Proud and prejudiced - Ferdinandus

THE PORTUGUESE 17
E See if having candle in whatnot
T Is there a candle in the sideboard?
E No hanky-panky nonsense
T Don't get up to any mischief
E Catch and give a good pasting
T Bash him up
E Think they can take and take and then kick my backside, no?
T Do people think I will continue to be generous when they slander me?
E Hit to see
T Make one aggressive move and you will be surprised at my reaction
E I going Canal Street bottom
T I am going to the lower end of Canal street.
E Give to see
T I would like to have a closer look
E That's what telling that fellow living Colombo
T He says he lives in Colombo
E Putting a party
T A celebration with liquor and many friends
E She's in the backside
T She is at the rear of the house
E What for keeping
T We don't need that, it can be thrown away
E Let him try to come and see
T Should he try violence, he will be the loser
E Only asking, no?
T Don't be upset, I thought I could ask
E Putting parts
T Pretending to be someone more important than one really is
E Have to cut with cloth that have
T We must manage with the resources we have
E Put a shot
T Have a quick drink
To the Portuguese Burghers, any occasion is an excuse for a party. The cafferinga and its
derivative the baila, are lively can-cans. The music is light, racy and filled with rhythm,
cadence and movement. The chikothi is slower and more graceful. Those who are not dancing
generally sit around in a circle and keep time by clapping, whistling and making rhythmic
sounds. The best known of the cafferingas is Sinhala Nona and no Sri Lankan dance is
complete, even in Melbourne, without at least one of these dances that came from the Iberian
Peninsula. The rhythm has spread into Sinhala culture by way of the romantic Sinhalese cinema
music.
Portuguese Burghers enjoy their christenings, weddings, birthdays and saints' days. They are
sociable, hospitable and speak a patois derived from Portuguese but spoken in English with the
addition of Sinhala words and grammar.