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In India, not a month goes by without a reason to celebrate. March in particular hosts the much-loved celebration of Holi.
Also known as the spring festival or the festival of colours, Holi is a reminder of the passage of the seasons. It marks the time when the cool winter months give way to warmer weather and summer. It is celebrated with gusto all over India.
Shigmo is Goa’s answer to Holi. It is the state’s biggest spring festival and lasts for almost two weeks. Temples in the state are festooned with decorations. Flowers and multi-hued streamers line village roads in preparation for temple yatras (processions) while the bigger towns around Goa put on colourful parades. In an extravaganza of music and dance, huge ornate floats depicting Hindu mythology or Goa’s history and culture wind their way down the main roads of Panjim, Margao, Mapusa and Ponda .
What Shigmo is to Hindu Goa, Carnaval is to Christian Goa. Carnaval is unique to Goa and is not celebrated in any other part of India. Carnaval, historians say is a pagan festival of ancient Europe. It got a new lease of life in the Latin countries. The festival took root and flourished in Portuguese Goa where it acquired a separate identity. The celebration, held a few weeks before Shigmo, continues to be one of the highlights of Goa’s cultural calendar.
Ghodemodni is a celebration that comes at the start of spring and is part of Shigmo. It is exclusive to north Goa’s inland regions of Sattari, Bicholim, Pernem and Dharbandora.
A cultural historian of Goa translated Ghodemodni as horse management. At one time Goa was the principal port on the west coast of India. The port buzzed with trade from all over the world. Apart from spices, cloth and precious stones, horses from Arabia, Persia and Afghanistan were traded at local markets. The horse depots were in the hills of Sattari. Today it is rare to find a horse tottering along Goa’s roads and muddy paths.
Ghodemodni is a warrior folk dance performed by men. Bamboo frames shaped like hoop skirts and draped with colourful fabrics girdle their waists and the dancers wear masks in the shape of the head and neck of a horse.
They move to the rhythm of traditional drums and flutes. In one hand, they hold the bridle and in the other they brandish a sword prancing as if astride a battle horse. The entire scene resembles cavalry troops on a victory march. Interspersed amongst the dancers are men with banners and long stemmed colourful umbrellas adding their own special flavor to the occasion.