Jatras of Goa.

List of Jatras celebrated in Goa.

1)Lairai Jatra, Shirgaon, Biholim

Lairai Jatra is celebrated in the early part of May by the tribal communities living in the area. The jatra is famous among devotees for the celebrated walk on hot coals raked from an enormous bonfire. The celebration begins early in the morning and is celebrated throughout the day. The jatra starts with a ritual bath in special water tanks located near the temple and then as midnight approaches, the devotees perform a frantic dance inside the temple. In the final part of the Jatra a specially chosen person races from the temple to the wood pile and lights the bonfire with a blazing torch. The dancing then continues around the massive bonfire with the devotees touching the holy fire. Around 4 a.m as the fire simmers down the devotees start running through the hot coals shouting the name of Devi Lairai. The jatra concludes with the sunrise.

2)Shisharanni, Cancona

Shisharanni is a ritual, which is celebrated in April (every alternate year) during Shigmo festival. Shisharanni means a cooking place on top of a human head. In this ritual, three persons sleep on the ground with their heads touching each other and a vessel of rice is kept on their heads. And then a fire is lit between the heads to cook the rice. In recent years the heads are covered with wet cloth and layers of plantain trunk. The cooked rice is then sprinkled over the devotees.

3) Gadayachi Jatra

The Gadyachi Jatra is celebrated during Shigmo festival in various places of Goa like Sal, Borde-Bicholim, Pilgao, Kudne, Savoi-Verem. Legend says that this jatra is celebrated with the intention of ward off the wrath of ghosts and evil spirit.

The Gadyachi jatra of Sal in Bicholim is very famous which attracts a large number of crowd. It commences on the day of Holi Purnima. A wooden trunk of a mango tree is decorated with mango leaves and is erected near Mahadev temple. Next night, the persons dressed in the white dhoti(gade) assemble at the sacred place called mand and perform traditional dance.52 persons also known as gade move around the pole which is erected on the mand. It is believed that under the trance they keep running in the direction of the hill wherein they are taken into the forest by a mysterious torch or a puzzling light shown by the holy spirit called devchar'. People specially come here to see the lightening of the mysterious torch.

This continues for three days. During this, time the holy spirit(devchar) also hides a few gades on trees or inside the temple. On these nights the hidden gades who are unconscious are handed over by the devchar to other gades by lighting the torch in that direction. By pouring sacred water into the mouth, the unconscious gades return to their senses. It is believed that the whole night these gades go to all the places where the holy spirits reside. They also visit the crematorium and carry remainders of burnt dead bodies in their hands along with the votive clay figures.

Apart from these jatras, Goa celebrates many other festivals like Homkand festival in Chorao island which relates to the burning of evil powers around, in the holy fire by putting up a huge bunch of wood on the fire. The height of the bunch is around 20 ft.

Other common festivals which are celebrated every year include Bodgeshawar jatra Mapusa, Cuncolim jatra, Cuncolim, Maruti Jatra, Mala, Panaji, Gulalotstav, Zambaulim, Quepem.