1 Answer

Goa Marriage Tradition – The Ros (Roce)

Marriage is a beautiful beginning of life with another person and starts a wholesome new beginning for a person. In every part of the world there are customs and traditions, many of which have been lost due to the vagaries of time. The customs are nevertheless a trail of a certain belief out of which they arose. In Goa we also have many customs and traditions in every aspect of our living. Many of these customs have discontinued. Some were lost by the colonial suppression of the Portuguese rule. Some others were modified to blend with the colonial influences.

The changes in the structure of Goan society has also rendered some customs and traditions to mere acts that have little or no meaning 3except for their cultural value. The tradition may not have literal value in the modern society but it does link people to their forefathers through the very act itself..The Goan tradition of the Ros (Roce) is another such tradition which reminds us of our ancestors and has survived the onslaught of changing times, thriving till today.

The Ros is a pre-wedding ceremony in Goa involving the smearing of coconut milk and rice flour on the bride to be and her bridesmaids. It was a merry ceremony which was held the day prior to the wedding and witnesses the singing of the Goan Mando, and many light moments with plenty of camaraderie between guests, neighbors and relatives who have a jolly good time  thereby creating beautiful memories. Over the times, this tradition also spread across the bridegroom and it is now customary for the bridegroom along with his “best man” to be taking the Ros tradition just like the bride.

The tradition of the Goan Ros has to trace back in time to the days when transport and communication facilities in Goa were very poor compared to modern Goa. The tradition implied that after a woman gets married ,she cannot meet her family except for certain celebrations which were mostly religious in nature. So besides all the changes that marriage brings into the life of a person, she also had to contend with the fact that she would not see her family and friends as she once did. The Ros therefore brought together all these women who have helped her till that moment in her life for one last time in her unmarried stature to celebrate her advent into another stage of her life.

The other reason of the Ros was to ensure that the smearing of milk and coconut cleanses and moisturizes the woman before the big wedding day. As is known and widely accepted even in the modern world, coconut milk is a natural cleanser and softener, when the milk touched the skin of the bride to be and her friends they were naturally cleansed and set for celebrations the following day.

The Ros juice is kept in a container and one by one each person takes a cup of the Ros or a handful and showers it on the bride. During this, there is a continuous belter of songs mostly the dekhni tunes and impromptu compositions which lend the occasion that special touch. After everyone has finished,, the bride and her bridesmaids do a cleanup and bathe themselves, followed by dinner and cocktails for the guests.

In the modern era there is an added element of most brides taking a special beauty treatment to help her with her skin and make-up o that very day itself including her bridesmaids. The tradition of the Ros is discontinued by many in the urban areas of Goa due to the fact that they have to clean themselves up in a greasy experience. However in rural Goa and all the villages of Goa including those living in Portuguese styled houses of the state, people revel and enjoy the tradition of the Ros with unmatched entertainment. Another reason that people have discontinued this is because of lack of time in the modern era while some others simply do not like the ceremony due to their own inhibitions.

Hopefully the Ros tradition will live forever in Goa as it is only  with traditions that we can trace our roots and ensure that our culture and our ethos remains forever.