Tracing the Cultural Shift from Colonial Legacy to Creolized Identity in Michelle Mendonca Bambawale’s
Becoming Goan: A Contemporary Coming-Home Story

Archana N. S.
Part-time Research Scholar, Register No.: 22123184012006,
Department of English and Research Centre, Sree Ayyappa College for Women, Chunkankadai.
(Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli-627012, Tamil Nadu, India.)
Email: archananirmalan@gmail.com

Dr. Sheeba S. Nair
Associate Professor and Research Guide,
Department of English and Research Centre, Sree Ayyappa College for Women, Chunkankadai.
(Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli-627012, Tamil Nadu, India.)
Email: athulya.ssn@gmail.com

Abstract
The present paper is an attempt to analyse the cultural transformations in Goan society through the lens of creolization. The memoir explores various dimensions of creolization, highlighting its impact on Goan culture and identity. Creolization is a major aspect of colonial and postcolonial literature as it refers to the process by which cultures blend to create new and hybrid forms. Creolization can be explored in both colonial and postcolonial literature, in terms of language, identity and cultural practices that emerge when different groups coalesce with each other. In Becoming Goan: A Contemporary Coming-Home Story, Michelle Bambawale sheds light on the cultural transformation of Goan society, forged through centuries of Portuguese colonisation. Each chapter features personal or historical narratives that recount the cultural assimilation and resistance experienced by Goans during and after colonial rule. The paper concentrates on how creolization can be applied to analyse the cultural changes that occurred in Goan society because of colonisation.

Keywords: Colonial, Postcolonial, Creolization, Colonisation.