The crown worn during Sao Joao is an ubiquitous part of the feast day attire. The copel (crown) worn by revellers denotes the crown of martyrdom of St John the Baptist. One specimen that adorns the crown is a creeper locally known as the
.
“It is found growing in wells usually towards the end of summer after the first onset of seasonal showers. Back in the day we used to make crowns of any locally available flowers.
The creeper was easy to twist and form into a crown. It has also small red flowers which further help to beautify the crown,” says Maria de Lourdes Bravo da Costa Rodrigues.
The creeper is used for the headgear worn during Sao joao
Though some used the
vaal
, as it was readily available in the vicinity. This creeper was readily available in the vicinity of wells and very easy to weave into a crown on the spot. Back in the day locals would make their own crowns, it was not the commercial enterprise it has become in recent times. The tradition probably caught on from there,” says Mathew Dias from Raia.
The tradition of using the
vaal
has been passed on from generation to generation. “My folks told me that it is believed by some that the creeper was also worn by St John the Baptist,” says Amersha Fernandes from Chandor, who has been using the been using this
vaal
to make her crown this year.
