Potekar festival-Divar, SUPERSTITIOUS? By Genevieve Fernandes

Potekar festival-Divar, SUPERSTITIOUS? By Genevieve Fernandes

The small island of Divar which is situated in the river Mandovi, connected to Old Goa, Ribandar and Narve all by ferry.  The island is extremely beautiful surrounded largely by paddy fields. History knows this place as a Hindu pilgrimage site; there were many temples that existed which were sadly later on shifted by the Portuguese to other locations due the spread of Christianization.

Though the island is small and there might be less inhabitants but the culture is rich and vibrant. The locals in Divar celebrate their festivals with great enthusiasm. The village has particularly three main festivals that they celebrate. Those are Bonderam, Potekar and the Feast of Our Lord the Redeemer.

Talking about the festival of Potekar you might find it superstitious. The feast of Potekar is celebrated for three days in the village and it starts before lent. The locals wear homemade and hand painted masks and costumes which normally depicts an animal.

Also they wear cow bells on their ankles and around their waists; definitely these can be heard from a long distance. They go visiting different houses where they are sometimes offered food and drinks; this is done to frighten young children. Although it is just pretend and the elders smile away to the men dressed in creepy animal costumes some believe that it was a way of teaching their kids to have moral values and good behavior.

The festival tradition is related to the customs of village communes or ‘Gaunkars’. If you visit Divar during this festival make sure you don’t get scared of the tinkling cow bells and scary animal costumes because their just locals trying to keep the traditions alive!



 http://www.itsgoa.com/potekar-festival-divar-superstitious/

RELATED ITEMS:DIVAR, FESTIVAL, GOA