MELAKA: The Portuguese community in Melaka observed The Feast of the Assumption – also known as the “Sugarcane Feast” – amidst the absence of the usual large crowd due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Local historian Joseph Sta Maria (pic) said the pandemic had forced the celebration to be a low-key affair with no church service at the Assumption Church along Praya Lane in Bandar Hilir, here on Sunday (Aug 15).
“The annual procession has also been deferred since 2020,” he said in an interview on Sunday (Aug 15).
However, Sta Maria said the community continued to place sugarcane around the Church’s compound.
“Assumption Feast Day is celebrated by Roman Catholics all over the country.
“Uniquely at Praya Lane, this celebration is observed by the Melaka Portuguese community each year by decorating the Assumption Church compound with sugarcane, the only Catholic Church in the country to do so,” he said.
He said the sugarcane was normally blessed by the priest and would be distributed to the congregation after the Church service in previous years.
Sta Maria said the Assumption Church was built in the 1800s according to a renowned historian, the late Father Pintado.
He said the sugarcane was significant in the celebration based on one account which goes back to the Dutch occupation of Melaka in 1641.
Sta Maria said the Portuguese community being Catholics, supposedly had to seek refuge in secret places such as sugarcane fields to carry out their religious obligations during the era.
“Catholicism was prohibited in the early years of the Dutch rule in Melaka. During that time, the Banda Hilir area was an area where sugarcane was in abundance,” he said, adding that the feast is held steadfast with heritage and traditions kept alive by the community.
