I had just arrived home from college today when I suddenly came to know that Mother Mary's statue is coming to my neighbor's place. This really excited me as it was the first time that I was getting to experience it in Goa . It is a tradition very much prevalent in Goa particularly in the villages where in the months of September and October the statue of Mother Mary visits the houses of the people living in that particular village and along with the statue come a group of people with candles singing beautiful hymns in praise of Mother Mary.
So I and my mother set off to the neighbour's place in our village of Parra where we waited for the statue to arrive. In the meantime, we got a chance to meet many people from our village we don't get to meet otherwise such as Nobert, one of the neighbours who just lives nearby and Mary, an old friend to my mother. These are the people that my mother knows about very well considering the fact that she was born and brought up in that village itself, but I personally felt very happy seeing all the people coming over to the place and all were mostly waiting outside the gate for the statue to arrive after which they would come in a procession with candles and flowers heading towards the house.
Finally the car came and out stood one of the brother's of that house with the statue. He took a few steps forward with the statue and once he moved forward, behind him came in a procession all the visitors with candles lit up singing a hymn dedicated to Mother Mary and heading towards the house. When they reached the entrance, the statue was handed over to the head of the house which was the man's mother who garlanded it and carried it all the way to the hall. It was so nice to see how they carried the statue to the house after which they started off with a few prayers in Konkani that marks the entrance of Mother Mary to the house followed by the rosary.
It was really nice to see all the people, especially the small children saying the prayers in the local language of our state and I personally felt ashamed considering the fact that I don't know the language (I know the prayers of Our Father and Hail Mary though) but nevertheless, I give respect to the people who know the language and I personally felt that at one point there was a sort of an emotional attachment or bond that was keeping us together when saying the prayers in the local language. That's what I actually observed as at that point I felt that we all are Goans, we have a unique identity and culture and the fact that we speak our local language is a great thing as we can connect with each other and understand each others emotions and feelings. In other words there is something common that actually binds us all together as Goans. This is something that I realized after this experience.
Once we finished with the prayers, each one of us present went in a line to kiss the statue of Mother Mary after which all of us sat down and were offered a tray consisting of some delicious food items particularly the croquettes and the green chutney sandwich which were really very tasty. After that, people started leaving as it gets dark very soon and especially it being a village, the fear of encountering unchained dogs and accidental trampling over snakes could be high.
Nevertheless it was a really nice experience which cannot be forgotten and cannot be compared to the same in U.A.E, taking into consideration the traditions and the customs that make this practice a unique one.
PS: Below in the clockwise direction, the first two pictures were clicked at the house as described in my account and the last picture was clicked at another person's house who too I went for their Mother Mary's statue.
It was really nice to see all the people, especially the small children saying the prayers in the local language of our state and I personally felt ashamed considering the fact that I don't know the language (I know the prayers of Our Father and Hail Mary though) but nevertheless, I give respect to the people who know the language and I personally felt that at one point there was a sort of an emotional attachment or bond that was keeping us together when saying the prayers in the local language. That's what I actually observed as at that point I felt that we all are Goans, we have a unique identity and culture and the fact that we speak our local language is a great thing as we can connect with each other and understand each others emotions and feelings. In other words there is something common that actually binds us all together as Goans. This is something that I realized after this experience.
Once we finished with the prayers, each one of us present went in a line to kiss the statue of Mother Mary after which all of us sat down and were offered a tray consisting of some delicious food items particularly the croquettes and the green chutney sandwich which were really very tasty. After that, people started leaving as it gets dark very soon and especially it being a village, the fear of encountering unchained dogs and accidental trampling over snakes could be high.
Nevertheless it was a really nice experience which cannot be forgotten and cannot be compared to the same in U.A.E, taking into consideration the traditions and the customs that make this practice a unique one.
PS: Below in the clockwise direction, the first two pictures were clicked at the house as described in my account and the last picture was clicked at another person's house who too I went for their Mother Mary's statue.
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