Ghumot to grace Goa's heritage music as lizard skin row fades

Ghumot, an indigenous earthen drum which was once banned due to the use of monitor lizard skin in its making, will soon be notified as a "heritage instrument of Goa", Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude told reporters here on Monday. "We are going to declare ghumot as Goa's heritage musical instrument in a few days," he said.

Traditionally, ghumot, a percussion instrument played during Ganesh Chaturthi 'aarties' (prayers), is fashioned as a designed clay pot, with the skin of the monitor lizard (locally known as 'gaar') stretched taut across the pot's mouth, forming a drumhead. Monitor lizards are classified as an endangered wildlife species listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 because of which the ghumot was banned by the state forest department.

However, recently there has been a rise in interest in the musical instrument after its makers started replacing monitor lizard skin with the skin of a she-goat. A ghumot was presented as a gift from Goa to Portuguese Prime Minister Anotnio Costa, who is of Goan origin, in 2017 by an official delegation from the former Portuguese colony.

(With inputs from agencies.)