Noted Personalities of Komarpant Community - Dr. Neelam Komarpant

Dr. Neelam Komarpant is Treasurer for The Green Cross. A Marine biologist by profession, studying wildlife had always been an obsession for her since childhood. This lured her to study more about lesser known fauna like butterflies (Lepidopteron diversity), spiders (Arachnofanaldiversity), scorpions, lizards and other animals in the protected areas of Goa. She is an expert snake handler and often attends rescue calls in her locality. Her other areas of expertise are nesting ecology of birds, eco-theology, mangrove ecology and environmental education. She is often invited to conduct awareness talks on biodiversity conservation in schools and colleges of Goa. Since 2004, she is also an honourary Animal Welfare Officer nominated by Animal Welfare Board of India, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Govt. of India.


http://in.linkedin.com/pub/dr-neelam-komarpant/b/299/90b


http://books.google.co.in/books?id=xo8mPIdtmfcC&pg=PA113&lpg=PA113&dq=dr.+neelam+Komarpant&source=bl&ots=fYNd4JUZga&sig=uauoMeMNnIg2AB3yQ78ERBAkS7A&hl=en&ei=pzGRS9f7FMe9rAeQvJyTCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CBwQ6AEwCDgo#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Suggi of Ankola Komarpants

During the Week preceding the Holi Festival, the Komarpants of Aversa, Belekeri, Hattikeri, Bhavikeri, etc villages, take part in this Community Ritual of "Suggi". Suggi means "Harvest Festival". It is meant for appeasing the Gods for a better Crop on the next year, and also to show their gratitude for the Harvest that they have got in the present year.

Each Komarpant family spends money like Rs.2000-00 to Rs.6000-00 for each “Turaai” - decorative head-gear, depending on their spending capacity. This head-gear decoration is made by some Vokkaliga persons of their village, and is worn on an auspicious day before the Temple of the family deity/God.

One male member from each family of the Komarpants from this region has to participate in the Suggi Ritual. And each family whole-heartedly does participate. After wearing this headgear- Turaai, each person with one assistant/stand-by male member of the family, walk to all villages around Ankola taluk and perform the Ritualistic Suggi Dance before each Temple/God of that village and in the courtyard of the villagers. For the entire period, they stay away from their respective houses, cooking their own food outside and strictly adhering to traditional codes of conduct. 

Only after the Suggi period of one week or so, the men remove the Turaai before their Temples, and return to their homes, on the next day of the Holi Festival. This is a unique tradition even now being followed by the Komarpants of Aversa/Ankola taluk. It is believed that Honouring the Suggi Dancers is equivalent to honoring the Gods, for better Harvest and for keeping deadly diseases/epidemics at bay.

This tradition had recieved wide publicity in the local Newspapers, this year, as compared to the preceding years. It is the Duty of the each member of the Komarpant Community to encourage and preserve such Unique Traditions, that keep the community United as a Whole.

This year - 2010, about 135 people wore these beautiful Turaai's.

Books about "Komarpant"

Chhattisgarh, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh. (Book, 2003) [WorldCat.org]

The term Komarpant is derived from the word kuwari (maiden girl) and the people of the community claim that they are the descendants of Kama ... Gardening was the traditional occupation of the Komarpants. There is a myth that long ago, ..

Fair and Festivals of India - Chhattisgarh, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh. Vol - 4

Authors - Madan Prasad Bezbaruah; Phal S Girota; Krishna Gopal
Publisher: New Delhi : Gyan Publ. House, 2003.


India's communities
Kumar Suresh Singh, Anthropological Survey of ... - 1998 - 2510 pages
The term Komarpant is derived from the word kuwari, meaning maiden. They claim to be the descendants of Karna, the son of Kunti, a Kumari Mata (unmarried mother) of the Mahabharata. Konkani is their mother tongue and they all are ..

People Of India- National Series (vols. Iv-vi. Set) (a-z)- Indias Communities by  K.s. Singh
Format: Paperback
Price: Rs.4950   Imported Edition.
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2 pages matching komarpant in this book	Page 1787
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Anthropos

Österreichische Leo-Gesellschaft, Görres ... - 1955 This can be seen from what is done in the Komarpant community. In Binge, a village near Karwar, ... a Komarpant family used to offer one member each year as a human sacrifice, at the stone of Bali Bir. It is clear, therefore, ... A socio-cultural history of Goa from the Bhojas to the Vijayanagara By Vithal Raghavendra Mitragotri Book overview Originally presented as the author's thesis (Ph. D.--Goa University, 1994). Snippet view - 1999 - 271 pages A socio-cultural history of Goa from the Bhojas to the Vijayanagara Author: Vithal R Mitragotri Publisher: Panaji Goa Inst. Menezes Braganza 1999 Goa  By Pra. Pā Śiroḍakara, H. K. Mandal, Anthropological Survey of India Page 118 Source