Shigmo festivities bring villagers together

With the younger generation shifting base to nearby towns and cities, the citizens of

Virdi

, near Sattari — a remote village on the Goa-Karnataka-Maharashtra border — are taking every effort to keep their traditions and customs alive. Though many have moved to the cities for better prospects, they all come back for an entire week during the week-long Shigmo festivities.
The quaint village, far away from the hustle bustle of the city, comprises around 250 houses, with people hailing from five communities living there in peace and harmony. During the festivities, every community has a representative from their respective sect who volunteers during each ritual. On Sunday morning, the area was buzzing with activity because of the karavleo rituals, where two young boys dressed up as women went from house to house where people worshipped them. Clad in green and gold tops and saris, vermilion and flowers on their head, the young boys — barely 11-12 years old — were accompanied by village elders and drummers. “They started walking the morning before and continued through the night. These are two avatars of Shiva — Sati and Parvati. The boys are pre-pubescent and selected from two of the five chosen families known as mankaari,” said Baburao Gauns, a local.
They went around all night, making sure they stopped at every house, before they were carried through fields and cashew plantations. Minutes before entering the temple, they were made to sit, while coconuts were smashed to mark the auspicious occasion. Then they were carried into the temple on the shoulders of village men, as others gathered to chant and pray to the beating of drums.
As part of the rituals, five women, one from each community — Ghadis, Gaonkars, Gauns, Majik and Jalmis — fasted for over a day, consuming nothing but water and wearing wet saris while they stayed in a mutt on the temple premises. On the afternoon of the ritual, the fourth day of Shigmo, they were escorted to the location on the temple premises. While their faces remained stoic, their footsteps were swift as they walked barefoot with the white sari draped over their heads.
One after the other, they were made to stand on a platform where burning coal from a bonfire in front of the temple was put on their heads. Two men were appointed to brush off the embers immediately after the ritual. “This is based on the epic of

Lord

Shiva – when his wife Sati couldn’t bear to hear the abuse of her husband, she willingly immolated herself,” said Baburao. The crowd dispersed soon after the ritual and entered the temple courtyard to witness the orange flower dance, where many of the villagers even joined in.