The Unique Holy Week of Central America

Via Crucis Aquatic-Granada, Nicaragua 

 

Holy Week in the Central American countries of Guatemala and Nicaragua is similar to that in other parts of the Latin American world, but also very different. Nowhere else will you find the elaborate sawdust carpets, Huertos (elaborate gardens constructed of fruits and vegetables) or a Good Friday Via Crucis in boats on the water.

The sawdust and floral carpets created during Lent and Holy Week are unparalleled. These carpets are created on streets before the passage of a religious procession and are meant to be destroyed as they are walked on by the procession.  They are a gift to the divine.  Antigua, Guatemala is world-famous for its carpets.

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-anatomy-of-sawdust-carpet-lent-in.html

The carpets of Barrio Sutiava in Leon, Nicaragua are very different from those of Antigua.

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2017/05/art-as-sacrifice-sawdust-carpets-of.html

This video, shot in Antigua, Guatemala takes an in-depth look at these carpets and their construction.

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2015/03/video-available-sawdust-and-floral.html

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Huertos are spectacular displays of fruits and vegetables constructed in churches and, in Nicaragua, in special structures built for the occasion.  The word huerto translates as vegetable garden or orchard and they symbolize the abundance and redemption of the resurrection. 

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-huertos-of-guatemala-and-nicaragua.html

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On Good Friday, throughout the Christian world, the Via Crucis, Stations of the Cross is performed publicly.  In Granada, Nicaragua there is a completely unique Via Crucis in boats on the city's Lake Nicaragua.   

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2018/04/via-crucis-aquatic-granada-nicaragua.html

                                      _______________________________

Nandaime, Nicaragua is a small country town that has a celebration that turns the ancient purification ritual of self-flagellation on its head.  In Nandaime on Holy Wednesday each year for one hour, participants roam the streets good-naturedly whipping anyone in their path. It did sting a bit, but was interesting to be there.

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2016/04/taking-hit-holy-wednesday-in-nandaime.htm

                                          ___________________________________                                                                     

Antigua Guatemala is world-famous for its spectacular Holy Week processions. Here is one that took place on the day before Easter, an important day in the Latin American world.

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2015/04/video-holy-saturday-procession.html

                                        ____________________________________

Bands are a central part of processions.  Special music has been composed for them over the years. In essence they are funeral bands.  

https://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-music-of-holy-week-processions.html

Art as Sacrifice: the Sawdust Carpets of Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

Creating a Sawdust Carpet, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

We have been conditioned to think of art as something permanent,  something of intrinsic value to be preserved.  Yet, there are other way to think about and use art.  Sometimes it is the process and intention behind the creation of a piece of art that are most important, not the outcome itself.  Such works of art are made to be fleeting moments of beauty dedicated to a higher cause.  The beautiful sand mandalas painstakingly created by Tibetan monks are one example.  These intricate designs are ceremonially destroyed when they are finished and the sand deposited in a stream or river to bless the world around it. 

Monk working on Mandala, Aspen Colorado

Ceremonial Destruction of Mandala by Monks in Aspen Colorado

Another of these perishable art-forms are the sawdust carpets created throughout Latin America during the season of Lent leading up to Easter day. (Also see post of March 25, 2016 on the carpets of Antigua, Guatemala).   They typically are made the same day or evening before one of the many Lenten and Easter processions in these countries to create a sanctified surface for the feet of the holy procession.

These carpets are labor of love and religious dedication; the work is painstaking and difficult.  The carpets below were constructed on a mercilessly hot Good Friday in Sutiava, a barrio  or section of Leon Nicaragua.  As someone explained, the work itself is a kind of meditation,  done prayerfully as a personal sacrifice and gift to the glory of the procession that is to follow.  It is a way to personally participate in the holiness of the event.

Group creating a Sawdust Carpet, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

                                

                                       

Creating a Sawdust Carpet, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

                                 

Early in the day the the base of the carpets, blank rectangles of dirt are laid out, ready for the carpet designs that,  In Sutiava, will be made free-hand, based on some image or idea. 

Bases for Sawdust Carpets, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

                                 

Beginning a Sawdust Carpet, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

                                 

The designs are made with colored sawdust that is placed on top of the dirt base.

Creating a Sawdust Carpet, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

                                   

The process is painstaking and difficult 

Creating a Sawdust Carpet, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

                                

and, typically, groups of people collaborate on a carpet.

Creating a Sawdust Carpet, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

Occasionally, in the Sutiava carpets, a pre-made stencil will be used for detail, as in the edge of the carpet below.

Carpet Stencil, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

                                  

Sawdust Carpet detail, Holy Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

By contrast in Antigua Guatemala use of stencils is more wide-spread and the stencils are more elaborate, being sold commercially. Because of the stencil use the carpets have a much more geometrical look, resembllng Oriental carpets.( "Anatomy of a Sawdust Carpet" 3/25/15).

Making Stencils for Sawdust Carpets, Antigua Guatemala

Stencils for making Sawdust Carpets, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

                                    

Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Nicaragua

Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

The carpets of Sutiava have a very different visual impact.  Their religiosity is much more straightforward and devotional; they are powerful statements of personal faith. The Antigua carpets do contain religious symbolism, but the religiosity of the Sutiava carpets is personal and direct.

Sawdust Carpet, Good Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

Sawdust Carpet on Good Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon Nicaragua

Sawdust Carpet on Good Friday, Barrio Sutiava, Leon  Nicaragua

Sawdust Carpet on Good Friday,  Barrio Sutiava  Leon Nicaragua

As with the Tibetan mandalas, the glorious designs of the carpets are demolished as soon as the religious procession for which they were created begins.  There is no sense of regret at their destruction, because they have lived their brief lives and served their purpose.                                              

Processional carpet after its destruction, Holy Saturday, St. John Seelos Church, New Orleans, Louisiana