By Sushila Sawant Mendes
It always intrigued me, why a commercial capital has so many chapels, temples, churches and mosques? Margao and its adjoining areas has 40 chapels, of which 8 were dedicated to St Sebastian alone, 14 temples, including a math, 4 churches, including a monastery, 3 mosques (with the number increasing) 3 cemeteries, 2 Muslim kabrastans and a Hindu crematorium. This information has been carefully mapped by the unassuming heritage and cycling enthusiast, Lynn Barreto Miranda. Margao has indeed been blessed by all faiths! Apart from minor skirmishes, peace and social harmony has been the hallmark, perhaps a great facilitator of commerce and trade, as businesses and customers function beyond religious boundaries.
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In the month of May, the feast of the Holy Cross is celebrated in almost every village in Goa and this is a time for the Bomboicars to come home and participate. Another feast celebrated on a smaller scale is that of Saint Sebastian on 20th January and in some churches on the first day of carnival, locally referred to by some as the ‘Carnival Saib Fest’. I always wondered why there were so many chapels dedicated to St Sebastian in and around Margao? All entrances to Margao city have St Sebastian Chapels, two on the Fatorda side, two in Comba and one each in Aquem, Comba, Murida and Tolleband. St Sebastian’s miraculous healing prowess is also associated with a fresh water spring called Torsan Zor in Aquem where a frame with the saint’s picture stood fixed at the rock. After centuries of veneration, the Aquem St Sebastian Chapel was elevated to a Church on 3 November, 2003.
Frequent outbreaks of plague, cholera, and malaria devastated Old Goa between the 16th and 18th centuries. This forced the Portuguese to shift the capital to Panjim in 1843. Areas in and around Margao also faced frequent plagues and pestilence. During a severe outbreak of plague and smallpox in Margao, people turned to St Sebastian, leading to the disease subsiding. St Sebastian became the patron saint of plague victims in Goa. The 1896 Bombay plague spread rapidly along trade routes to various parts of India, including Goa. The 1918-1919 Spanish Flu pandemic (locally known as gripe) severely impacted Goa, including areas around Margao and Raia. A memorial pillar stands outside the present cemetery in Raia, constructed in memory of the Spanish Flu victims. The pandemic in Goa led to mass exoduses, in some cases, the abandonment of villages. It also affected villages like Chorão and Divar. Salvador de Mundo or Saloi has stories of mass graves on hillsides where victims were buried when cemeteries reached capacity. During the outbreaks, the Portuguese administration in Goa implemented strict sanitary reforms, including rat-catching rewards and isolation of the infected in “houses of isolation.”
Villages like Benaulim (St Sebastian Chapel in Ollembhat), Carmona, Varca, Chichinim, Orlim, Assolna, Velim, among others celebrate this feast with luminaries. In North Goa, it is celebrated in the dedicated Chapels like in Pernem in the Korgao Parish, in Fontainhas, Panjim and also in Calvin and Marna, both in Bardez. In Loliem, Canacona, the Church is dedicated to St Sebastian. The ‘Bombiamcar fest’ in Bandfoll, Chichinim celebrated today, is dedicated to a St. Sebastian Chapel.
Almost every Church has ‘luminaries’ (with light) or ‘religious processions’, held after sunset with lanterns dedicated to St Sebastian. One day is dedicated to each ward of the village when the statue of the saint is taken in the morning and brought back to the Church in a procession in the evening. In Cavelossim, the route of the luminary which traditionally started and ended in the Saicovado Chapel was changed to be ended at the Church, leading to a lot of friction between the Parish Priest along with the Parish Council and the locals. Earlier contributions collected by each ward were literally burnt on firecrackers, foznem and lit vafors. Today the money collected is used to distribute snacks. People of the ward staying in the city till today come back to the village on the day assigned to their ward. In the coastal belt, the sea-farers arranged their annual holidays according to the day assigned to their ward. In Calvaddo, Cavelossim, every 16th January it is homecoming day. Fond memories still remain of the late Antonio Afonso, making a cardboard model of the Chapel, in which the saint was taken in a procession. Sea-farers vied with each other to buy big electrical torches, in the absence of electricity and for safe lighting of the fire-works.
The famous Dindi festival in Margao has its origins in this plague. In 1909, a prominent businessman, Shamba Shet Lotlikar, initiated a religious procession with the deity’s photograph to pray for the town to be rid of the plague epidemic. It also grew from the Varkari traditions when many Goans could not travel to Pandharpur for Kartiki Ekadashi. This tradition continues today when the Shree Vithal-Rakumai deity is taken in a palanquin procession from Hari Mandir, Pajifond to the Vithal temple in Comba and back the next day. Thousands of devotees come together for a night long celebration of music, kirtans and bhajans. It has been recognised as a State festival, last year, after 116 years of its existence. So both Hindus and Catholics took out processions of deities, with fervent prayers to be healed from the plague.
For centuries, Christians have honoured St Sebastian, as he was invoked for intercession in Rome (680), Milan (1575), and Lisbon (1599). The plagues were halted and the people were freed from the pestilence. Sebastian was from Narbonne, Gaul (province of the Roman Empire), a staunch Christian who desired to assist those being persecuted for the faith. He joined the Roman army, to have access to the jailed Christians. However he was soon caught and tied to a post, blindfolded and shot at by archers. A holy woman named Saint Irene came to bury his body but finding him alive nursed him back to health.
On recovery, Sebastian publicly rebuked the Emperor Diocletian for his persecution of Christians. He was now sentenced to be beaten to death with cudgels. On the 20th January 287 AD, Saint Sebastian was killed. He was the only saint to be martyred twice. His body was thrown into the Cloaca Maxima, an underground drainage channel in Rome, from where it was removed by St Luciana and buried in the catacombs of Callixtus. A beautiful Basilica was later built there, an important pilgrimage site till today.
In Lubrín, a municipality in Spain, every year on 20 January, there is a festival when the statue of Saint Sebastian leads a procession and people hurl bread rolls from their balconies to the crowds. This festival originated in medieval times after a plague of cholera when the wealthy threw bread to the poor on the streets below, so as to avoid contracting the disease. The San Sebastian ‘bread festival’ has since been declared a Fiesta of National Tourist Interest.
St Sebastian is also the patron saint of archers, soldiers, police, athletes and those seeking a holy death because of his physical endurance and steadfast faith until martyrdom. In the late 20th century, he became a patron saint for people living with HIV and AIDS. His story highlights unwavering faith, strength, stamina and perseverance, courage and justice in the face of persecution. He is depicted by master artists all over the world.
When science gives up, faith comes in. Plague was termed the Black Death. Religiosity, faith and belief ensures the courage to fight against life’s odds and the courage required in the face of death. The courage of conviction and commitment of St Sebastian to his Christian faith is today emulated by people who consider him their patron and also those who face adversity. It is said that faith can move mountains.
(Dr Sushila Sawant Mendes is a Professor & Author in History and Recipient of Goa Govt’s Best Teacher Award)
