Farar Far is a Konkani folk song that commemorates a series of revolts led by the local rulers, Ranes of Sattari, during the early years of Portuguese colonialism in Goa. The song’s refrain “farar far zatai ranantu” refers to shots being fired in the forest between the Ranes and the Portuguese soldiers.
Sattari in north Goa was a fiefdom of the Ranes, who claimed their descent from the Rajputs of Rajputana. In 1746, the Ranes, disgruntled with their overlords Bhonsles of Sawantwadi, signed a treaty of vassalage, pledging loyalty to the Portuguese crown. The peace did not last, with the first revolt taking place in 1755 and 14 uprisings between 1782 and 1825. The rocky relations between the two is embodied in the lines “Pakle martai ranneanku // Ranne martai pakleanku”, meaning “The white men are shooting the Ranes // The Ranes are shooting the white men.”
Some of the major revolts include those led by Dipu Rane from 1852 to 2855, Kushtoba Rane from 1869 to 1871, and Dada Rane from 1859 to 1897. Kushtoba features in an extended version of Farar Far as well as a number of other Konkani folk songs. The last Rane revolt took place in 1912, when all the rebels were imprisoned, deported or killed by the colonial regime.
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