LAIRAI JATRA

Every year I visit this Jatra of Devi lairai which is one of the more famous and more unusual Jatra celebrated in Goa. This jatra is celebrated in Shirgao which is small town in Bicholim taluka. The Shirgao Jatra is famous among all devotees and also tourists for the celebrated walk on hot coals raked from an enormous bonfire. The Jatra takes place in early part of May, when thousands of devotees of Devi Lairai descend on the small town and religious rituals and poojas dedicated to the Goddess are performed throughout the day.

Hundreds of people from the villages in surrounding areas also take part in these celebrations. Groups of these villagers from villages such as Maulingem arrive in the early morning hours and participate in events throughout the day. The Jatra take place over a period of five or six days. The festival is celebrated by the tribal communities living in the area although the devotees come from all over goa.

The festival begins early in the morning and continues throughout the day. Men and a few women, who participate, take a ritual bath in a pound located near the Temple. The devotees then walk all the way uphill to the temple as an act of penance, endurance, and worship of the Goddess. In evening more devotees come who all perform the same ritual of worship and penance. Most of the devotees wear a peculiar type of dhoti especially for the festival, a white t-shirt, a colorful cape around the shoulders, and a scarf-like cloth around the waist. Special flower garlands made from jasmine and other local flowers are worn by the devotees around their necks.A special stick, about 6 feet long, made from twisted vines is carried by the worshippers throughout the rituals of the day. The sticks are made by the devotees themselves and decorated with colored yarn which symbolizes the flowers used in festivals of previous years.

As midnight approaches, the devotees perform a frantic dance inside the temple which is all lit up for the occasion. The dance takes place to the rhythm of drum beats, in a tight circle in front of Goddess Lairai. While chanting and moving in a tight circle the devotees hold the special sticks clashing them against one another. The circular dance reaches a feverish high with a single drum beat denoting the end of that dance session.

The final and most spectacular part of the Jatra then begins, when a specially chosen person races from the temple to the wooden pile and lights a massive bonfire with a blazing torch. The chanting and dancing then continues around the massive bonfire with the devotees touching the holy fire with their sticks. 

In the early hours of the morning when the fire has died down, the raking of the coals begins. The devotees await their turn to walk on the holy path of hot coals. The actual ritual starts, with the devotees running through the hot coals carrying their sticks and shouting the name of Devi Lairai.