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THE FORGOTTEN TRIBE - MHAR - PART 7 SOTREKARN The "sotrekarn" was a female who carried a "tambddi, viludachi vo domaskachi sotri" (red, velvet umbrella) at weddings, religious ceremonies/processions, receptions of dignitaries, etc. Usually, she was well-built and dark in complexion; she always had a smile on her face. She came from the Mhar community. At weddings, she wore a "suti" (cotton) or "chitachem" (printed calico - derived from the Portuguese word 'chita') kapodd. No matter what the quality of material of a kapodd was, she had to wear a red kapodd at a wedding ceremony. In the past, when one's close relative(s) passed away, it was the norm to wear black clothes in the first year of mourning. If a sotrekarn who was arranged for a wedding ceremony was mourning, she would not take up the assignment but would instead send another sotrekarn who was not mourning and could wear red clothes. At a wedding, she became part of the groom's and bride's company at every step, right from the beginning of the function till the end, including the "portovnnem" (reciprocation) ceremony. The tambddi viludachi sotri is big in size and quite heavy. "Sotrecho danddo" (The stick of the umbrella) is about 6 feet long. Golden tussles are fixed all around the border of the umbrella, which added to its allure. On a wedding day, the sotrekarn is the first person to arrive at the groom's/bride's residence with a folded sotri placed on her shoulder. Keep in mind the sotri is big and heavy; so, she can't carry it in hand like an ordinary umbrella! She would enter the mattov, proceed to the balcão, place the sotri in one of the corners of the balcão and then take a seat on a sopo. On learning that the sotrekarn has arrived, the "ezman" (groom's/bride's mother) would take her to the temporary kitchen mattov behind the house and offer her tea in a "kanso" (bowl) and a couple of bread. She would eat one of the bread and place the other in a small cloth pouch, which was tucked to her kapodd at her waist line. As soon as "besanv" (blessing) is over, the bride/groom leaves her/his home for the Church. The sotrekarn opens the umbrella and accompanies the bride/groom to the car (in the past it was a boilanchi ghaddi" (oxen-ridden carriage.) When the bride/groom reaches the Church compound and alights from the boilanchi ghaddi or car, the sotrekarn again opens her umbrella and leads the bride/groom to the entrance of the Church under the shelter of the tambddi sotri. After the nuptials, the sotrekarn accompanies the bride/groom from the church door to the boilanchi ghaddi or car. Usually, the groom as well as the bride hired one viludachi tambddi sotri each for the occasion. But sometimes, to show off, more than one viludacheo tambddeo sotreo were hired, mostly by the groom's side. In such a case, one would witness three umbrellas instead of two - one from the bride's side and two from the groom's. If the bride's father was a well-off person, he, too, hired two umbrellas with two sotrekarni. Obviously, the sotrekarni had good company and they also received good remuneration from both the parties! Singing of Mandde/Dulpods/Dekhnni/Zoti at Goan weddings adds flavor to ceremonies. At every stage, a Manddo/Dulpod/Dekhnni/Zoti is sung. For e.g. when the bride's folks arrive at the groom's mattov, the following zoti is sung: Man ghalun sokol Kaibori cholta hi vokol Man ghalun sokol Kaibori cholta hi vokol Novro voklek sangta kanni Kaiborem voklechem nanv Annie Novro voklek sangta kanni Kaiborem voklechem nanv Annie The sotrekarni were very good in singing Goan Mandde/Zoti, etc. They never hesitated to show off their singing talent, especially at weddings when they were treated differently; thus, they would give company to others who sang. The following Dekhnni is sung at a portovnnem (reciprocation) ceremony. In this Dekhnni, bride's brother requests his brother-in-law to use an umbrella to take his sister. He further requests him to take her under the shade of an umbrella so the sunshine won't effect and make her dark: Manank mojea sotri lavn, sotri lavn, vhor kunhada Manank mojea sotri lavn, sotri lavn, vhor kunhada (Please, brother-in-law, take my sister by using an umbrella) Manank mojea savllechean, savllechean, vhor kunhada Manank mojea savllechean, savllechean, vhor kunhada (Please, brother-in-law, take my sister under the shade of an umbrella.) One of the duties the "sotrekarn" was entrusted with was to look after the evil spirits throughout bride's journey from her home to the Church, to the photo studio and back to her new home, and later from her husband's house back to her house on the third day for the portovnnem. The Mhars had a connection with evil spirits! As explained in my article "Devchar (Evil Spirits) ani Voijinn Maim", people then believed in evil spirits and it was believed that they controlled village boundaries and roads, especially road crossings, including a "Tiskem" (connection of three roads - a T-shaped road) where a lot of "azneri" (strange incidents) took place. For this reason, one found and still finds a Ghumtti erected at borders of villages. The locals traveling in the area seek blessings of the "rakhnno" (guardian) at the Ghumtti to protect them along their journey. How did a sotrekarn please the evil spirits? She carried enough "pan-bedde" (betel leaf & nuts) in a "lugttachi poti" (cloth bag), which she tucked into her kapodd at her waistline. The moment they reached a cross road/tiskem, she would remove one of the "pan-beddo" from her bag and throw it away, supposedly for it to be picked up by the evil spirits who would be pleased with it and would not attack or do something bad for the bride/groom. When transportation became available, the "sotrekarn" always sat by the window so she could toss out the "pan-beddo" at every road crossing and "xim" (border). She strictly instructed the bride/groom not to look back while she did the job either while they walked the distance or traveled by a car. While "xim portop" (reciprocation of border or bridal departure ceremony where an imaginary line is drawn by pouring liquor separating groom's and bride's coteries) took place, the sotrekarn quietly moved aside and did her duty - tossed out a "pan-beddo". The sotrekarn also accompanied "ezman" (bride's mother) with tambddi sotri when she went around inviting people in the ward for the portovnnem. The ezman would hurriedly visit each neighbor's house and extend invitation thus: "Hanv portovnneank sangonk aileam; vegim kens-matem korat ani mattvan eiat." (I have come to invite you for the reception at our place; comb your hair, dress up quickly and come to the pavilion.) In the days of yore, prior to the availability of the car, the groom's sister along with another female companion covered the distance from groom's house to the bride's on foot. They were accompanied by another female, usually a sotrekarn, who belonged to the Mhar community. She carried a "pett" (trunk) on her head containing bride's wedding dress and other garments, gold ornaments, bobby pins, powder, etc. The moment the three women left the groom's house, a barrage of crackers were fired which was an indication that groom's people had left for the bride's house with "voklechi nesovnni" (bride's garments). A red velvet umbrella was also used whenever church or political dignitaries visited a village. Obviously, a sotrekarn was hired to accompany them with a tambddi sotri. The Hindus, too, used a tambddi sotri at processions carrying a deity, etc. and they, too, hired the services of a sotrekarn. DISTRIBUTION OF "VOJEM" AND BLESSINGS In the olden days, everything was done in the name of God and everyone invoked God's blessings in everything. Once the portovnnem was over and vokol returned to her husband's, she visited the ward on the fourth day and distributed "vojem" (weight) - a basketful of Goan sweets like "bol" (sweet, hard bread made from coarse rice, jaggery and grated coconut), "kokad" (a sweet prepared from coconut), bananas, etc. given by the girl's parents as part of the bridal trousseau. The vojem had a connection with the dowry i.e., the number of bol depended on the amount of dowry. If a dowry of Rs.10,000 was agreed upon, "ek ozar (1000) bolanchem vojem divnk zai aslem" (one thousand (1000) bol had to be given.) For a dowry less than Rs.5,000, "painxim bolanchem vojem divnk zai aslem" (five hundred [500] bol had to be given,) and so on. The vokol was dressed in a "saddo" (reddish color dress) that looked bright; the "chuddo" (green and yellow glass bangles) in her arms added beauty to her body. She also wore all the gold which was given to her by her parents and in-laws to show it to her new ward members. Some of the neighbors and relatives took a closer look at the necklace, earrings, and bangles and rings, praised the design and enquired as to which "sonar-xett" (goldsmith) crafted the ornaments. The main purpose of a vokol distributing the vojem was to get acquainted with the ward people, and, of course, to sweeten their palate with sweets and leave a long-lasting sweetness in their mouths. Along with sweets, she also carried and revealed her character. While the vokol distributes vojem, it gives an opportunity to her neighbors/ward people to get a closer look at her, notice her behavior and judge her instantly whether she is a friendly or a reserved person. A sotrekarn accompanied the vokol and vojem with a tambddi viludachi sotri. She followed the vokol at every step, covered her head with the umbrella and protected her from sunshine. Since the umbrella was big enough, the "dheddi" (bridesmaid) and even other accompanying members sometimes took shelter under the umbrella, especially during the hot summer season when the heat is really unbearable. The dheddi accompanied the vokol with a "dalem" (large tray woven from bamboo - a pettaro cover) on her "bhendd/mhatem" (waist/head,) which mainly contained bol, "chonneanchi doce" (a sweet meat made from gram flour) and bananas; sometimes "dodol", "kokada" and "bathk" were also included. The top of the basket was covered with a white, net-type cloth. In Anjuna, tambddi viludachi sotri was available on hire in Mazalvaddo at "Celestinamger/An-Morieger" (Celestine's/Anne Marie's); in Mapusa it was available at Bhairão shop. The sotrekarni hired the red velvet umbrellas from these sources. The only sotrekarni I knew in Anjuna from my childhood until the 1970s were Mrs. Idalina Fernandes, colloquially known as "Idalgem" from the Mhar vaddo, and Mrs. Severine or Severlem from Tembi mini mhar vaddo. Both belonged to the Mhar community! Wasn't the sotrekarn a part of our culture? FOZNE In Goa, no function is complete without firecrackers - it's a must for every occasion, including birth of a child. In the olden days, at the end of Salvi, feast mass, Christmas and Easter midnight mass, weddings, etc., our Church employees, pede or boyyas, prepared and fired fozne (mortars.) Two pede were positioned on the tower to ring the Church bells and two were assigned to prepare and fire fozne. Since a match stick usually goes off in the open air, people find it easier to use a "ujeachem sodnn (burning husk of coconut) to light firecrackers. Most pede smoked a pamparo or beedi. About ten minutes before Church ceremony came to an end, pede would prepare a small fire with soddnnam and then add some xirputtam (firewood sticks) to it. Fozne were somewhat conical in shape with broader base; their top and bottom was flat. Each fozno weighed around 10 Kg. The pede filled them with dharu (gun powder) with the help of a bamboo piece. Each fozno had a little hole at its bottom. When all fozne were filled or charged, they were arranged and kept individually or in separate rows, depending on how they were planned to be fired. A line of gun powder was drawn on the ground from one fozno to another until it reached and touched the tiny hole at its bottom. Once fozne were filled or charged, they were arranged and kept at a distance of around six feet from each other. When it was time to fire fozne, pede would pick a burning stick or sodnn and get ready to set fire to the gunpowder line on the ground. The signal to fire fozne was the pealing of the bell. The moment they heard the bell ring, they lit the gunpowder line, which got to each fozno and instantly activated packed gunpowder and produced a big blast. Fozne fell flat on the ground as if the life in them was over! The blast was so powerful that it could be heard in all the adjoining villages. The pede were experts in preparing fozne; rarely any of their fozne failed. It was interesting to see them prepare fozne, light them up and run way. As children, we knew when it was time for the fozne to go off. So, we would stand in a safe place, away from the firing site and enjoy the blasts, which sounded like bomb blasts. They were arranged and fired from outside the west entrance of the Anjuna Church compound. Anjuna Church had a set of twelve fozne which two pede fired simultaneously. They were stored in a corner next to pede's resting place "kontrel" (niche) under the main staircase leading to the choir. Gornal (hand made grenades), which were prepared by a "foger" (manufacturer of artificial fireworks) were also used at the above-mentioned festivals/occasions but they were not as effective as fozne because their sound did not travel as far. Wasn't preparing and firing fozne another feather on the Mhar community's cap? Here I recall the good old Konkani proverb: "Rogddea khustar san'nam; Fulu khustar fozne!" (Make merry at others' expense!) To be continued ........ Read the earlier parts of this MHAR series at: http://www.goanet.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1172 Moi-mogan, Domnic Fernandes Anjuna, Goa Mobile: 9420979201 © All rights reserved
