St. Anthony, pray for us!

The island of Kachchatheevu lies 40 nautical miles off main land Sri Lanka. Once supposedly belonging to the Ramanad Kingdom of Ramanathapuram District in the pre Indian independence era, today the Island belongs to Sri Lanka by an agreement struck in 1974. One might say the island is unremarkable. A barren stretch of land covered with thorny shrubs, with little vegetation, Kachchatheevu’s beaches are covered in corals and surrounded by the rough seas of the Palk Strait. The 285 acre island is uninhabitable, with no source of fresh drinking water and the scorching heat. 

Island of Kachchatheevu

However, despite the squalid conditions every year, thousands of pilgrims from India and Sri Lanka flock to the island to worship at the only man made structure on the island. The decrepit shrine built by an Indian Catholic called Srinivasa Padaiyachi, is the site of the annual feast held in honor of St. Anthony. At the shrine dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua the patron saint of seafarers, those who gather, mainly fisher folk, pray for safety and bounty in treacherous seas they encounter daily.

The annual feast was recommenced in 2010 after the end of the long drawn war in the island. According to the Sri Lanka Navy the last time the feast was held before the war was in 1985. This year, as before, the feast was held with the patronage of the Sri Lanka Navy. The Navy provided the pilgrims with food, drinking water, sanitary facilities, security and even electricity to make their stay more comfortable. The Navy this year is said to have provided 150,000 liters of water to the devotees.

St. Anthony - Patron Saint of Seafarers

While the Vicar General of Jaffna Justin Gnanapragasam presided over the final mass held on March 16, thousands of pilgrims gathered around the shrine to pray to the deity they braved the rough seas to get a glimpse of. Also attending were Sri Lanka Army Commander Lieutenant General Daya Ratnayake, Sri Lanka Navy Commander Vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage, various other senior officers of the armed forces, and a large number of clergy from India as well as Sri Lanka.

“This is a place of brotherhood, and a meeting place of worshippers,” Vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage said at the feast, adding that the armed forces had put immense effort to facilitate the event. “Over 5,300 people from both countries have come together in a sense of brotherhood to pray,” he said. Adding to this Northern Naval Commander Rear Admiral DMS Dissanayake said the event creates a bond between the people of both countries and should be carried on for future generations. “The event has grown a lot since it started with the number of pilgrims increasing every year,” he said.

Likewise fisher folk from both countries had gathered on the island, putting aside their various differences. While the groups have had various issues between them in the recent past due to the constant battles regarding maritime boundaries it was heartening to see them pray to one deity, standing shoulder to shoulder. “We have no problem with or anger towards Sri Lankan fishermen,” said a fisherman from Rameshwaram.

Devotees

But what makes this shrine special? What is it that makes the people take the long and difficult journey here in thousands? It is no easy pilgrimage. While the seas are rough, the journey through the sea in trawlers can be dangerous. Once they arrive the conditions are no better. Amid the sweltering heat, they erect their camps under trees and in thorny foliage.

Father James, a parish priest from Rameshwaram who had led a group of pilgrims, said 500 more people accompanied the group on their journey than last year. “We come here as Catholics have a special devotion to St. Anthony and his miracles are well known,” he said when asked why people make this difficult journey, amid various hardships to the island. “It is also the season of lent, and it is time for pilgrimages,” he added.

Sister Helen from Rameshwaram concurred with Father James’s statement saying she has a firm belief in the powers and miracles of St. Anthony through personal experience. “That is why I visit this shrine,” she explained. Makeshift stalls come up on the island during the feast, selling various goods such as food, clothing, accessories, toys and unexpectedly even tattoo parlors!  Interestingly the visiting media personnel were told there is a huge demand for Sri Lankan made Rani branded sandalwood soap from Indian pilgrims.

Toy seller PR Liyanage had traveled all the way from Kandy. “Business is good, and I have made a reasonable profit by selling 3D puzzles,” he said. According to him this is his second visit to the island for trade. Chrison from Rameshwaram had arrived at the island for worship as well as for trade. “I brought Shalwar material to sell,” he said before running off to tend to his stall as pilgrims were returning to shop before they embarked on their journey back home.

However the amount of polythene strewn around was a disconcerting sight. The disposal bins provided appeared to be insufficient resulting in polythene and other non-degradable items being discarded all around the island. However the Northern Naval Commander Rear Admiral DMS Dissanayake assured the Navy will thoroughly clean the island. “The Navy and the Neduntheevu Provincial Council will do an extensive clean up of the island at the end of the festivities,” he reassured.

Another concerning factor was the amount of thefts reported, which we from the media were able to experience firsthand as a journalist’s recorder was snatched while she was speaking to the people attending the feast. A policeman stationed in the island said theft has been in fact a huge problem during the time. “A lady whose gold chain was snatched last year even made an inquiry today regarding it,” he said adding that a large number of such thefts are reported each year. If so then it is questionable why security was not beefed up to prevent such events from recurring. However it is commendable that the Sri Lanka Navy was able to retrieve the stolen recorder during their cleanup efforts, which had been tossed away by the thief.

God does not see caste, creed or religion of a person; he accepts and heeds all who flock to him. As said in the bible ‘Whoever comes to me I will never cast out.’ (John 6:37)

In our multi cultural society it is not uncommon to see those of other religions visiting religious places of various beliefs and Kachchatheevu is no different. St. Anthony’s feast on Kachchatheevu is proof enough that people from all walks of life can co-exist. Peace prevailed for two days among feuding sides leaving us with hope that an answer for the issues between the fisher folk is possible. Balasubramaniam from Chavakachcheri is a Hindu by birth. However he had made the long journey to Kachchatheevu along with his family to, as he said ‘see the Christian deity’ he had heard so much about.

“We may believe in different deities and belong to different religions but I strongly believe we all go to the same place after death,” he says with wisdom perhaps that has come with age. “Our prayers go to the same God, so I have come here with much devotion just as a Christian,” he said. It leaves one wondering if a war would have been fought in this beautiful country if everyone had been wise as Balasubramaniam.

Balasubramaniam

© 2014 Maneshka Borham