The week before the sombre Lenten season of the Catholic
faith, every nook and corner of Goa is decked up in colourful bonderas bringing
in the much awaited festival of Carnival. Nestled in a corner of Salcete is the
village of Chandor that plays host to this unique tradition known as the
Mussoll Khell. At the village maand next to the iconic Nandi bull that is
preserved by the Archaeological Survey of India, a group of Catholic Kshatriyas
gather. They are a mixture of young and old men decked in colourful turbans and
dhoti-kurta armed with a green bamboo stick who participate in this dance. The
folk dance only takes place in the hamlets of Cotta and Cavorim and is a
tradition that has persisted amongst the community even through conversion to
Christianity and dates to the eleventh century.
Chandrapur, as the village of Chandor was once known has
been home to several great dynasties, notably the Bhojas, the Shilaharas and
the Kadambas. This dance is said to have originated as a victory dance boasting
about the prowess of the ancient kshatriyas of the community. Literally, it
means ‘pestle dance’ since a pestle is used as the main object. To an onlooker,
it may seem like a dance of the Hindu tradition due to the attire and
invocation. However, it serves as an exemplary case of syncretism where
elements of two cultures have intertwined to create a unique tradition.
The ritualistic dance commences in front of the Holy Cross
with a prayer and an invocation of Shiva. This is followed by the procession to
the chapel where a small litany takes place. In Cotta, the event takes place in
front of St Tiago Chapel on Monday while in Cavorim it is performed on Tuesday
in front of St Anthony Chapel. The very first Mussoll Khell is performed in
front of the chapel. “After the prayer, the troop visits all the houses of the
Kshatriya community and the dance is performed in front of their houses” says
Nicalau Antão, the head Gaonkar of the Cotta hamlet. Sometimes, the dance goes
on to the wee hours of the morning, as is echoed by Charlie Silva of the
Cavorim hamlet who says, “Earlier the dance would continue even till 5 am due
to the sheer number of houses and length to cover”. Today, electricity and
comfortable footwear has simplified the long walks which were earlier
undertaken barefoot and with the help of lamps.
The attire that is worn by the participants is as unique as
the custom itself. The men dress up in a white kurta and dhoti with a black
vest, the left leg bejewelled with a gungroo and the head is adorned with a
majestic turban known as a mundasso. They are armed with a green and red bamboo
stick which is 6-7 feet in length and which contains hawks bells inserted into
four in five vertical grooves. The dance is accompanied by percussion
instruments used such as a pair of Ghumats, a pair of Mandollin and several
pairs of cymbals known as Kansalli, Talle and Zang. The dance basically has a
one step and three step movement. It is danced in the clockwise and anti-clock
wise rotation. The dancers change to the anti-clockwise rotation when a
participant sounds ‘Vira’ (to turn).
The lyrics of the song call out to the community members,
echoing the warrior cry of the community as is reflected in the following:-
Hariharacho fell(u) fellota,
Fell durgabhair(i) xinvorota oh,
Fell durgabhair(i) xinvorota.
(The army of Harihara is assembling,
ready to spread outside the rampart walls,
Yes, the army… is ready to spread
Outside the rampart walls.)
The song doesn’t just resonanate of the prowess of the past
heroes but also call out to present community members, provide advice to
members of the family, etc.
Jila, jila kanknnam choi bhandara
(boy, oh boy! look out for the bangle seller)
This couplet is sung in anticipation of the boy reaching
marriageable age and has to start to look out for a bride.
The unique dance continues to the houses of each community
member as the clangour of the cymbols and ghumot reverberates through the
street and the hearts of the members. The community that participates in this
dance are very proud of this distinctive tradition “The Mussoll Khell marks the
end of carnival as the male members of our community dance to the beats of the
ghumot and zanze and clothe themselves in their traditional attire. They chant
songs that tell the story of Chandor,” voices Ila Coutinho, a young mother,
whose family has participated in the dance both at her maternal house as well
as her husband’s house.
The community had the privilege of representing the state of
Goa in the 1978 Republic Day parade held in New Delhi. Senior member of the
community, Lawrence Antao, nostalgically recalls how the community was bestowed
the honour at the national stage. “The steps of the dancers were improved upon
and it also brought a lot of publicity to the folk dance” he expresses.
Writer Zenaides Morenas recorded the dance and its history
in his book ‘The Mussoll Dance of Chandor’, which serves as one of the major
sources documenting this age old tradition. Participant Ranjeev Fernandes also
spreads awareness about the unique traditions at the Fernandes
Heritage house where he displays the costumes and objects
used during the dance, thereby enlightening the hordes of students and visitors
that visit the place. “The Mussoll Khell is a ritual dance that is very sacred
to our community” says Ranjeev Fernandes.
He also speaks of the need for the younger genrations to
take forward the dance. “Without proper organisation and involvement of the
youngsters, the future of this dance may be bleak,” he say.
Celine Coelho Furtado of the Cacorim hamlet states, “Chandor
has been placed on the world map because of this unique dance”. She echoes the
sentiments of Ranjeev as she emphasises the need to keep the tradition alive by
the future generations. She expresses that the younger members need to learn
the lyrics and steps and take the tradition to greater heights. Most community
members have migrated elsewhere and the performance of the dance is left to the
few participants left behind.
Through the efforts of heritage groups, the traditional
dance has been receiving a lot of visitors in the past few years. Students and
eager history enthusiasts don’t mind travelling the long distance to experience
this folk dance only found in Chandor. This year, Jagrut Salunke was leading a
group of 11 participants and they were eager to witness this famed spectacle.
“The unity of this close knitted community is visible as the folk dance has
survivied through the generations. It gave us a sense of pride to see them
embrace costumes and a culture of bygone era and strive to take it forward”
says Jagrut. In recent years, many students and teachers have been writing and
documenting this folk dance. Renowned artist Saiesh Panandikar attended the
folk dance back in the 1980s. “Earlier, the community participated in the event
wholeheartedly. Now, however, due to rapid migration the dance is left to just
the few families left behind. The vigour and zest once witnessed is missing,”
he says, talking about a performance he attended in 2017. He appreciated the efforts
of local groups working towards reviving the folk dance.
This long held Mussoll Khell is bound with traditions that
has persisted among the Kshatriya community of Chandor. In the rhythmic banging
of the Mussoll, the colourful hues of the costumes, and tapping of the feet,
resonates morals handed down through generations. Hidden in the circular
movements are ancient beliefs of life, and shouts to defend one’s place remind
us of how we need to stand up to our beliefs just as the generations before us have.
(The writer completed her history projects for MA at the Goa
University and B.Ed. through Nirmala Institute of Education on Mussoll Khell.)