KERI: Holi marks the beginning of Shigmo in some parts of Goa. This spring festival unites not only locals, but also visitors from across the state who participate in rituals and festivities.
The Gade festival in Sal, Bicholim, is one such event where devotees from across the border throng.
A chosen group of male villagers known as ‘Gade’, dressed in white loin cloth, are seen chasing the spirit locally known as ‘devnchar’. The event takes place well past midnight, adding to the mystery.
The ‘devnchar’ is believed to hold a lit torch to guide the ‘Gade’ towards him and devotees’ excitement lies in spotting this torch against the pitch darkness of the night.
This year, the trunk of the mango tree in Sal worshipped as ‘Holi’, which is central to the ‘Gade’ zatra, has been brought from Maneri, the village in Dodamarg, Maharshtra, which shares its boundary with Sal.
Every year, villagers from Maneri throng in big numbers to witness the Gade zatra of Sal.
Mayare, a village nestled in the Kali tiger reserve in Karnataka is known for the folk deity ‘Gavaladevi’, worshipped in the form of a huge anthill. Traveling 16 km through rugged terrain of the forest of the Western Ghats, devotees from Goa visit Mayare on the full moon day to enjoy the concluding ceremony of the Holi festival there.
After celebrating the festival of Mahashivratri, the insignias of god Mallikarjun from Gaodongari and Canacona are taken to villages in the vicinity of Karwar, where the devotees offer their gratitude to their family deity.
Chorla, a village situated on the old route connecting Goa to Karnataka, during the Shigmo festival, invites devotees to witness the event of ‘Karvalyo’. On the second and the third days of Holi, young boys are made to wear saris, resembling women. The boys are carried in a procession amid folk music by menfolk of the village using the dhol, taso and kasale.