Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News

Shigmo Festival of Goa

Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Shigmo Festival

Mains level: NA

The Shigmo or the Goan Carnival celebrations may be terminated this year due to rising covid cases.

Try this PYQ from CSP 2017:

Q.Consider the following pairs:

Traditions                                            Communities

  1. Chaliha Sahib Festival              —          Sindhis
  2. Nanda Raj Jaat Yatra                —          Gonds
  3. Wari-Warkari                            —          Santhals

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) None of the above

What is Shigmo or Shigmotsav?

  • Shigmo is the celebration of a ‘rich, golden harvest of paddy’ by the tribal communities of Goa.
  • Agricultural communities including the Kunbis, Gawdas and Velips celebrate the festival that also marks the onset of spring.
  • Shigmo celebrations last over a fortnight in the months of Phalgun-Chaitra months of the Hindu calendar that correspond with March-April every year.

Various activities in celebrations

  • The festival begins with ‘Naman’ that is the invocation of the local folk deities on the village ‘maand’ or the village stage.
  • It is held to the beats of percussion instruments like the Ghumat, Dhol, Mhadle and Tashe by the male folk.
  • This is called the ‘romta mell’ that moves from one village to another.
  • The celebration is replete with traditional, colourful costumes, mythological installations, painted faces and costumes of various hues.
  • Folk dances like Ghodemodini (a dance of equestrian warriors), Gopha and Phugadi are among the many dances performed by the participating communities.

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