Monti Fest, The Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary

Marian feasts are celebrated whole over the world. Certain feasts are more of cultural than theological. The Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary is both cultural and theological in its nature. Different cultures celebrate it differently. Tamilians call it Veilankanni Mata festival and Konkani speaking people call Monti Fest. Here is a short historical background to the feast celebrated by Konkani speaking people in India. 

Historical Significance of Monti Fest

Regarding the origin of the feast Monti Fest, The Nativity of Blessed Virgin Mary, there are three available traditions. According to one, the origin of this feast can be traced back to Montemarianno, the Capuchin Friar’s place in Farangipet, Mangalore. Fr. Joachim Miranda started this devotion which became famous as Monti Fest. According to the second tradition, the origin is traced to St. Mary’s Church, Bandra, where Portuguese along with Goans started this devotion. The third tradition dates back to 1510, where Alphonse Albuquerque conquered Goa and build a Church on a mountain in Old Goa 1519 and named it ‘dongrace amce mayece kopel’ (Capela de Nossa Senhora de Monte in Portuguese). Mountain is called Monte in the Portuguese language. So the feast of this church was called Monti Fest. Traditional gumta songs narrate these incidents.

Capela de Nossa Senhora de Monte

A Harvest Festival

Lots of Hindus were converted after the conquering of Goa. But the missionaries understood that to keep their faith strong accepting their culture was very important. So they incorporated their cultures into the feasts of mother Mary and Saints. Patolyanche fest – St. John Baptist, Polle fest or Almace fest – all souls day are part of such inculturation. 

Traditionally, Ganesha was the household deity or kula daiva of Hindus of this region. The converted Christians considered Mother Mary as their household deity. Lord Ganesha was offered flowers during the worship and sugar cane was distributed as prasada. Christians found these meaningful gestures to inculturate into their new devotion. Thus, over the years it became part and parcel of the tradition. Secondly, Konkani speaking people were not sugar-cane cultivating people, however, they were agriculturists. Therefore, harvest festival became prominent. Thus,  Ganesha festival which was linked to the harvest festival became Monti Fest which was the feast of the above Church. Today, Monti fest is associated with sugar cane, flowers and new corns (harvest).

Novem or New-rice and the Family Feast, Kutmacem Fest

Eating new-rice (novem) also has a rich meaning. On 25th February 1784 (Ash Wednesday) Tippu took all Konkani Catholics of coastal Karnataka into captivity to Srirangapattana, Mysore. The number was as much as 80,000. Many among these were martyred or died. On 4th May 1799 British killed Tippu in a battle. The surviving 15,000 returned to their native place. For the survival, they had to struggle. So they constructed new fields and sowed the seeds. When the work got over and the time came to reap the harvest, the first feast they got was Monti Fest. They used this feast to eat a family meal with all their relatives. So Monti Fest became a Kutmacem (Family) feast. As they lost many of their relatives in Tippu Captivity they also remembered all of them during this occasion. 

When Konkani language and Hindu culture was banned in Goa by the Portuguese rulers, those who did not want to sacrifice their language and culture migrated to North (Savantwadi) and South (Mangalore). However, those who migrated kept their language and culture alive including Monti Fest. Further, when Christians were being persecuted by anti-Christian elements, they got dispersed from one place to another. Some went south Canara and some to southern Goa and elsewhere. But wherever they went, once-a-year, they remembered everyone as a family. It was the fitting gesture to remember them on the day of the birthday of Mother Mary where Marian Nine days of devotion (Novena) had actually become famous. It helped the people to re-live new life by eating new-corn on this day by remembering all the near and dear ones.

There is a tradition among the Konkani speaking Christians to eat the new-rice or novem. There is a tradition among the Mangalorean Konkani Christians, called 'ghar bhorcheim' or filling the house can be called literally. As soon as the blessed paddy is brought home from the Church, the head of the family cleans the house altar and ties that paddy on to the Altar Cross, if not, places it on the altar with devotion. Then, the whole family gathers around the altar and recite the Rosary, read a passage from the Bible and conclude with a Marian hymn. This reminds them of their agrarian background.

Then a few grains of the newly blessed paddy is taken (usually odd number of paddies that are taken), powdered and mixed in milk or in a sweet item (payasam or otherwise known as vorn) and is distributed to all the family members. The distribution is done by the mother of the family. There is another cultural event that takes place during this day. If there is new-born baby in the family, the child is given the first meal and is called 'Bhurgyache Novem' (the new-rice feeding of the child), a celebration something similar in Hindu ritual called 'annaprasana' (feeding the child). The close relatives never miss this event.   

Thus, whenever the faith of Christians was tested by different elements or when the priests were unavailable to fulfil their spiritual needs, what kept their faith alive was their traditional cultural songs (gumta, mando, etc.), hymns (sakkad sangata melya, moriyek hogolsiya, etc.), novenas and Marian devotion. 

The Harvest Fest

Even today Mangaloreans eat various kinds of pure vegetarian dishes on this day for two reasons: as Agriculturists by profession and as traditional Hindu Brahmins before their conversion. Not only they celebrated the feast with their family, but also send the blessed paddy (Novem) to all the family members who are away or abroad. Before the novem jevonn, (new meal) they remember and pray for all the deceased members of the family.

Maria Bambina or Ballok Jezuci Imaz

Maria Bombina was modelled in wax in 1735 by a Franciscan nun, Sr. Izabela in Italy. It was a miraculous statue and therefore, devotion to this spread like wildfire. This statue was brought from Italy and used for Monti Fest Celebration in Monte Mariano Convent Farangipet, Mangalore. This convent was originally built by Franciscan Capuchins in 1526. 

So, for us Catholics, Monti fest is the Birthday of Mother Mary, Harvest Festival, Family Feast (Kutmacem Fest), Feast of Konkani Language and Culture that we got from our ancestors, Feast to remember all our family members who are away from us, Feast to remember the deceased members of the family, near and dear ones.

Message for the Day

Varieties of dishes: We prepare several varieties of tasty dishes on this day: Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, Pungent, Astringent. Let our life be filled with varieties of spices and tastes, every moment of joy and sadness both ours and others. In fact, the family is a mixture of all these tastes, joys and sadness. When we live these experiences happily every day becomes a feast day. 

Availability: Mother is always available to her children no matter what position they reach. Mary was available to her cousin, son and the church whenever they needed in all their adversaries. So too, may we be.

Preservation: Every experience Mary treasured in her heart. She has a beautiful ancestry. May we remember our roots, traditions, culture and language, and teach them to our younger generation. Let us not give it up for the sake of modernization. Let us teach our younger generation our mother tongue, culture, and stories associated with our culture. Our Konkani culture is an amalgamation of various cultures and traditions. Let us uphold this and keep the culture alive.  

Fr. Raju Felix Crasta