The History of Red Sankaasurs in Goan Kaalo

by ROHIT R PHALGAONKAR
Posted on 2009-01-02
Kaalo, a form of Goan folk theatre is rarely performed in Goa nowadays. Special nights were reserved in Goan temples for the performance which would go on till dawn. Strong messages like victory of good over the evil, believing in god would be passed on to the audience through Kaalo. Kaalo includes various characters from Hindu mythology. Characters of Putnaa, Sankaasur are main attraction. Various musical instruments like the Pakwaaz, cymbals harmonium etc are played for the performance. Various attractive wooden masks and styles of dancing by the characters make the whole performance interesting. A character called Hardaas guides the audience through various the sequences.
However due to dearth of actors and audience too this ancient form of folk theatre has almost become extinct in Goa. However some cultural groups have strived hard to preserve this folk form in its original form. This year the Kaalo in Shri Lakshmi Narayan temple at Paingini was performed by small children who were trained by the village elders.
Kaalo is still performed in a traditional way in the temple of Shri Mahamaya at Maye in Bicholim. A cultural group named Devki Krishna Kaalo Mandal arrives all the way from Mashel in Ponda to Maye every year for performing the Kaalo. They carry along with them two metal trunks; one big and the other small. The big one contains the costumes and masks required whereas the small one contains a wooden image of Shri Krishna which is brought from the temple of Shri Devki Krishna in Mashel. The tradition raises many questions in one’s mind. Why do these performers come to Maye from Mashel ever year? What is the significance of carrying the wooden image of Shri Krishna along with them?
While researching through the historic events one gets the answers to all the queries. The temple of Shri Devki Krishna, Shri Piso Ravalnath and Shri Shaano Ravalnath were shifted from Chodan to Maye in the 16th century. Probably, after 1746 AD they were shifted to Mashel when the forts of Sankhali, Bicholim, and Halarn were attacked by Marques de Alorna. Thus, the historic links are still maintained by the two temples in the form of cultural ties.
The character of Sankaasur in this Kaalo is also very interesting. The colour of mask of the Sankaasur here differs from the traditional one. Elsewhere in Goa, the demon Sankaasur is traditionally depicted wearing a black coloured cloth mask having red eyes and a red tongue hanging out. The mask gives the demon a cruel look.
The colour of the mask of the Sankaasur at Maye is red. An elderly person from Mashel narrates the historic reason behind the red coloured mask. It is told that during the Portuguese rule the colour of the mask was changed from black to red. According to the folklore the Portuguese were supposed to ban the performance of Kaalo. The performance which included a character wearing black coloured costumes was to be banned. Realizing this move of the Portuguese, the performers changed the costumes of the Sankaasur from black to red and mislead the Portuguese officers who had come to stop the performance. The Kaalo performers told the officers that they were performing ‘Kaali’ which had a red masked character and not Kaalo which included black coloured mask character.
A similar red masked character of Sankaasur is also depicted in the Kaalo at Shri Mahalakshmi temple of Panaji. This Kaalo is performed by a group called Malekar Samaj from Mala in Panaji. The folklore behind this red mask slightly differs from the previous. The elders mention that there was an order passed by the Portuguese to arrest a certain person. As a result the person was absconding. From their sources the Portuguese learnt that the person would come to perform the role of the Sankaasur in the Kaalo which on the scheduled night. Their sources had also informed them the person would be dressed in black costumes, as the Portuguese were oblivious of the Indian culture. Sensing danger, the performers got together and changed the costumes of the Sankaasur from black to red. Thus, from that day onwards the colour of the costumes of these Sankaasurs has always remained red.