The Artisans of Goa: A Blog on Traditional Craft Mollam

Hey, have you ever seen the Mollam? If you did you will have an idea of what I am talking about, it is one of the Goan traditions which was the occupation and a source of living. Yes was! When I think about it, I'm so sorry to see traditions die

Mollam (made of palm leaves)

 

In my childhood, I have seen people making a living by selling this Mollam. If u go to see they were the reason we had a roof above our heads. It was a tradition passed on by their ancestors.  Everyone learned to do it by watching them. 

I was keen to know more about Mollam & I met these 2 women who used to make the Mollam. They were very sweet and kind enough to enlighten my knowledge about the Mollam. 

When I asked them they said that they don't practice the Mollam anymore & the reason would be that now no one needs them and it's also difficult to prepare as it leads to back pain and muscle pain. It does look good but it's not easy work. It's a lot of responsibility. 

They used to do this from their childhood. We may think childhood? But yeah, there wasn't much education back then, so the kids learned how to make a living. But as time passed people no longer needed Mollam instead everyone built houses of bricks and cement & it kept on evolving. Now there are bare places where we can see houses protected by them. Earlier everything was made of it that is from a cow shed to a wedding hall. But now its place is being taken by modern equipment which saddens the people whose livelihood depended on this Mollam.

They said that they used to take the Mollam to Margao from Colva by carrying them on head or people used to come to their houses to collect them by Bullock carts or trucks (this would be about 35 years ago) Yes, that was the number of Mollam they made. They made a number by which a house could be built. The sales of it were quite high before, it was sold at 3 to 10 Rupees each but now if we go to find it then 1 would cost ₹50. I know, now people don't think that they are as useful as before but it is like a fashion only used to showcase or for decorations.

Both the women whom I met shared pretty much the same feeling and the procedure of creating the wonderful craft of Mollam. They told me how patient and gentle we have to be. The palm leaves should not be dry instead it has to be fresh, if they are dry then it would be difficult to link them in and the leaves start to break off into pieces. 

Before they start linking the palm it has to be soaked overnight in the water the purpose of doing this is to make the leaves open wide and soft so it becomes easy to tie them. They were either soaked at the edge of the river or any other water bodies or water was splashed all over the leaves every 2 hours. In the morning the palm leaves would be plump and wide. It was very laborious. The work can't be expressed in words.

They had to sit down and do the Mollam which would really trouble their back. They told me that now if they try to do the Mollam then it becomes difficult as their back starts paining again. But in the past they liked the fill of doing it how the leaves were being linked with each other how they were bent and after when it was done it looked so satisfying. They used to sit doing it for approximately 5-6 hours and 1 bore(bundle) would consist of 25-30 Mollam. They sold 5-6 bundles. Sometimes they had to do them overnight and people would come to collect them the next morning or they took the Mollam to markets and sold them. They lasted up to 2 years.

The demand for Mollam was more during the rainy season since it protected the walls from rain, in early times the houses were made of mud and the Mollam was really convenient and the best alternative to not let any harm happen to the walls, as they really prevented the water from coming through. They were arranged in such a way that the wind couldn't move them away and there would be no leakage whatsoever. 

They were used to make houses, cowsheds, wedding ceremonies, shack (restaurant) at beaches, the entrance of roce, or for a Hindu festival, as a decoration for Ganpati. Now since the Mollam is no longer needed they have searched for other professions for a living. In Colva, there are very few who are alive who used to do them. Now people use plastic covers. So we see these tradition cease to exist.

 

Sharon Fernandes

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