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REMEMBERING SAM JUANV & LATE C. ALVARES…I . The feast of Sao Joao celebrated on 24th June, was earlier called Zanv’ianche Fest, the feast of sons-in-law. It was held virtually in every village,first by taking part in the solemn mass in the local Church( during our young age the feast was preceded by a fast)and boys wearing colourful wreathes and jumping in the wells. Aurora Maria Couto in he latest book ‘ Goa A Daughter’s Story ‘says ‘this feast coincides with a period in the hindu calendar when the newly married hindu girl is brought back to her parental home, with sexual relations restored only when her husband comes to take her back. The monsoon season appears to be considered inauspicious even to conceive new life. The Catholic celebration has adopted this practice in its own way; the newly married couple is invited to the home of the girl’s parents; the sons-in-law of the village wear a crown of leaves and are taken to the well where they are dared to jump in. If they hesitate, they are pushed in: a sort of unwilling separation from the wife. There are myths and explanations for this celebration. One of them relates to St. John to the jumping in joy in his mother’s womb, which is symbolized by the well; another relates to the baptism of St. John in the river Jordan. The fact remains that fertility, a reluctant stoppage of sexual relations and a joyful reunion are commemorated in this feast that heralds the seeding time of the monsoon.’ This feast have a special flavour in the riverine life of some villages like Siolim, Candolim, Ribandar etc.where they rig up a ‘sangodd’, a platform of boats on which groups sing songs. During our younger days on 24th June around noon-time, we lads of Tabavaddo-Mollebhatt went round the wells of the wards accompanying the sons-in-law and singing joyfully some rhymes like “ Sam Juanv Konkari Buddhegele( or instead of Buddhugele, the name or nickname of the household was invoked) Baint Re Natali, Sam Juanv Konkari Budhugele Baint Re Natali” and finally calling the name Sao Juanv we then jumped in the well. This Buddugeli baim in Mollebhatt, Donddachi baim in Donvaddo etc were the famous wells where young ones learnt there to swim and the thrill and joy it gave to the swimmers as well as on-lookers and helpers with ropes, all this, our good friend Annette D’Souza so beautifully described earlier in one of her postings Every family in the ward then distributed jackfruits or fernadino or malghues mangoes to all and and goan milk,” naka sokoilem’ to the elders. Boys did jump, this year, in the wells in Saligao and Don-vaddo pond to keep up the tradition and the saligao spirit in motion just shouting Sam Juanv. However the song” Sam Juanvcho Dhobazo” that is on everyone’s lips on Sam Juanv Day, in Goa, is the one composed by none other than our famous Saligao Konkani Duet King , the late C.( Celestino ) Alvares & Party .Through the singing of this song which is broadcast on Radio every year, the traditional feast of Sam Juanv is kept alive till this day. Viva Sam Juanv. … to be continued Fr. Nascimento Mascarenhas, Vasco da Gama, 25-06-2004. |
