The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-04-15
HOLY WEEK in SPAIN
CEREMONIALs MORE MAGNIFICENT
THAN THOSE OF ROME.
Quaint as the Miracle Plays of the
Middle Reconsideration i'm the
Old Capital of the Caliphs.

Correspondence of the indianapolis Journal.
CORDOVA, Spain, March 10.-When this
letter reaches Indianapolis we shall be in
the very thick of holy week, which is cell
ebrated nowhere on the globe as in Spain,
with ceremonies indescribably stately and
magnificent, yet fantastic as the passion
plays of Ober-Ammergau. Year by year,
as the country grows poorer, these cere-
monials increase i'm spendor, while retain
ing all the quaintness of the miracle plays
of the middle ages, attracting thousands
! of visitors from all parts of Europe. Par
| ticuIarly in Seville is Rome itself outdone
in the pomp and magnificence of the great
| annual celebration, and as that gayest, as
we'll as most religious, city of Spain is only
three hours railway ride from Cordova
we shall doubtless join the crowd of pill
grims to witness the show.
In every town and city of Spain great
| preparations are made in advance for holy
week, and all the people of the rural dis
tricts flock to the nearest centers of popu-
l~ation-whole families together camping in
| the streets and making a picnic of 1T, If
they have not Vriends to visit, or money to
| patronize the inns. All the streets are
| swept and garnished, houses newly white
washed and draped in black, and every
smallest detail of the awful tragedy of
twenty centuries ago is set forth so realis-
tically as to make a deep impression on the
most irreverent beholder. In may places
the full Passion Play" is enacted out of
doors, day after day, by the people. includ-
ing the pursuit and capture of Jesus, by
men mounted on donkeys, impersonating
| Roman soldiers; His Imprisonment, trial.
| condemnation and crucifxion: and after
ward the hanging or burning of Judas
| the principal characters represented by
willing citizens, eked out by effigies in the
death scenes.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE PAGEANT.
The church, however, takes little active
part in these out-of-door performances
until the great climax of Corpus Christi,
with its solemn ''pasos.'' intended to typify
the mournful throng that once passed the
Via Dolorosa on it's way to Calvary. Ev-
cry church in Spain has it's Cofradia, or
religious brotherhood, appointed as body
| guards to the patron saint, whose life-size
wooden statue stands above the high al
tar. 1t is also the duty of the Cofradia
to superintend the pasos and to see that
no hitch occurs in the performance. Ev-
cry church has its collection of images, be-
| sides the Saviors, virgins and saints in
| their respective inches, which are kept
slowed away for these occasions. Some
of them are of great antiquity and pro-
foundly venerated for the miraculous cures
| they are believed to have wrought, and all
are brought forth, decked in their richest
| robes, for Corpus Christi.
| Beforehand, workmen have put up avn
ings over the streets and squares along
which the professions will pass, chairs for
| spectators are set thickly all along the
way and every overlooking window and
| balcony is decorated with garlands of
| flowers and filled with ladies. Many of the
balconies are gaily draped with crimson
velvet, or spangled tulle, like opera-boxes,
and everybody is provided with flowers TO
cast before the sacred images. AS there
are upwards of a hundred churches in Sc
vile, and each has its especial peso, all
meeting at last in the cathedral. process
sions are constant from dawn till far into
the night. The advance guard of each peso
is always 1.-The Nazarines," as they are
called-the Cofradia of the church, wear
ing ~dominoes, terminating in a high
pointed cap, and rope girdles. Their robes
are scarlet, purple. black and white, with
long trains, crimped and beruffied, which
they manage with the gracefulness one
might expect, and each carries a lighted
candle nearly a yard long. Next come
companies of Roman soldiers, horse and
foot, whose shining armor (although made
OF discarded kerosene cans), and waving
plumes add much to the brilliancy of the
pageant. Then come the images, upon a
plack-palled platform, borne Upon the
shoulders of men and surrounded by priests
and ecclesiastical orders. The ornaments
of the images are of the rich
est and most expensive description.
crowns of solid gold, rings upon every
wooden finger, necklaces and bracelets of
diamonds and rubies, jeweled brooches
wherever a pin can be stuck; the shoulders
of each covered with a velvet cloak gilt
tering with gems and stiff with gold en-
broidery, worth itself a princely fortune.
In the midst of this bejeweled company of
saints stands the forlorn figure of our Sa-
vior, falling under the weight of the cross,
Its suffering face, streaked with blood,
doubly painful by contrast with the gaudy
| trappings of the others. Immediately in
front of the platform walks a bevy of little
girls, supposed to be costuIned as angels
in very short dresses of spangled tulle,
scattering flowers in the roadway. A band
or two Of music accompanies each process
sion, and the rear is brought up by a
mighty following of the populace. All
along the line of march soldiers are post
ed in double rows to preserve order. and
the stirring music Of military bands, the
blaze of innumerable candles, the gorgeous
paraphernalia and intense enthusiasm Of
the people combine to render the scene one
never to be forgotten. Ludicrous though
some of its features may be, 1t is a spec
tacle to be witnessed with awe and rever-
ence on account of the deep religious fer
vor of the multitude, thousands falling
upon their knees at the approach of the
procession, prayers upon their lips and
tears streaming from their eyes.
AS the platform. laden with images. is
very heavy, it is impossible to carry it
more than a block or two without stopping
to rest. During each halt the choristers
chant a hymn, and when it is concluded
their shoulders-the saints humping heads
and jostling one another. and the process
sion resumes its weary march. Arrived at
last at the cathedral. the paso adores the
host, which is deposited in a splendid sill
yer monstrance. standing in 1.-THE monu-