Ráia is a quaint village situated in the Salçéte taluka of South Goa district in India. It is located 4 Km East from the district headquarters of Margão and 35 Km from the state capital, Panjim. This quint village boasts of its magnificent Igreja de Nossa Senhora das Neves, built in 1699. It was consecrated by Archbishop Agustinho de Anunciação. Among other devotions in Ráia, the devotion to Nossa Senhora das Neves (Our Lady of Snows) is greatly visible in this parish, being dedicated to her.
The Our Lady of Snows Church in Raia originally had four Confraternities, each having distinctly colored Opas and Murças. The names of these Confraternities are – Confraria do Santissimo Sacramento (Blessed Sacrament) whose members wore a deep red single piece sleeveless Opa, Confraria da Nossa Senhora do Bom Parto (Our Lady of good delivery) whose Confrades wore a red Murça over a white Opa, The Confraria do São Miguel e Santas Almas (St. Michael and the Holy souls) which wore a Blue Murça over a white Opa and the Confraria da Nossa Senhora de Piedade (Our Lady of Piety) whose confrades wore a white Opa and a white Murça. The Confraria de Santissimo Sacramento was the Confraria managed exclusively by the Brahmin community. As of today, all the above-mentioned confraternities have been dissolved to create just one wholistic confraria without and cast based distinction.
The staple food of Goa as everyone knows is rice, fish and curry. The cultivation of rice begins in the month of June, and reaches maturity by mid of August which is ready for harvesting during the months of September and October. It seems that the month of August is known for celebrating newness. But what’s really new in August? Well, it is the paddy crop which is on its way to maturity and gradually to the date of its harvest. The new harvest that is, and hence the month of August is known for celebrating newness or ‘novidade’.
Different parishes in Goa celebrate the ‘novidade’ on different dates in August. On this day the Parish priest visits a demarcated paddy field and blesses the new crop. A bundle of blessed paddy sheaves is brought to the church where they are distributed among the congregation (one sheave per family). The family then places this blessed paddy sheave onto their family altar or oratory (sheaves of the previous year are burnt). The mother of all celebrations is that, carried out in Raia a village in South Goa on the occasion of the feast of Our Lady of Snows, on 5th of August, every year.
The parish of Rachol, celebrates their ‘novidade’ on the Sunday following August 05. Aldona celebrates it on Aug 06. On the 10th of August, the parish of Sinquerim, North Goa, dedicated to Saint Lawrence, celebrates the ‘novidade’. Most of the parishes across the state celebrate the ‘novidade’ on the 15th of August, i.e. the feast of Our Lady of Assumption. Finally, the last day for celebrating the new harvest is on 24th August, the feast of Saint Bartholomew, celebrated on the following Sunday (if 24th happens to be a weekday) in parishes like that of Betalbatim, South Goa, where the parish church is consecrated to Saint Bartholomew.
In the early 17th century, Raia was struck with a famine. It was during this time that the Jesuits from Rachol played a crucial role in serving the residents of Raia. At that time the church of Raia was nonexistent. The rector of the college of St. Ignatious, Fr Gaspar Soares was mainly involved in reaching out to those residents of Raia, who were in need.
The grandest of all feasts that is celebrated in Raia is the Feast of Our Lady of Snows which is also the feast of the Novidade (newness) or the Harvest festival which also known as Conçãchem Fest in Konkani. However, this feast is not celebrated by any of the Confrarias of the church, but rather by the Fabrica of the Igreja da Raia. However, even though the Confrarias are not actively involved in the feast celebration, they do play an important role for this feast. The Confrarias are required to take part in the salve during the novenas while on the day of feast the Confraria de Santissimo Sacramento would lead the procession to the Saibinchi kongi (the field where the paddy to be blessed is cultivated), where the ritual of the blessing of the konnos (sheaves) is done. Only few Confrades holding the processional banner, the Processional cross and the staff belonging to the Confraria de Santissimo Sacramento were allowed inside the boundary of the Saibinchi kongi along with the priest. All other Confrades were made to stand outside so as to avoid overcrowding.
However, by the early two thousand, Confrades from all Confrarias entering the Saibinchi kongi was not a rare site. As by this time the Confrarias were open to all castes as the number of Brahmin Confrades was declining drastically. After the feast mass, the Confraria leads another procession, in honor of Our Lady of Snow as it is also the feast of the patroness of the church. Members of the Confraria along with members of the Communidade (traditionally appointed by the escrivão (clerk) head in a procession accompanied by a brass band, to present the newly cut paddy sheave to the Church of Our Lady of Snows in Rachol in a way to acknowledge the fact that the Ráchol Church was the former parish Church of Raia before the construction of the current Raia church. In Ráchol the sheave is received by the Parish priest in presence of the members of the Ráchol Fabrica. The konos is also distributed to the other parishes neighboring Raia such as the church of Camorlim, Loutolim, the Ráchol Seminary etc. The offering made to Rachol seminary is probably a symbolic gesture acknowledging the concern and care provided by the then rector of the seminary, Fr. Gaspar Soares, during the famine in the 17th century. From the Raia church paddy sheaves were also sent to the governor’s palace in Dona Paula and to the Kamakshi temple in Shiroda.
Local folklore mentions that there was once a major decision to be taken as to whether Raia or Ráchol should be given the privilege of celebrating their novidade first. Finally, since both the churches were getting their roofs ready before the approaching monsoon, it was decided that the church which covers its roof first, would be given the chance to celebrate their new harvest on an earlier date. Getting to know this, the Raikars decided to cover their church roof with coconut palm fronds, so as to win over the residents of Ráchol. Thus, the Raikars won and were allowed to celebrate the feast before Ráchol.