The cavalcade "A
Cravaccata"
" The
origin of the manifestation corresponds with those that developed in Europe
in XVIII century, but that of Gangi is so original that it was inserted
among the national manifestations. .
It
consist in a parade of masked knights and allegorical wagons which drive
along the historical centre until to get People Square, where there
is the winners' prize-giving. Representatives of the communal administration,
the Pro-Loco and the operating Associations in the town, constitute
the jury.
It
carries out the Tuesday of carnival concluding a recreational activity,
that previews in particular the " Carnival
of the children ", and dancing evenings begun in the 8 Decembers
just until this date.
Palm Sunday
Deeply
rooted in the popular religious tradition, Palm Sunday marks the beginning
of the Holy Week celebrations.
One of its antique characteristics is the unchanged recur of the ancient
deeds, of which the Confraternities
are protagonists. These last ones, soon in the morning, meet in the
church of the confraternity on duty, where it will be proceeded to the
partition of the palms, and therefore to the preparation of the Great
Palms with flowers, date coppers and sacred symbols, to carry in procession.
At the same time, we can assisted to the ceremony during which brethren
taking the habit, some ones a white tunic covered by a cape, others
with the typical " abitino ", while " i tamburinara " wear the precious
"Rubriche ", traditional eighteenth-century dresses hand-embroidered
using gold and silver. When the preliminary matters finish, the procession
leaves. Behind every palm, carried on people's back, brethren walk preceded
by "i tamburinara " that announce the arrival of the procession. The
first stage is the Mother Church, where
the palms are blessed. Then the procession leaves again in order to
get, one by one, all the other churches of the town. The procession
finishes again in the Mother Church, where before celebrating the Holy
Mass, " i tamburinara " exhibit with an extraordinary rhythmic show,
while people assist the palms going under the arches of the Mother Church.
The Holy Spirit's festivity
The
cult for the Sacred Image conserved in the Holy
Spirit's sanctuary, has an enormous importance for the inhabitants
of Gangi, because it is the Protector Saint of the citizen. Its origin
is ancient, and the same manifestation is part of the canons of the
local popular tradition. It is celebrated on Monday after Pentecost,
with religious functions in the morning and a solemn procession in the
afternoon.
This
one moves from the Mother Church, where the first statues of Saints,
carried on the faithful devout people's back, leave to the sanctuary
situated at the foot of the town. As the procession goes on, it touches
all the main churches, from which other statues, approximately 35, will
join it. Got the sanctuary, in its large, the well-known " cursa of
saints " or " miraculi " is carried out, before that the statues enter
in the church in order to render homage to the Holy Ghost.
"Burgisi" festivity;
The
Burgisi festivity is celebrated on the first Sunday of August. It is
the expression of the frank religiosity of a people, intimately tied
to the earth and to its yields. It is the Christian celebration of thanks
to the Creator, that assures the development of the cyclical time (consequently
of the seasons) and guarantees the substantial elements (the harvest).
In this context, the bread, composed
by six gigantic forms, and carried in procession by young people in
local custom, assumes a central role: it is the symbol that joins the
product of the earth and the man's job. The tradition of this festivity
is rooted in the time; some well-off peasants, who had the possibility
to own and to raise farm animals, set it in motion. The cattle and the
earth property, it was reason of distinction from the majority of peasants,
who had to depend on a noble land owner. For that reason, the term "
Burgisi " should be translate in " bourgeois". The rituality
of this festivity clearly differs from Cerere's parade, which represents
the top of the Ear Festival. Hence, the contrast between the Christian
religiosity and the pagan one, is very strong; both are very rich in
meaning and full of a deep symbology, but they have, as common point,
the man's job and the fruits of the earth. ob and the fruits of the
earth.
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