The festival of 'Gadyachi Jatra', which is traditionally celebrated once in three years, took place after a gap of four years on Saturday at Welwada, a small hamlet of Poinguinim-Canacona with the presence of hundreds of devotees.
This festival, traditionally participated by 26 different communities from Poinguinim, Loliem and Kharegal, besides people from across the State, was last celebrated in 2017 and had missed the celebration in 2020 on account of the Covid pandemic.
Considered an important festival for residents of the three villages, the Gade – four men attired in a turban and white dhoti, with a a sword and piece of cloth in their hands – travel a distance of 10-12 km to the Shri Betal Temple at Welwada-Poinguinim.
The four Gade were then suspended from a revolving wheel hooked to the two wooden planks from a height of about 45 feet in front of Shri Betal Temple, with devotees chanting mantras and prayers to the beats of the Dhol as part of the rituals.
In a unique performance, as the four Gade tied to the wheel are rotated, one of the Gado poses four questions to the crowd watching them: Lolayekar Aile? (have the people of Loliem come?), Poinginkar Aile? (have the people of Poinguinim come?), Khargaalkar Ailo? (has the person from Kharegal come?) and finally, Khushi zale? (Are you satisfied?)
Once a positive response is received to all four questions from the crowd, the rotating wheel is stopped marking the end of the ritual.
A pair of roosters will then be sacrificed on Sunday as part of the rituals, informed sources.
During the three-year cycle, the Jevnni ritual is performed in the first year, followed by the Takaa procession in the second year and the Gadyachi Zatra in the third year.
