66 million-year-old Asteroid Crash helped Create Divar, led to Goa’s Khazan System, says researcher

Goa Khabar: What link does Goa’s unique khazan system of agriculture share with the picturesque Yucatán peninsula in Mexico? 

A lot, according to Joseph Fernandes, author of  ‘A Walk Through History of Goa’, who was speaking at the MOG Sundays Talk hosted by the Museum of Goa at Pilerne recently.

According to 82-year-old Fernandes, the impact of a massive asteroid which crashed in the Yucatán peninsula 66 million years ago, has a great deal to do with Goa’s signature farming technique, ecological diversity and geographical transformation, including the creation of islands like Divar.

The cataclysmic event covered the earth in sulphuric acid and dust, exerting an influence on weather patterns and rainfall, which eventually impacted Goa’s farming practices ages later, said Fernandes, who has been researching khazan agriculture for more than two decades.

“The connection of the asteroid’s impact and Goa’s farming practices stayed hidden until now,” Fernandes said.

Delving deeper into history, Fernandes said, “Goa’s sea levels were substantially lower in the past, with oceans reaching their current levels around 4000 BC. The discovery of submerged cities through carbon dating, such as the city of Dwarka dating back to 9000 BC, aligns with this timeline. These findings highlight the crucial role of oceanic changes in Goa’s evolution.”

The Mandovi river, combined with sediment from the Western ghats and heavy rainfall, contributed to silt deposition in areas around Charao and Divar. Following the increase in rain, the silt was pushed to lower ground to form the islands of Divar and Charao, which further played a pivotal role in Goa’s agricultural history.

Around 10,000 BC, early inhabitants of Divar and Charao recognised the potential of cultivating rice, a realisation which Fernandes said, would lead to the establishment of permanent farming communities. The innovation of kumeri cultivation, also known as the ‘slash and burn’ technique, allowed for more efficient farming methods enabling year-round food production.

“In my opinion, the people of Divar were among the first to recognise the possibility of settling down and practising agriculture without the need to constantly move. Since Divar experienced some of the most intense rains, the idea of constructing using natural resources to build levees (embankments) and khazans emerged as a way for the inhabitants to support their agriculture,” he said at the MOG Sundays event.

He also said that the construction of levees could be attributed to comunidades, with local legends even suggesting the blessing of the Pisso Ravalnath deity who helped them build the levees.