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Post by patricklondon on Jun 24, 2014 13:14:24 GMT
Is it cheating to put up a video, rather than still photos here? Only this particular event called for both movement and sound. I'm by way of being a Protestant atheist, so I'm doubly remote from this particular event and its theological significance. However, in the staunchly Catholic mountain villages of the Tirol, it is of great importance, and one can't but be impressed by the strength of community feeling behind it. Starting with an early mass in the village church, there is a procession round the village, stopping in several key places for prayers and hymns, with the village band, and a ceremonial salute of gunfire from the local historical militia (commemorating the time the Tiroleans were left to defend themselves against the forces of revolutionary and Napoleonic France), answered by cannon fire from the hills and peals of bells. The volunteer fire brigade is there with their patron saint, as are various church societies, each with their own processional figure. These are rather heavy, and the ceremonial banners require a fair amount of strength to manage. The whole procession takes more or less an entire morning to complete. Here are some examples of the processional statues from another village:  My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam" |
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 24, 2014 16:11:46 GMT
Oh, YES, Patrick :: that did call for a video! Excellent video and most interesting. I only ever remember that it's Corpus Christi because suddenly the streets here are full of stands selling "empanandas de Corpus" -- flaky turnovers with cream filling. Your thread prompted me to go google this feast day. I remember thinking as a kid that it was somewhat redundant, something Wikipedia corroborated. As in my Good Friday thread (here and here), it seems that Big Banners are a way of showing ones devotion. I helped some women take those banners off the top of a car and was shocked at the heaviness. The Swiss ones are even bigger. Gorgeous photo of the church interior & the statues. Any idea why the statues in the procession are carried backward? |
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Post by htmb on Jun 24, 2014 18:00:18 GMT
This is wonderful, Patrick! Video was certainly the best way to present the information.
Do you know why the statues are carried facing backwards? It that fairly standard in other countries where they have these types of processions?
It's nice that your camera angles, especially near the end, show the strength and teamwork needed to wrangle the banners.
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Post by mich64 on Jun 24, 2014 18:20:39 GMT
A fabulous video! How fortunate to be there to experience their remembrance. We usually travel in September and therefore often miss festivals, concerts and ceremonies like this. I enjoyed hearing the church bells, hymns and musical instruments, this event warrants a video. All the different styles of dress and uniforms are beautiful. You can feel the pride they take in expressing their traditions. Now I am really eager for our holiday this September.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2014 20:05:38 GMT
Videos are more than welcome here. If they were not, I would have been banned from here years ago. Watching this video made me so grateful that my own country is mostly secular, because this is perhaps one of the dullest ceremonies that I have ever seen. Not at all your fault, Patrick, and I probably would have made exactly the same video if I had been there at the same time. In fact, it even increased my desire to go to Lourdes during one of the pilgrimage days to capture the dead-eyed people in the processions walking like zombies. (Hey, I did that in 1964!) But if you look more closely, you can see real fervor from time to time in the eyes of participants of such events. I would have loved to see that in the eyes of some of the participants in the video, but that was not the case.
I absolutely do not want to discourage you from making more videos since I really appreciate seeing this one, but it would be fabulous to see a bit more life in such activities.
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Post by questa on Jun 25, 2014 0:04:06 GMT
I really enjoyed your video, Patrick, I felt I was there. If some people looked un-enthused, so be it...your camera caught that reality as well. It is like a fantastic view with a power cable looping across it... it becomes part of the view. Not everyone is rapt at the same time.
Why DO they carry statues backwards? I'm sure there must be a story attached to this.
Altogether it confirms my observation...grown-ups love to dress up in fancy dress costumes as much as children do.
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Post by patricklondon on Jun 25, 2014 9:45:04 GMT
I got the impression it was a degree of solemnity, rather than lack of enthusiasm (though I suppose there are plenty of people dragooned into it by family and community expectations). There are plenty of tourists just watching, of course. And these are mountain people, in Austria. Effervescence and exuberance don't seem to come naturally to them. I wondered about the backwards-facing statues too (I was convinced we were standing in the wrong place at the outset and that they would go off in the other direction). Purely guessing, but I wonder if it's to indicate/pray for a blessing on all the people following, rather than the empty road-space in front? My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam" |
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Post by htmb on Jun 25, 2014 10:26:18 GMT
Watch out, Patrick, your Anglican heritage is creeping into your reasoning.  I bet you're right about the blessing part. I also had the same thoughts you did about the nature of Austrians and the supposed solemnity of a 300 year old tradition. It kind of reminded me of some very formal U.S. Catholic Church processions in which I participated as a child. The nuns would have already cautioned us against cracking a smile and threatened us with with severe looks should we choose to forget. |
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Post by patricklondon on Jun 25, 2014 16:06:07 GMT
Well, I do date from the pre-"happy clappy" style (not to mention the new fashion for "nail-drying" during the service - once summed up as "Hands up for all those wanting coffee afterwards"). But then, I'm the kind of atheist who'll shout "Wrong tune!" at the Songs of Praise programme on TV, and will expect the CofE to stick to the King James Bible and 1662 prayer book. My blog | My photos | My video clips"too literate to be spam" |
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Post by bjd on Jun 25, 2014 18:25:14 GMT
I tried googling to find an answer to the backward-facing statues but couldn't find anything. Maybe the question has never been asked before?
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2014 18:40:17 GMT
I can only imagine that a backward-facing statue is to honour the people in the procession and to distribute blessings. It's not as though they need to see where they are going.
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Post by questa on Jun 25, 2014 23:21:20 GMT
I also searched google with no luck. Patrick did say the statues were from other villages...would they face the statues towards their own villages?
Or, as they are leaving the church, are they kept facing the altar for a while?
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Post by htmb on Jun 26, 2014 18:29:34 GMT
Well, I do date from the pre-"happy clappy" style (not to mention the new fashion for "nail-drying" during the service - once summed up as "Hands up for all those wanting coffee afterwards"). But then, I'm the kind of atheist who'll shout "Wrong tune!" at the Songs of Praise programme on TV, and will expect the CofE to stick to the King James Bible and 1662 prayer book. This gave me a good chuckle. In many ways, I can relate! |
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