the goan I network
VASCO/PORVORIM
Keeping up with tradition down the ages, three children depicting the Three Kings and riding on horses to the Our Lady of Remedios Chapel in Cuelim, heralded the feast of Epiphany or the Three Kings feast on Sunday morning.
The feast was celebrated with great reverence and devotion, as hundreds of devotees participated in the services held on the occasion.
As is the tradition, three lads from the villages of Cansaulim, Arossim and Cuelim, representing three wise kings who had come following the guiding star to worship Baby Jesus on the feast of Holy Epiphany, arrived on horses amidst musical processions through three different paths and met some distance away from the chapel. The Three Kings feast is one of the biggest festivals in this village and is also called the feast of Gaonkars.
Speaking to the media, a devotee Savio Baretto said that the villagers have been celebrating the feast for around 450 years.
“Three children in the age group of 8 to 9 years are selected from the three villages of Cansaulim, Cuelim and Arossim. They begin their respective journeys to the church via three different routes, attend the mass and go back via different routes,” said Baretto.
The feast was also celebrated with equal zeal in Reis Magos church, which overlooks the river Mandovi and can be seen from the shores of Panaji. The Three Kings were represented by Nelson Andrade, Anish Fernades and Agnelo Machado.
The main celebrant at the feast mass, Fr Eucharistiano Gomes, delivered the sermon. Parish priest of Reis Magos church Fr Orlando Marques assisted him.
Later, while speaking to press persons Fr Marques stated that Reis Magos church was the first church in Bardez which was built by Franciscan Friars in the year 1555. This church has been declared as a national monument by the Government of India, he stated. He said the feast was a tribute to the Three Kings who came with gifts to see the Lord. “The most important aspect of this feast is that it is also revered by the Hindus.”
