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Origins of the Brotherhood

March 21, 2013 March 21, 2013

Every year, in the months of March or April, Holy Week celebrates Christ’s resurrection from the dead after the crucifixion. It is the Christian Church’s oldest celebration; as old as Christianity and the link that joins the Old and New Testaments. The week before Easter is very special in the Christian tradition: the previous Sunday is Palm Sunday and the three days prior to the Sunday of the Resurrection are Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. The first three days commemo-rate the entrance to Jerusalem, the Last Supper and the crucifixion respectively. The origins of the brotherhoods are very ancient; being founded with differ-ent objectives: burials, the founding of hospitals and houses of charity. The first stations of penitents take place with-out floats or images; only a cross and a priest carrying a crucifix, visiting places outside the urban center which is the reason brotherhoods were constituted in churches and convents outside of the city walls. Later, when there were many brotherhoods, in addition to the cross, a banner with a painting of one of the mysteries of the Passion was adopted by each brotherhood to distinguish one from another. The first brotherhoods date to the 15th Century, reaching their zenith in the 17th Century. It seems to have been at that time, due to the wishes and healthy rivalry between brotherhoods that they began to order images in wood carvings of the representations on their banners be made by artists such as Montañez and Pedro Roldán. Holy Week is considered a unique opportunity to see and admire true works of Spanish religious sculptures in the street. At that time they began to carry a float with an image that substituted the crucifix carried by the priest and the brothers of blood that flagellated themselves, produc-ing serious wounds in the name of God as well as the brothers of light whose mission was to carry lighted axes. By superior or-ders, flaying was banned and the brothers

of light remained. The latter became the nazarenos of today. The name nazareno comes from Jesus of Nazareth. In order to resemble the clergy, the nazarenos of the brotherhoods began to wear the traditional tunic, frequently pur-ple in color. Due to penitence, the naza-reno covers his face to remain anonymous and wears a cone shaped head covering called capirote. The origin of the capirote or capuchón goes back to the beginnings of the inquisition when those being punished for religious reasons were forced to wear a piece of cloth that covered the chest and back and a cone shaped hat as a sign of penitence. Although Holy Week is celebrated in all of Spain, it is in the South, in Andalucía, more specifically in Sevilla where it reach-es multitude proportions. A great number of brotherhoods make the Cathedral a station of penitence daily. The sacrifice of carrying the images and accompany them with wooden crosses and tall candles is the penitence that the faithful make for their Lord. In order to carry the floats or thrones, the bearers (costaleros) practice for months; training in order to be able to support the elevated weight for an entire night. The floats weigh between 1,000 and 1,200 kilos that are born by the costaleros. A crew of some 36 men bears 45 kilos each for several hours. In the beginning these processions only took place on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, but in time and with the arrival of more brotherhoods there now are processions from Palm Sunday until Easter Sunday in most towns. Holy Week in Rota goes back to the middle of the 15th Century, when it is believed that simple processions without images took place on Holy Thursday and Good Friday; leaving from what is today the Parrish of the O, crossing the village walls and reaching the “Humilladero” (a de-votional place on the outskirts of towns) that today would be inside the base. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, many brotherhoods were founded. Most of these were trade related; formed by groups of craftsmen (jewellers, carpenters, potters, etc) or workers such as fishermen

or farmers. Many of the images from that era were destroyed or mutilated by the successive attacks by the Anglo-Dutch na-vies. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) many sculptures were also lost and many churches were burned. The oldest brotherhoods in Rota are the Hermandad de la Vera-Cruz (true cross) that is know to have existed around 1586 and the Hermandad de Jesús Nazareno that dates to 1604. Nowadays, in addition to evangelization and Christian formation, the brother-hoods have the function of helping society. In order to do this, the brotherhoods have what they call charity bags, where funds are collected to help the needy. They also collect or buy food that is distributed through non governmental agencies such as Cáritas or given to homes for the aged. Some brotherhoods have built day care centers for handicapped children, oth-ers help hospitals or workshop schools to reintegrate the socially excluded or give temporary homes to Belorussian children, etc. Holy Week is full of symbols, from the different colors used for the tunics to the insignias, flowers, smells, music, etc. COLORSWhite: Signifies purity, faith, virginity, holiness, resurrection. White is the color prescribed for the floats with canopies and the most appropriate to illuminate the path of the Virgin. Red: Red signifies passion, charity, grief, divine love, the Eucharist. It is the color chosen for Palm Sunday and Holy Thurs-day. It is the prescribed color for the sacramental brotherhoods.Green: Signifies hope, initiation (this is the reason St. John has green in his cape), the triumph of life over death (the reason the brotherhoods of the Vera Cruz wear this color), and faith.Purple: Signifies devotion, pain, severity, penitence. It is similar to black. It is the usual color used in the sections and floats of the mystery of the nazarenos and the captives, it can also be used liturgically dur-ing Holy Week, especially in the Madrugada (early morning hours) and Good Friday.

Blue: This is the color of love, faithfulness and affection. It is always associated with the Virgin Mary and therefore tends to be the chosen color for many of the floats with canopies. Black: A color that symbolizes sadness, separation, penitence, fasting and loneli-ness. It signifies much the same as purple. It is the liturgical color for Good Friday. The way the images are dressed also has its symbolism. The Virgen Mary, since she is considered the Mother of God, is usually dressed as if she were a queen, with a crown, gowns embroidered with gold and the majority of times under a canopy to show respect. The manner in which the nazarenos are arranged in the entourage and the insignias they use also have rules. The insignias they usually use are: Cruz de Guía: the cross that opens the procession.Senatus: the only pagan symbol with the initials SPQR (Senatus Populus Que Romanus). It is carried as a reminder that Jesus lived and was crucified under the rule of the Roman Empire. Flag: A flag with the colors of the broth-erhood to differentiate it from others.Book of Rules: A book with the rules of the brotherhood, normally it has a cover of carved silver. Sin Pecado (Without Sin): A banner dedicated to Mary’s virginal conception that usually has the Latin inscription “ Sine Labe Concepta” (conceived without sin).Banner: An insignia with the brother-hood’s coat of arms. The music differs depending on the type of brotherhood, some are accompanied by cornet and drum music (normally the images of Jesus), a band (the virgins), chapel music (wind trio) or in complete silence.

"Due to penitence, the nazareno covers his face to remain anonymous and wears a cone shaped head covering called capirote."

Story by Jesús Alegre

Photos by: on this page Filip MaesOpposite page from bottom left xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx