Intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of fervid attachment to the Holy Week of Taranto
| Extrinsic characteristics | Sense of belonging | The pilgrimage | – Many natives follow the entire pilgrimage led by spiritual motivations, and by a deep sense of belonging towards those rites rooted in their souls, and traditions, relighting their fervid attachment |
| Confraternities | – Some individuals formalize their sense of belonging by joining Confraternities, accepting their Statutes, rules, uses and customs, sharing values and committing themselves to the life prescribed by the spiritual fathers – Confraternities' members feel part of the group by sharing beliefs and objectives | ||
| Natives' participation | – Many individuals exalt the rites, spreading positive words toward the experienced emotions, discovering themselves as amateur photographers and video-makers, becoming the spokesman of something so dear to them. They participate both as faithful, or because the rites are “rooted in their souls”, even if not faithful Their availability and positive words, attracts further faithful and tourism seeking for unique spiritual experiences | ||
| Traditions | – Individuals require correct disclosure of the inner matrix and the motivations behind the Rites, defending the correct dissemination of information about it, warning those who use it for wrong reasons without understanding its traditions and symbols | ||
| Rituality symbols | Pilgrimage timing, scheduling and gestures | – The pilgrimage is manifested in dramatically implemented behaviors and is performed with a certain formality, seriousness, and respect in the same way, every year, and the perfect adherence to the methods of the “tradition”, guarantee the “goodness” and the “quality” of the edition | |
| Pilgrimage systematicity | – The pilgrimage follows a precise order, with rules imposed repeated methodically, essence of the same rite: The good realization is a source of self-gratification | ||
| Sacred vestments | – The “perdòni” wear personal vestments equal over the centuries, composed of a series of vestments regulated by the Statutes and Regulations of the Confraternities which sanction formalities and seriousness, conforming to the sharing of similarities – The personal vestments of the Confreres are preserved with care likewise to a precious object, given the high symbolic and religious value, and the “thaumaturgical” power they contain | ||
| The Perdòni | – Despite obliged to maintain composure during the rites, the “perdòni” - and the wide part of natives-are basically friendly to interact with faithful and tourists | ||
| Intrinsic characteristics | Intimate bond | Initiation to the rites | – The rites descend from the ideology of the Christian Religion and contribute to creating a sort of cultural “subsystem”, with an entire ideology around it. Confraternity members to initiatory educational meetings before to be accepted participate |
| Reverence toward own beliefs | – Individuals are reverent towards the simulacra composing the pilgrimages, to which they dedicate attention and care, as the “most precious” thing to protect. The experience is shared between “brothers” (Confreres), aimed by similar intentions and with whom it creates a unique and indissoluble bond | ||
| Sharing bonds | – Confraternities' members during the rites are totally involved in their gestures. Indeed, the intimate bond reaches its climax in such collective experiences and in sharing fraternity, emotions, hugs, pathos between them | ||
| Faith | – As in religious communities, the members of these “cultural subsystems” externalize and spread their faith, trying to attract new members leaded by those same needs | ||
| Economic and bodily sacrifices | – As individuals who love a person are willing to make sacrifices for that person, Confreres bear economic sacrifices, to win the honor of carrying the simulacrum in procession according to the secular rules of the Confraternities. Additionally, they undergo physical sacrifices, due to taking part in these barefoot Rites, night and day, both as couples and in supporting the weight of the simulacra (made of papier–mache and wood) on their shoulders – To participate to the rites, Confraternities' members devolve huge sums (up to 90.000 euros), destined by the Confraternity to cover their expenses and mainly to charitable purpose | ||
| Emotionality | Transcendent state and emotions | – The reason for this fervid attachment could be found in the unique and irreplaceable emotions, sensations, aroused in satisfying spiritual needs, that when missing, can even produce forms of anxiety Hooded souls (Perdòni) testify that they fall into a state of transcendence and total concentration that pervades them for the duration of the rites – Confreres who are unable to participating in an edition wait the following year with fervor, embittered, but sustaining the other members during the rites with their presence Similarly, the faithful deprived of these participation experience feelings of unease. In the Pandemic due to COVID–19, these sensations led to a small edition accessible to professionals, live streaming or TV to fulfill the need for inner spirituality long–awaited by faithful and non–faithful | |
| Nostalgia and traditions | – The influence of memories, traditions, rites of passages from grandparents, fathers, children to participate in these rites, is so strong confirming the influence of the past to preserve the beauty that these religious rites as a fundamental part of the tourism destination heritage across the time | ||
| Physical and psychological involvement in the rites | – The consequentially three days/nights duration, wrapped in engaging music capable of stimulating deep inner sensations, “living” the cold of the night as part of a strong community sharing the “difficult” pilgrimage together, amplifies emotions, leveraging on the duration and intensity of the relationship with the event, the dreams and memories it evokes, its uniqueness and beauty |
| – Many natives follow the entire pilgrimage led by spiritual motivations, and by a deep sense of belonging towards those rites rooted in their souls, and traditions, relighting their fervid attachment | |||
| – Some individuals formalize their sense of belonging by joining Confraternities, accepting their Statutes, rules, uses and customs, sharing values and committing themselves to the life prescribed by the spiritual fathers | |||
| – Many individuals exalt the rites, spreading positive words toward the experienced emotions, discovering themselves as amateur photographers and video-makers, becoming the spokesman of something so dear to them. They participate both as faithful, or because the rites are “rooted in their souls”, even if not faithful | |||
| – Individuals require correct disclosure of the inner matrix and the motivations behind the Rites, defending the correct dissemination of information about it, warning those who use it for wrong reasons without understanding its traditions and symbols | |||
| – The pilgrimage is manifested in dramatically implemented behaviors and is performed with a certain formality, seriousness, and respect in the same way, every year, and the perfect adherence to the methods of the “tradition”, guarantee the “goodness” and the “quality” of the edition | |||
| – The pilgrimage follows a precise order, with rules imposed repeated methodically, essence of the same rite: The good realization is a source of self-gratification | |||
| – The “perdòni” wear personal vestments equal over the centuries, composed of a series of vestments regulated by the Statutes and Regulations of the Confraternities which sanction formalities and seriousness, conforming to the sharing of similarities | |||
| The | – Despite obliged to maintain composure during the rites, the “perdòni” - and the wide part of natives-are basically friendly to interact with faithful and tourists | ||
| – The rites descend from the ideology of the Christian Religion and contribute to creating a sort of cultural “subsystem”, with an entire ideology around it. Confraternity members to initiatory educational meetings before to be accepted participate | |||
| – Individuals are reverent towards the simulacra composing the pilgrimages, to which they dedicate attention and care, as the “most precious” thing to protect. The experience is shared between “brothers” (Confreres), aimed by similar intentions and with whom it creates a unique and indissoluble bond | |||
| – Confraternities' members during the rites are totally involved in their gestures. Indeed, the intimate bond reaches its climax in such collective experiences and in sharing fraternity, emotions, hugs, pathos between them | |||
| – As in religious communities, the members of these “cultural subsystems” externalize and spread their faith, trying to attract new members leaded by those same needs | |||
| – As individuals who love a person are willing to make sacrifices for that person, Confreres bear economic sacrifices, to win the honor of carrying the simulacrum in procession according to the secular rules of the Confraternities. Additionally, they undergo physical sacrifices, due to taking part in these barefoot Rites, night and day, both as couples and in supporting the weight of the simulacra (made of | |||
| – The reason for this fervid attachment could be found in the unique and irreplaceable emotions, sensations, aroused in satisfying spiritual needs, that when missing, can even produce forms of anxiety | |||
| – The influence of memories, traditions, rites of passages from grandparents, fathers, children to participate in these rites, is so strong confirming the influence of the past to preserve the beauty that these religious rites as a fundamental part of the tourism destination heritage across the time | |||
| – The consequentially three days/nights duration, wrapped in engaging music capable of stimulating deep inner sensations, “living” the cold of the night as part of a strong community sharing the “difficult” pilgrimage together, amplifies emotions, leveraging on the duration and intensity of the relationship with the event, the dreams and memories it evokes, its uniqueness and beauty |