Goa village worships crocodiles for bounty

PANAJI: On February 4, the Amavasya day of Paush month this year, residents of Adulshem kept their date with ‘Manngem Thapnni’, a peculiar agrarian cultural expression dedicated to crocodile worship.

Located in Borim, 35km away from Panaji, Adulshem is a less-travelled stretch along the Zuari riverbanks and Cumbharjua canal, and is home to clusters of a few Hindu ethnic and agrarian families. The ritual, conducted on Monday afternoon, saw a gathering of local farming and fishing communities gather on a bund.

Crafting a crocodile dummy of silt extracted from the fertile khazan land, villagers chanted prayers for a better crop and fish yield. ‘Manngem’ means crocodile and the ‘thapnni’ refers to patting the mud into shape. Once it is done, a sacrificial offering is made – either a chicken or an egg. The ritual ends with the offering of a preparation of ‘chirmuleo’ (puffed rice) and jaggery to the gathering.

Khazans are saline lands, but in Goa, the dykes regulate salinity and turn the fertile soil into a food bowl of rice, vegetables and fish.

Locals believe crocodile is guardian

“The low ebb of the tide on Amavasya day of Paush month helps them to remove ‘chikol’ (silt) with their bare hands from the khazan for the ritual. They decorate the dummy with shells and wild flowers,” says member, state wildlife advisory board, Charan Desai.

The crocodiles, as records say, were introduced in Cumbharjua canal swamps by Adil Shahi rulers over 500 years ago. In the past, they served them and the Portuguese rulers in scaring away soldiers from entering the former capital of Old Goa. Goa’s freshwater crocodile is among three species - saltwater and ghariyal - found in India. Now, the crocodiles sustain many livelihoods in terms of boat cruises to its habitat.

The local populace believe that the hardy reptile is a sort of its guardian. “If they give it due respect, it will not harm them but also the fish and agricultural yield will be better,” said Desai. The practice, though quaint, is important amidst increasing man-animal conflicts. “The respect accorded to it breeds awareness about conservation,” says Harish Muli, a youth from Adulshem, Borim.

The antiquity of this custom is only steeped in oral tradition. “Our ancestors must have started it after they began their agricultural traditions,” says Vithu Gawde, an elderly resident of Borim. This agro-cultural practice is not restricted to Adulshem alone, but among Hindu and ethnic families in central Goa's riverine villages along the Zuari bank, in stretches between Bhoma and Madkai, Durbhat and Talaulim, Borim and Shiroda. And yet, the interesting tradition has remained shrouded in obscurity.