Goan Ghumot Girls Group shoulders responsibility to promote the instrument among women
“Being one of the oldest and most popular instruments in Goa, especially among the village population, Ghumot is now looked at with awe and respect after it was declared the State instrument in August 2019. Adding a feather in the cap of the heritage instrument, Goenkars across the globe are gearing up to preserve and promote the folk music, art and culture and traditional Goan music instruments,” Fatima Fernandes, who is come to Goa from the UK for a holiday, said.
A cultural activist herself, Fatima comes with an assurance to start networking among the global Goans to take up playing Ghupoteen on international platforms through Global Goan Ghumot Girls Group (GGGGG).
Language instructor and linguist Dr Gwendolyn De Ornelas, founder of GGGGG elaborated, “One sided Ghupoteen is a new addition to the family of Ghumot which also has two others, Mandallem (two sided) and Ghumoteen (three sided). Ghumoteen is an innovation of Ashley Fernandes, a sound engineer from SAE, London. And this one sided, light-weight avatar is a gift to Goa’s women from Goemcho Festakar Marius Fernandes. From times immemorial, women nurtured a fascination for playing Ghumot but never got their hands on it, as playing Ghumot was considered to be traditionally men’s job.”
GGGGG has shouldered the responsibility to promote Ghupoteen among women. Launched recently at Matiechem Fest in Pilerne by Fr Valeriano Joaquim Vaz, Rector of the minor seminary of Our Lady, Saligao-Pilerne, GGGGG’s core team includes Bharati Bandodkar from Peaceful Society, Chef Marie Fernandes Pienkar and Prof Tania Shirodkar from the Dhempe College of Arts and Science.
Underlining the unquestionable glory and glamour of Ghumot, Dr Gwendolyn said that it is an integral part of the folk and religious music in Goa’s Hindu and Catholic community, Ghumot, a membranophone with both sides open is played only by men.
A new addition to Ghumot (Ghumat) family is ‘Ghupoteen’ especially designed for women to beat men who always showed reluctance in sharing Ghumot with their female counterparts, she added.
“We wish to popularise our mud instruments across the world. I am so proud and happy that we women have our own women-friendly, light-weight musical instrument all for ourselves unveiled at the hands of Konkani pop star O’luv in the village of potters, Pilerne on the auspicious day of Gandhi Jayanti,” said Dr Gwendolyn.
“The children and teenagers have a smaller size Ghumot and we were the missing link. With other members of our group, we are going to take this musical instrument to the world and already the buzz was felt at the Matiechem Fest. The girls and women are the future of Goa, India and the world and with a bit of empowerment, they will make the world a better place, musically,” hoped Dr Gwendolyn.
“Our group will have diverse and like-minded women. It is highly unlikely that there is a musical instrument especially for women and that too made of mud, so I urge Goans when they come to Goa on holiday, please take the instrument across to your countries and help the Goan potters. We’d like to bring women from different continents together. The dying art of making Ghumot and pottery will once again come alive and it will be a lifeline for the potters of Goa. As the Ghumot is the heritage instrument of Goa played by men, we women shall take the Ghupoteen to the world so that the sound of our soil of Goa reverberates across the globe,” said Dr Gwendolyn.
With such enthusiastic team, the stage is all set for the percussion instruments of Goa to go global.
Popular Zagor artist and percussion player Inacio Madeira from Siolim, potter Anthony Fernandes from Mapusa and singer Paul Fernandes from Pilerne who demonstrated how to play Ghumot, will volunteer to teach interested women to play Ghupoteen.
