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Monti Fest: Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary — The Cultural Identity of Konkani Catholics: Its Origin and Development
On September 8, Catholic and Orthodox Churches around the world celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In Goa, during the 16th century, this feast was known as Monti Fest. Unfortunately, the name has now been largely forgotten in Goa, where the feast is generally referred to simply as the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Diocese of Sindhudurg, it is now known as the Feast of Our Lady of Vailankanni.
Today, however, Mônti Fest is the most popular and important cultural and family feast among Konkani Catholics of Karnataka. It must be noted that 98 to 99 per cent of Konkani-speaking Catholics and Hindus of Karnataka are originally from Goa. They migrated from Goa to Coastal Karnataka from the 16th century onwards for various reasons, including:
- Famine: The famines of 1553 and 1630–31 (Teotonio R. de Souza 2009: 30; Pius F. Pinto 1999a: 24; B.S. Shastry 2000: 257).
- Declining food production: Food production in Goa declined considerably (B.S. Shastry 2000: 257).
- Economic hardships: Conversion deprived converts of much of their former status. Portuguese noblemen and ministers showed greater respect to Hindus than to Christians (Teotonio R. de Souza 2009: 196).
- Humiliation and ill-treatment: Conversions also brought humiliation and ill-treatment, and converts were treated as captives (Machado A. 2015: 106). Hence, migration was one of the options.
- Epidemics: Epidemics occurred in 1543, 1545, 1570, 1583–88, 1618–19 and 1635 (Pius F. Pinto 1999a: 23; B.S. Shastry 2000: 257).
- Maratha invasions: Goa faced invasions by the Marathas in 1667, 1683 and 1739 (Teotonio R. de Souza 2009: 30; Machado A. 2015: 102–104; Pius F. Pinto 1999b: 18).
- Adil Shah’s invasions: Adil Shah of Vijayapura (formerly known as Bijapur) invaded Bardes and Salcete in 1570 and again between 1654 and 1659 (Teotonio R. de Souza 2009: 30; Pius F. Pinto 1999b: 17; Alan Machado 2015: 102).
- Natural disasters: Two severe cyclones, accompanied by earthquakes, occurred in April 1649 and July 1654 (Teotonio R. de Souza 2009: 30).
- The Inquisition: The Inquisition was introduced in 1560 (B.S. Shastry 2000: 257) and abolished only in 1812. It was intolerant in its religious attitude and sought to impose a Portuguese form of Christianity on the new converts of Goa by force. It also sought to eliminate traces of local culture. Names, food habits, social customs, and even dress were expected to conform to European Christian standards. This created a sense of fear and insecurity. Thus, to escape from this tyranny, migration became an option (Pius F. Pinto 1999b: 14–17).
- Imposition of Portuguese language and culture: The Portuguese sought to impose their language and culture on the local population and suppress native languages through the decree of June 27, 1684 (Teotonio R. de Souza 2009: 67; Pius F. Pinto 1999a: 24).
- Excessive taxation: Excessive taxation was imposed by the Portuguese (Pius F. Pinto 1999a: 15–16; Alan Machado 2015: 99).
- Social discrimination: Portuguese Christians were not fully prepared to accept native Christians as social and cultural equals. They practised social discrimination as long as native Christians sought to maintain a separate identity through their language, customs and manners (Pius F. Pinto 1999b: 16–17).
- Population pressure: Goa also faced population-related pressures (Pius F. Pinto 1999: 18).
- Welcoming policy of the Keladi Nayakas: The Nayaka kings of Keladi welcomed cultivators and skilled labourers from Goa, including carpenters, fishermen, masons, potters, goldsmiths and businessmen (Pius F. Pinto 1999: 19–20). The religious liberalism of the Nayaka kings provided an incentive to migrate.
Agricultural land was scarce in Goa, while fertile land was readily available along the Coastal Karnataka region. The Keladi kingdom also faced a shortage of skilled labourers. This void was filled by migrant Christians (Pius F. Pinto 1999: 18).
- Availability of capital: The Konkani-speaking Christian migrants did not come to the Keladi kingdom empty-handed. They had cash at their disposal, which they invested in the Keladi territory. Therefore, the Nayakas of Keladi wholeheartedly welcomed Christians from Goa into their kingdom (Pius F. Pinto 1999: 19).
- Scarcity of rice in Goa: Goa faced a scarcity of rice, and local food production was insufficient for more than four months of the year. Rice from Kanara helped sustain Goa (Alan Machado 2015: 105). This situation also contributed to migration to Karnataka.
- Contribution to the Keladi kingdom: Christian farming migrants, through their discipline, hard work, honesty and skills, contributed significantly to the prosperity of the Keladi kingdom (Pius F. Pinto 1999: 19).
- Political considerations: The Keladi kings knew that it was politically advantageous to invite Christians from Goa because they were familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of the Portuguese (Pius F. Pinto 1999: 20).
- Business opportunities: A considerable number of Konkani Brahmin families from Goa migrated to Cochin for business (Keni 2008: 275).
- Resistance to conversion: In the 1560s, several influential Brahmins who resisted coercive conversion laws were expelled from Goa (Machado 2022: 295). Many families from Goa who did not want to convert migrated to neighbouring areas of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Konkani-speaking Hindus migrated from Goa to Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala as early as the 10th century (Alan Machado 2015: 97). The Catholic Konkani-speaking migrants who came from Goa took Mônti Fest with them to Coastal Karnataka. Today, these Konkani Catholic settlers of Coastal Karnataka are spread across India and around the world, celebrating Mônti Fest with great enthusiasm wherever they have settled.
Konkani as the Cultural Identity of Konknnis
Unfortunately and, I believe, incorrectly, Konkani people of Coastal Karnataka are often labelled as “Mangaloreans”. Mangaluru is the district headquarters of Dakshina Kannada district. It is unfair to label Konkani people living in Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Shivamogga, Mysuru, Bengaluru, Chikkamagaluru, Dharwad, Belagavi, Kodagu, Hassan and elsewhere—many of whom have nothing to do with the city of Mangaluru—as “Mangaloreans”.
Moreover, “Mangaloreans” and “Goans” are regional identities rather than cultural identities. In India, cultural identity is primarily based on linguistic affinity. For example, Gujarati speakers are known as Gujaratis and Sindhi speakers as Sindhis, irrespective of their place of birth or residence.
In this sense, all Konkani-speaking people, as well as those who belong to a Konkani-speaking lineage, may rightly be called KONKNNIS.
Goa Archdiocese and Monti Fest
Priests from Goa fostered Monti Fest in Coastal Karnataka while serving in the region until 1838. In 1838, Dakshina Kannada district—with Mangaluru (then known as Mangalore) as its headquarters—was separated from the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Goa.
Similarly, on September 19, 1953, Uttara Kannada district, with Karwar as its headquarters, and Belagavi district were separated from the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Goa, and the Diocese of Belagavi was erected.
Despite these developments, Mônti Fest continued to be one of the most popular feasts in Coastal Karnataka. Let us now examine how Mônti Fest originated in Goa.
The Arrival of the Portuguese
On November 25, 1510, during his second attempt, the Portuguese army commander Afonso de Albuquerque (1453–1515) conquered Tiswadi from Adil Shah of Bijapur (now Vijayapura). Soon after the conquest, he ordered a chapel to be built in honour of Our Lady as thanksgiving for his escape from Kamaran Island in the Red Sea.
Thus, between 1510 and 1519, Capela de Nossa Senhora do Monte (the Chapel of Our Lady of the Mount) was built on a hillock in the City of Goa, now known as Old Goa. Albuquerque died on December 16, 1515. According to his will, he was buried in the chapel. In 1566, his body was moved to the Nossa Senhora da Graça Church in Lisbon.
The Chapel of Our Lady of the Mount was probably reconstructed twice. It was of the size of a church and, in fact, served as a parish when the City of Goa was densely populated. Since the chapel stood on a mount, and monte means “mount” in Portuguese, the chapel was called in Konkani Mônti Saybinničhem Køpel (the Chapel of Our Lady of the Mount).
It had three altars. The main altar was dedicated to Our Lady of the Mount, while the side altars were dedicated to St Anthony of Padua and St Anthony the Hermit.
Because of this chapel, the universally celebrated Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady on September 8 came to be known in Goa as Mônti Saybinničhem Fest, or Monti Fest.
Daily Mass was celebrated when the chapel functioned as a parish in the 16th century. The feast is now celebrated in the chapel on the Sunday following September 8. In addition, an evening Mass was celebrated on the eighth of every month. I do not know whether this practice continues.
Until 2001, the chapel was in ruins. A restoration project was subsequently planned and funded by the Fundação Oriente in association with the Government of Goa. The restored chapel still stands in Old Goa and has become famous for hosting the much-acclaimed Monte Music Festival, which seeks to integrate Indian and Western forms of classical music. It attracts performers and music lovers from various countries. The chapel has also served as a backdrop for several Bollywood films.
The Arrival of the Jesuits
In 1543, the Portuguese conquered the Bardes and Salcete regions from Adil Shah. Together with Tiswadi, these regions came to be known as the Velhas Conquistas (Old Conquests).
On May 6, 1542, Francis Xavier, the first Jesuit priest of the Society of Jesus, arrived in the City of Goa. He was followed by many other Jesuits.
In 1552, Fr Gaspar Barzeus (1515–1553), a Jesuit priest of Dutch origin, came to Goa. He was a good preacher and a talented person. Francis Xavier appointed him Rector of St Paul College in the City of Goa and Vice-Provincial of the East Province of the Society of Jesus.
Fr Barzeus died in Goa on October 18, 1553. During his lifetime, he introduced music education at St Paul College. He was responsible for introducing cultural elements that contributed to the creation of a Latin-Indian culture, including plainchant, polyphony, Western musical instruments such as the organ, piano, trumpet, guitar, violin, viola, harp, shawm, flute, vihuela, lute, harpsichord and percussion instruments, as well as Western musical forms such as the oratorio, cantata, villancico and even opera.
He made the liturgy more lively by initiating the custom of sung Masses and chants accompanied by the organ, as well as instituting the post of choir master (mestre capela).
Drama and music were effectively combined in the Passos (sufferings). Passion plays were enacted with the aid of images, including scenes from the Last Supper, the Agony in the Garden, the Scourging at the Pillar, the Crowning with Thorns, the Ecce Homo, the Judgement of Pilate, the Carrying of the Cross, the Crucifixion and the Entombment. These ceremonies were first performed with great pomp in the monumental Church of St Paul College, now in Old Goa, by the Jesuits (José Pereira 1995: 9–20).
Fr Barzeus and Mônti Fest
Mônti Fest, with its tradition of offering flowers, was introduced by Fr Gaspar Barzeus in commemoration of the Nativity of Mother Mary on September 8.
He asked newly converted Catholic boys to come to the church in two long rows, dressed in white tunics and crowned with chaplets of flowers, as “angels” carrying bamboo baskets filled with flowers. They would walk in procession, two at a time, to the statue of Mother Mary in the Jesuit church of St Paul College, empty their baskets at her feet and return to their places, singing “O Gloriosa Virginum.”
The reference to this custom is found in Jesuit letters written to the Superior General of the Society of Jesus and published in Documenta Indica, Vols. 70–72.
This custom of bringing flowers was borrowed by Fr Barzeus from the local Hindu festival of Ganesh Chaturthi and adapted to the newly introduced Catholic religion.
Ganesh Festival and Mônti Fest
According to the Indian calendar, the month of Bhadrapada begins after the month of Shravan, corresponding approximately to August–September in the Gregorian calendar. On the fourth day of Bhadrapada, Ganesh Chaturthi, known in Konkani as Chøvøt, is celebrated.
It is one of the most important, popular and beloved festivals along the western coast of India among Hindus. Since it is a family festival, people residing far and near return to their ancestral homes to celebrate it.
Before the festival, houses are cleaned, painted and decorated. On the first day of Chøvøt, the idol of Ganesh is normally installed in the ancestral family home. The festival lasts for 1½, 3, 5, 7, 9 or 11 days and is celebrated with great splendour.
Every day, fresh local fruits, flowers and sweets are offered. Local vegetable dishes are prepared. Items prepared or offered to Ganesh are generally presented in odd numbers—1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and so on.
The Harvest Festival (Nøvyačhi Pøn’čhøm’) is celebrated the following day. Newly harvested paddy is brought home from the fields and worshipped. A few grains are added to the day’s meal. The sheaves are artistically tied to bamboo sticks and decorated with wild flowers. They are placed above the main door and removed the following year after new grain is obtained, with the belief that the household will have an abundance of rice throughout the year.
Pure vegetarian meals are served on banana leaves or other leaves, and sweet dishes are prepared. During the festival, non-vegetarian food and alcohol are strictly avoided.
In the Old Conquests of Goa during the 16th century, the Feast of the Nativity of Mary was celebrated on September 8 and was known as Mônti Saybinničhem Fest.
Chøvøt and Mônti Fest occur close to each other in terms of their dates and share certain customs. Fr Gaspar Barzeus adapted the existing local Hindu tradition of offering fresh flowers to Ganesh and applied it to the veneration of Mother Mary in the Christian tradition.
The Jesuit missionaries who spread Christianity in Goa took care to retain or adapt local cultural traditions. Mônti Fest is one of the best examples of this.
Some cultural traits of Ganesh Chaturthi are reflected in Mônti Fest as celebrated by Konkani people who migrated from Goa to Coastal Maharashtra and Coastal Karnataka.
During the nine days of the novena preceding the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, Fr Barzeus encouraged Catholic boys to bring flowers to the Church of Our Lady of the Mount to honour Mother Mary. Fresh flowers were brought every day. Within a short time, this tradition became popular among Catholics in the churches of the Old Conquests.
In those days, newly converted Catholics of Goa ate only vegetarian food on September 8. Gradually, under Portuguese influence, this custom disappeared.
Today, during the nine days of the novena and on the feast day, the sprinkling of flowers has been replaced in several parishes in Goa by the practice of each person placing a flower at the feet of the statue of Mother Mary.
The Feast of the Nativity of Mary in Modern Goa
In Goa, Mônti Fest is now known by names such as “Saybinničhya Zølmačhi Pørøb,” “Fulančhem Fest,” or the Feast of Our Lady of Vailankanni.
Catholics in Goa do not combine the Harvest Festival, known as Kønnsančhem Fest, with Mônti Fest. The Harvest Festival is celebrated in August.
Raia village in Salcete has the privilege of celebrating it first, on August 5. In Salcete, it is mostly celebrated on August 15. In Bardes, Aldona and Salvador do Mundo are among the first to celebrate the Harvest Feast, on August 6. In Tiswadi, the feast is celebrated mostly on August 24. However, the village of Taleigão has the privilege of celebrating this festival from August 21 to 24.
The priest blesses the new paddy crop and harvests a few sheaves of grain.
In Goa, this feast among Catholics is celebrated by the Gaunkars (original settlers) on a rotational basis. The Gaunkar who celebrates the feast in a particular year is expected to offer a lavish lunch to the other Gaunkars. Other parishioners have no role in it.
Thus, unfortunately, the Harvest Feast among Catholics in Goa is limited largely to the Gaunkars rather than being a celebration involving the entire parish community.
Coastal Karnataka and Mônti Fest
In Coastal Karnataka, Mônti Fest is combined with Nøvem, the Harvest Festival, and is celebrated by Catholics with great enthusiasm and joy in their respective parishes.
It is a family feast that unites family members. Therefore, as far as possible, family members who live far away prefer to return home for the celebration. This custom too has its roots in the Ganesh Festival.
There is a misconception in Karnataka that Fr Joaquim Miranda, a diocesan priest of the Archdiocese of Goa who served at Farangipete in Dakshina Kannada district, started Mônti Fest in Coastal Karnataka. This misconception is far from the facts.
When the ancestors of Konkani-speaking Catholics migrated from Goa to Karnataka, they brought cultural traditions with them and adapted them to this feast. Fr Miranda was a well-known missionary who served in Dakshina Kannada district and must have given the festival considerable impetus by integrating local customs and rituals.
I do not know exactly when Konkani Catholics of Coastal Karnataka combined the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Harvest Festival. Certainly, Fr Joaquim Miranda was not the originator of Mônti Fest in Karnataka but its promoter.
Maria Bambina Statue and Monti Fest
In the 19th century, the Sisters of Charity of St Bartholomew Capitanio and St Vincenza Gerosa, a congregation from Italy that came to Mangaluru to establish convents, brought the statue of Maria Bambina to Mangaluru.
Multiple reproductions of this statue were produced by Simon and Company and at St Joseph Workshop in Mangaluru. It is a beautiful statue of the infant Mary in a sleeping posture in a cradle.
During the novena days, children search everywhere for flowers. As a boy, I myself would walk two or three kilometres after school in the evening in search of flowers, especially golden trumpet flowers, hibiscus, plumeria, marigold, periwinkle, tiger claw and balsam.
When these flowers were not available, my mother would ask us to collect wild sesame and pumpkin flowers. In her simple faith, my mother would tell us that Mother Mary accepts all flowers brought to her with faith and love.
We children, took those flowers with great reluctance because other children would laugh at us. In the morning, especially, children came with their parents to the church for the Novena Mass, carrying flowers artistically arranged in baskets or plates.
After Mass, the children processed into the church compound singing the popular Marian hymn “Søkkødd Sangata Mellyam” and laid a flower at the feet of the statue of Baby Mary, known as Maria Bambina.
This hymn is a translation of the English hymn “Let Us Mingle Together”, first rendered in Mangaluru. From there, the hymn spread to Mumbai and Goa. In Goa, it was adapted as “Søgllim Sangata Mell-ia”, with a few of the original words replaced by local Konkani expressions.
After laying the flowers, the children stood in a horseshoe formation around the statue of Baby Mary and sang “Møriyêk Hôgôllxiyam”, sprinkling flowers around the statue three times.
The priest then incensed the statue, and the novena prayer was recited. Finally, the priest gave a blessing, and the novena for the day concluded with the singing of a Marian hymn and the kissing of the statue.
This novena ritual continued for nine days. With minor variations, the same custom continues today in many places.
Feast Day Celebration
On September 8, the feast day, sheaves of new corn are kept on a table near the grotto of Mother Mary or in an open area of the church compound. People gather there, while children arrive with their flower baskets.
The priest blesses the new corn, which is then carried in procession to the church while Marian hymns are sung. The children sprinkle flowers during the procession.
The Feast Day Mass is then celebrated.
After Mass, each family is given one or two sheaves of blessed corn, which they carry home. In some parishes, sugarcane or the sweet dish “vorn” is served to everyone, especially children, by the sponsors.
On the feast day, various vegetable dishes made from local vegetables are prepared in odd numbers—1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and so on—as is done during the Ganesh Festival among Hindus. A sweet dish called “vorn” or “pays” is also prepared.
Most Catholic families traditionally eat only vegetarian meals on this day. However, in the northern parts of Udupi district and Uttara Kannada, Catholics may also prepare fish curry using fresh fish, possibly because rice and fish curry form part of their everyday staple diet. If fresh fish is unavailable, dry prawns may be used instead.
Meat dishes and alcohol are not served at the feast.
In some places, the blessed corn is peeled, mixed with milk and served to family members after a prayer is said before the family altar. In other places, the peeled corn is added to the sweet dish “vorn” or to other dishes. The remaining corn is placed on the altar.
Traditionally, lunch is served on a banana leaf. For those who cannot attend the feast at home, a few grains of blessed corn are sometimes sent to them by post.
My parents faithfully sent blessed corn to me from the time I joined the Jesuits in 1971 until they died in 2004.
The customs associated with this festival have changed according to location, time, circumstances and local traditions. For example, banana leaves used for meals have been replaced by plates. In cities, the feast is often celebrated on the Sunday following September 8.
Mônti Fest is now celebrated by Konkani Catholics of Karnataka throughout India and abroad, including in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, each community observing it in its own way. This includes places where non-vegetarian dishes are also served.
In Goa, the cultural importance of this festival has, in my view, largely been lost. However, the feast continues to be preserved among Konkani Catholics of Karnataka, especially those in Coastal Karnataka.
The core of the feast—the honouring of Mother Mary with flowers—continues both in Goa and elsewhere.
In Goa, there were two churches dedicated to Our Lady of the Mount: one at Old Goa and another built by the Jesuits at Chinchinim in 1590. Later, the Chinchinim church was dedicated to Our Lady of Hope. The reason for this change is not known to me.
I do not know how many chapels in Goa are dedicated to Our Lady of the Mount. Outside Goa, many churches are dedicated to Our Lady in the dioceses of Karwar, Udupi, Mangaluru, Belagavi and Sindhudurg, where Konkani Catholics constitute a significant presence.
Surprisingly, as far as I know, not a single parish in these dioceses is dedicated to Our Lady of the Mount. Why? It remains a great mystery to me.
Mônti Saybinn (Our Lady of the Mount) is originally a native Konkani term from Goa. Unfortunately, the terms Mônti Saybinn and Mônti Saybinničhem Fest are gradually declining in use in Goa, while the name Vailankanni Saybinn, which originated in Tamil Nadu, is gaining prominence among Catholics.
It is true that Mother Mary is known by hundreds of names, but a name of Goan origin should also be preserved and popularised.
Here, the role and leadership of the diocesan clergy are important. Unfortunately, this does not appear to be happening. The probable reason could be summed up by the saying, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.”
Bibliography
de Souza, Teotonio (2009). Medieval Goa: A Socio-Economic History. Saligão: Goa 1556.
Keni, Chandrakant (2008). The Saraswats. Vasco da Gama: V.M. Salgaocar Foundation.
Machado, Alan (2015). Slaves of Sultan. Saligão: Goa 1556.
Machado, Alan (2022). Goa’s Inquisition: Facts – Fiction – Factoids. Saligão: Goa 1556.
Pereira, José (1995). Baroque Goa: The Architecture of Portuguese India. New Delhi: Books & Books.
Pinto, Pius Fidelis (1999a). Desan’tør Thavn Bøn’dhøddêk (Køravølli Kørnatøkantle Konknni Kristanv). Mangalore: Samanvaya Prakashan.
Pinto, Pius Fidelis (1999b). Konkani Christians of Coastal Karnataka in Anglo-Mysore Relations (1761–1799 A.D.). Mangalore: Samanvaya Prakashan.
Shastry, B.S. (2000). Goa-Kanara Portuguese Relations 1498–1763. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.
By Pratapananda Naik SJ
The Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa
Re-edited on September 1, 2026
The Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa
Re-edited on September 1, 2026
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