SAO JOAO - Pre

Photo Credits: SAO JOAO - Pre_1

There's a spirit of festivity in the air, as the locals, both young and old await, undeterred by the heavy monsoons, eagerly await the celebration of one of Goa's most popular festivals, Sao Joao.

Celebrated annually on June 24, Sao Joao – the feast of St John the Baptist has an interesting origin. According to the Bible, St John is said to have leaped with joy in the womb of his mother Elizabeth when Mother Mary came visiting. And it is in commemoration of this incident that fellow Goans jump into wells, ponds and other large bodies of water on this day.

The festival of Sao Joao is also associated with various other traditions. In honouring newly married couples, newlywed brides go around the locality distributing goods like mangoes and jackfruits while the grooms distribute hard drinks like feni and the mothers-in-law prepare completely traditional Goan lunches for their new sons-in-law.

Siolim in North Goa with its traditional boat festival witness to one of the most popular celebrations of Sao Joao in the state. "This year marks 25 years since we began these celebrations," informs Caraciol D'Souza, a resident of Siolim and one of the organisers of this years event. "This year tiatrists like Seby de Divar, Comedian Joanna and Tomny de Ribandar will be attending the event. Manohar Bhingri will be doing mimicry while Johnny be Good and Bhuska will entertain with Konkani music,” D'Souza informs adding that there will also be folk dances and a showcase of local talent.

The traditional boat races also have prizes up for grabs. "The first prize will consist of Rs 25000, the second will be Rs 15,000 and the third prize will be Rs 10,000. There will also be prizes for kopel making in senior and junior categories as well as a prize for the person who comes from the furthest point of Goa, apart from other spot prizes. The day will end with a fireworks display," says D'Souza, adding that the event would not have been possible without the support of Sylvester Fernandes, the president of the Siolim San Joao Traditional Boat Festival and Cultural Organisation. According to Fernandes, “It is a completely people oriented event and we do not take sponsors. Everything is done through donations. The day we go commercial, the spirit of Sao Joao will die.”

Closer to Panjim,

We have been organizing this event for the last three years. This time we will be having the biggest artificial pool measuring 20 feet by 20 feet. There will also be a foam dance and a rain dance as well as a pool for kids. And because we want to keep it traditional, we will be serving only traditional Goan food at the event,” says Alina Nazareth of Dias events. The event will see

providing musical entertainment along with DJ's like DJ Mack, Paulo, Midfunk etc.

The village of Socorro in North Goa, however, plans to celebrate the festival slightly differently. "Instead of jumping in to wells, and given the shortage of water in the world, we we will be organizing a talk on water pollution and harvesting. Ours will be a Sao Joao with a difference,” states Marius Fernandes of the Succoro Socio-Art and Cultural Association adding that they will also be distributing small fish (that can be put into wells for cleaning them) to all those attending the event.

The village also plans to celebrate a

Jackfruit Festival) on the occasion of Sao Joao. "New dishes made out of jackfruit will be prepared such as jackard i.e. jackfruit jam, while old ones will be revived. As jackfruit wood is used to make furniture there will also be a carpenter on the spot. This is a community based and eco friendly festival. We have no chief guests, no sponsors, no prizes, no competitions and no alcohol. It is a festival to share and revive what Goa has lost,” informs Fernandes adding that the tradition of Goan dulpods are also slowly being lost. "In fact, there was a small dulpod singing workshop held in the village last weekend because we noticed that many of the youth nowadays don't know how to sing these songs."

And if you want to go out and have a blast post all the patoloeos, wthis Sao Joao night you can head over to Sync, Candolim, which will be holding

with DJs' Ryan Nogar, Joel Goa, D-Troy etc spinning the decks. Or head down south to Woodbourne Country Club, Nuvem for the

for some great music by Goa's popular bands and DJ's.

And if you want to go out and have a blast post all the patoloeos, wthis Sao Joao night you can head over to Sync, Candolim, which will be holding

with DJs' Ryan Nogar, Joel Goa, D-Troy etc spinning the decks. Or head down south to Woodbourne Country Club, Nuvem for the

for some great music by Goa's popular bands and DJ's.

For other Sao Joao related events, check out the listings at the bottom of the page.