When St Peter takes a ride on Goa’s Sangodd

The traditional Sangodd to mark the feast of St Peter and St Paul was celebrated with pomp and gaiety in the villages of Goa as the villagers gathered on the banks of the river with the statue of St Peter, the patron saint of netmakers shipbuilders, and fishermen

Published on:

29 Jun 2024, 10:22 pm

ASSOLNA

Our Lady, Queen of Martyrs Church, Assolna celebrated the Feast with Mass at 7.30 am followed by a procession with the St Peter statue with Litany and prayers at the chapels. At 2.30 pm, Fr Romeo Godinho blessed the fishing equipment and canoes including the two new canoes that are named Sao Pedro and Sao Paulo and were used for the Sangodd. This was followed by live Konkani songs by Ajoy and Holly and a Brass band on the Sangodd. In the evening, at Passagem, also called Tariwaddo, the crowds were entertained with a musical show by Holly and troupe, with Ajoy on the keyboard and Jazel with vocals. A cultural programme was organised by Colleavaddo.

CANDOLIM

Sangodd’ was organised by the St Cruz Chapel Committee, in St Sebastian Ward. The tradition of celebrating ‘Sangodd’ dates back to over 150 years and was followed by their forefathers. The ‘Sangodd’ began with a prayer at the St Cruz Chapel where hymns were dedicated to St Peter and to the Holy Cross. From there, the procession proceeded to the Orda jetty ramp, where four boats are prepared for ‘Sangodd’. This year, the live performance included Aston Soares from Borda, Anil Pednekar, Baby Maizy from Candolim who was the youngest singer, Webster, Cipriano, Shawn, Lynne, Josefa, Francis, Ruth, Agustin de Calangute and Anil Pednekar’s daughter, Anaya. The opening song was sung by singers from Candolim, Simon, Mathew, Tracy, Milagrin, Celine, Inaya and veteran singers, Vincent and Lourence.

RIBANDAR

The celebrations began as Fr Francis Jacinto Dias, parish priest of Nossa Senhora de Ajuda Church, Ribandar took the statue of St Peter in a procession onto the two boats that were tied together in the river along with the brass band. The Sangodd took a ride in the river right from the well decorated jetty opposite the church to the Goa Institute Management, where it took a turn and came back to St Peter’s Chapel. Holy water was sprinkled on the river to bless it and the fishermen dipped their fishing nets into the water and prayed for safety and a great catch for the entire year. The hymns of Sts Peter and Paul were sung on the Sangodd. Once back to the church, during the Eucharistic celebrations, some fishermen offered replicas of canoes, fishing nets and even fresh fish. The evening activities began at 4 pm when all the villagers got together for a procession in the traditional canoes in the river known as 'Traditional Sangodd'. The litany was recited in the evening at 7 pm at St Peter Chapel, Ribandar followed by dinner.