Draft:Shisha Ranni

Shisha Ranni is a traditional festival held at the Mallikarjuna temple in the villages of Gaondongrim, Shristhal and Cancona from Cancona Taluka in the state of Goa. During this ritual, rice is cooked atop the heads of three Gades, which are humanoid representations of divinity on earth.

Eytomology

The term ‘Ranni’ directly translates to ‘stove,’ emphasizing the central element of this ceremony. The ‘Shisha’, refers to the local name of the Indian rosewood (local name : Shiso) , which is used to light the fire.

Description

The Shisharanni is celebrated every three years on the fourth day after the full moon in the lunar month of  Falgun. It is held in the main hall of the Mallikarajuna temple to the tune of Folk Music. For the ritual , three chosen devotees lie down in three different directions, wrapping their heads with a wet cloth and psuedostem of banana. An earthen pot is placed on their head forming a stove and a fire is lit using pieces of Indian rosewood , locally called Shiso.

In the pot rice is cooked. After the rice is cooked, another person uses a sword to create a cut in the crown of the head of another gado involved in the rituals. The blood that emerges from this wound is then added to the cooked rice. The slitting of the head and the use of blood represents a sacrifice.  

Finally, the cooked rice known as ’charu’ is thrown at the people. However because the rice is cooked using sacrificial blood, it is considered bad luck and people move away when it is thrown at them, to avoid the blood stained rice falling upon them.

Mallikarjun temple (Gaondongrim)

The Mallikarjuna temple at Gaondongrim is the most ancient of the 12 Mallikarjun temples found in Goa. As per inscriptions found on the temple walls , the temple was reconstructed in 1778 and in the sanctum sanctuary, the cylindrical shaped ‘Linga’ is worshipped with the metallic mask as Mallikarjuna, along with Ganesh, Nandikeshwar, Mahamai, Sthambadev, and Bagilpaik as the affiliate dieties.