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| Learn the local customs of Goa. Tips and photos posted by real travelers and Goa locals. Goa Map |
 | Goa Local Customs | Tips 1 - 10 of 79 |  |
Generally known as Holi, the month of Phalgun signifies the onset of what in Goa is known as Shigmo. Celebrated mostly by the masses in the close religious association of religious rites, the festival of Shigmo is accompanied by the fanfare of drum beats and the epic enactions of Mythology. Colour in vivid vibrancy hues the festivities that bedeck every area that is celebrating Shigmo.
"Gulal" and "Neel" are abundantly used to colour the very atmosphere in celebration of what is heralding the onset of the most colourful season, spring.
Today, the Shigmotsav has highlighted its festivities with the performance of troupes in the form of parades and cultural dances. The streets in the townships, at dusk resound with the music of the Dholl, the drums and conches as huge effigies of wondrous color and light effects parade their way to prize winning combinations.
Shigmo is a social festival with a religious core. It is the Goan counterpart of the Holi in the rest of India. Puja is performed of the stems of the teflam fruits or betel nut, struck on the ground before the temple and a little grass put at their feet is then burnt. There are a number of dances which burst forth on this occasion in the spirit of plenty that marks the harvesting season.
Next time when you are in Goa, in Feb.. don't forget to join the parade and dance your way along..it's nice... Leave a Comment
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These women are making ropes from coir, the hairy husk of the coconut. The process is as follows:
Firstly the coconut shells must be immersed in the river for several weeks for the fibres to soften. The woman in photo 3 is checking them to find any that have softened enough to be suitable for use. Once the fibres have soaked sufficiently they are pounded with stones to make them even softer and more malleable – see photo 4.
Then the process of actually making the rope can start. The fibres are twisted together, with new ones added all the time as others come to an end. This forms the initial, rather thin and weak, strand of rope. Several of these then need to be twisted together to form the final strong rope, as the women here are doing. These ropes are then put to all sorts of uses – hanging washing, tethering animals, tying down or carrying loads, tying up boats, and many more. They are also offered for sale to tourists, and make a very practical souvenir of your visit to Goa, especially if you have watched one being made as we did.
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These flowers have a special place in Hindu worship and culture. They are often strung into ornate and beautiful garlands which are used to decorate shrines or as offerings in the temples.
Various meanings have been attributed to the flower, and hence for its significance in worship. Some say its saffron/orange colour signifies renunciation, others that its sturdy stem symbolizes a trust in the divine and a will to overcome obstacles.
The use of marigolds in homes, whether to decorate a shrine or simply to garland a doorway, has another more practical benefit too, as the unpleasant odour helps to keep insects and other pests at bay. For me the sight of these beautiful golden flowers piled up in the markets and draped over statues and shrines will be one of the abiding memories of our visit to Goa.
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It is well known that cows are sacred to Hindus, but knowing this didn’t really prepare me for some of the (to Western eyes) unusual sights we came across. Not only do cows wander freely on town and city streets as here, but also on the beach (photo 2). And the cows are very definitely in charge. Time and again we witnessed local drivers getting incredibly impatient with each other, hooting their horns and trying to squeeze through spaces that weren’t really viable. But if a cow was blocking their way they were much more tolerant and would wait uncomplainingly until said cow decided it was time to move on.
I have found several reasons cited for the Hindu reverence for cows. Some trace the cow's sacred status back to Lord Krishna, who is said to have appeared 5,000 years ago as a cowherd. He is sometimes referred to as Bala-gopala, that is "the child who protects the cows" and also as Govinda, meaning "one who brings satisfaction to the cows." Elsewhere Hindu scriptures talk about the cow as the "mother" of all civilization because its milk nurtures the people. Milk holds a central place in religious rituals and the divine bull, Nandhi, guards Hindu temples.
The reverence for cows manifests itself in several ways. In addition to the freedom they are granted to roam where they will, many people consider it good luck to give a cow a snack such as a bit of bread or fruit before breakfast. And conversely, a citizen can be sent to jail for killing or injuring a cow. Maybe that explains the patience of the drivers – they would not want to run one over!
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While visiting the western, inland area of Goa we were taken on a tour of this cashew nut factory and shown various stages in the process of roasting the nuts for sale. The conditions looked fairly primitive, but the women seemed happy in their work and there was quite a sociable atmosphere among them. One of the least interesting tasks, I have to say, was the sorting of the nuts into different sizes for different grades. The smaller nuts are used in the manufacture of other food products such as cakes and sweets. Only the larger ones are roasted and sold or exported.
The factory also made flavoured nuts. We were given some to try – some tasty spicy ones dusted with chilli powder and some I like less dusted with chocolate powder (not as good as it sounds as they were neither sweet nor savoury). The factory had a small outlet shop where we could buy boxes of the nuts which we did, as they made good presents to bring home.
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To the earlier visitors from Portuguese, Goa was Rome of the East, both for absoluteness and beauty.
This church in old Goa, built in 1600s, is now declared a World Heritage Monument. The church houses the relics of St. Francis Xavier, patron saint of Goa. This church continues to attract the devout of all lands and tourists as well.
Peddlers sell candles outside the church, but there is no point buying them as you are not allowed to light candles inside the basilica BTW Bom means Good Leave a Comment
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Raksha bandhan (the bond of protection in Hindi) or Rakhi is a Hindu festival which celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters. Sisters tie a rakhi (a holy thread) around their brothers' wrists. The brother in return offers a gift to his sister and vows to look after her. This festival is typically an occasion for celebration by the whole family.
It is not necessary that the rakhi can be given only to a blood brother - any male can be "adopted" as a brother by tying a rakhi on the person. Indian history is replete with women asking for protection, through rakhi, from men who were neither their brothers, nor Hindus themselves. Rani Karnavati of Chittor sent a rakhi to the Mughal Emperor Humayun when she was threatened by Bahadur Shah of Mewar. Humayun abandoned an ongoing military campaign to ride to her rescue.
The origin of the festival is mostly attributed to one of following mythological incidents:
1. Indra's fight with Vritra - Indra, the king of devtas (gods), had lost his kingdom to the asura (demon) Vritra. At the behest of his Guru Brihaspati, Indra's wife Sachi tied a thread around her husband's wrist to ensure his victory in the upcoming duel.
2. Draupadi and Krishna during the Rajsuya yagya - After Shishupal's death, Krishna was left with a bleeding finger. Draupadi, the wife of the Pandavas, had torn a strip of silk off her sari and tied it around Krishna's wrist to staunch the flow of blood. Touched by her concern, Krishna had declared himself bound to her by her love. He further promised to repay the debt manifold, and spent the next 25 years of his life doing just that. For all that Draupadi was the daughter of a powerful monarch, sister to a legendary warrior, and wife to five warrior princes, Krishna remained the only man she could ever truly depend on. Leave a Comment
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While on a tour of local villages we stopped in one where we saw this little school by the side of the main road. The children were having their lunch and we were invited to pop our heads round the door to say hello. We got shy smiles and greetings in return, which was lovely.
One thing I liked less though, was that the guide on our tour suggested that we all go to the nearby shop to buy sweets for the children. I was very happy to give them a small gift but would have preferred to give pencils or notebooks, as I usually do on these occasions. However, not knowing that we would visit the school we hadn’t gone prepared and as the children were clearly used to receiving something I didn’t like to disappoint them by not joining in. You might like to bear this in mind if you do a similar tour, and take along some little gifts for the school-children.
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We stopped for a while in one village to watch the local women at work washing clothes in the river, from which they had carved out a deep bay. The technique is the same as it is the world over – a little bit of soap, some rocks, clear running river water and lots of elbow grease. These women were hard at work but not too busy to give us a friendly smile and pause for our photos, as you can see.
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Perhaps the most interesting of the several villages we went to was this one, a busy fishing village (in fact almost a small town) on the banks of a wide river. Down on the jetty fishing nets were hung out to dry (photo 2) and nearby this man was using a stick to turn over the hundreds of small silver fish left out to dry in the hot sun. These can be kept for quite a while and used in many dishes.
Not all the fish were being dried however. Further along the road a woman (photo 3) sat in the shade of a tree with some of the fish that had apparently been caught fresh that morning, and she seemed to be doing a good trade with local women.
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on September 26, 2007
on February 6, 2009
on December 25, 2003
