Gade utsav in Sal: Gratitude to guardian spirits of nature

Keri: Villagers of Sal in Bicholim celebrate three nights from the full moon day of the lunar month Phalgun as Gade utsav, an event to express their gratitude to the guardian spirits of natural entities of the village.
People from Goa, Maharashtra and Karnataka throng the village to witness the event where the devotees, dressed in white dhoti, chase the light of a torch that is believed to be carried by the holy spirit, locally known as the ‘Devchar’.
A 65-foot-long trunk of a kokum tree, which is donated by the Phal families of Borde in Bicholim, is decorated with mango leaves and erected between the Bhumika and Mahadev temples in Sal. The trunk sees all the rituals carried out around it.
“We don’t know when exactly the Gade utsav began in Sal. It is celebrated in honour of lord Mahadev and the ‘Gade’ (selected devotees participating in the event) are believed to be associated with the cult of 64 yoginis, the sacred feminine force made to incarnate an aspect of Mahadevi,” said an elderly devotee.
Situated on the left bank of the Colval river, Sal in the past was a self-sufficient, agro-horticultural dominated village and the villagers were nurtured with a strong faith in ecotheological principles inherited since the hoary past.
There are guardian spirits revered by locals as benevolent as well as melovolent powers and each guardian spirit has more than a century-old tree as its abode. The Madyat, who is considered one of the important Devchars of Sal, has the sacred tree of Tectona grandis (teak) as its home. Similarly, there are holy spirits of Zathar, Karyat, Dhatsakhal, Ghavanalyan, Babareshwar and Rashtroli, and for each of them, an indigenous tree has been protected as their abode.
Dilip Desai, 61, a local, said, “Our ancestors had protected the tall, towering trees as the abode of these Devchars, in the vicinity of which, the Gades run after the Devchar holding lit torch. No one dares to cause any harm to these sacred trees, that have been offering cool shade as well as asylum to numerous birds, butterflies and wildlife.”
“The annual celebration of Gade utsav is marked by varied rituals and practices mainly to express gratitude to the holy spirits who are believed to offer protection to us from the evil forces,” said another local.