Venita Gomes
Adivasi Sangatna Kepem, in collaboration with the Directorate of Art & Culture and Goa's Tribal Welfare Department, recently organised a two-day Tribal Festival at Copelabhat Deao, Quepem, South Goa.
The festival was a showcase of live demonstrations, along with stalls featuring handicrafts, traditional foods and more.
A tribal artisan demonstrated traditional packaging and weaving techniques used for storing rice in the olden days.
At the festival, there were demos of some of the oldest traditional mats (locally known as mandri) being fashioned from lavo, a kind of wild grass.
Two women demonstrated the traditional method of grinding and pounding food grains using an old-fashioned grinding stone, a process that demands considerable energy and effort.
Along with the craft of broom-making, the festival gave a peek into the craftsmanship behind these traditionally crafted brooms, a typically labour-intensive process.
A variety of local and healthy food items, such as sanna, donne, doce, and more, were sold at the festival.