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NAME-  HAZEL FERNANDES

ROLL NO-C18 3417

TODDY TAPPER

The heart of Goa lies in her villages, Where even today in this rapidly modernising Indian state the ancient traditional occupation still has a place in society. Toddy-Tapping have been since time immemorial the primary occupations of villagers, though urban office employment and overseas shipping jobs have significantly detracted from the numbers of youth choosing to enter into the occupation of their fathers. Even today the income derived from toddy-tapping is lucrative owing to the subsequent production of feni, the local drink famous throughout Goa .

Toddy-tapping,therefore,occupies a special place among the traditional occupations of Goans, and they have established their own Toddy-Tappers Association with a head office in Margao. The toddy-tappers are men of humble origin and even temperament who enjoy the unhurried, albeit strenuous life of their profession. They are most concentrated in the coastal talukas where an abundance of coconut plantations are found, and every coastal villages has at least one toddy-tapper.

A toddy-tapper performs his job thrice a day on each tree given to his care, morning, afternoon and evening. In the morning and evening the “vein” of the tree at its top is opened and the sap slowly drains into attached clays pot or plastic jug. During the afternoon heat, the toddy tapper climbs the trees and closes the openings so that the tree has time to recover its lost fluids. He climbs the trees using foot steps carved in the trunk and supports himself once in the tree tops by the base of the palm leaves.                         

For three consecutive days, enough sur is collected from the coconut trees to fill up a large jug. Once enough sur is collected, it is then subjected to a process which results in the production of coconut feni, a distilled drink with a high percentage of alcohol. On the fourth day, the sur is heated in a large earthenware vessel over a wood fire until it boils.

Once boiling begins, the vapour which is created rises from the mixture and escapes through a pipe which passes through a large cement cooling water tank the pipe then emerges at the bottom of the tank and the sur now cooled re-condenses to liquid and falls into small clay pot .

Today, one can hardly see a member from this tribe,
Popularly known as 'Renders' or toddy tappers, wearing nothing but 'Kashti', a red and white checked loin cloth, and carrying 'Kashti' or  sickle like sharp tool, formed a common sight in the rural Goa. 
Renders are still considered one of the traditional occupants of Goa, but the occupation is now being considered a difficult one, due to risks involved such as climbing high trees without any security, lack of adequate daily renumeration and so on.      

Now the toddy tappers have als0 become modern and have stopped wearing kashti.

It gave me great joy listening to their stories.when I spoke to them they told about their ancestors who were also toddy tappers and coconut pluckers. They say that they feel glad to carry this occupation ahead.This occupation is their livelihood which they are carrying forward form so many years.Like any niz goenkar they love football and khell tiatrs. Mostly their breakfast consists of pez with kalchi koddi and salted fish. They sing beautiful Konkani mandos while on the coconut tree which gives joys to the listeners.They have their own coconut tree plantations and their business flourishes like anything. During the monsoon it becomes difficult to climb but they say prayers and carry on with their job. They sell toddy in the nearest towns and for occasions people come to their place to buy sur and vinegar.Toddy tapping is a wonderful occupation and I hope that it lasts forever in Goa.