The villagers of Arambol will be organising their third annual, ‘Ramponkarachem ani Voddekaranchem Fest
2019’ to showcase their lifestyle to the rest of Goa. The thoroughly planned
festival will be organised by the entire village of Arambol, curated by Marius
Fernandes like its previous editions, the festival will give a glimpse of how
the fisherfolk of the village catch fish and what are the various fishing nets
and gears they have been using over the years. The fest will be happening at
the Arambol beach on September 29, 2019 from 10am onwards with Arambol Pasoi
starting off at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Arambol winding its way to the
beach. “We want people to come with their ghumot, guitars and any musical
instrument to join us for the walk as local fishermen will also be dressed in
their traditional kashti. We will arrive at the venue by 10.45am and wait for
the boats to come from the sea. Those who are present will help pull the nets.
Veteran fishermen will help participants identify the various types of fish. An
exhibition of various types of fishing nets, fishing gears and traditional
kitchen ware related to fishing will be on display on the beach,” says Marius.
Two important communities of this festival, ‘Ramponkarachem ani
Voddekaranchem Fest 2019’ are the fisherfolk and the boat makers of the
village. This is the first festival uniting the efforts of these communities.
Arambol villagers have their own fishing boats and nets. They are 60 boats in
Arambol which go out for fishing everyday with at least four people on board
each. Their daily catch includes Indian Mackerels, sardines, prawns, crabs,
silver belly (vellio) and other smaller fish types. The life of the fisherman
is full of facing danger at sea. Their families pray for their safe return with
rosary in their hands on the beach and sometimes they are at sea for two to
three days at a stretch. Once the catch is in, it is the women who take over
and head to the markets with the fish. Meanwhile, the boats and nets are fixed
and prepared for the next sailing. “Documentation of fish, types of fishing
nets, repairing the nets and the weather conditions suitable for fishing will
be explained at the fest. I request people to carry hay with them if they want
to cook the fish,” adds Marius.
The on stage programs will begin at 10.30am with the prayer
dance, followed by a welcome dance, Kunbi dance, ‘Nistekaranchem’ dance,
dekhni, mando, Kotti dance, Fugdi dance and ‘Xetkarancho’ dance. Ghumotacho
naaz, the dance with the ghumot will be approximately at 12pm led by Carlos
Gonsalves and O’luv. Another highlight will be the cooking as there are
hundreds of people involved which has united the village. The food will include
fresh fish, pickles, pez, Goan rice and godshe. This festival is not about
buying produce but to get everything including manpower and skills from the
village. Food will be served on potralleos and godshe and pez will be served in
mud containers.
“The theme for the festival is the ghumot. It’s the first
festival after the ghumot was made the state instrument. There will be a
Ghumtacho Naaz where a cake in the shape of a ghumot will be cut to mark the
birth of the ghumot. I am hoping to have a world record of the most number of
ghumots at the same venue. The last count at ‘Ghumtache Fest’ in Siridao was
125 but that was before the ghumot was the official instrument, so this event
will be official,” says Marius.
This
Sunday head to Arambol with a ghumot in hand and be part of a team as they
create a world record and enjoy the beautiful music with the crashing of the
waves in the background and a lovely Goan meal.
