SAILING ALONG THE LUSOPHONIA WORLD

By Constantino Hermanns Xavier

Lusophonia is a fluid reality without political expression, such as the Commonwealth or the Francophonie. And to be sincere, it is not inaccurate to say that Portugal has been one of the countries least engaged in the promotion, preservation and strengthening of the lusophone world.

Lusofonia ” surely isn’t a completely new concept to Goans, this being the name of the publication, the Indo-Portuguese Friendship Society has been editing for the past years. But in fact this word represents a global phenomenon, bringing a large diversity of cultural communities together, all somehow linked to Portugal. Unfortunately the concept of ‘Lusophonia’ is seen in Goa as the concept of expansion of Portuguese language and values, limited to the political or institutional sphere.

Besides the fears from some minority sections that try to link lusophone with neo-colonialism, not too many people really know about this global reality. In fact, Lusophonia is not necessarily linked to Portugal. It is nothing but an abstract concept bringing together a large diversity of people and cultures that share a common language or a common historical experience.

In its limitative understanding, Lusophonia is seen as the group of eight countries that has Portuguese as its official language. Regarding the language, almost 2000 million people worldwide have Portuguese as their first language, around 3% of the world population. But this approach is very limited, as it may also include the expatriate Portuguese communities (more than a million in France alone), other regions and non-sovereign regions who have Portuguese-speaking communities (Macao or Goa), communities which speak a Portuguese variant (the crioulo in Daman, for example) and all other communities, socio-cultural traditions or heritage which has been influenced by Portugal or by other lusophone communities. In this sense one could even include the cashew nut plantation into the phenomenon, as the Portuguese brought it from Brazil to India!

Lusophonia is a fluid reality without political expression, such as the Commonwealth or the Francophonie. And to be sincere, it is not inaccurate to say that Portugal has been one of the countries least engaged in the promotion, preservation and strengthening of the luso-phone world. So, in order to discover its vastness, over the next editions I will guide the readers through the various lusophone countries, people, regions and communities. And before embarking into this it is necessary to underline its usefulness to Goa.

Goa is a part of this global lusophone community and has to be aware of its potential, especially if we consider that it is one of the regions of the world where the Portuguese influence has had a fertile impact, be it in gastronomy, in architecture, or in language and cultural folklore. Besides, in a time where a mature global outlook is needed more than ever and Goa is looking out for new partnerships, investments and cultural horizons, the lusophone world offers itself as a great potential.

Far from meaning a return to the darker colonial times and to the imposed process of lusitanization, Goa has now the opportunity to reclaim its own share and benefits from the past colonization. The societies of East Timor, Brazil and Mozambique, the large Portuguese expatriate communities in Venezuela, France or Australia, or even the lusophone communities of Malaka (Malaysia) all share a minimum common indicator with Goa’s contemporary identity. Rich social, economical and cultural exchanges have linked these places in the past, but always through the intermediate agent Portugal. Now, this heritage is progressively seen as a global lusophone heritage, and not an exclusive Portuguese monopoly. On my website www.supergoa.com, I mostly get information requests from Goans coming from Brazil and also many from Africa and Asia. They are people who are aware of this common heritage.

This route will thus start with a general outlook on the institutional side of Lusophonia, namely the Comunidade de Países de Língua Oficial Portuguesa (CPLP), an international organization built as per the image of the Commonwealth organization. Then we will look at the different global lusophone ports from Portugal to South America and to Asia, passing through Africa, discovering what links these places and people have in history and its benefits in a near future.

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