[Goanet]SHIGMO

[Miguel Braganca]

The traditional SHIGMO celebrations in Goa begin tomorrow 26 March although 
today is the holi poornima [full moon in Phalgun month]. This is in 
deference to 25 March being Good Friday.

The official celebrations with float processions start at PONDA on 26 March 
and come to MAPUSA on Easter Sunday. QUEPEM celebrates Shigmo on 28 March 
whileSanvordem-CURCHOREM and PERNEM celebrates it on 29 March.SANGUEM has a 
colourful 30 March and VASCO brightens up its financial year ending.

It's not an April Fool prank in BICHOLIM and PANAJI celebrates it on the 
weekend. The Sunday celebrations are in MARGAO and VALPOI. Flaviano's 
CUNCOLIM joins the parade on 4 April before CANACONA Chaudi calls it a day 
on 05 April.[ For details go to www.goatourism.nic  or refer to local 
newspapers]

It is time for the heavy beat of the drums and the clang of the cymbals. The 
men in the street whoop and shout while they dance the ROMTA-MELL.  The 
floats are traditionally led by two men holding the  toran or the TARANG--a 
strip of decorative cloth cut like a toothed saw and a number of mango 
leaves strung across or on the poles at either end. A number of HAPTAGIR or 
spade-shaped standards , DWAJA [cylindrical white and red standards] and 
SONNTRI or red velvet umbrella [which normally accompanies a palkhi {idol of 
the deity on a palanquin}, or a bridegroom].[ For details see artcle by 
Ciifford da Silva in 'Goa Traveller' of March-April 2005 or Diamond's PLUS 
tabloids of March 2004]

The Shigmo in Goa is a variant of the SHIMGA [shim= border]of Maharashtra 
and the BONDERAM of Divar. It is essentially a border marking exercise which 
has become a fun tradition. The enemities of yester years have transformed 
into a healthy competition. While in Bonderam [ feast of flags, celebrated 
at Malar-Divar on World Goa Day, i.e. 20 August, and at Piedade-Divar on the 
Saturday after that ]   it was about the Communidades and their territory, 
in Shigmo it was obviously about the Devasthan lands. In both it was about 
who would get the levy or cultivation tax from the farmer and till which 
boundary. The communidades marked these areas just before the  Kharif crop 
[ Sorddhache pik] while the devastans looked at the Rabi crop [vaingonn] and 
perhaps the cashew and mango crop as well.

Last month we had a violent settlement of such a dispute between the Shree 
Bhumika devasthan or temple followers and original inhabitants[goankars] of 
Kasarpal-Vadaval and the the follwers of the Shree Kalika temple who are 
Vaid Brahmans or goldsmiths from all over the Konkan. The dispute was over 
the rights to auction of  the cashew and mango harvest [usufruct] during the 
summer of 2005. The colours of this shigmo was scarlet and entirely natural. 
It was blood. The goldsmiths won their case in the court of law, the 
goankars settled the dispute the traditional way. It was not dealt wiothan 
iron hand, they settled it with iron rods wielded like swords and spears of 
yore. It is a stalemate.

Whether it is shigmo or holi it is not 'holy' as per the traditional Western 
understanding of religion. The prayers are offered at the boundary or the 
SHIM to the SHIMMECHO DEVCHAR [Boundary Devil] or KSHETRA RAKSHAK [Area 
Protector]. The spirited beat of the drum is , more often than not, 
sustained by a generous inflow of the local spirit. In Goa it was maad or 
maaddachi feni till the Portuguese brought in the cashew and the locals 
learnt how to make a potent brew out of it. The gulal or falgu is mostly 
vermillion. It could also be yellow, green or blue indigo. Vegetable colours 
were the only thing in the good old days. They are being promoted once 
again.

This shigmo is very important because the fading BJP and the resurgent MGP 
will be defining their electoral boundaries. The Madkai Lion has already 
laid his hands on the Priol Lotus for the Zilla Panchayat elections. In 
Cumbarjua, the Lion is getting ready to keep the Congress Hand at bay. 
Coalition is one thing, submission is another. With Tai gone, Raut all but 
routed and the Anna and the white-haired Lion in the Congress, the MGP is 
redefining itself. In the ex-Minister, it has found a good strategist. It is 
financially better off, even if one takes Parrikar's 10% claim at half its 
face value. Should the MGP manage to get one of the proven capacity Bhandari 
leaders from the BJP or Congress back in its fold, there will be no stopping 
it. Watch the beat this shigmo, it will determine who dances to whose tune 
when the suspension of the Goa Legislative Assembly is revoked and a 
Government is re-instated. Luizinho might have played the Pied Piper in 
February but one could well say, today, the carnival is over.

It reminds me of the old fable about the "Lion and the Mouse". It is 
possible that the MGP Lion was released from the BJP trap by the small and 
apparently insignificant creature that has been scurrying from the Congress 
to the UGDP, to BJP to UGDP, to Congress and now to NCP....the one and only 
Mickkey mouse!!!  One needs a little of "bhang" tirth and a dudh peda or two 
to figure this out. Holi Hai!

Viva Shigmo.
Miguel