Khazans: A confluence of culture, ecology, and human interaction in Goa

Abstract

Khazans are Goa's low-lying 'reclaimed' estuarine wetlands, one of the region's ancient agro-aqua engineering system. This khazan ecosystem, which is home to a wide range of flora and fauna, has, historically, supported farming and fishing-related economic activities such as agriculture, primarily rice cultivation, salt production, and aquaculture. In Goa, religion plays a central role in everyday life. Hence, we observe a convergence of cultural and ecological elements in the various festivals and rituals. One such example is an age-old ritual that takes place on the (bandhs) embankments, which is an important component of the khazan landscape. 'Mange Thapani' is a ritual practiced wherein crocodiles are venerated within the khazan ecosystem of Goa. The study used participant observation and a semi-structured interview schedule to collect primary data from the selected study site located in Adulshem, Borim-Ponda, Goa. This paper seeks to explore how the 'Mange Thapani religious ritual' exemplifies the confluence of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) building on Ostrom's Social Ecological Systems (SES) Framework, which refers to a cumulative body of indigenous knowledge passed down through generations about relationships between living beings and the environment, its economic usefulness, and religious tradition, thus, illustrating how nature and spirituality coexist harmoniously in Goan cultural life.