By Erwin Fonseca | NT Network

For the catholic brethren in Goa, festivals and church or chapel feasts are always occasions to celebrate. And of all the months it is the month of June that is full of festivities, especially in coastal parts of Bardez.

On June 13 the feast of St Anthony is celebrated in a grand manner in Siolim. Not only Catholics but Hindus too take part in this feast. St Anthony, known to have worked 13 miracles, died on June 13 and that's how this date has come to be celebrated as the feast of St Anthony.

The construction of the St Anthony Church at Siolim is also based on a great miracle by the saint. Therefore, people from different parts of the state come to Siolim to attend the feast. The Tuesday devotion to St Anthony is also quite popular at Siolim and people come with great faith to place their petitions before St Anthony with the hope that their prayers will be granted.

The saint is specially known to help find lost items. Those seeking life partners also seek his blessings. It is therefore with devotion that people take part in all 'trezena' preceding the feast with many coming on Tuesdays to pray to him. The feast of St Anthony is also celebrated in many other chapels and churches across the state with some celebrating it in June and others in May.

A few days after this feast, for the Siolkars, is yet another occasion to celebrate. On June 24 is the birthday of St John De Baptist. The saint, according to the Bible, is the cousin of Jesus Christ, who lived in the wilderness, baptising people in the River Jordan. The Bible also says that when Mary, who was carrying Jesus in her womb, came to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who was carrying St John in her womb, St John leapt in joy within her womb; this is how the custom of jumping into wells started.

In Siolim, on June 24, many young men and boys jump into wells. The main attraction, however, besides the feast that is celebrated at Fernandes waddo, is the boat parade held opposite the St Anthony Church. About 10 boats take part in this parade each year. There are live entertainment programmes presented by Konkani stage artistes. San Joao, as this feast is popularly called, is said to be the feast of sons-in-law.

Sons-in-law, according to the tradition, visit their in-laws houses on the day of the feast. Many a time newly wed couples are also involved to the celebration though it is just the grooms who make the most of it. Of late, the Siolim San Joao parade seems to have overshadowed other San Joao activities in the state. The boat parade has its origin in the merchants who arrived a few hundred years back along the creek with the statue of St Anthony.

Another feast that is also quite popular, though not in Siolim, is the feast of St Peter and Paul. The feast that falls on June 29 is celebrated in a grand way at Candolim where a Sangodd held. This feast coincides with the death of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The Candolim Sangodd and Siolim San Joao traditions are more that a 100-year-old. For the Sangodd three or four boats are joined and a chapel dedicated to St Peter is erected on them.  

Many Konkani stage artistes perform at the Sangodd too.  This is said to be the feast of the fishing community as St Peter was a fisherman. All of Candolim enthusiastically participates in the celebrations of this feat shouting Viva San Pedr. A similar sangodd is held in other villages on June 24 or June 29.

These feasts make June a truly colourfully festive month in Goa!