The coventional chant of Viva re Sao Joao will ring through every corner of the state come June 24
The festival will be celebrated with its traditional fanfare as well as more ‘happening’ ways
The vibrant festival of Sao Joao is just around the bend. Villages come alive with colour and festivity as they celebrate the feast of St John the Baptist. This is the only day of the year when Goan Catholics are seen sporting a crown of flowers and leaves on their head and screaming ‘Viva Sao Joao’. In fact, it’s not uncommon for children to go around picking flowers to make their own ‘kopel’. Traditionally, the festival is celebrated with people jumping into wells, ponds and other water bodies. Newlyweds celebrate their first San Joao together serving fruits and sweets to fellow villagers.
Another striking feature of the festival is the Siolim Traditional Boat Festival. Being held for more than a quarter of a century, the
festival attracts revelers from different parts of Goa. Caru D’Souza, Treasurer of the Siolim Sao Joao Traditional Boat Festival Committee, says, “This year, on June 24, the festivities will begin with the boat parade comprising seven to eight boats making their way through the river to the creek
opposite the St Anthony Church. The Cross will be crowned with a colourful flower ‘kopel’ and the participants will get on stage to introduce
themselves and sing a song. Boats from Siolim and the neighbouring
villages of Vagator, Chapora, Anjuna, Badem and Assagao are annual participants. The best decorated boat will be awarded the first prize of Rs 20,000, Rs 15,000 for second prize and Rs 10,000 for third prize.”
The entertainment for the evening will
include songs by noted tiatrists
Peter and Roshan, Comedian Brian, Benzer, Baba Cielo and many local artists from the village. Folk songs and dances will be performed by Revelations from Varca headed by Simran Rebello while Johnny Be Good and Bushka will also perform on the stage set on the bank of the creek. “There will be prizes for the best ‘kopel’ as well as loads of spot prizes including the farthest travelled revelers. Some spot prizes consist of a gold coin. The festivities will
conclude with a marvelous display of
fireworks,” informs Caru. All one has to do is dress up in colourful clothes and wear the most decorative and artistically prepared
headgear made out of flowers and fresh fruits.
An eco friendly Sao Joao with no plastic and a big no to jumping in the wells, the feast will be celebrated on June 24, 2014 from 3pm onwards at Ambirna Vaddo, Socorro. A
traveling festival from different villages in the neighbourhood, the theme this year will be ‘respect water and celebrate women’; every woman will get a free ‘kopel’. Mario
Fernandes, one of the team members of the Socorro Socio Arts and Cultural Association organising the friendly get together, says, “Everyone will gather at Our Lady of Socorro Church and the Sao Joao procession will then go through the village to Ambirna ward to a well decorated with recycled decorations. There will be no jumping in the well as there are many incidents of drowning and injury. Earlier, the men were skilled and knew how to swim. Nowadays, youngsters don’t know to swim well and they jump on top of each other, hurting each other in the bargain.”
The programme will be compered by Parish Priest of Socorro church, Fr Santana Carvalho and the locals, young and old, will perform songs and dances. The menu for the evening will comprise homemade sanna, chonne, dodol, besides lots of fresh fruit. With the idea of no competition and no chief guest, the
association believes that everyone is special and there is no need for comparisons.
Dias Events is organising ‘O Re Sao Joao’ on June 24, 2014 from 3pm onwards at Old Heritage, Agassaim. The festival will be
celebrated with the biggest artificial pool rain shower and foam with band Purple Rain and DJ Aloysius, DJ Mack, DJ Lenny, DJ Mourise and DJ Johnson. “This is the third year we are organising the festival and it is celebrated in a traditional way with music and fancy dress competitions and a lot of spot prizes,” says Alton Dias.
Switching from jumping in the well to the pool, the third edition of Sao Joao Shuffle 2014 was organised by Red Ent at Nazri
Resort, Baga. With the growing number of revellers over the years, the organisers are happy with the modern switch. “We keep the feast in mind and celebrate it with friends at the pool party.”
In Benaulim, Sao Joao Boys of St Paul, the parishioners of St John the Baptist Church will be celebrating their patron’s feast by
merging it with the celebration of FIFA World Cup 2014 by wearing host country Brazil’s jerseys on June 24. “The theme for our Sao Joao is ‘Save our Environment’ and we plan to do so by planting a tree, saying no to plastic and not killing frogs. There will be traditional games like coconut breaking contest, tug of war for women, best outfit and best kopel,” says John Fernandes.
In Chinvar, Anjuna the beats of the ‘ghumot’ will be heard as the villagers celebrate Sao Joao by jumping in the well as newlyweds serve ‘pez’ and fruits and drinks for everyone, especially for those jumping in the well.
If you don’t want to jump in either a well or a pool, head to Aldona at Tin Manus where friends of Aldona are organising a get together with tiatrists and the local talent. Staring from 3pm, Sao Joao will be celebrated at the
shallow end of the sluice gates. “There will be low tide in the afternoon and even children will be able to leap in the water. As it is 15 metres wide, there is no fear of anyone
jumping on someone and we will have skilled swimmers keeping an eye on the revelers to be on the safer side,” informs Macbeth Rocha. The tiatrists who will entertain the gathering are Peter-Roshan, Sheikh Amir, Aniceto Lourenco besides Robert from Calvim and Benny de Aldona. “Come with colourful clothes and a beautiful and innovative ‘kopel’ to win prizes,” he adds.
Strongly following the traditional way of
celebrating Sao Joao is the Catholic
community in Xelpem, Duler. On the eve of Sao Joao, an effigy, signifying the evil on the families in the village, is burnt. On Sao Joao day, the villagers gather at Manacho Khuris and say prayers with newlywed couples
bringing fruit and drinks known as ‘dhali’. It is blessed and a few are thrown in the well
marking the beginning of the jumping in the well. Musical instruments like ‘ghumot’ and ‘cymbals’ are used while villagers sing different songs related to the feast. They even maintain a record of how many people have not
celebrated the feast as newlyweds and are told to celebrate it even if they have been married for 50 years!
