Leon Bent –
Agera (East Indian: आगेरा) is a thanksgiving harvest festival celebrated by the Roman Catholic community of Mumbai, primarily the East Indians. This traditional harvest festival is held in the beginning of October, when the grain is ready for harvesting, and lasts for five days.
This Agera Harvest Festival is celebrated by East Indian families all over Mumbai, Vasai, Ghas, Nallasopara, Virar, Boisar and Dahanu (Mumbai and now Extended Mumbai). The festival would commence with the priest in every Parish community, going down to the fields, to bless the newly harvested crop and giving thanks to God, along with the farmers and villagers.
After coming together in prayer, the community would celebrate with delicious food, singing and dance.
The word Agera is derived from the Latin words “Ager” which means field or farm, and “Agricola” which means Farmer. Agera falls on the first Sunday of October. It is normally called the Harvest festival where farmers cut their crop, and offer the “first fruits” to God (Deut.26:1-14). By giving the “first-fruits” as an offering to God, the Israelites acknowledged that all the harvest—in fact, everything they had—came from God and belonged to Him.
The offering of ‘first-fruits’ was likewise an expression of faith that, something else—the harvest of the rest of the crop—would come later. ‘First-Fruits’ is a religious offering of the first agricultural produce of the harvest.
In classical Greek, Roman, and Hebrew religions, the ‘first-fruits’ were given to priests as an offering to deity. The symbolic meaning of harvest in Scripture encompasses two main areas: God’s provision for us and God’s blessing for others (Ezek. 44:30).
While we celebrate the harvest season just once a year, we experience the spirit of harvest all the time. What is harvesting in the Church? It is a day on which many churches show solidarity with those without food, and distribute the harvest donations they have collected among charitable organizations. The harvest festival is one of the oldest holidays still celebrated today, in some parts of the world, even India. It is a day on which rural churches in particular are well attended.
So, what is ‘first-fruits’ in the Bible? The ‘early-yield’ may be mentioned when pastors talk about ‘generosity.’ “When you come into the land which I give you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the ‘first-fruits’ of your harvest to the priest” (Leviticus 23:10).
The concept of ‘first-fruits’ is rooted in ancient biblical times, when people lived in an agrarian society. Harvest time was significant because of the hard work, the farmers had poured into their crops all year, began to pay off. They were literally ‘reaping what they sowed.’
God called his people to bring the first yield—the ‘first-fruits’—from their harvest to him as an offering. This was to demonstrate the Israelites’ obedience and reverence for God. It also showed that they trusted God to provide enough crops to feed their family.
Back then, there were plenty of rules associated with making first ‘fruit-sacrifices.’ They had to be brought to the temple priests. No other crops could be harvested until the ‘first- fruits’ were presented. The Hebrew word for ‘first-fruits’ is bikkurim—literally translated as “promise to come.” The Israelites saw these ‘first-fruits’ as an investment into their future. God told them that if they brought their first fruits to him, he would bless all that came afterward.
Today, we no longer live in an agrarian-based society. Most people reading this write-up, are most probably not farmers. You likely don’t worry about harvest time, because you are unable to give away the first yield of your crops. But the idea of ‘first-fruits’ is still relevant—it just takes on a new meaning for us.
“Honour the Lord with your wealth – the ‘first-fruits’ of all your crops” (Proverbs 3:9).
We see the term ‘first-fruits’ initially mentioned in the book of Exodus, when Moses is leading God’s people out of captivity in Egypt (Exodus 1:1-13:16). God instructed the Israelites to ‘give up the first of their crops,’ so that, they could understand the value of God’s blessings.
Through the first five books of the Bible, Moses brings up the idea thirteen times. That’s because it was an essential concept for his people to understand. ‘First-fruits’ is mentioned throughout the Old Testament, and it’s even referred to in the New Testament books.
In the New Testament, the term ‘first fruits’ takes on a symbolic meaning. In 1 Corinthians 15:20, Paul mentions Christ as the “first-fruits’ of those who have passed away.” Jesus was God’s ‘first-fruits’—his one and only son, and the best that humanity had to offer. God gave Jesus, who was raised from the dead, up for us, in the same way that we sacrifice the best we have, for him.
‘First-fruits is a religious offering of the first agricultural produce of the harvest. In classical Greek, Roman, and Hebrew religions, the ‘first-fruits’ were given to priests as an offering to deity/God. In classical Athens the ‘first fruits’ were called an offering of “aparche” (Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon). In fact, different cultures in India, celebrate the harvest festival with colour and festivity, in gratitude to our Creator-God for a glorious reaping of grain, especially rice.
Indeed, “Agera,” is a traditional East Indian farmer’s celebration of a ‘golden harvest,’ as against, “Thanksgiving,” the Modern-Day Version – which is a Feast for everyone in the Catholic Church.
Agera, the feast of Thanksgiving, the feast of blessing of the new Corn produced in our fields, is one of the most-awaited feast by all the East Indians. Once upon a time this feast was celebrated with much pomp and splendour all over the Archdiocese of Bombay. However, most of the fields have now disappeared in the concrete jungle that, Mumbai has been turned into, and along with the fields, we have lost our sense and joy of celebrating this feast.
In days gone by, our Parishes used to celebrate Agera on different Sundays. However, in the Post-Modern era, the Archdiocese of Mumbai has assigned the first Sunday in October as Thanksgiving Sunday. A common day in the Church’s Liturgical Calendar to celebrate this feast is understandable and acceptable. But the change in the name from AGERA to THANKSGIVING has not gone down well with the East Indian Community, which insist that, the feast should be called by its original name, AGERA. Only then will it regain its lustre of old. After all, Mumbai was once an East Indian farmers (land-owners) and Koli, stronghold.