When the rains delay, to St Anthony they pray 11 Jun 2009, 0311 hrs IST, TNN
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Time was when prayers moved mountains, even the water. So, when the sun
continued to scorch the earth in June, people craving for the rains would
pray devoutly to St Anthony.
In a colourful and interesting tradition, the faithful would carry a statue
of the miracle worker', singing: Saiba mhojea Sant Anton, Deva lagim magon,
paus ghal, paus ghal' (Dear St Anthony, intercede to God, to send us rain)
around the village. Wending their way to some water body, they would dip the
saint's feet in. "We would then return to a nearby cross and recite the
litany," recalls Vaca-based Socorro Cardoz. "When you pray to St Anthony, a
worker of miracles, he intercedes for the faithful," he adds.
Historians believe that the practice may have started with Goa's
Christianisation. "St Anthony is part of our old Christian tradition and is
popular as a saint who wrought miracles lavishly," says historian Percival
Noronha.
People staunchly believed that if the monsoon did not set in early, it would
rain at least by June 13, St Anthony's feast day, explains Fr John D'Silva,
parish priest of Our Lady of Assumption Church, Velsao. Adds Noronha, "If it
didn't rain by then, people would set out in prayer to the saint."
Fr D'Silva, a priest who has compiled the invocations to St Anthony and
other saints in a book, says there are two distinct styles of singing in
Bardez and Salcete while Tiswadi has a blend of both. "The invocations have
been given a local flavour," he says.
Praying for rain was deeply rooted in the state's agricultural background
and people's deep religious belief. "Every Goan in the old days was an
agriculturist and subsisted on it," Fr D'Silva says.
Fr Nascimento Mascarenhas, a church historian recalls the penitential
processions held to pray for rain in his village, Saligao. "People then
would ascend the hills to the crosses atop, carrying stones on their heads,"
he recalls. The invocations would end with an ejaculation: "We have sinned
oh Lord and have pity on us and send us rain!"
The activity in the field was poetry in motion to some old timers. "When it
rained, it was a beautiful sight to see the ploughing, the bulls being
coaxed.. dhiri... and the soil being turned and everything so green," fondly
recalls Fr Mascarenhas.
Variations to the invocations to St Anthony were reported in some places. In
Raitura, the faithful would carry an image of Jesus Christ in a procession
as a last resort praying for rain.
Says Vincy Quadros, a Konkani poet, "The procession would wend its way to
the jetty nearby and it would rain."
In places such as Quepem and Assolna, villagers would carry a statue of Our
Lady in a bamboo basket to the water.
Such traditions are fast fading today. The older generation and a section of
the clergy are saddened by the loss of a sense of divinity among the younger
generation. "The modern generation feels everything is occuring
scientifically," regrets Fr D'Silva.
Explains Jayanti Naik, a folklorist, "As time changes, our lifestyle and
outlook change, too. Our ancestors may not have known the reasons behind
natural phenomenon then, which our youth do today."
However, Fr D'Silva feels it is not a welcome shift in human orientation.
"We have lost our innocence and orientation towards God," he bemoans
--
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