You can tell a lot about a particular culture from the festivals they celebrate. This unique and distinctive festival is unlike anything that you’ve witnessed before. Chorotsav is a festival based on a folkloric tragedy that happened in the village of Goa. It is observed annually and avid enthusiasts witness it every year without fail. It can get a bit gruesome to witness since it involves incredibly realistic theatrics of people being buried alive.
Chorotsav: Goa Festival Sees People Being Buried
This particular festival in Goa is celebrated in the villages of Zarme and Caranzol in the district of Sattari. There is a very interesting lore around the festival. It is said that ages ago, a group of young men were massacred by the villagers because they were mistaken to be robbers.
In the olden days, people frequently commuted through dense forests since that was the only way to get from one village to the other. These dense forests were rife with robbers and dacoits and people were frequently robbed of their belongings and were even killed. One day, when a group of men from the neighbouring village were travelling through the forest, they were suspected of some wrongdoings by villagers and were promptly murdered.
When the family members of the victims came searching for them, the villagers realised that they had massacred innocents. In order to avoid having their town cursed and to repent, they decided to annually reenact the gruesome crime they committed.
Also Read: Mumbai-Goa Get A Vande Bharat Express, Indian Railways Plans To Launch One Soon
Festival-Goers Get To Witness Chilling Scenes
The main crux of the event is a theatrical reenactment of the tragedy that took place ages ago. It involves a total of eight actors reenacting the scene. In Caranzol however, nine actors are involved.
Four actors are buried in such a way that only their heads are seen above the ground and the other four have their heads buried in the ground with the rest of their bodies above it. This is to demonstrate the four murdered youths.
It can be a bit gruesome to witness since the makeup and acting is quite realistic, however, no individual is harmed in these theatrics.
Also Read: 6 New Restaurants To Eat At If You’re Vacationing In Goa This Month
Would you witness this interesting event live? Let us know in the comments below!
Cover Image Credits: Goa Tourism/Website