Kolvontam Y Amim - Dekhni

“Let’s keep the Goan tradition and culture alive, worldwide”

We are dancing girls

Type: Deknni

Source: José Pereira/ Micael Martins. A Sheaf of Deknnis,

Musical form: Binary

Literary form: Ethnological aspects

Translated by José Pereira

Part 1

Kolvontam y amim,

We are the dancing girls,

Porvotavelim. [41]

From the Mountain.

Vatto visrunum y amcha,

We lost our way,

Marvam' sampol-llim.

And ran into our low caste fellows.

Vatto visrunum,

We lost our way,

Murgonvam paulim.

And found we were in Murmugão.

Maxtorra baban y amkam,

There the big man (maxtorra = master),

Apounum velim.

Called us and took us with him.

Tumy'm amkam siripon-nnaim go.

Clients: You (female) are no good to us.

Beddan vankrhelim (vankddelim).

You with your misshapen hips.

Part 2

Ton-neam konddeachim,

Patollam vellam.

To peel off thin shavings from your bamboos -

Karhunko (kaddunko) borim y amim,

Konkonnim maram.

This is what we Konkan mhars are good at.

Amim osoitam (osoitai),

We live,

Parhelim (paddelim) garam.

In abandoned houses.

Sonsar barhkanim (baddkanim or bhattkanim) mul-llol,

What we call the world, lady,

Gonsally'm (Gonsallem) disolam.

Seems to us a worthless towel gourd (gonsallem [42]).

Full-llea pantteachem,

For our last basket,

Ot-tango ul-lam.

You still owe us half a tanga[43].

Durhu (duddu) naxleari barhkany (baddkanim),

If you have no money, lady,

Diyai gê [44] solam.

Kindly give is dried fruit peels (solam [45]) instead.

Dekhnni