This is Goa’s answer to Holi – Goa’s biggest festival for the Hindus. A spectacular 14-day display of Goan Hindu ethnicity and mythology will be on show as the annual Shigmo parade held center-stage in Panjim, Goa.

Attired in traditional costumes, various groups consisting of women and men dancers give vibrant performances of various dances. These are interspersed with small groups that move along the route with their traditional Goan drums.

The grand finale is the artistically-designed and beautifully-lit floats. The parade is also held on a lesser scale in Ponda, Vasco, Margao and Mapusa.

Shigmo in Goa is essentially a festival of the masses, though it is celebrated under different names and in different ways in various parts of India. It is the festival of farewell to winter celebrated on the full moon day in the month ofphalguna (March), the last month of the Hindu calendar.

In Goa, the land of temples, Shigmo begins with Naman or collective obeisance of villagers from the ninth moon day to full-moon day. During these days, they are to abstain from non-vegetarian food and all intoxicants.

From the eleventh moon day to the fifteenth moon day, village groups clad in their most colorful dresses set out with festive mood with multi-colored cloths, torans, flags and column-like red spoted ‘dwajas’, beating drums and blowing flutes to gather at the village temples, and dance in the temple court yard singing various folk songs to the beat of the drums.

On the fifth day comes the real day of rejoicing. It is called ‘Rang Panchami’. The main function of the day, however, is the profuse use of ‘gulal’ or red powder!

Dates for Shigmo Float Parade 2013

28/03/2013 – Ponda

29/03/2013 – Pernem

30/03/2013 – Panjim

31/03/2013 – Mapusa

01/04/2013 – Vasco

02/04/2013 – Bicholim

03/04/2013 – Sanquelim

04/04/2013 – Valpoi

05/04/2013 – Curchorem

06/04/2013 – Sanguem

07/04/2013 – Margao

08/04/2013 – Quepem

09/04/2013 – Cuncolim

10/04/2013 – Canacona