Holy Week in Ecuador is a
different experience of faith. Ash
Wednesday the church is full of people and on Good Friday the procession of the
cross has almost all the people in the town participating.
On Easter there are fewer people in the
church. The people relate much more to
the suffering Christ than to the glorious Christ. Suffering is so common and death is much more
accepted here.
On Thursday of Holy Week a 42
year old man came back from work and went to sleep and died in his sleep with
no known prior illness. A young father
of two children went fishing in the river on Friday and was caught in the net
and drowned. Celebrating the passion of
Christ in the church has so much more meaning when you see your neighbors
grieving a sudden death of a healthy young person.
People in Ecuador see so much
suffering that celebrating the passion of Christ is very popular and people can
relate to Christ suffering. The
challenge is to help the people get to the point of also celebrating the glory
and joy of the resurrection.
The Saraguro Indians have
adapted local traditions to the church celebrations of Holy Week. They have a two-hour dance that includes
flags, dancing backwards, carrying statues of Mary and a young girl being
lifted up in a swing to announce the lifting of mourning from Mary.
The photos included are the
dancers announcing Christ has risen. Some have said that these are pagan
celebrations and should not be allowed, but I like to think of these traditions
of the Saraguros has them taking the faith and making it their own.
