Divar Bonderam 2015 (Piedade)

32nd year of traditional celebrations..
Divar Bonderam organised by Piedade Youth Association (PYA)
22nd August 2015
Festival of Flags, band, traditional floats etc

From PYA Communiqué

Bonderam festival, which is celebrated in the island of Divar, located 12 kms from Panjim city, on the fourth Saturday of August. This year the festival falls on August 22, 2015.

The name Bonderam originates from ‘Bandeira’ – the Portuguese word for flag. During the Portuguese rule there were frequent disputes between the villagers on the Divar island over property issues. Thus the Portuguese introduced a system by putting up flags to demarcate the boundaries.
The otherwise laid back island of Divar comes alive on the day of the Bonderam festival. The day begins with a Flag Parade from the main Divar junction, which is accompanied by a Brass Band. After this the Bonderam festival is officially declared open. Later in the day there is an all Goa fancy dress competition followed by the traditional float parade and a live musical performance featuring the famous music bands of Goa and Djs. The festival begins at 3:30 and concludes at 10:00 pm.

Introduction

The Piedade Youth Association is a social organization of the village of Divar, who aim at promoting social, educational, cultural and sports activities for the youth of our scenic village.

The “Piedade Youth Association” and the village of Divar are gearing up to celebrate the 32^nd Traditional flag festival “BONDERAM” on 22^nd August 2015.

After the carnival and Shigmo, Bonderam is the third largest festival celebrated in Goa and is the most popular monsoon festival, which draws an attendance of 15,000 & more spectators. The festival always attracts a young and affluent audience from Goa, India and around the world. Bonderam is also cited on the tourism map of Goa as calendar event.

The enthusiasm of the event is to gaze at the exotic colorful tableau floats as they parade in all their vibrance, which exhibits the talent put forth by the youth. The experience will be heightened by the musical performance by Goa’s top most singing sensation, Band’s & Dj’s.

Brief History of Bonderam

The feast of Bonderam is celebrated on the fourth Saturday of August every year at Divar Island, 12-km from Panjim. The name Bonderam revolves around the involvement of flags which in itself is an interesting story.
Frequent disputes which occurred between two wards (section of the village) - Piedade and Sao Mathias - over property matters often led to bloody duels, and sometimes death.
Subsequently, the Portuguese introduced a system of demarcation of boundaries with flags of various nations.

The rival groups, however, knocked down the demarcation flags sometimes with stones. Today, in a parody of the past, this is commemorated with a "Fotash" flight (toy weapon of bamboo stem) and berries are used as missiles in a mock fight between rival groups to knock down an offending flag.
On the day, a carnival ambience is created. Each ward of the village has a float at the parade. Though sponsored by business houses, the floats have an unmistakable local favour.

On the day of the feast, the quaint land of Divar, away from the hustle and bustle of Panaji, is agog with excitement.
Melodious music drifts from the village to mainland Old Goa - once the hub of Portuguese Goa - even before the crack of dawn on the Saturday. At noon people begin trickling into the village. By the evening the trickle is a deluge.

An expectant crowd assembles along either side of the main through fare of the village. The tempo is set by lands and lasses wielding "fotashes" engaging themselves in mock battles. The gaily coloured floats accompanied by colourfully dressed youngsters make a pretty picture.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Divar Bonderam 2015 (Piedade)

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