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| Image source: Goan festivals |
live together in unity"- Psalm 133.1
Fishing has always been a profitable business in the state of Goa. The daily meal includes a fish in the plate, without which it is incomplete. There is great demand for fish in Goa. A large section of Goa's population, belongs from the fishing community. It's one of the oldest traditional occupations followed by the Goans, from the very beginning. In order to thank the patron saint, St. Peter and Paul for the prosper in their business the fishing community celebrates the feast with great zest.
The feast of St. Peter is known as 'Sangodd', in Goa. The fisherman observe June 29, to be a very auspicious and scared day . Instead of venturing out to catch fish, the fisherman tie their traditional wooden canoes together to form the 'Sangodd'. They erect a chapel on to it and decorate it with palm leaves and other flowers. Followed by a small cultural program.
The highlight of the feast, is to celebrate the brotherhood of the fishing community from different wards of the village. It's the celebration of the fisher folk community, as St. Peter was a fisherman before being a disciple of Jesus.
According to the traditional practice the villagers celebrate the traditional mass after which they move on to their rafts. The 'mobile stage' or 'Sangodd' with the people on board moves from one place to another .Making stops at their traditional points or stations. Variety of entertainment programs are performed at the various halts. The villagers flock in large number to the jetty and wait for the Sangodd to arrive.
The localities perform the traditional songs, while some of them dance to the beat of Goan konani music. Konkani drama artists also performed for the festival. The whole village gets in the festive mood and they chant in the name of the patron saint, Viva Sao Pedro!
It's quiet fascinating to see innovative floats along the river, retrieving the Goan culture. The whole idea of Goan culture gets highlighted. The practitioner still insist on glorifying the Goan culture and see that the people imbibe and enjoy the festival. The villagers believe that this traditional festival is almost 150years old and hence come together every year to restore it, in it's true essence.
# Article published on Gomantak Times #
