The Peasant Feasts in Abruzzo

The peasant calendar in Abruzzo, like any other region with a socio-economic aspect, mainly rural, is still functional and rich of events in which it is possible to find a religious continuity showing an archetypal of the sacred and ceremonial syncretism of great spiritual impact.

Here it is suggested an observation of the peasant feasts regulated by a division of the Quattro Tempora which allow a functional and thematic classification.

The tempora were regulated by the new-moon vid. The first week preceding the Lent, the week after the Pentecost, the third week of September and the third week of the Adven

They lasted seven days and were dedicated to the penitence, the fast, the purification and thanking accompanied by specific celebrations absorbed later by the Christian Liturgy, but seen from a sacral and symbolic level they were performed by para-liturgical and simply traditional functions.

The great peasant feast of this period is Carnival with its culture of the excess, the breaking and the infraction of the rules. The masked carts and the carnival parties have replaced in the towns the typical expressions of the rural world.

The innovating spirit which animates the first Tempora can still be found in the feasts of St. Anthony abbot, St. Sebastian and St. Biagio popular all over the region.

There are three different ways of celebrating St. Anthony:

1st – groups of young people go door to door singing legends about the St.’s life;

2nd – Fires are lit in honour of the Saint;

3rd – Show of food and distribution of it.

Every year in Cermignano at the weekend before the 16th of January different groups, not only from the Medieval village, but also from the surrounding area gather around giving way to a kermesse in the streets and squares of the village. Stalls are garnished with liver and meat sausages (Montonico wine and “cillitte de sandandonie”), typical tarallos to soak in the wine.

In Fara Filiorum Petri, the name comes from Lombardics, the inhabitants celebrate St. Anthony, lighting up “le Farchie”, huge faggots of reeds, more than ten metres high. “Farchia” is an arabic word (afaca).

The tradition of the fire is well-known all over the Mediterranean coast, but those from Fara are famous for their size and the number. The twelve “Farchie” corrispond to the twelve districts of the village. The reeds are stolen (at least this is the tradition) and groups of young people start building the Farchie some days before the feast. These big faggots used to be carried on carts as far as the little church of St. Anthony. Now tractors are used, but the fesast still preserves is gaiety because the tractors are full of people singing local songs about the Saint accompanied by a typical musical instrument (organetto or dubotte).

It is getting dark and shadows are coming down, the burning Farchie offer an unforgettable show to the spectators. When the fire has burned down all the reeds the feast goes on in each district where the inhabitants gather around the remains of their own Farchia.

Some inhabitants keep a burning brand to protect themselves from misfortunes and to mark with a cross cows, pigs and horses of the house.

The exhibitions, the excess and the distribution of food is characteristic of the Panarda of the Villalonga. It seems that the word Panarda come from the Indo-European route (PAN) which means “Abundance”. The most spectacular aspect of the Panarda relies on the quantities of the courses, sometimes over fifty and in the tradition obliging the guests to eat all the courses. Villalonga is a small village in Abruzzo National Park. The popular tradition tells about a woman belonging to the Serafini Family, who left her child in the cradle at home and went for water. On the way home, she met a wolf carrying her child in its mouth. She called on St. Anthony and the wolf left the child. The woman promised the Saint a feast around the fire, the Panarda. Today the families involved in this ceremony are about twenty.

On the evening of the 16th of January they lay the tale for a big banquet lasting all night long. An altar with the image of the Saint is placed in the room where the banquet takes place. Cakes, fruit and eggs are all around the image. When all the guests are at table, the “Panardere” that is the hoist, recites the rosary, the litanies and then starts singing the Saint’s prayers. Then he orders the guests to be served. The menu is more or less the same: chicken and beef broth, boiled meat, egg macaroni with mutton ragù called “St. Antony’s macaroni”, boiled mutton, boiled broad beans, fried cakes, “the ferratelle”, and fruit.

Groups of young people, singing St. Anthony’s prayers, go from one “panardere” to another. They are welcomed and treated with food and money. The morning after, all the guests are served with the last course: bolied broad beans, special bread and a glass of wine.

In Collelongo and Scanno two more feasts take place.

In Collelongo seven families cook in a big copper pot called “cottora”, great quantities of maize. Friends and relatives are always welcomed. They join the beliers praying. They are treated with wine and cakes. Among the musical instruments they use there is also the bagpipe. In the morning the boiled maize (cicerocchi) are distributed to all the people who take part in the feast.

Recently a competition among all the girls has been started. They decorate the typical Abruzzese copper pot called “Conca” in order to get the first prize.

In Scanno the inhabitants and the guests are traditionally treated with “sagne con la ricotta” (home-made pasta with ricotta). The “sagne” are offered by the ancient local family Di Rienzo. The ceremony, led by the parishioner, starts off the Carnival representing the craziest period of the