Fr Apollo Cardozo
Touxeachem Fest “ the feast of Cucumbers, is associated with the feast of Saint Anne, the wife of Saint Joachim and the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In Hebrew, Anne is written as ‘Hannah’, which means ‘grace’ or the ‘favoured one.’ While in the Catholic Church the feast of St Anne is celebrated on July 26, here in Goa, it is celebrated on the last Sunday of July, with palpable gusto accompanied with traditional customs, rituals and offerings, not just by Catholics but by people of other faiths too. The devotees believe that Saint Anne is spiritually very powerful and miraculous too, hence they come to her to plead for a child, a husband or a wife simply makes an offering to St Anne.
Tracing the roots
The canonical books of the New Testament make no mention of Anne and Joachim as parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, an oral tradition dating back to the second century holds that Joachim and Anne were her parents. According to apocryphal ‘Gospel of James,’ Mary’s parents were sterile and she was born in a miraculous way. Joachim went to the desert where he prayed and fasted. After forty days of his fast, an angel appeared to him and said that his prayer was heard. Mary was the answer to his prayers and fasting.
There are numerous legends too that speak about the grandparents of Jesus, Joachim and Anne. One says that Joachim and Anne, despite being pious and well off, were childless for 20 years. Hence they were ridiculed both by society and the priests in the temple, calling their ‘childless state,’ a divine displeasure. After many years Joachim got a dream that he would be blessed with a child, who would be in service of God. After Anne gave birth to Mary, the couple gave the child to the service of the Temple in Jerusalem when she was three years old.
Rituals and Customs
There are quite a number of churches in Goa dedicated to the Saint, like the Churches in Parra, Ponda, Bodiem, etc, but it is the Santana Church in Talaulim that over the generations, has attracted thousands of devotees from across the state.
At Talaulim, near Goa Velha, on the feast day, it is not just the grandparents who come to seek blessings for themselves from Saint Anne, but devotees of all ages and from all walks of life that come to touch the miraculous statue and relic of the saint and seek favours. The customary prayer or plea made to the Saint is ‘do ut des,’ which means ‘I give you that you may give us.’ The devotees, depending on their desires and the intercession they seek for themselves from the saint, offer any of the following items: pepinos, urid, manilha, culher, agarbati, flowers, candles and coconuts. The most common item that is offered is a Touxem (Cucumber); hence the name Touxeachem Fest. They offer cucumbers as they are available in plenty in the markets during the monsoon season and also at the stalls put up by the vendors in the church vicinity.
The prayer and offerings
The newly married couple and those that are barren, lamenting for not having children, offer to Saint Anne pepino - a tender cucumber, imploring for a male child. Their prayer is Senhora toma pepino, Dai ca menino. (Lady, take this cucumber, give me a child). The cucumbers are blessed at the feet of the saint and then taken home for consumption. Couples, blessed with the child, also come with cucumber offerings, to offer their gratitude to the saint. Those who desire a girl child, since there are only boys in the family, will offer the saint a manilha “ a small bangle with the prayer, Senhora, toma manilha, da ca filha, (Lady, take his bangle, give me a girl). The bachelors, seeking a life partner offers a colha “ a wooden spoon, with the prayer, Senhora, Toma colher, da me mulher (Lady, take his spoon, give me a wife), while the spinsters who desire a successful marriage partner offer ‘urido dal “ black grams and their prayer is Senhora, toma urido, dai me marido (Lady, take this dal, give me a husband).
(The writer is a Jesuit and director at Thomas Stephens Konknni Kendr, Porvorim)
