The Dickinson press., 1889-10-12
THE DANCING SAINTS.
PROCESSION OF RELIGIOUS ENTHU-
SlAsTS AT EcHTeRNAcA.
4 Singular Form VI Worship Which Is
Celebrated In Luxembourg ON Whit Tues
hAu>tins Mud vt Dancing.

tAe ii.t,e village NJ Eehternach, i'll Luxem-
eNssS, y the S,sne OF Il curious religious ccle.
csash". sN'YniirlS known rs les saints dan
stats " The lsapins procession. III the
.ASsS - Fanth" ,ueu looked Oh this disorder
ga Judgment from heaven because OF their
&a>, ani though; that by imposing on them.
s1N& Voluntary vsnanccs they might, like
the Nm.evi,ss, arrest the hand OF Col. Act
Us w thus hcl,et. wl,lio some tasted and
prayed, others moved aud writhed convul.
>Nely ter hours ut u time as IL they were
rc8ily afflicted with the disease they sought
~ avsrt. Sometimes whole communities
adopted this extraordinary modification:
but, abuses arising, tho Catholic church con-
deinnA such practices; and though traces of
the custom may te found in several German
towns, notably III Cologne, where every year
II dozen young men and women, under the
nauie of die heiligen Maachen 'und knechte,
dance i'll the carnival procession, this celebra-
tien at Echteruach is the only one of its kind
sanctioned ut the present day and which con-
tnues to retain many Of Its original features.
THOUSANDS OF PILGRIMS.
The village was once q famous place Of pil.
grimage. and is still fr%equented by crowds Of
sufferers from paralysis, epilepsy and similar
affections, who coine from the Eifel, Upper
sAAN SeoA htSA " lSA " LIlCIu-
selves or for sone one dear to them the cure
of any nervous complaint. They are nearly
all peasants, and sometimes come from a great
distance, arriving almost worn out. Huge
dprmitories are annually prepared-great
barn like apartments, each capable Of &C.
commodating about sixty inmates, who make
the best OF the situation, and seek repose on
beds OF straw. Each in his own corner eats
the food which, If provident, he has brought
with him, or has, if careless, purchased in
Echternach ut a somewhat higher rate. The
pilgrims arrive in detachments of thirty,
forty, or more, with their parish priest and
tho banner of their patron saint. Many come
by train, and NIL are met by tho local clergy
men,, who welcome them, direct them, answer
their questions, and, dividing them according
to sex, conduct them to their respective dor.
mitories. Great order and good humor pre-
vail as a rule. The toughest peasant lads
obey their priests with the utmost docility.
There is no drinking or confusion, and most
seem impressed by the belief that they are
taking part in q solemn act of religion.
There are few visitors of the better classes.
and such are easily accommodated at the inns
or in the farmers houses.
All Gay long OH Whit Monday and until
far in tho night the pilgrims pour in; tho
total seldom amounts to less than 5000. As
soon rs it is light on Whit Tuesday morning
the village is astir; by 6 a. IN. largo parties
pass along the street on their way to the
church, chanting as they GO. There they
confess and communicate, that they may OBJ
serve moro solemnity in an exercise which
might easily degenerate into q frolic and
need to be suppressed. By z o'clock all are
assembled rouSl u wooden pulpit erected in IA
meadow near tho bridge over the Saar. At
s fifty priests or moro, in abs and stoles, pre-
ceded by a cross bearer and acolytes, advance
from the little town singing tho 'Neni
Creator Spiritus." One among them mounts
the pulpit and breaches on the life and virtues
of st. Willibrod, exhorting his hearers to put
aside vanity and levity, and to perform the
devotion in a spirit of faith. AS many of the
pilgrims are too old or too feeble to join in
the exertions of the more robust, a clergy
man now crosses the bridge, followed by all
who do not intend to take part in the leaping
procession. They sing the litany and hymn
OF St. Wlibrod as they go, invoking him as
Destroyer of Idols; Continual Preacher of
the Gospel; Untiring Laborer in the Vine
yard of the Lord and Healer of the, Sick.n
II DANCING SAINTS.
The way is now cleared for the dancing
saints. After q few preliminary chords the
Echternach local band strikes up a yolkslied
called, adam He Had Seven Sons,n and
simultaneously the thousands of heads begin
moving from side to side in time to the melo-
dy. 1t takes ten minute or a quarter Of all
hour to get the multitude into order; but at
last they are placed five or six abreast, keep
ing the lines unbroken by holding handker-
chiefs or taking arms-a needful precaution
where many arc epileptics. At last all are
placed and off they go; but their rate of pro-
gress is very slow. The short tune runs al
most automatically up and down; and the
rule is that by the ascending melody the pill,
grlms should dance or hop three steps for
ward, and by the descending melody two
back. II any ono cares to try the experiment
he will find there is much labor cntailed with
but little result.
Each contingent usually brings its own mu-
sic-a fife, a violin, an old concertina and a
drum, OF any one Of these Instruments; but
should they come unprovided, there are many
itinerant musicians willing to play for a con-
sideration. Soon the e~xertion begins to tell;
the faces flush and the breath comes short,
the movements grow slower and slower and
almost cease; then, after a brief interval, the
pilgrims resume their dancing movements
with renewed vigor, only to relax their efforts
as before. Ihey DO not stop once, however,
until the prescribed distance is accomplished.
From the bridge the dancers make their
way through the village street, by tho steep
hill to the church, up tho sixty-two steps,
tnree forward and two back all tho time,
through tho right aisle of the church, round
tne altar, Deneatn winch lilo the bones of st.
MAAADroo, do"n the lett aisle, through the
churchyard, twice round q great cross that
GfQnHc fhaY.o. mud kha, %Eo 1~l,,n%ai .....S
sca1ters, Inc leaplng procession is over.
hro+;or 10 +ha+ n,onn III 49, -. sn.e .eie-
part in e hire others to danca in tI,eir s+aaa
Boys and eirls NAV ba had nv Tho ;nd;o;aus
exnenditure Of a few sons Who will isan ,r;th
a vipor nronort;ona+s ~ tho;r hona 90 VI" -.
ING an EXTRA gratuitv wben 81, ;s pven III
more wary among the n;Iar;n,s oftsn rof 1no
to nav beforehand. and insist IN their ror,sI
sentatives accon,nl;sh;nn = oont.;a .saepae
before thew eYnress themseIves s.t;ssad Tha''
thus sac,re that n csrta;n an,onnt ~ ,.,- 10y