CUNCOLIM: Sotreo the famous festival of Shree Shantadurga Kunkalnikarin was held on Monday with its usual gaiety and colourful abandon, with people of all religions paying obeisance to the diety.
All the 12 vangods (original inhabitants of the town) participate in this annual celebration as part of shigmo festival. Idol of Shantadurga is placed in silver palanquin and paraded from Bali to Cuncolim and after going through the entire city, it is taken back to Bali temple.
It is called Sotreo as each of the Vangodd carry a specific coloured cloth umbrella that is fixed atop a carved wooden post and twirled around as the person carrying it dances to the beat of the drums during the procession.
The procession starts from Fatorpa and covers the following wards of Cuncolim, namely Mollanguinim, Sidhnagar, Gotton, Bhiunsa, Voddy, Tolleabhat, Culvadda, Maddicotta, Demani, Pairaband, Cottiar before returning to Fatorpa.
The palanquin is placed on specially created platforms at different places along the route, where people from all religions gather to pay their respects.
Devotees offer aarti to the idol and also offer flowrs, agarbattis, coconut and banana bunches.
This festival, in a way traces the route taken by devotees during the Portuguse era when they took the idol from Cuncolim fearing Portuguese destruction and installed it at Fatorpa in Bali.
Sotreo also symbolises the communal harmony as large number of Catholics also participate in the festival as despite conversion to a new religion they continue to worship this goddess.