Finding more meaning in Goa’s traditional festivals

It’s coming to that time of the year in Goa, when all eyes turn to the fields to delight in the hues of green. The long-stemmed paddy sheaves will soon be undulating in the breeze, in a few fields they already are, but that’s only where the seed was sowed early.

And why, one may wonder, were these few fields ploughed early? The answer is -- so as to have the paddy ready for the early harvest festivals.

Yes, certain villages celebrate the Konsachem Fest (Harvest Feast) quite early, almost in the midst of the monsoon. With the paddy sheaves cut and blessed in the village of Raia this week, the harvest festivals are upon Goa, even if the harvest season is still some weeks away. More villages will follow Raia, and there will be festivals across the State.

The relevant question to be posed is that these festivals, traditional ones, are being kept alive by the people with all the pomp and gaiety they can muster, but are the traditional occupations, in this instance agriculture, similarly being kept alive by the people?

Where agriculture is concerned, let is not expect much to come from the State, despite ministers who hold that particular portfolio having repeatedly announced their desire to increase agricultural production in the State. Let’s leave it at that and look back a little.

Goa’s was an agrarian economy in the past, the not too distant past, mind you, as until Liberation, there was hardly any employment or earning avenues.

Agriculture, therefore, was the main occupation as there was land, and there were people available to work on it.

There is data to show that up to 75 per cent of the population of Goa was involved in agriculture around the early 1960s. Much changed post Liberation, as mining provided employment, there was industrialisation, and from there on, Goa also moved to the services sector.

What does the change, however, say about agricultural sustainability? Goa depends on agricultural products from outside the State, and this was very evident during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021, triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Incidentally, it was at that time that Goa also saw a mini revival in agriculture with a substantial number of people stepping into the fields as jobs were either lost or put on hold.

But, agricultural production today is not close to reaching the figures of the past.

In relation to this, it is pertinent to note that the Economic Revival Committee, constituted during the Covid-19 pandemic to suggest measures to revive the flagging economy had stressed on agriculture, yet going forward whatever developments have come in this sector have been from the people, with little direction from the State.

And so, in 2024, we have harvest festivals, but with little harvest. Making the harvest festival more meaningful would be achieved by increasing agricultural activity in the State.

Raia, for instance, is a designated urban agglomeration for Census purposes, and such a designation comes if the village meets the criteria of having at least 5,000 inhabitants, density of 400 people per sqkm or more, and at least 75 per cent of the male working population engaged in non-farm activities.

But, that is not the case with just Raia, it is but an example, for there are a vast number of urban agglomerations under the census.

It is because, across Goa, villages that were dependent on agriculture have today taken to other activities, which would be expected and cannot be stopped, but the harvest festival is still a major celebration, even if there is very sparse paddy cultivation in the village.

Yet, people will turn to agriculture only if, and when, this sector becomes economically viable. Talk to any farmer in the State, and he will admit that the efforts and investment put in sowing paddy does not give the desired returns.

I have a friend who annually ploughs his paddy field, knowing in advance that he is not going to earn from it, certain that it will be a loss. He does it because the family has been doing it for years, and he wants to maintain that tradition.

There won’t be many like him, and that is where the government should step in, with a support price for agricultural produce that will make farming operations attractive to the Goan.

It does bring satisfaction to keep the traditional festivals alive, but it is also necessary to understand the link that these festivals have with the socio-economic life of the community.

The festival in isolation is mere merriment, but when linked to village life, brings out a different perspective and makes it a truly community event.