Sao Joao Festival in Goa

2021-10-03T10:35:22Z

2402:3A80:C90:ADBF:34FB:3E71:3EB2:AD34: Fixed caption and clarified that only young men do the post-Mass leaps

[[File:Kopels, the decorative crowns made for the Sao Joao festival in Goa.jpg|thumb|Goan Catholic man wearing ''kopel'' during São João festival in Goa]]'''San Janv''' or '''São João''' is an annual [[Catholic]] festival celebrated on June 24 in [[Goa]] in an unusual manner: After [[Mass in the Catholic Church|Mass]], young [[Goan Catholic]] men leap into and swim in local wells, streams and ponds as a tribute to [[St. John the Baptist]].

==Background==
The feast of São João is a celebration of the [[Nativity of Saint John the Baptist|birthday of St. John the Baptist]]. St. John was the son of [[Elizabeth (biblical figure)|St. Elizabeth]], a relative of [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary, the mother of Jesus]]. This feast is celebrated on 24 June. The significance of this date is that it falls three months after the [[feast of the Annunciation]] (25 March). At the Annunciation, the angel [[Gabriel]] told Mary that she would bear a son ([[Jesus]]), and that Elizabeth was already six months pregnant with a son ({{Bibleverse||Luke|1:36|KJV}}). Mary visited Elizabeth, and when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby St. John 'leapt' in her womb ({{Bibleverse||Luke|1:44|KJV}}).<ref>[http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/B/birthofstjohnthebaptist.asp Butler, Alban. ''Lives of the Saints'']</ref> The Annunciation itself occurs nine months before [[Christmas]], the feast of Jesus' birth.

When John grew up, he is described as living in the wilderness, wearing clothes of camel's hair, eating locusts and wild honey. John foretold the coming of the Messiah, Jesus. When Jesus was thirty years old, he was baptised by St. John in the [[river Jordan]].

The Nativity of John the Baptist is one of the oldest festivals of the Christian church, and there is record that it was already a big feast in the year 506 AD.<ref name=datehistory| >{{cite web|author=Fr. Weiser |title= Feasts of Saint John the Baptist|work= Catholic Culture: Liturgical Year |publisher=Catholic Culture |date= |accessdate=2008-10-02|url=http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=1125}}</ref>

The feast of São João in Goa coincides with the time of the year when the monsoon usually has commenced, there are fresh greenery and flowers in the surroundings, and wells and other water bodies are full. Consequently, the celebration of the birth of St. John in Goa apparently evolved to incorporate elements of celebration of the rainy season. Jumping in wells and ponds is symbolic of the baby leaping in the womb, and of the baptism in the river Jordan.<ref>http://www.goatourism.gov.in/festivals/christian-festivals/201-sao-joao</ref> Men only wearing ''kopels'' made of flowers, and other adornments and vestments made from plants is probably also a nod to the fact that St. John wore natural coverings instead of clothing made of fabric.

== Form of celebration ==

While the feast of Sao Joao is celebrated across the [[Catholic]] world on the same day, [[Goa]] is the only place<ref name="Mridula">{{Cite news|url=https://scroll.in/article/668612/goas-feast-of-sao-joao-has-wild-flowers-feni-and-jumping-into-wells|title=Goa's feast of São João has wild flowers, feni – and jumping into wells|last=Chari|first=Mridula|work=Scroll.in|access-date=2018-06-25|language=en-US}}</ref> in the world where it is marked by leaping into wells. On this day, groups of people go around singing traditional songs accompanied with instruments like [[ghumot]], [[mhadalem]] and [[kansallem]].

"Tourists think it is only about jumping into wells. But the prayers we say before that are for a good monsoon," Cecil Pinto, described as the local authority on the feast of São João, has been quoted saying.<ref name="Mridula" /> The festival has been described as being "quite popular among tourists from both India and abroad".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.timesnownews.com/the-buzz/article/sao-joao-in-goa-here-s-why-goans-joyfully-jump-into-wells-on-this-day-see-pics-monsoon-festival-saint-john-the-baptist-christianity-siolim-north-goa/245012|title=Goa celebrates Sao Joao today: Here's why Goans joyfully jump into wells on this day - See pics|access-date=2018-06-25|language=en-GB}}</ref>

[[File:Villagers at Saligao, Goa, serve food to all present during the Sao Joao (Vangodd de Saligao) festival in Goa.jpg|thumb|Villagers at Saligao, Goa, serve food to all present during the Sao Joao (''[[Vangodd de Saligao]]'') festival in Goa]]Chari<ref name="Mridula" /> writes that while the Sao Joao celebrations are "centuries old", a more recent tradition is followed in the village of [[Siolim]], in [[Bardez]] taluka, featuring colourful floats on boats. These festivities date back 175 years, when San Joao revellers from Chapora and Zhor villages of Anjuna, Badem in Assagao and Siolim would come in boats to the chapel of San Joao in Pereira Vaddo, Siolim, every year, to pay homage to the saint.

In the village of [[Saligao]], also in the [[Bardez]] taluka, the event is celebrated as the ''[[Vangodd de Saligao]]'', a village festival of music, dance and with the villagers often cooking enough food to feed all the visitors free of cost.

Sao Joao is also a celebration of thanksgiving for newly-weds, and for families with babies born during the preceding year.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.freepressjournal.in/travel/sao-joao-a-festival-in-goa-celebrated-by-jumping-into-wells-and-lakes/1301455 Sao Joao: A festival in Goa celebrated by jumping into wells and lakes; Sonali Pimputkar in ''FPJ'']
* [http://www.itsgoa.com/5-things-didnt-know-sao-joao-goa/ Five things you didn't know about Sao Joao in Goa, Lyndon J Pinto]

[[Category:Culture of Goa]]
[[Category:Religious festivals in India]]
[[Category:John the Baptist]]
[[Category:Festivals in Goa]]

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Sao Joao Festival in Goa