A One of a Kind Easter Celebration

A hooded man with a whip may not seem very much like Easter, but in many places in the historical Latin American and Spanish worlds, it was.  The time before Easter was a penitential time in which people attempted to purge themselves of their sins to ready themselves for the joy of Christ's resurrection on Easter Day.  Flagellation, self-whipping to cause pain, was one way. 

A completely unique twist on this ancient practice is still found in Nandaime Nicaragua on the Wednesday before Easter.  I had the privilege of viewing (and, unanticipatedly, feeling) his event first-hand. Here is this link to the article.

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

The Flagellants of Holy Week: Nandaime, Nicaragua

Medieval Flagellants

In Medieval Spain, as elsewhere, self-flagellation during the period of Lent and Holy Week was a fairly common self-purification practice.  The idea was to drive sin from the body through beating it.  This is still practiced in places, but one of the most interesting variants is found in a little Nicaraguan town called Nandaime on Wednesday of Semana Santa (Holy Week).  Here, the custom is stood on its head with procession participants using their whips and sticks to beat onlookers in a very structured, reasonably safe half-hour event.  

A video I shot on-location in Nandaime a few years ago, shows this unique interpretation of Medieval customs. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2K-8g2M54A&t=2s

Sacred Saturates Profane: Holy Wednesday in Masaya Nicaragua

Holy Week in Latin American countries is a time when the sacred and profane intermingle in daily life to an extent rarely seen elsewhere.  These photos from Holy Wednesday in Nicaragua's Masaya region, lying just outside the beautiful colonial-era city of Granada,embody this intermingling.  In them, you will see a group of men carrying a figure of Jesus from one town to another either to or from one of the many religious processions of Holy Week.

Moving a Processional Statue, Holy Wednesday, Masaya Nicaragua

                                    

                                   

Group transporting processional figure resting along road, Holy Wednesday Masaya Nicaragua

                                                 

Processional Figure of Jesus along road, Holy Wednesday, Masaya Nicaragua

                                                     

                                           

Group transporting Processional Figure of Jesus, Holy Wednesday, Masaya  Nicaragua

                                               
Although this was an exotic spectacle to an outsider, for these Nicaraguan believers this was just business as usual.  A figure needed to be moved, so they moved. Above all, what these photos show is the extent to which these religious images are a part of the daily lives of those who believe in them.  A recent post of this blog (May 13, 2016: Person or Statue: The Complex Religious Images of Latin America) discussed this theme.  Please note that the image of Jesus in the photos above is not the same image as in the May blog post.

Videos of Holy Week in Latin America

 Jesus in procession, Holy Thursday, Merida, MX

Virgen de Dolores in procession, Holy Thursday, Merida, MX

Holy Week, the period of time from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday and when the central story of Christianity culminates, is observed with greater intensity in Latin America than elsewhere.  Celebrations there are on a grand scale and the story of Jesus' Passion unfolds in processions and pageantry.  What the outside world only hears in readings of the Gospel there can be seen in vivid color.  Here are a few videos links which will offer you a look into  Holy Week observances in Latin America.

Attend a very unique Holy Saturday religious service in Merida, Mexico in which Jesus  is resurrected in light.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMzCIxbLHWA

Participate in a Holy Wednesday Procession in rural San Mateo Milpas Altas, Guatemala.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIT5Wg5JNZE

Witness a Good Friday re-enactment of Jesus' Crucifixion in front of a Mayan pyramid in Acanceh, MX.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCVbI_aww6s

The Anatomy of a Sawdust Carpet: Lent in Antigua, Guatemala (includes video link)

Carpet in progress,  Antigua Guatemala

The sawdust carpets that grace the streets and churches of Antigua during the season of Lent (Ash Wednesday-Easter Day) are as beautiful as any valuable oriental rug that you can find.  But these magnificent carpets have a very short life-span, sometimes only a few hours, although those created in churches for the vigils of the season are on display longer. The carpets in Antigua's streets are created by the residents and businesses; if a procession passes by your home or business, you have the option of creating a carpet in honor of it. Sometimes these carpets involve months and months or planning while others are created much more spontaneously.  Holy Week ( Palm Sunday-Easter Day) is the time when there are the most processions and greatest number of carpets.

Sawdust Carpet detail, Antigua Guatemala

As exquisite as these carpets are, they are not meant to be decorations and exist for one reason only: to be walked on by the feet of those bearing holy images in procession. All processions start in a church and then follow an hours-long route throughout the city's streets, often late into the night.  In the course of its route each of the processions you see below walked over many carpets that were created specifically for it. The act of the float-carriers walking over the carpet is considered to bless the carpet and the whole making of carpets is, at heart, a sacrificial act offered to God.

Holy Saturday Procession, San Felipe de Jesus Church, Antigua Guatemala

Holy Week Procession, Antigua Guatemala

Holy Week Procession, Antigua Guatemala

All of the carpets begin with an empty space either on the street or a church floor.  A rectangle of sand is spread on the surface to provide a base for the carpet.  The designs that will be laid on top of it are intricate and precision is essential. 

Sawdust Carpet under construction, Antigua Guatemala

Designs are not done freehand, but use pre-cut stencils of heavy cardboard that are used in various combinations to create the intricate geometry of the carpets. The stencils are quite costly and good quality ones are cut by hand, not machine and are meant to be used year after year.

Stencil for Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Stencil for Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Stencil for Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Making Stencils for Sawdust Carpets, Antigua Guatemala

The stencils are laid on the sawdust base and colored sawdust is applied to form intricate designs that in many cases look like actual oriental carpets.

Sawdust Carpet under construction, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust Carpet under construction, Antigua Guatemala

Eventually the carpet you see under construction will have a very densely patterned surface and look something like the carpet below.  After the sawdust is laid the carpets are sprayed with water to set the design.

Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Carpets are created within churches during the time of the vigils which are held to honor the statues that will be used in procession. These carpets range from the relatively simple to the very complex as seen in the photo below in Antigua's La Merced Church.  This carpet was created for a velacion, a vigil, and remains up for a period of time, perhaps a week or two.  The scene in front of the religious figures are made to resemble a garden, huerto in Spanish.
The fruits, vegetables and candles are brought to the church as an offering before the scene is created.

Sawdust Carpet and Huerto for vigil, La Merced Church, Antigua  Guatemala

All of the carpets will be destroyed the instant the feet of those in the procession hit it and there is no sense that these carpets are meant to be preserved.  A carpet is made to be walked on by a processions and the holy images that are carried in it.   

Sawdust Carpet after procession, San Felipe de Jesus Church, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust Carpet after procession, San Felipe de Jesus Church, Antigua Guatemala

I invite you to view my video of these carpets at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbXvvBSCvSA

Not all of Antigua's carpets are made of sawdust; some are made of plant materials
and this type pre-dates the Spanish conquest.  You can still see sacramental ground-coverings of pine needles in small, isolated Mayan villages.  The fourth carpet down combines colored sawdust and flowers.

Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust and Flower Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust Carpet detail, Antigua Guatemala

Sawdust Carpet, Antigua Guatemala

Holy Week Processions (with video)

It is one thing to read about Antigua Guatemala's incredible Holy Week processions and another to actually see one.  Here is a link to a recent video of mine, which shows a Holy Week procession in a Guatemalan village just outside of Antigua. Being there was a unique experience and because the village procession was less crowded than those in the city, it was easier to get a closer look.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIT5Wg5JNZE   (It's better to read the information in this post before viewing the video).

 In Mexico, Holy Week Processions are, for the most part, found largely on Good Friday.  In Spain, in many locales, there are processions every day of Holy Week beginning with Palm Sunday and even before.  Guatemala, Mexico'a neighbor to the south,  has followed this path and expanded upon it with processions every day during Holy Week and before, throughout the period of Lent.  In fact, this year Antigua Guatemala surpassed Seville, known for having the most elaborate Holy Week processions in Spain, in terms of overall number of processions.

Virgen de Dolores,  start of procession in San Felipe Church, Antigua, Guatemala

Jesus Nazareno, San Francisco Church, Antigua, Guatemala

Virgen de Delores, La Merced procession, Antigua Guatemala

The history of these processions is complex, having both to do with the Catholic Counter-reformation and the Reconquista in Spain, the defeat of the Muslim rulers by the Catholic monarchs in the 15th century.  These public religious processions, in part, were proclamations that the country was once again in the hands of Christian rulers and not the Muslims who had ruled the area for centuries.  The Catholic Counter-reformation, which stemmed from the Council of Trent (1545-63), was motivated by the church's desire to combat the growing power of the Protestant movements.  The Catholic Church needed to keep people interested so that they would not be attracted to the new movements.  The heightened elaboration and emotionalism of the Baroque in the Church- in its art, music and ritual- was motivated by this. The veneration of sacred images was also encouraged and elaborate religious processions were a place where all of this came together.  Initially, these processions and the floats in them were simpler and on a small-scale, but in the 20th century the processions grew into the spectacle that they are now.

Antigua is a very Spanish city with less of the indigenous religious/cultural admixture seen in places like Chiapas and elsewhere in Mexico.   In colonial times, its rulers were very conservative and strove to keep the city's religious proceedings free of local influences. The processions in Antigua are large and elaborate and hugely popular and crowds of people from all over the world come to view these very Spanish-style processions.  

The structure of all processions is the same: incense bearers censing before the floats 
(called andas in Spanish), banner-carriers, a float with Jesus carried by men in purple known as cucuruchos, followed by a funeral band, a second float with a statue of the grieving Mary (Virgen de Dolores) carried by female carriers known as cargadoras followed by another funeral band and then the faithful followers who will walk behind the procession for its hours-long route.  I hope you enjoy the video. 

(An excellent book on Holy Week celebrations in Antigua is "Lent and Holy Week in La Antigua Guatemala" by Elizabeth Bell)