The sound of “GHANCHI-KATRR-GHUM” will be wrapping up the Panaji city on the Saturday the 14th March, 2014 which will be witnessed by the thousands of the revelers coming from across the state of Goa. This year Goa Tourism has made eye-catching arrangements in and around the capital city of Goa. With hundreds of colorful pennants hanging around giving you the feeling of the festival like atmosphere in the city. Some places have been erected big cutouts of the heroes of the “SHIGMO” who are responsible for keeping the torch of this tradition light up.
“SHIGMO” parade is divided into 6 main segment of procession
- Romtamell
- Fugadi
- Ghode Modni
- Talgadi
- Goff
- Floats
# RomtaMell
It is the traditional dance performed by the men in groups from various villages of Goa. The Shigmo procession begins with Romtamell followed by the other convoys. Groups of men dressed in traditional Indian attire hops to tune of dhol & tashe “GUMCHE-KATRR-GHUM” SSSSSS “GUMCHE-KATRR-GHUM” SSSSSS and that brings all the energy in the viewers to retain their power for another 4 to 6 hours till the procession of entire shigmo comes to an end.
# Fugadi
Fugadi is the traditional dance form performed by the group of women coming from the different parts of the villages of Goa. Here one thing I would like to mention is that all these performances are done in groups’ village wise, and as per the rule set by the head of the village, at least 1 person from each family has to participate in the procession in a compulsory manner. You will witness 5 year old boy to 75 year old women participated in these processions.
# Ghode Modani
Ghode Modni is perhaps the oldest form of dance performance as it denotes the horse (ghode) mounted cavalier, setting off to war. Ghode Modni (‘Ghode’ means ‘horse’ and ‘Modni’ means ‘gyrations and dance-like movements’) is literally a dance involving horse-like movements. The costumes used in this are like that of a Rajput chieftain but the head dress used is a Peshwai puggree worn by the Maratha rulers. The kshatriya dancers also wear head gears made of colourful flowers, don in full traditional livery, fix at the waist effigy of a wooden horse beautifully bridled and decorated with colorful clothes, and carry ghungurs in the anklets. These dance forms are performed by the group of men only.
# Talgadi
Talgadi or Talgade as it known as in Goa is the dance form performed in the SHIGMO by group of Men, It is a dance expression of pure pattern of human movement, energy and pure joy and is therefore a clear folk expression. The dancers wear typical flowers and colourful costumes and dance to the beats of folk percussion instruments like Ghumat, Shamel, Zanj etc. The dancers also move around the village during the shigmo festival, giving performances in the courtyard of every house which are witnessed by a large number of village folk.
# Goff
Mainly performed by the group of men but event women participate in this performance in separate group. In this dance form numbers of coloured strings are hung at the centre point of ‘Mandap’. The dancers hold the cords of different colours in their hands and perform the dance of weave and unweave them skillfully. This dance form is noted for its vigour and intricate footwork. The dancers sing songs devoted to Lord Krishna, Mother Nature etc. Goff is an exotic convergence of colorful cultural strands.
# Floats
The floats are the last and concluding convoys of the SHIGMO festival, it is the colorful light effects devised on the floats showing the rich treasure of Hindu culture and mythology unfolded. The light effects look good in the darkness of the night and perhaps this is the reason it is always kept last. Without watching the floats your SHIGMO experience will never be considered as complete. Float demonstrates the stories from mythology in a form of audio visual effects using the huge effigies, giving the lessons of victory of good over the evil.
The final processions end with the prize distribution ceremony at the Azad Maidan. There are cultural activities taking place at the Azad Maidan during the SHIGMO festival. So get set for the SHIGMO on 14th March at 4pm on the 18th June Road in Panaji city. Do not forget to carry your cameras to capture the dazzling performances presented by the Goan artists. Shigmo is perhaps the final revelation of our cultural heritage which is keeping our tradition & custom alive.
