------------------------------------------------------------------------ Remembering Aquino Braganca (b. 6 April 1924), who fought for freedom of the former Portuguese colonies in Africa. An online tribute http://aquinobraganca.wordpress.com/ (includes many historical references, some photographs and documents)
------------------------------------------------------------------------ TIME ERODES MEMORIES: REDISCOVERING THE GOA WE ALL FORGOT By Victor-Hugo Gomes victor.h.go...@hotmail.com The author is in the process of setting up a new museum in Benaulim, called the Goa Chitra. It looks at the Goa of the yesteryears, and what made it so different. While collecting the agricultural implements that forms the major display at Goa Chitra, I realized that Goans were losing much more than historical artifacts -- they were losing evidence of their forefather's wise lifestyles. Our heritage, just not our culture, had a system of self-rule called the gaunkaris, which is thought to have originated in the 1st century B.C. These were primarily agrarian societies. The principal role of these local governing bodies was to maintain and upgrade land quality, protect fishing ponds and waterways, and maintain an intricate system of embankments (bunds) that protected reclaimed land known as khazans, from inundation by saline tidal waters. This system produced not only an effective means to administer the communal lands but developed intricate and ecologically sound system of agriculture. It utilised both fertile and barren lands for the benefit of its people. Farming methods were based on the prevailing season and the quality of the soil. Agricultural activities and techniques were adapted to suit the soil, rainfall, level of solar radiation and other elements of nature, a process referred to as gott and loosely translated as photoperiodism. Farming implements were carefully and intelligently developed to suit soil types and with a healthy respect for the environment and animals that ensured that the system was sustainable and ecologically sound. Over the years the gaunkari institution went through various phases of transition and its evolution in each phase was dependent on the ruler of that time. But never in our history was this system ever tampered with. During the Portuguese colonization it came to be known as Communidades. Being part of this rich heritage, it saddens me that today the Communidade system is completely undermined. Land conversions both illegal and legal have led to large development projects with scant regard for sustainability and severe degradation of the eco system. Lesser recognised but equally devastating is the loss of hundreds of years of accumulated wisdom in agrarian practices, the rich tradition of implements, tools, arts, crafts and heritage of our ancestors and their sensitivity to the environment. The conception of Goa Chitra -- a museum that is currently taking shape in Benaulim -- is based on many dynamics. One amongst them is my love for Goa. The other is combating daily criticism whether my investment has been futile. What energies the project are stories that I encountered while on this sojourn. Each implement has a tale woven with the fabric of our rich history. FROM THE DHANGAR OF NETURLI On my many visits to Neturli (Netravali), I encountered an implement with the Dhangar community that looked like a sieve. It was beautifully crafted and had seen many years of work. It lay in a corner near the Gotli, a fence made from sticks called Corvam. I was instantly drawn to it. I wanted to acquire it. Following my gaze, the dhangar Baburam, who was proudly displaying his herd, seemed reluctant to part with it. On inquiry I learnt that the cane woven basket was known as Dhali that was used to heat Nachni (Millet) during monsoon. It was kept on a wooden frame called Ottu to heat nachne before processing. This implement was last used in the early 60's. Dhangars are nomads who travelled and camped near hilly areas. They would clear a 50 to 100 sq mts patch of natural forest and then burn it on site to provide natural manure. The land was then cultivated, usually with coarse grains like zonlle and nachne (millet), their staple food, for a period of one to three years. Than it was abandoned and the cultivators moved on to another patch of forest. They would return to cultivate the same area only after a period of 15-20 years, which would give the land sufficient time to regenerate. This is referred to as kumeri farming. Many of the implements they used for such harvest were indigenously designed keeping in mind the land, environment and their animals. Though the Portuguese wanted to stop this practice in Goa, their policy remained largely on paper as no alternative arrangements were made for the rehabilitation of the kumeri cultivators. Kumeri was banned again after Liberation in 1961 but the government then decided to allow the practice in certain areas of forest because it had no alternative livelihood to offer the cultivators. In 1964, the government banned kumeri altogether without making any alternative arrangement. The government felt that such farming was a devastation of the environment and they banned it under anti-deforestation law. The government also felt that in order to protect the environment this land would be best given for mining, making a few people very rich and other hopelessly poor. Of course, excavations due to mining would mean that there would be less land to protect! What I saw in Baburam's eyes that day was hope that someday the law may get reverted and they would cultivate again. I travelled back to Neturlim many times before finally convincing Baburam to sell me his implement only with a promise that if ever he needed the implement, it would be immediately returned to him. Incidentally nachne is no longer cultivated in Goa and what is available in the market today comes from outside the state, grown with chemical fertilizers. DATA AND FACTS While collecting and later restoring the implements and artifacts on display at Goa Chitra, I realised the need for collecting data and facts to support my histology as there is a dearth of research on our ancestry. Changes in the Goan economy and society had rendered them obsolete. All this information, knowledge and wisdom of our ancestors were going unrecorded. I was scared of the threat that these implements were being replaced by things, modern or imported, as being true depiction of Goan material culture for posterity. So, I consulted elders, some of whom were familiar with some of the implements and had actually seen them being utilised. These trips also helped to widen and complete my collection, especially of farming and household implements. Our ancestors had a keen knowledge of indigenous materials, and were self sufficient using material found in the vicinity of their settlement. Each implement was premeditated keeping in mind suitability of the substance which was environmentally friendly. Most of the ropes used in agriculture have a distinctive feature of being woven using various natural fibers of trees like kivann, sutachi/redeachi-anas (wild pineapple) and a medium sized evergreen tree known as komai, kombio or komyo. This tree is found in shade and wet sites near streams in the forest, up to 500 mts in elevation. The trunk is often fluted with smooth or rough and scaly bark, crown conical with spreading branches and leathery, dark green leaves. Leaves were used to make rain covers called kondo. The fiber of this tree is soft and cooling and is woven to design ropes for different tasks; shale used by fruit pluckers, davon used during thrashing, canni used to tie paddy sheaves, davem and zupni used as a halter and collar for animals. This craft is almost extinct and I was thrilled when one of the Dhangar demonstrated his skill at making ropes with these natural fibers. One theory why kombio and not coconut fiber was used to make rope could be, simply unavailability of the coconut tree in these parts; coconut proliferated more along the western coast. Today this fibre has been replaced by coir made from the coconut tree and more recent the invasion of plastic culture, the nylon rope, that has wiped out eco-friendly technology, thanks to hard core promotion by the nylon lobby. While I was gathering pictorial evidence of the kombio tree in Sanguem Taluka, I could hear at a distance enchanting music that felt very soothing. Some moments in your life are unforgettable; this was one such moment in mine. I followed the sound and was pleasantly surprised at what I saw. A Dhangar named Zumo Dhaku Varak, in his 80's, was gathering his herd playing on something that looked like a huge up-right flute. It is made from a hollow velu bamboo, having a reed made from shirat (a small hollowed bamboo branch). The notes have a calming effect on the listener. This instrument is known as konpavo and is indigenously designed to calm aggressive and disturbed animals, or to gather the herd. Today there is a lot of research evidence (Peretti & Kippscludi, 1991) to point that certain pitch and sounds effect animal behavior, something that Dhangars knew a long time ago! It is not just love. This knowledge comes from an understanding about animal behavior and their sensory perception. Dhangars were inventors; they tilled, toiled, lived and loved their land, their flock and their material. Thanks to Zumo Dakhu, the konpavo, davon, cannio, kondo, davem or zupni and shale, are prized pieces on display at Goa Chitra. But it is all fast dying. What I saw perhaps, are the last lucky glimpses of the Dhangar way of life. Today, their mainstay, the cows and buffaloes and goats have depleted in numbers. Their grazing grounds are being either cleared for developments or have been converted into mines. A dear friend who visited us at the museum opined that we should not hope to go back in time instead move to the future. The essence of Goa Chitra is to highlight the wisdom of the ancestors that we have taken for granted. It's not about retreating but using this storehouse of knowledge to answer questions that are of global concerns and leading a healthier lifestyle. ARTIFACTS, NOT ANTIQUES Benaulim's Goa Chitra museum does not contain antiques but artifacts that manifest the social creativity of skilled groups to contemporary society. Most of the implements at Goa Chitra have stories woven around them. These are tales of a bygone era. An era when wisdom accumulated over generations were passed on and evolved. Every skill was a specialization with trade secrets and respect! For instance, the jaggery implements on display at Goa Chitra have one such tale: Once on my way to Agonda, I met an interesting personality, a 70-plus Amaral Pereira, at one time a much sorted after jaggery producer. He seemed excited with my project and shared with me valuable information that would otherwise have gone unrecorded like most trade secrets. He would go from ushel (sugarcane plantation) to ushel with his gano (sugarcane grinder), a bodvonno, a heavy wooden hammer used for installing the gano, and other implements used for making jaggery. They worked on site till the completion of production. Often they would camp on site. They found indigenous methods to cope with various hazards. For instance, when there was no crockery, they would take fresh banana leaves, warm them over a fire, then dig a hole in the ground. This pit was layered with these banana leaves and used as a canso (bowl). The pez (rice gruel) or ambil (nachne dish) was eaten from this pit! Jaggery production is a lengthy process. Freshly extracted sugarcane juice is filtered and boiled in a wide cail, a shallow iron pan. It would be continuously stired with a dhai (spatula). Simultaneously soda or bhindi juice is added as required. While boiling, the brownish foam coming on the surface is incessantly removed with a chalno (sieve) to get golden yellow colour of jaggery. After the juice thickens it is poured into a bed called van, a shallow square pit lined with lime and rammed with a wooden bat called a petni. The thick jaggery paste is spread with a small wooden spade called pavdi and after sufficient drying, it is cut into small blocks with the help of a wooden trowel called a thappi. This van was later replaced by small or medium sized iron or aluminum cans where blocks of jaggery are formed after cooling. Size of the blocks varied from 1 kg. to 12 kgs. Finally, these blocks were packed in gunny bags. From 100 kgs. of sugarcane, approximately 10 kgs. of jaggery was produced. Getting clean golden yellow ushichem godd (sugarcane jaggery) is an art. Since every occupation was a inherited specialization, most of the trade secrets were handed over from generation to generation. A trade secret developed over years of working with given material. So what was Amaral's secret? It is not easy for a man whose livelihood had to be given up for love, to smile so very often, but his eyes sparkled as he said, "While boiling the juice I would drop a couple of sea shells into the pan. It helped to draw dirt and brownish foam in one place to make it easier for scooping." That same year, he lost his wife. An accident before his very eyes took her away. He quit jaggery production. She was his greatest support. The demand for jaggery declined since sugar replaced it. Simultaneously most sugarcane farmers fell for a false dream sold to them by the palm oil lobby. Ushels became palm oil farms.... Every implement now on display at the Goa Chitra -- gano, bodvonno, cail, dhai, petni, thappi and chalno -- has a tale to tell. I saw myriad memories in the tears which trickled down Amaral's face while parting with those implements. I promised him that I would keep his implements and his vast knowledge for posterity as a testimony to the agonies and ecstasies of the simple jaggery producer from Goa. THE HOWS OF COCONUT FENI The sap is extracted and collected by a tapper. Typically the sap is collected from the cut flower of the palm tree. A container is fastened to the flower stump to collect the sap. Palm toddy also forms the base for a drink popular in Goa, known as Goan Feni. In Goa, toddy (sur), the sap of the coconut tree spadix, is distilled into liquor, made into vinegar or used for making jaggery. One coconut tree yields about 432 litres of toddy a year, and collecting it was the chief occupation of the Bhandaris, Komarpaik and toddy tapper (rendeir) communities. Tapping toddy involves various stages and implements. The sap of the coconut palm is collected in an earthenware pot called zamono or damonem, which is fitted over the spadix (poi) that grows out of the base of each coconut leaf. In order to produce toddy, the spadix is tightly bound with a rope (gofe/gophe) made from filaments (vaie) cut with a small knife (piskathi) from the base of the leaf, while remaining attached to the pedicle. The spadix must then be tapped all around very gently with the handle of the kathi (a flat semi-circular sickle) every alternate day, until it becomes round and flexible, a sign that the sap is ready. The tip of the spadix is then cut off to let the sap ooze out into the damonem. Toddy is collected from the damonem in the morning and evening and carried down the tree in a gourd-shaped container called dudhinem, before being poured into a clay pot called kollso. The spadix is sharpened at noon by slicing a small piece horizontally off the top, called cheu, so as to reactivate the flow of sap. Incidentally, the kathi was sharpened on a plank (follem) of eround wood with marble powder. My collection of toddy-tapping and distillation implements was incomplete since I had trouble tracing a dudhinem, also called dudhkem. Originally made from a konkan dudhi (sponge gourd), like so many other implements over the years it has disappeared and been replaced by containers made from non-biodegradable plastic! I grew up in the neighbourhood of many toddy tappers but my search for an original dudhinem took me far from home and all along coastal Goa, once the habitat of toddy tappers. No one had preserved a dudhinem nor knew how to make one. This bothered me because it meant that we had lost yet another piece of traditional knowledge. I was finally lucky enough to not only acquire a dudhinem but also find out how they were made, thanks to an accidental encounter with Baba, a farmer in Sanguem. I met Baba while documenting a metal-smith's tools in Sanguem, a taluka where many toddy tappers had settled from Canacona specially Agonda. Agonda is known for the best quality of distillation of palm feni or madel. When Baba showed up to have his plough repaired I asked him about possibly finding a dudhinem in the area, and he told me of his experience years ago while ploughing his fields. "Very often," he said, "my plough would get stuck in gourds that were buried in the fields." By chance I had stumbled upon a trade secret! In the olden days you could tell a toddy tapper's house by the dudhi creeper growing over the roof or on matov, a bamboo framework. It seems that once the dudhi had matured and dried, they were buried in the fields till the inner flesh rotted away and only a hard shell remained -- and this was used as the receptacle for toddy. -- This is part of a series that the author has been writing for the Weekender/Gomantak Times each Sunday. THE WRITER, Victor Hugo Gomes, can be contacted at House No. 498 Pulwaddo, Benaulim Salcete, Goa 403716 M: +91 9850466165 P: +91-832-6570877 victor.h.go...@hotmail.com