Easter Passion Play
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Yaqui Easter Procession, ca. 1950
Source - http://sirismm.si.edu/naa/24/mexico/00809500.jpg and caption it
Easter is the culmination of the Yaqui ceremonial year, and the Passion Play performed at that time is the most important and elaborate of their ceremonies. This play re-enacts Christ's last days on earth, and dramatizes the triumph of good over evil.The ceremony begins the first Friday of Lent and continues every Fiday until Palm Sunday. It begins with a procession of religious leaders who are followed and taunted by Chapayekas, masked actors who are part of the Fariseo sodality.
Watch the video on Fariseos
The Chapayekas, who are searching for Christ, are initially few in number but increase in size over time, with the escalation in their number representing the accumulation of evil. While enacting these roles, the men playing the part of the Chapayekas are vulnerable to evil forces; to protect themselves they hold rosaries in their mouths under their masks. On Palm Sunday, deer dancers and members of other cofradias lead a procession bearing the image of Christ into the town plaza to represent Jesus' entry into Jerusulum. The Fariseos then chase Christ, eventually catching and crucifying him. After Christ is crucified the Chapeyekas dance jubilantly, but when they realize that Christ has been resurrected they return to do battle. During the battle they are pelted with flowers and finally defeated. Immediately after this enactment, which marks the end of the Passion Play, their godparents rush the Chapayeka actors to the church to be re-baptized. That night through the next morning the Deer Dancers perform.
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