Mapusa Milagris Feast commences today

NT NETWORK
Posted on 2009-04-27
PANAJI- Tomorrow is the day of one of the most famous feasts in the state, Mapusa’s Milagris Feast. Catholics celebrate this feast of Mother Mary as Milagris Saibinn in Mapusa while to non-Christian Goans, Milagris Saibinn is Tulzai Sateri Devi.
That the religious divide does not exist here is best demonstrated as during the feast Catholics offer garlands of the firecracker flower or Ratan Abolim and candles, or wax replicas of body parts while Hindus do all that and also do Abhishek of the statue with coconut oil.
The Mapusa Church, is officially dedicated and named as the Church of St Jerome, but is popularly known as the Milagris Church. The reason: the Milagris feast, which often coincides with the Sirigao zatra is the most popular feast of the Mapusa parish and is celebrated with great pomp and festivities for three days, from Monday to Wednesday, starting 16 days after Easter. It is the feast for the traditional purchase of provisions and grinding stones as per the Goan tradition of “Purumentachem fest” as is the feast of the Holy Spirit in Margao.
History and tradition tells us that from times immemorial Goans have worshiped the living gods. Mother Earth, or Sateri is worshipped in the form of the Royenn or termitorium and according to Hindu mythology forms of Sateri include Kelbai and the twin sister Tulzai and Lairaee. Traditionally the temple of Shree Lairai Sateri, at Sirigao, some 2 kms from Assanora on the Panaji-Valpoi Highway will come alive with its Sirigao or ‘fire-walkers’ zatra on April 29.
The Mapusa River, tributary of the river Mandovi is the natural East and Southern boundary between Mapusa and Moira, Bastora and Guirim. There is another rivulet near Cunchelim between Mapusa and Siolim, but the other sides are mostly land boundaries that are being obliterated in the present century.