Terrific sign of life
09.07.2009
The feast of St James was celebrated on the July 25 with a
good deal of pomp and ceremony in the parish of Yanaoca, Peru.
The Catholic Faith has existed in this part of the world since the first half of the 16th century so there are lots of customs and traditions associated with Church life.
We live in the high-country area, somewhere around 14,000 feet above sea-level. It is a place where it rains from December to April and then you don't see a drop of rain until the next November or December.
This year the parish feast day was organised by the whole community which is made up of about 300 families. Even those who are not Catholics take part in all the activities.
A few days before July 25 the organising committee collected potatoes and chuño (potatoes dried in the frost and sun) and prepared two beef animals to be killed for the feast.
Dances were prepared and rehearsed for the celebration to adore the Lord and his servant, St James.
The celebration began on the afternoon of the 24th with the arrival of a troop of men mounted on horseback. One of the men was dressed as the Viceroy and had two black masked slaves whose job it was to wipe away the sweat and flies as they trotted around Yanaoca.
The troop led a procession which included 20 women dressed in elegant old-time dresses. One of these women was the community President followed by dance groups and musicians.
After a complete tour of the town, during which some of the horses got jumpy with trucks honking their horns and musicians blowing trumpets, the procession arrived at the town square around 4:30pm. The horseman dismounted and relaxed and drank considerable amounts of chichi (apple cider).
The dancers then took over the square (called the Plaza de Armas) and danced for the next hour or so.
At 5:30pm the people started to move towards the church. By then several more dance groups arrived from other communities along with many spectators who came to attend Mass. There were so many people that we needed three lay ministers to give out Communion.
After Mass there were fireworks, more dancing and spectators were served hot drinks. It was mighty cold sitting watching the show which continued until late in to the evening.
On the morning of the 25th, crowds of people arrived. Some of them were signing up for Baptisms or preparing the final touches to their preparation. (In Peru you are required to attend religious instruction before the baby is baptised).
At 11:00am when the Mass was to begin, the church was about half-full of people who were involved in baptisms or just the ordinary faithful, but there was no sign of the Community people. Then we heard music. Musicians, dance groups, the Viceroy and his attendants came into sight. The music continued to the church door. Other dance groups and townspeople continued to arrive until the church was full.
There were about 30 children and many adults to baptise during the Mass. It took a long time, but I didn't see anyone going to sleep or yawning with boredom. After Mass we trooped out with the men carrying
our statue of St James which is big and heavy and always presents a problem getting through the door. Fortunately, St James narrowly missed having his arm or head knocked off.
We processed around the Plaza de Armas with band playing and dancers dancing. We stopped at each corner for a prayer and a short dance in homage to St James.
When the celebrations were over, and the noise had died down, I wondered what it had all meant?
I believe it meant that people felt God was present in their lives and they were happy about it. Many people had to work closely and get on together to prepare the feast. Others felt they were being blessed and strengthened by God to face up to their daily lives. There were people who patched up their quarrels that had been going on for years.
The feast was a terrific sign of life and of God's being present in our lives.
Fr Paul Prendergast first went to Peru in 1965.
