MAPUSA: Fishermen in Goa consider June 29 as the sacred day which has been traditionally dedicated to their patron saint, St Peter. On this day instead of venturing out to catch fish, the fishermen tie their traditional wooden canoes together to form the Sangodd. Palm leaves and other flora are then used to decorate the Sangodd which is made to resemble a chapel.
The Sangodd at Candolim, which is celebrated at Orda, is a spectacle to watch in the Candolim creek. Sangodd here is known to be celebrated for the last 200 years as most of the people from Orda were known to be traditional fishermen. Traditionally people from this area were known to keep their daily work routine aside for the day and use their boats to celebrate the feast with a lot of pomp and gaiety.
A chapel of Santa Cruz which is over 130 years old stands by the creek at Orda and the members of the Santa Cruz chapel committee who organises the Sangodd continue with the tradition of erecting a chapel on top of the Sangodd which was earlier done with bamboos and cloth.
However, nowadays in recent modern times, a neat plywood structure resembling a chapel is erected on the boat. The Holy cross is placed at the topmost point of the chapel and a statue of St Peter is carried out from the Holy Cross chapel in a ceremony and placed in a small niche just below the cross.
As afternoon sets in, around 3.30 p.m. an opening hymn is sung by the locals of Orda and subsequently professional singers take over. This year a large number of Konkani artistes besides various child artistes and local artistes will perform live on board the Sangodd.
Once the gathered crowd is entertained enough, the Sangodd moves to another location to regale another section of the crowd, at another point down the creek. After the first point, five more stops are made as the artistes perform much to the excitement and thrill of the large gathered crowds. Slogans such as ‘Viva Sao Pedro’ can be well heard.
Sangodd is therefore a festival celebrated all over Goa mainly by the fishing community to invoke the blessings of St Peter and to celebrate the spirit of Goa.
