FEAST OF MARIA SS. DI BUONRIPOSO: A JOURNEY TO REDISCOVER ANCIENT XIBETAN TRADITIONS

Discover

The feast of Maria SS di Buonriposo is an indissoluble mixture of the sacred and the profane, between the cult of the
Madonna del Buonriposo carried on the shoulders of the faithful, liturgical rites and solemn prayer, and crackling
of the fires lit, the sizzle of the sausage cooked on the live embers, the breaking of the pots, the climbing of the
Palo della “ntinna” and Palio dei Berberi which takes us back to ancient traditions, but always alive
so much so that this event was also exported to Belgium by our fellow citizens who emigrated to Belgium.
‘900, precisely in the city of Chappelle – Lez Herlaimont (twinned city of Calascibetta).
The feast of Maria SS. di Buonriposo represents union, smiles, goliardy, enhancement of products
typical local and of the same territory in which it develops.
The tradition in Calascibetta has remained substantially unchanged over time and every year the first
(Saturday) Sunday and Monday of September, the sacred cult of Maria SS di
Good rest.
Saturday is dedicated to the Sausage Festival (today certified as a quality festival according to
UNPLI), now in its 52nd edition, a local food and wine heritage that is enhanced precisely
during the aforementioned celebrations, when faithful, curious, visitors and citizens, cook meats, sausages
and delicacies in the areas adjacent to the sanctuary.
On this occasion, the Municipality, in collaboration with
the Pro Loco Association, uses a stand in the square in front of the sanctuary proceeding to the
distribution of sausage sandwiches among the various visitors and citizens.
Once the experience is over
culinary experience, the evening is accompanied by a folkloric festival that traces our roots and the
our Sicilian culture.
Sunday, as opposed to Monday, which deals only and exclusively with the feast
religious and the cult of the Madonna, is anchored on a matrix of pagan nature dating back to the Arabs, in
when the places in front of it where the festival takes place today became a bank of wonderful jousts and palios
courses by skilled riders on thoroughbred coursers.
Even today, in the afternoon, every year in the open space
Called “chianu da cursa”, the ancient Palio dei Berberi takes place where indigenous horses
they throw in the race, rigorously mounted “bareback”, without a saddle, according to the Arab tradition.
The party
continues with the traditional country games where the breaking of the pots and pots prevails over everyone
climbing on the pole of the “ntinna”, as well as the traditional dance of the “Pantalone”, a couple dance, on the
notes of the Sicilian tarantella that involves young and old.
This manifestation, year after year, represents the algorithm of a perfect spiral and infinity of
scents, flavors, emotions, folklore, roots of Sicily that attracts many visitors, as well as
emigrants, who want to experience the Xibetan culinary, historical and cultural tradition at least once in the
life.