Mervyn & Elsie Maciel wrtoe: > What an amusing subject which brings back so many memories of my > childhood days in Goa. I don't think my brothers and I ever escaped the > DISTH ritual on our annual holidays in Goa. To us, it was a bit of fun. > Whenever we complained of 'suddenly" feeling unwell, the immediate > diagnosis of our elders was "this MUST be disht - the evil eye of so and > so". -snip- > Be interesting to hear what other goanetters have been through.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mervyn Maciel, While in Goa in 1966, fully eight years old, a thirteen year old neighbour came up to me and said that the local witch-woman wanted 20 rupees from me else she would make all my hair fall out. I had not heard of the evil eye prior to that so I told him, just like every child would, that no one could make another persons hair fall out. The neighbour then said he would provide the proof the next day. Walking home from church on Sunday, he pointed out to "Mr. Pinto" who had a full head of hair. We then followed him to our vaddo. Two days later, the teenage neighbour ran up to our veranda and breathlessly beckoned me to follow him. I followed him to the ration store and there, lo and behold, stood Mr. Pinto, completely bald. To cut a long story short I parted with 20 rupees and in return got a necklace with a tiny vial of water. Two weeks later, my grand-mom noticed the necklace. She enquired where I got it from. When I told here the story she replied, why would you need to buy holy water when we have a priest in the house? As some of you know, in the ancestral houses in Goa, there is a drink cabinet built into the wall where apart from drinks, a bottle of Holy Water is also stored. In order to really protect myself, I got hold of that bottle and sprinkled some of the water on my bed and pillow. Mervyn1194Lobo Oh! BTW, I later found out that Mr. Pinto was the village eccentric. A retired Afrigander, he only wore his wig to church and for weddings. * * * Was life in the *kudds* glamourised? Who said, "It appears that the Goanese (sic) are a roving people, prepared to go to any part of the world for well-paid employment"? How did Goans find their first toehold in the Gulf? Find your answers in Selma Carvalho's *Into the Goan Diaspora Wilderness*. Buy from Broadways Book Centre, Panjim [Ph +91-9822488564] Price (in Goa only) Rs 295. http://selmacarvalho.squarespace.com/ * * *