from daijiworld's special correspondent

Quepem (Goa), Mar 2: Located 68 kms southwards from Panaji city, Velip tribals have ushered their oldest and traditionally richest ancestral festival - Shigmo, a five-day-long festivities.

Walking barefoot for 30 kms visiting seven to eight villages, playing traditional dances and tunes in front of almost every household, burning holika (pyre), this village goes back to its earlier glorious past when the villagers made best out of the festivities.

"We are the rarest of Goan villages who have maintained our ancestral traditions alive... we still practise the rudimentary system which was put in place centuries ago," Soiru Velip, a village youth, journalist in local Konkani daily Sunaparant, said. As we arrived in the village, the entire population was busy for the celebrations that will begin with the sunrise on Tuesday, for them the tenth day of Falgun month.

A tarred road stretch, a few houses with cement and youths in jeans pant, are the only signs of modernization in this tribal hamlet of 85 houses. "We don't have a single bar (liquor outlet) in our village," Soiru adds, attempting to detach his village from Goa's popular image as liquor destination.

Shree Durgadevi Mandir, a temple tucked at the centre, is the hub of activities for all the five days. "The group of villagers comprising of 80 to 100 people will now leave for a two-day journey to return only on Friday," Soiru explains showing a group, colourfully dressed and ready for their journey, bare foot.

"Yes, barefoot.... they will walk up to 30 kms radius in thick forest barefoot, playing in almost 8 to 10 nearby villages. They will perform traditional folk forms like tonyamel, chaurang and Aarati at almost all the houses in those villages and return day after tomorrow," Sudhakar Gaonkar, a village youth, who is employed with the state government's public works department said.

The village has still preserved its ancestral system of panchayati raj with village head "Budhwant" (in Konkani it means intelligent), deciding most of the disputes. "Guru is a head to look after Shigmo festivities while the religious  head is Velip." There are many elderly people who still have not worn sandals or shoes and have walked barefoot throughout their life. Even while travelling to the capital city of Panaji, they are reluctant to go for footwear.

Sporting shorts or lungi, the group is ready to leave the village while rest of the people, back home, will be engaged in celebrating the Holi and other rituals, to begin from Friday onwards. Situated on the banks of Kushavati river, Gokuldem village has kept all attempts to disturb their traditions abay. The village does not have a plush hotel but a tiny three-table restaurant is the best place for the villagers to get together and talk about happenings in Panaji or Delhi over a cup of tea.

Mud houses with cowdung-laced floors, thatched roofs, elderly women wearing traditional detli (a mode of wearing saree) depict real image of ancestral Goa in the Gokuldem village. "In the years to come, the mud houses will be a thing of past. Many people now prefer cemented houses.. the phenomenon has set in our village and they are moving into better shelters," Dattaram Gaonkar, another youth, a small-time civil contractor, explained.

Electricity has reached this population which enjoys the most of the government benefits of being tribals.

"On Friday, they will return only to kickstart the Shigmo celebrations... They will take a dip at the holy Kushavati river.... The actual Shigmo festivities will start then," Soiru explained.

While the village youth have managed to carve a niche for themselves in various professions, including journalism and teaching, they take time from their busy schedule to return to their roots to celebrate Shigmo.

"Shigmo means worshipping nature... We are tribals and hence entirely dependent on mother nature," says Soiru, who is the the first journalist from the area. Most of the villagers are entirely dependent on farming as their profession. Generation X may find other professions lucrative but the village elders worry that their kids may take a wrong path.

"We swear by our village deity... we respect budhvant, guru or Velip... We know that education is helpful in living a better life, but we hope that education or lucrative opportunities would not take them away from their roots," a village elder stated.

As the sun sets, the entire Gokuldem village gets back and gathers at Maand, a central place which is located at the entrance of the village, where Shigmo activities happen. Then, begins what is hitherto unknown to the modern world, the rich Shigmo tradition, culled from their rich tribal life.