Keri: Goa was once a largely agro-horticultural state, where rural life revolved around the monsoon. Villagers depended on seasonal rains for irrigation and drinking water, and eagerly awaited the first showers to ease the summer heat and replenish depleted sources.For generations, rural communities observed natural signs to anticipate the monsoon. Swarms of dragonflies, termites gathering around lights at night, ants shifting eggs to safer places, and peacocks dancing were all seen as indicators of approaching rain, said Rama Gaonkar from Sattari.When rains were delayed, villagers would gather in fields for rituals, offering flowers, lighting lamps and incense, breaking coconuts, and praying to Lord Shiva for timely showers. Madhu Gaonkar of Khandola recalled the folk prayer: “Samb Sadashiv paus de, shetibhati piku de…” (O Lord Shiva, bless us with rain, let the paddy ripen).Villagers also visited Shiva temples to perform abhishek on the Shivling, seeking rainfall for crops and livelihoods.Folk beliefs extended to animals as well. The croaking of male frogs at the onset of monsoon was seen as a sign of rain, and in some traditions, villagers even performed symbolic frog marriages to invoke showers.In earlier times, people also relied on Raya Varak from the Dhangar pastoral community, known for forecasting monsoon patterns using flowering trees like Cassia fistula (bayo) and Bombax ceiba (savar), along with observations of clouds, wind, humidity and other natural changes, Gaonkar said.Another widely believed indicator was the call of the “brain fever bird” (common hawk-cuckoo), whose distinctive cry was associated in Goa and Maharashtra with the imminent arrival of the monsoon and the start of sowing and ploughing.
