ON DEKNIS, DULPODS AND MANDO....
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

A quote from the recent book "SONG OF GOA - Mandos of Yearning" by the well known and respected researchers Prof. Jose Pereira and late Prof. & Composer Micael Martins, with due courtesy to the authors and to the publishers Messrs Aryan Books International (New Delhi):

DANCE SONGS: Songs celebrating life-enhancing rhythmic movement:

1. Deknni: Song imitating Hindu music in the musical idiom current among the Christians, descriptive mostly of Goan Hindu life, with special attention given to the temple dancers. Sometimes sung after the Mando.

2. Dulpod: Song sung after the Mando, of quick rhythm, typically descriptive of everyday Goan life, particularly that of the Christians. A "folk song of the nobility".

3. Mando: A slow verse or verse-and-refrain dance song, in six-four time, dealing with love, tragedy and events.

4. Mando-Dulpod: Quicker variety of the Mando, facilitating the transition from the slow rhythm of the Mando to the quicker one of the Dulpod.

Pereira and Martins identify 10 types of Konkani Song, namely:

1. Religious songs, 2. Childhood songs, 3. Marriage songs, 4. Death songs, 5. Random folk songs, 6. Occupational songs, 7. Caste songs of the Gaurhos (Gauddi) and Kunnbis, 8. Theatrical songs, 9. Dance songs (Deknni, Dulpod, Mando & Mando-dulpod), and 10. Popular art songs.

Jorge de Abreu Noronha
Oeiras, Portugal