In Goa, the feast of St. John the
Baptist is marked more with fun and revelry than prayer and devotion which precede
the social celebrations of feasts of other saints. Of course the liturgy of the day gives due
prominence to the saint. And in many places the festivities end with the
traditional litany. Jumping in the wells or the pools, and consumption of
liquor have become activities associated with the event over the years.
The undesirable activities associated
with the feast of São João have been discouraged and even
eliminated at least in some villages of Goa. In the Goncoi ward of Aldona, for example, the
practice of burning the ‘judev’ on the eve of the festival has been
discontinued since the late 1980s. ‘Judev‘
was an effigy that was taken to all the houses in the ward to collect
coconuts which were then auctioned, and the money used for revelry the next day
with loud full throated expressions of ‘Viva São João’ along with distribution
of fruits and liquor. The above
mentioned ward was also incidentally one of the very first to stop distribution
of liquor after any litany in the ward chapel, about twenty-five years ago.
The tourism and hotel industries have
now taken upon themselves to celebrate the traditional revelry of São João. The commercialization
of yet another festival. The liquor industry may not be far behind. And all
this on the occasion of the feast of a great prophet and saint, who was an
ascetic to the core. Revelry and fun activities are very much required by the
tourism industry during the monsoon season. The message of John the Baptist is
also very much relevant for our times but it may be convenient to ignore it, or
drown it in our wells and pools.
John the Baptist spoke the truth
about the society of his times. He was a Jew living in his land which was under the occupation of the Romans.
Besides being his cousin and contemporary, he was the forerunner of Jesus
Christ. “He lived in the desert until the day when he appeared publicly to the
people of Israel” (Lk 1:80). His food was locusts and wild honey. He knew his
calling, the work he was required to do, and did not wish to step into the
shoes not meant for him. He announced to the people, “The man who will come
after me is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to bend down and
untie his sandals” (Mk 1:7). No one up attitude but humble service for a great cause.
He spoke fearlessly denouncing
whatever was wrong in the society of his times and calling for change. It had
to be change of heart and change in society. Obviously he was not liked by the
powerful. But he had his followers along with whom he built a counter culture
which, although from the margins of society, had the potential to become a
threat to the mainstream. Such a reformer as this had to be contained. But the
powerful were also afraid of his popularity among his numerous followers. But
his arrest did follow on some pretext or the other as it happens in such cases
at all times and in all places. “Herod himself had ordered John’s arrest, and
he had him chained and put in prison. Herod did this because of Herodias, whom
he had married, even though she was the wife of his brother Philip. John the
Baptist kept telling Herod, “It isn’t right for you to be married to your
brother’s wife!” So Herodias had a grudge against John and wanted to kill him,
but she could not because of Herod. Herod was afraid of John because he knew
that John was a good and holy man, and so he kept him safe. He liked to listen
to him, even though he became greatly disturbed every time he heard him” (Mk
6:17-20).
Eventually Herod had John’s head cut
on the promptings of Herodias, a story that is well known and written in Mark,
chapter 6, verses 21-29. When truth became too inconvenient John the Baptist
was beheaded. It is something that also happens in our times. We have prisoners
of conscience, political prisoners, reformist leaders in exile, whistle blowers
eliminated, intrepid journalists murdered, and so many other similar types. The
world today speaks against such practices and sometimes succeeds in winning
freedom for this type of personalities. But only in a few and famous cases like
Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi.
It is ironic that we commemorate John
the Baptist with revelry. It is less challenging to organize and participate in fun activities than to
remember his inconvenient truth, revere him, and feel concerned about those who
are suffering for a cause in our own times.
Published in The Navhind Times, Panorama 24.06.2012
No comments:
Post a Comment