but mixed marriages were not looked upon kindly. These clubs also provided, on a regular basis, social events such as dances, bingos and indoor sports such as table tennis and billiards. In Zanzibar we had all of these and more.  The bar was the center of the young teenagers who felt that a beer never killed anyone and the bar became the focal point of many young sports participants and enthusiasts who met after a game to share their collective experiences over a beer.  Some of these young adults played “flush” (a variant of poker) at very low stakes.

When the Goans got to Zanzibar at the turn of the last century in search of better opportunities, the need for a Goan Club became very urgent.  At that time, the various groups ethnic, religious or cultural, banded together because they felt that they had much to preserve from the Mother Country.  In essence, it became a multicultural society very much like Canada today. The British (our Colonial Masters) did not seem to mind this just as long as we did not interfere with their lives on the island and that the law was upheld and the locals left their women alone!!

Initially, the band that played at the Club was made up of old veterans from the mother country.  One played the drums, another played the violin, yet another played the piano and then there was a sax player.  In the context of the times when the Waltz, Quick Step, Slow Foxtrot, Tango, Samba and the Viennese Waltz were king, this band under the leadership of Mr. Menezes (an unqualified pharmacist during the day) provided just the music that everybody enjoyed and danced to with the latest dance steps.  This continued to be the band of renown until Artie Shaw challenged conventional music with his melodious clarinet and well orchestrated music.  One fine day, Pop Mendes invited a sleepy-eyed artist (an architect by day from Daressalaam) to play his rendition of Artie Shaw’s music on his clarinet and this forever changed the music that the Goans danced to.  Mr. Menezes was soon forgotten, and Pop Mendes was then there to provide “modern dance music” for all his adoring fans.  Pop was also a great entertainer for he was the only person in Zanzibar who could tap dance in spite of his weight.  Shortly thereafter, Eustace Pereira (my brother) formed his own band called the “Star Dusters” and his music then took over as the in-music of the day.  

But dances were not the only activities that were planned for the Goans.  There was an active hockey team (A and B teams) representing the Goans and also an active cricket team.  All these teams participated in a variety of leagues.

When Christmas rolled along, we would have Santa dress in his usual red garb and come and meet the children at the club in a hand driven rickshaw.  When the children had enough of fun, there was a Christmas dance held late in the evening for the adults.  The bar was well attended and there were quite a few inebriated individuals who in spite of their unsteadiness late into the night still got home safely because everybody walked home. Perhaps only a handful of members owned cars.

In the early 60’s, Sports visits were encouraged between the Daressalaam Goan Institute and the Zanzibar Goan Institute.  These were times when there was much excitement in Zanzibar and Daressalaam.  It was also a special occasion for all the young boys and girls to meet and develop relationships which eventually ended in matrimony. I met my wife at one of these Sports Visits.   It was three days of hectic social events.  My recollection is that nobody ever slept for three days but probably spent a month getting back to normal after they got home.

The only blemish on the Goan Institute was their inability to shake off the caste system that was imported from Goa.  Goan cooks and tailors were excluded from membership of the Club since their skills were considered to be far too “low” to rub shoulders with the most retarded Goan clerk in Zanzibar.  The cooks and tailors therefore founded their own Club and met once a year for a gala dance which apparently put anything that the Goan Institute had organized in the shade.

The Goan Institute surely fulfilled its purpose at least in Zanzibar.  To me it became the meeting place of all my friends where we could have healthy fun and grow into mature adults.  Above all, the Club provided parents with security that their children were safe, and this took the potential for worry out of parenting.  Finally, the Goan Club gave its members young and old a sense of identity and provided a forum for discussions no matter how controversial the views.   Somehow, the Goans clung on to their caste system though it was very rarely articulated in public.  Its ugly head, however, rose whenever there was a cross-caste marriage in the offing and this situation often destroyed the harmony and unity of homes closest to the couple who were only asking for their happiness...