Sharvani ChandvaleWhat if someone told you that there’s a festival in Goa that is celebrated all over the state but no two celebrations are the same? If this fascinates you, you should check out the vibrant Goan festival Shigmo – a spring celebration that takes place around the same time as Holi. While Goan winters aren’t as harsh, spring symbolises a new harvest and opportunity for growth. Hence, local Goans welcome it with all the enthusiasm they can gather.
So if you are in Goa in the month of March-April, you should keep an eye out for Shigmo parades in the cities. Apart from that, there are some unique Shigmo celebrations to keep an eye out for!
Dates for Shigmo Parades in Goa
Along with unique local celebrations, the Goa Tourism Department has put together communal celebrations across various Goan villages. These celebrations happen in the form of parades which include folk dances, local Goa music and unique traditional costumes. The lively and colourful Shigmotsav parades make this Goan festival worth experiencing. Here are the dates for the Shigmotsav festival in Goa for March 2024.
History of Shigmo
The original Goan settlers were primarily farmers who worked hard throughout the monsoon, winter and even the summers. Goa’s fertile land meant there was always something to sow and something to harvest. That said, locals sow and cultivate most Goan crops between October and February. They harvest it between March and May. This adds to the joy of welcoming springtime when all crops have ripened and are ready to harvest. Farmers have been celebrating this for a very long time and today, all of Goa regardless of religion, join in on the Shigmotsav festivities. Moreover, Intruz, a festival of Goa tells a very unique story about its past. Keep reading to know more about all the Goan festivals celebrated during Shigmotsav.
Shigmo Festivals in Goan Villages
Lairai Zatra
The Lairai Zatra is an event so mystical and spine-chilling, that it’ll take you aeons to forget! We’re talking fire-walking, on a pile of cinders in the late hours of night. The celebration occurs for the Goddess Shri Lairai, one of the deities of Shirgao village in Bicholim. The Dhonds, i.e. the devotees of the temple, dress in white dhotis and a glowing sense of pride and honour. They also carry colourful woven sticks with ornaments of wool called Ven’th. The Dhonds charge the day with their enthusiasm and the desire to mark their faith in honour of their village deity. The excitement ebbs through the air, making the hair on your skin stand.
Thousands of Dhonds dance around pyres, awaiting the moment that would ask them to prove their faith. As the pyre settles, the Dhonds run over the hot cinders whose heat can be felt from metres away. If you watch with rapt attention, you’ll notice that a few take their own sweet time to walk over the volcanic mess. The event concludes with dawn as the devotees, content, return to their homes.
Shisharanni, Canacona
Occurring once every three years in the Temple of Mallikarjun in Canacona, Shisharanni demarcates a part of the Shigmo celebrations that take place all around Goa. The word shisha signifies a type of tree, and ranni refers to a special cooking place. The ritual involves three men in white dhotis known as gades. They are the human representation of Goa for a limited duration. The gades wear turbans of wet cloth and lie down unconscious with their heads joined. What comes next will blow your hair back! They use their turbans as a stove under someone lights shisha branches on fire. Over the fire, they place a pot of rice for cooking. Villagers believe that the God in them will protect them! This chilling festival has its kind of magic that leaves us speechless. If you’re really in for exploring Goa for what it is, you shouldn’t miss it!
Chorotsav, Zarme
Every year in February/March, Goa comes alive in celebration of Shigmo, the spring festival of Goa. Different Goan villages add their own twist to the celebrations, but none beat the eerie version villagers of Zarme celebrate in Valpoi, at the foothills of the Vagheri mountains in Sattari taluka. On the full moon night in the Phalgun month, the villagers celebrate Chorotsav, or the “festival of thieves”, as a form of penance for the accidental killing of some young men at the hands of their ancestors. They were mistaken as thieves and beheaded. The ritual witnesses a dance by the villagers in front of the temple, and a depiction of the scene of the beheading in all its blatant honesty, including an actual burial of men such that their heads stick out!
Xeni Uzzo, Sanguem
A 400-year old tradition of burning sheni, or cow dung cakes takes place in the village of Malcornem. On a full moon night in the Phalguna month of the Hindu calendar devotees carry tall areca nut trees to a predetermined site. They use it as “holika” around which bare-chested devotees dance in a trance to the beat of dhol. They light the sheni on fire (uzzo), not minding the ambers that fall on their skin, aware of only the energy that is keeping the night alive. This celebration in all its brilliance passes in gratitude for the spirits during the spring/ harvest season.
Gadyachi Zatra, Canacona
This festival is celebrated to demonstrate one’s gratitude towards ghosts and spirits in the villages of Sal, Borde-Bicholim, Pilgao, Kudne, and Savai-Verem during the spring-harvest celebrations of Shigmo. The one that takes place on the night of Holi poornima in the village of Sal attracts a large crowd from the neighbouring states and is an event worth witnessing. Lord Mahadev is known to be the God of Ghosts and this jatra honours him. This mesmerising festival goes on for three days and is nothing short of mysterious.
A pole decorated with mango leaves is erected around which men in white dhotis, called gades, sing and dance. It is believed that on the third day, when they’re all in a trance, a ghost or devchar lures them into the forests with a burning lamp. The ghost tries to fool them by lighting and extinguishing the fire, an event which many come to witness! Villagers also say that the ghost tries to hide a few gades amongst the trees. When discovered, they are unconscious and locals revive them with holy water.
What’s more, in a village called Kudnem, the same jatra passes without illuminating any torches or lamps for the said three days!
Intruz
Intruz – a festival in Goa guards a very important story from the state’s past. In an attempt to discourage the celebration of Hindu festivals, the Portuguese administrators, who then lived in the taluka of Tiswadi, banned the celebration of Shigmo. The locals were afraid but they did not want to give up on their celebrations. So they found a loophole. The locals of Dongrim village renamed Shigmo to Intruz and began celebrating it around the same time as the Catholic Carnival. While you won’t see much of Shigmo celebrations in the Tiswadi taluka, Intruz leaves on to tell the tale of resilience.
Shidyotsav
During Shidyotsav at the Shree Shantadurga Ballikarin temple in Balli, devotees gather in the courtyard to witness a unique acrobatic performance honouring the deity. This festival, held on navami, features a ‘gaddo’ chosen to execute the task. The gaddo waits as a wooden arrangement resembling a clock with a single hand is erected. Perched atop a 30-foot vertical pole adorned with flowers, the chosen individual is suspended in the air at the end of a rotating log. A rope ladder tied to the other end is held firmly by a group of people. As the log rotates five times, the gaddo invokes the deity to fulfil his vow or obligation.
Karvalyo
The festival of Karvalyo, integral to Shigmo in regions like Sattari, Bicholim, and border areas of Maharashtra and Karnataka, venerates womanhood. Despite historical subjugation, Goan women are revered as mothers due to their unique procreative ability. Married women in these regions show great respect for Karvalyo, two boys dressed as females, symbolizing goddesses like Sateri and Kelbai. The festival, often held on the third or fourth day of Holi Pournima, features processions with folk music and songs celebrating village life and mythology. Karvalyo is linked to past practices like Sati, a tradition discouraged by authorities in the 16th century. In villages like Dharge in Sanguem, the festival continues, drawing families together for two days of celebration. However, the tradition is fading, with the once-immortalised festival now becoming rare.
Local Folk Dances that happen during Shigmo
Viramel
Viramel is a martial arts performance that happens from the ninth day of Phalgun to the full moon day. Locals from the Bhagat community dress up in white dhotis and turbans, grab a sword, and go from house to house in a big procession. They carry a broom made of peacock feathers called the Pillakucho, while musicians play drums, cymbals, jaghat and a horn, or ‘shing‘.
Tonyamel, Talgadi and Goff
During the Shigmo festival in Goa, three traditional folk dances are commonly performed by men in the taluka of Canacona and Sanguem: Talgadi, Tonyamel, and Goff.
Talgadi, once widespread across Goa, is now limited to specific areas. Performers dress in dhotis and mundashe, and dance to folk music. The music continues to be played using traditional instruments such as Zanj (cymbal), Samel (a small drum made from goat skin), and Ghumat (an earthen drum made from monitor lizard skin). The dance is often accompanied by traditional folk songs, known as ‘Jot,’ which are based on mythological stories. Typically involving six to eight artists, Talgadi showcases intricate patterns and concludes with the chanting of “Tha thai tha.”
Similar to Talgadi, Tonyamel employs quick movements set to folk music but utilizes Tonyo, which are sticks made from cane or bamboo. Performers adorn dhotis, turbans, and garlands of crossanda flowers around their necks.
The Goff dance tradition used to be practised but has now become more infrequent. Before the dance, artists tie coloured strings to twigs or horizontal poles. Men then perform this vibrant dance, weaving and untangling the braids in various patterns, all while singing folk songs that praise Lord Krishna.
Morulo
The morulo dance takes place during Shigmo in the village of Narve, Bicholim. It’s a unique testimony to the performance of the peacock. The artists sing songs that talk about the behaviour of the peacock while traditional instruments play in the background. The dancers also wear headgear made from peacock feathers and mimic the bird’s movements.
Ghodemodni
Ghodemodni is one of the biggest performances of Shigmo. You can check it out at any of the parades for Shigmo in Goa. Villagers of Pernem, Bicholim, Sattari, and border areas of Maharashtra perform this dance as a tradition. Dancers carry wooden horse effigies, wear turbans, and wield naked swords, symbolising warfare heritage. The dance, resembling riders on horseback, takes place biennially in Thane-Dongurli, attracting large crowds and horses from neighbouring villages. Villages with a warrior-class tradition annually express gratitude through Ghodemodni performances, reflecting their rich history of bravery and warfare, blessed by folk deities Kolgiro and Mundalgiro.
Hanpet
During the period from Navami (9th day of the lunar fortnight) to Pournima (full moon night), the Velip community of Neturli engages in a martial art form known as Hanpet. In this practice, four individuals wield naked swords and deliberately strike their bodies, resulting in injuries and bleeding. Additionally, other folk artists perform Hanpet which doesn’t include self-injury. Instead, they visit households and execute the dance accompanied by music from dhol, taso, Janghat, and ghumat instruments. These rituals reflect the Velip community’s rich eco-cultural heritage passed down from their ancestors.
Get a glimpse of Goa’s oldest traditions
The Shigmo festival in Goa is one of its oldest traditions that has survived a whole lot of history. The few folk performances that continue to be practised are heirlooms of its tribal and agricultural roots. If unique parties in Goa are your thing, head out and witness the magic of Shigmotsav in Goa!
