FESTIVALS OF GOA

Goa celebrates her own ethnic festivals like the
Zagor, Zatra and Feasts. Each of these colourful events
have a definite niche in the hearts of the exuberant rustics.

HERE ECHOES GOA'S COMMUNAL HARMONY

GOAN villages indulge in their own typically rustic modes of entertainment, and the closer the village to the sea or the river, the degree of excitement, exuberance and eagerness to celebrate seems to escalate. To feel the throb of the real excitement one has to be in the palm-dotted, toddy-tapping village of Gudem in Siolim, at the mouth of the Chapora river, on the day following the Siolim feast, which is celebrated traditionally on the first Sunday following Christmas.

The villagers of Dando and Gudem, in western Siolim, celebrate jointly the unique cultural event called the "zagor", followed by a tiatr. Since several generations, the privilege for the performance has been reserved for the Hindus of Dando and the Catholics of Gudem. Hence their respective "sunvari" (a procession to the thunderous beat of local percussions called "ghumttam-madlim") converges on the zagor site with exuberant singing and dancing from either side.

The zagor is actually a dance drama, which begins with the traditional "sunvari" (procession) which comes to the "Zagorio" stage-cum-temple. Once the sunvari reaches the stage, the processionists go to the stage, dancing what they call "bhorboria" in front of the shrine of the Zagorio. In Konkani, "bhorbhoria", a sort of forward and backward hopping, means "borobor iea" (let's go together).

The zagor begins, with Dadi (Vithal Shirodkar) taking the role of the narrator. He begins with ethnic songs called "ovhio" which invoke the Holy Trinity and appear to be the recitation of a sort of a prayer in song, to which the rustic characters perform. Octogenarian Dadi has been singing the "ovhio" for almost 60 years.

The first act begins with a quaint dance of the Raza (king) singing a semi-religious song interspread with rare words which have already gone out of common usage now. Sahid (a servant) dances behind the king. Then appear the dancing Malis (two gardeners and their wives). Eventually comes the prime character of Zagor, the Bhonvor, enacted for several years in succession by Antonio Rodrigues. The moment the Bhonvor appears with his colourful staff and a strange headgear decorated with lighted candles, the entire audience squatting on the ground in the large shamiana, watches with rapt attention.

The Gudem Zagor is believed to have been going on for more than a century ago. Kanaiyya Shirodkar, one of the comanisers, says that the folklore of the zagor refers to certain coins called "usurpiam" which were the currency about 1000 years ago. There was a time when the actors, with garish make-up, would sing the "zhupatteo" (sarcastic songs), criticising the wrongs committed by any villager.

The nocturnal event attracts a large crowd of people not only from Siolim but also from the surrounding villages. The Hindus come to pay obeisance to Zagorio. The larger crowd comes to watch the rustic performances of the zagor. Others, generally Catholics, prefer the tiatr which follows. This year, the entire cast of the entertaining tiatr, except the female artistes, was made up of an enthusiastic group of Hindu actors.

A large fair gathers around the area with sweets, toys, utensils for sale, entertainment stalls, mainly the "ghoddghoddo" (a sort of traditional gambling).
For several years, rockstar Remo Fernandes, who lives in the palm-dotted, seaside locality, would join in the performance, with his flute or guitar. Hence more people were attracted to the zagor.

Zagor, actually means "zagron" or nocturnal vigil. It begins sharp at midnight, and after the zagor and tiatr are over, the sunvaris return to the "mandd", a sacred black rock, which appears to be aflame with hundreds of people continuously lighting candles around it, for dispersion at dawn. It is one of the few ethnic outpourings of communal harmony, which still lives on in Goa.

VEREM'S REIS MAGOS FEAST

EPIPHANY, the feast of the Three Kings, is a grand event in Goa on January 6 every year. Particularly, at Reis Magos in Verem (Bardez), Cansaulim and Chandor (Salcette) the feast is is celebrated with great pomp and religious fervour. The respective villages wear a festive look on January 6.

The feast at Verem, at the church of Three Kings, the oldest church in Bardez, has its own historic importance. Moreover, until a few years ago, one of the biggest fairs in Goa, with every thing available right from dry fish to furniture, was the main attraction here. The furniture fair would then shift to Panjim, in front of the old GMC Hospital. In recent years, the fair has shrunk immensely but one still gets to see the popular game of "ghoddghoddo".

The ancient church, which stands atop a large flight of masonry steps overlooking the Mandovi river, used to be the residence of Viceroys and Patriarchs before they sailed down to Old Goa, to take charge or before embarking on the sea voyage to Portugal. Near the church stands the historic fort of Reis Magos, built by the Portuguese to guard the Mandovi mouth.

This year, Bishop Ignatius Lobo celebrated the High Mass along with Fr Kyriel D'Souza, former editor of "V Ixtt", and parish priest Fr Jose Ubaldo da Cunha. The rare part of the feast is that three youngsters dress as the Three Magi and each comes from a different point, bearing gifts for Child Jesus. Then everyone joins in the long, festive procession to the sweet chant of hymns interspread with music from a brass band.

The Three Kings event is a bit more spectacular at Cansaulim, where three boys dressed up as kings, come riding on horses, and then they go up the picturesque Cuelim Monte (hill). Isaac D'Costa from Cansaulim, Cloy Saldanha from Arossim and Renaldo Gracias from Cuelim, were the three kings, representing the respective gaunkar communities, this year.

MAPUSA HOSTS THE BIGGEST ZATRA IN BARDEZ

THE Shree Bodgeshwar Zatra in Mapusa, held yearly in the first week of January, is the biggest nocturnal event in the Bardez taluka of North Goa. Virtually endless crowds pile up in the paddyfields, between the two roads before they merge into one to enter Mapusa town, famed for its Friday Bazaar.

The Hindu devotees of Shri Bodgeshwar, whom they affectionaly call "Rakhonddar" (protector, who they claim helps people in difficulties at any time in the night) go to receive the "prasad" as soon as they arrive at the temple site. The long queue of people standing with bananas and flowers to offer to Bodgeshwar, extends right upto the Mapusa-Panjim road. The moment they reach the idol, which is dressed like a villager, they peal the bell above the head, bow and pray, place their offerings and return with the bananas offered as "prasad" by the priest.

Then it's time for everyone to move around in the vast fair bristling with local sweets called "kaddio-boddio", eats, toys, utensils, tea stalls, game stalls like the giant-wheel, tattooists, etc. The zatra, held for the 66th time this year, lasts for five days with pujas at the Satyanarayan deity, which is kept in the inner sanctum of the temple. The Bodgeshwar temple was illuminated with bright and colourful lights for the occasion.

Joel D'Souza