10 Dec 2014  |   10:49pm IST

Heritage of Shigao

Prajal Sakhardande

Shigao is one of the ancient villages of Goa depicting the Dudhsagar river valley culture located in the Dharbandoda taluka. The archaeological exploration carried out in Goa yielded the earliest Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) tool from Goa. A single chopper was reported from Shigao on river Dudhsagar. This gives testimony to Shigao being the pre-historic village of Goa along with Uzgallimall-Pansallimall, Kazur, Mauxi, Pirla, Dabolim, Chicalim, Izzorshim, Sonal, Hadkon etc. Its pre-historic megalithic antiquity is showcased through its laterite standing megaliths. These are memorials of the dead.

Shigao also has an ancient rectangular cave with a stone pedestal. On this stone pedestal is a crude image of a tiger locally worshipped as ‘Vaghrodev’ or simply ‘Vaghro’ or ‘Vagharyo’. This speaks of the reverence our ancestors had for wildlife. It was also out of fear of the tiger that such dedications arose amongst people in ancient times.

Close to the megaliths is a ‘rai’, a sacred grove forming a canopy over a very ancient temple dedicated to two goddesses – Kelai and Mallai – the fertility goddesses or earth goddesses. Kelai is the ancient name for Kelbai- the suffix of ‘bai’ being added later to ‘adi’ that is the mother goddess. This is the first time I came across this female deity name ‘Mallai’.

The Dudhsagar River assumes a sacred significance here in Shigao and her waters are worshipped as the sacred ‘tirth’– the holy water. A sacred water channel called the ‘tirth- panto’ is naturally created here by a gorge in the rock. A flight of the ancient steps leads you to the serene river below. On the rock there, one can also view the imprint of an ancient, perhaps the oldest, image of Ganapati. This imprint might be the oldest in Goa and it is called ‘Adi-Ganapati’ by the people of Shigao. Sateri is the presiding deity of Shigao today. The old Sateri temple was demolished to pave way for the new one. However, the architecture of the new temple is also quite aesthetic.

Shigao is noted for its annual folk festival called the ‘Durig’ which takes place at night. On May 11, 2012, historian Rohit Phalgaonkar led us along with the Goa State Museum team to the Dudhsagar River with a mission to retrieve the ancient image of Santeri immersed in the river by the temple committee. Rohidas Naik and Philip Fernandes dove into the waters of the river to search for the heritage relic of Santeri. The moment they found it was unforgettable! The beautiful icon of Sateri was shining bright before our eyes. It was successfully shifted to the Goa State Museum at Patto-Panjim.

Shigao, a quiet village today, should be declared a Heritage village of Goa. The village Panchayat should do their best to preserve Shigao’s ancient value.