Siolim is a small hamlet thirty minutes away from the famous
Calangute beach of Goa, On the first Monday after Christmas, Hindu and
Christian residents of the waddo, or hamlet, of Dando congregate on an open
plot of land to keep a night-long vigil and appease the deity who is believed
to protect the village. The zagor, or
wake, begins with prayers that are unmistakably Christian, though the sing-song
chants are said to have been drawn from the abhangs of Sant Tukaram, Maharashtra's poet-saint. And the wizened
priest leading the congregation is a Hindu villager from the toddy-tapper caste
who does this just once a year.
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| Zagor - Night wake |
The main priests' annual ritual
is preceded by 40 days of abstinence
when he stays away from non-vegetarian food and prepares for the zagor with prayers and rehearsals with the villagers.
The proceedings begin with a procession from the house of his neighbours, with
a coconut ritually offered to the deity. The procession halts at wayside
crosses and Hindu shrines, including St Annae's chapel. Traditionally, three
hymns are sung by Hindus and Christians at the chapel before the procession
moves on. Then the Hindus make offerings of oil while the Catholics offer
candles at the chapel.
At prayers before Zagorio, as the formless deity is called, the priest offers
salutations to the unity of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The ritual five
hymns are followed by traditional dances
and folk theatre enacted by the villagers, hereditary participants whose roles
are inherited through generations which marks the essence of the main
celebration. Principal characters like the firangi-raja (white lord), mali
(gardener), malin (gardener's wife), mahar (untouchable), etc, represent Goan
society as it evolved through the years.
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| Zagor procession |
The all-night vigil is also
helped by the Konkani tiatr, or theatre, where skits on political and social
issues are performed.
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| Musical performance |
People offer oil, candles and
even cigarettes and feni (a local intoxicant) in thanksgiving. The khazan-style
of agriculture unique to this region enables paddy cultivation, Pisciculture
and salt manufacture on the same land, by regulating the ingress of seawater.
With the Siolim zagor now firmly
on the tourist agenda, hereditary participants in the zagor have money in their
pockets. The festival is now facing its problem with communism and moving
towards extinction. Growing prosperity, though, poses
a bigger danger. With the spread of education, entire Catholic families are
migrating out thereby altering the colour of the zagor.
Aditya Sinha
30.04.2016
That’s for today with Z.
So I have cleared the challenge ---- HURRAH !
List of Other Festivals : Anant Chaturdashi, Akshay Tritiya ,Buddha Purnima, Basant Panchmi, Baisakhi, Chhatha, Diwali/Deepawali, Easter, Festival of Breaking Fast - Eid ul Fitr, Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Id-ul-Zoha or Bakra-Eid , Janmashtmi , Karva Chauth, Lohri, Mahavir Jayanti, Nag Panchmi, Onam, Pongal , Queer Facts , Ramnavmi , Simhastha, Teej, Ullambana or Ghost Festival, Vijaydashmi , Wangala, Xmas, Yamdvitiya, Zagor
For my parallel second Challenge blog with A pls visit : Let the Soul Pour
For other A to Z challenge blogs visit : A to Z Challenge 2016
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