If one stands on top of the Assolna–Cavelossim Bridge and looks at the small canoe boats passing below in River Sal, one is taken back to the times when the canoe was symbolic to a way of life in these river side villages.
In those days, canoes had a dual purpose and besides fishing, it was also used to ferry people to various places like Mobor, etc and many preferred such a route to the quaint villages along the coast which have beaches and the Arabian Sea on the other side. In addition to fisherfolk or traditional ramponnkars, toddy tapping was the second most common occupation in the area and locals recall that every second house had a palm feni distillery and how one could smell toddy brewing miles away.
And in many such families the ramponnkar was also the toddy tapper and the toddy tapper was also the ramponnkar. One such example is Jose Barretto, who still has the canoe that he diligently supervises for the last 45 years right from the time it was made by artisans in the village of Fatorpa.
“The traditional canoe known as voddem was made from a single trunk of a mango tree. These canoes were used for fishing both in the river and the sea and for river crossing,” said Joe.
These traditional canoes are no longer made, as it is extremely difficult to cut down trees due to restrictions from the Forest Department. Most of the artisans who used to do this work have shifted to making more modern fibre canoes/boats.
Elaborating how the canoe operates, Jose tells you how in order to maintain the stability of the canoe, an additional balancing (ullanti) is sometimes added, especially if the canoe is used to ferry passengers across. He points to the two wooden sticks support that can be seen on the side of larger boats that venture into the sea as a float.
He also emphasises that the canoes need constant maintenance to prevent collection of barnacles. “A traditional method is by treating the canoe with a thick dark coat (dik) made from the shells of cashew nuts which are collected at the end of the cashew season,” adds Jose. The oily substance keeps the barnacles away that can damage the surface of the boats and the rigorous maintenance is the reason the boat and the ramponnkar are about to celebrate their golden jubilee together.
Jose and other canoe owners used to ferry passengers across River Sal initially as this was a time when there were no ferries in these parts of Goa. Subsequently, they ventured into fishing in the river and if you sit at any of the river side restaurants, one can always see a canoe moving slowly drifting and making his way from one end of the river to the other.
Jose remembers the time before the advent of fishing trawlers, and the pollution in the river, how the river was abundant with fish, and he would use his canoe to fish in the river using different methods of fishing depending on the season. He speaks about two fishing methods the Kantaddi and Danvonn as they are known locally.
“For the Kantaddi method, the canoe is used to lay a net across the river, and then collect the net with hopefully lots of trapped fish after about an hour or so. Danvonn uses a long line with hooks with bait spread across the line. Similar to the Kataddi, the Danvonn is laid across the river, and then collected after several hours.
Jose still uses his canoe for fishing in the monsoon seasons when the trawlers are banned from fishing and cannot move in the river. Fishing during other months is not possible as the trawlers will entangle the nets or the fishing lines.
Currently, the fishermen who use canoes also throw a net called Kobblem that has a frame attached and it opens up when it is cast into the river.
Incidentally, given that they live by the beach, there is a another traditional fishing method called Pagher, where the fisherman flings a net into the water. The net has weights on all sides. As the weights drop to the bottom, the fish get trapped inside the net. “This type of fishing works well where the surface of the river/sea does not have any rocks or other objects that would result in the net getting stuck,” added Joe.
Every year on Republic Day, a traditional canoe race takes place where about 75 canoes are seen taking part in competitions like fishing with cast nets, diving for shellfish, all occupation which are slowly getting extinct.
