The nocturnal festivities of zagor hold entire villages in rapture with worship, and later, with plays based on Goan folklore, sprinkled with song and dance. The Siolim zagor, held on the first Sunday after Christmas, is the most popular. A Christian celebration, it centres around a Hindu shrine, sacred to Zargoryo, the local deity that guards the dams by the paddy fields.
Once the idol is carried through the village, stopping at shrines and chapels for offerings, its inhabitants converge to witness the dance drama. The roles in these productions are traditionally played by the Hindu family of the Shirodkars and the Catholic D’souzas.
In the village of Kakra by the Zuari river, the performances are the bastion of the Pereira family, Nava Hindus part of the Gowda clan. The Zagor Gowda is held on the village feast or harvest day, and Christians from bordering villages are invited for the lighting of the candles or ‘ladein’ and singing of hymns.
Performances are held at a sacred tract of land called the Mande, and skit follows skit through the night. In one satire, Mharin complains about her husband Mhar’s torpor; in another, the village romeo Garasher cajoles and charms with a brimming pot of flowers on his head. The themes are elementary, their appeal, universal.