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Zatra of Cansaulin
Introduction
The Feast of the Magi on the 6th of January takes the form of the Zatra of Cansaulin near Margao in Goa. This feast is celebrated in gay abandon in this part of Goa and is saturated with much local participation which is responsible for the fervor and rich color that this festival attains in Cansaulin.
Background
The visit of the Magi, or the three Wise Men (traditionally named Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar) who arrived in Bethlehem from different parts of the world to adore the baby Jesus is marked as the revelation of God to humankind and is celebrated as the Feast of the Magi on the 6th of January, also known as the Twelfth Night or Epiphany marking the end of Christmas festivities. In the Eastern Christian Churches who hailed 6th January as the day of Christ’s birth, this feast took up the event of the Birth of Jesus up to his Baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist. The Feast of the Magi now also marks the beginning of carnival festivities.
Activities
Three young boys, aged between 8 to 10 years, are selected from different villages and are dressed in wigs and gaudy garments to as the three Magi. They are then entrusted with gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense for the Child-God which they are required to carry up to a church located on a hillock. Inside the church is kept the figurine of baby Jesus. Their entering the church is the signal for the villagers to begin the festivities. Dance, music, fire feats, fire walking, fire eating, permeates bubbly merrymaking at the Zatra of Cansaulin. For the boys who are selected to be the Magi, this feast is no little event and preparations for the final showdown begin well in advance.
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