Cuncolim bamboo artisans carrying on the trade against all odds

 

Cuncolim bamboo artisans carrying on the trade against all odds

By Armstrong Vaz

The art of making baskets from bamboo and cane is dwindling with every passing day in Goa. There are just a handful of artisans remaining in some villages who mainly make baskets from cane.

The Jadhav’s and Mane’s of Cuncolim are the select few who can be seen selling bamboo baskets by the road side in Cuncolim town in Salcete. They live close to the road national Highway No.66 commonly referred to as NH 66 (erstwhile NH-17 and a part of NH-47).

Even though there is a good market for these products, there are not many artisans or basket weavers in Goa. Goan artisans make a variety of baskets of all shapes and sizes. Mostly made of cane and bamboo, these baskets are in huge demand.

Traditionally, the Mhar community makes bamboo products that are used by people for functional purposes in various walks of life. Bamboo trees availability is become scare in Goa with every passing day added to the social stigma of being called a Mhar.

“Mhars, today is a scheduled tribe, which sacrificed buffaloes to propitiate spirits of their ancestorsand their demon deities. They ate the flesh, even bones, hence regarded ‘untouchable’ –just as cobblers, who worked on the hides of cattle,” wrote researcher Valmiki Faleiro.

Yes, the tag of Mhars hurts them admits Vilas Jadhav.

“We are not Mhars from Goa we came from Maharashtra’s Sangli district and made Goa our home some 40 to 50 years back,” says Vilas, who was born and brought up in Cuncolim.
The Mhars tag hurts us, but we are not concerned, we have to go about our everyday life and earn our living and we earn our living honorably by performing at wedding and carrying on the bamboo craft against all odds,” he added.

To craft the bamboo, the craftsmen, soak the bamboo for two or three days in sea water for seasoning, it is then sun-dried. When completely dry it is segmented. The outermost layer of the bamboo or skin is removed completely. The pith inside is removed and used as fuel. The bamboo is then cut into strips. These strips are further cut into splits that are used for weaving the basket. The baskets are made only with the inner part. The tools used are basic and include the Koyto-large knife and the Sun or small blunt knife. To colour the splits, chemical colours are boiled in water, and the strips are left in this solution for half an hour and dried.

A huge range of utility products like baskets, boxes, flower vases, winnowing trays, chicken baskets, grain baskets, partitions, fans, and mats are made from bamboo strips in Goa.

Some of the bamboo baskets they make are Konni or Fish basket, Kurponn or rice strainer, Kanyo or mat placed below the dantem (stone grinder), Ervond or large cane basket, Samli or cane pouch, Dhali or small basket, Aino or fan, Sup (in the middle) or alternative way fan, Vorli or container to wash rice and Patto or mat besides several other items.

The Jadhav and Mane families live in eight houses in Milleavaddo Cuncolim and settled in Cuncolim some 50 years back from Satara region. Earlier they used to stay in huts but now are staying in laterite stone houses and are voters of the region.

The Jadhav’s and Mane’s have two bands that performs at the Hindu weddings, Palkis, and Divjas and they charge Rupees 30,000 for a day’s performance.