“Rice is cooked on people’s heads.” This is Varun Hegde’s favourite story to tell about the Shisharanni ritual as he escorts travellers into Goa’s villages every March, where the locals prepare to celebrate Shigmo — the harvest festival that heralds spring.
Varun pauses to allow the dramatic gasp that always follows his tale.
This story might seem unbelievable to those whose idea of the festival is coloured by the parades and floats that deck Goa’s streets. “That is one version of it,” confirms Varun, who leads cultural explorations at Soul Travelling — an initiative that specialises in offbeat tourism. But far removed from the chic masquerades is a more authentic interpretation of the festival, celebrated in the villages of Goa.
This Shigmotsav, The Better India decided to explore it — through the eyes of Varun and photographer Daniel Dsouza, who have enjoyed a front-row seat to these esoteric, spirited gatherings that happen in the hinterlands.
Homecoming of soldiers and Indian cupid lords
March in Goa is a vibe. The month is considered a harbinger of good. The harvest could be one reason. As farmers set aside their ploughs, Goa dons her festive avatar, hopping into a cultural extravaganza. Crowds swarm the streets; folk music, dance, and mythological depictions add to the fanfare.
Much has been written about this flamboyant side of Shigmo called ‘Vhadlo’, but much less about ‘Dhakto Shigmo’. Celebrated in the villages, Dhakto includes equally overt demonstrations, albeit more deity-centric. The villages reverberate with the beats of the ghumat, dhol, mhadle and tashe (percussion instruments) as men invoke the Gods, giving thanks for the rich harvest.
Both the city and village versions are a visual and auditory panorama.
But at the core of Shigmo are rituals that reference its many lores: Holika being chased and immolated; the story of how she coaxed her brother, Hiranyakashyap, to inflict torture on his son Prahlad to stop him from chanting the name of the Lord; a story about the Indian cupid lord Kamadeva, and the homecoming of brave soldiers.
And it is these rituals that Varun decodes — the significance behind the pomp.
Flipping through Shigmo festivals
Faith is at the core of Shigmo, Varun emphasises. He concluded this soon after his experience of the ‘Chorotsav’ festival in the Zarme village. Known as the ‘festival of thieves’, it sees the villagers atoning for their ancestors’ misdeeds. “The story goes that a few young men were beheaded in the village. To this day, the villagers enact the beheading, and the men who participate are actually buried too, (temporarily with their heads sticking out).”
These rituals are not for the faint of heart. Putting the case into point, Varun shares about the ‘Gadde’ festival he participated in at Kudne village. “A day before Holi, the villagers start dancing around the Holi fire at midnight and go on till 6 am the next morning. No one is allowed to leave in between, nor is anyone allowed to switch on their phones.” The macabre ceremony is etched in Varun’s mind. “A hundred or so people dance around the fire. It is believed that when they are in a trance, a devchar (ghost) lures them into the forests with a burning lamp,” he says.
Revisiting his claims that faith is central to these rituals, he points to the ‘Lairai Zatra’, which is celebrated in honour of the Goddess Shri Lairai, one of the deities of Shirgao village in Bicholim. The temple devotees dance around pyres, even running into them without thinking twice. “To witness or participate in such rituals, your beliefs must be strong. The villagers consider these things an honour. They are not afraid.”
This intrepid energy is conveyed in the pictures captured by Daniel. These snapshots bring this lesser-seen side of Shigmo out of the shadows. Calling the festivals “deep-rooted”, Daniel says each has its unique traits. Take, for instance, ‘Xeni Uzzo’, which is celebrated by the villagers of Malcornem as they thank the harvest Gods. Men ascend areca nut palms, tossing flaming sheni (cow dung) cakes at each other, as bare-chested men dance amid the burning cakes hurtling around them. Faith vests them with this daredevil spirit.
“It’s almost like being on a set of ‘Game of Thrones’,” Daniel says, drawing parallels with the American fantasy drama series. There are numerous other festivals in the Shigmo repository. These include Shidyotsav, where a chosen someone dangles from a rotating log suspended from a 30-foot vertical pole; Karvalyo, which celebrates womanhood; Viramel, a martial arts performance; and Ghode Modni, which sees dancers carrying wooden horse effigies and wielding naked swords — an ode to Goa’s warrior past.
As the festival of Shigmo kicks off, Goa readies herself for a makeover. And it promises to be beautiful.
Edited by Khushi Arora
No comments:
Post a Comment