The Feast of the Madonna delle Galline, celebrated every year in Pagani (Salerno) in honor of Maria S.S. Incoronata del Carmelo, is part of the network of popular Marian festivals in Campania. It takes place from the Friday after Easter until the Sunday in Albis.
According to the legendary story from the 16th century, during the octave of Easter, some hens found the image of the Virgin where the church is now located. Since then, hens have represented the special gift to the Virgin. The church, which became a Marian Sanctuary in 1954, is managed by the Archconfraternity.
The effort made by the various components of the community throughout the years reaches its peak during specific ritual phases:
- L’alzata del quadro (the painting riser): around the 1990s, one month before the octave of Easter, in the Califano courtyard, Francesco Tiano, a key figure and innovator of the ritual, used to show a picture of the Madonna, honored with the song a’ ffigliuola, accompanied by the tammorra (tambourine). The ritual has remained alive in the courtyard and other parts of the historic center.
- Holy Monday: The setup of the “Toselli” begins in the spaces designated by “Tosellari.”
- Opening Ritual on Friday: Closed from Easter Monday, the Sanctuary reopens at 6:00 PM. Following in the footsteps of Francesco Tiano and Gioacchino Moscariello, another key figure of the Feast, a devotee sings a’ ffigliuola, accompanied by the tammorrari (tambourine players). They bring the birds from the Tosello and knock on the door of the Sanctuary seven times, which then opens, releasing doves into the sky. The crowd floods into the illuminated Sanctuary, and the devoted and Confratelli sing the Magnificat.
- The Sunday Procession: The offered doves are placed on the Statue of the Madonna, which proceeds from the Sanctuary on a cart, surrounded by the Confratelli. Along the route, the community offers more birds, baskets of artichokes, oranges, lemons, and traditional braided breads. From the balconies, flowers and silver and gold paper cutouts are thrown, creating exceptional reflections in the sky, which is clouded by the smoke and fragrance of roasted artichokes. “At the setting of the hour,” the Superior of the Redemptorists gives the Madonna a pair of hens, adorned with ribbons and an effigy of the Saint. As a sign of gratitude, the Confratelli offer the community two doves, taken from the statue during the procession. When they reach the Municipal Villa, the statue halts to watch the tammurriata (the local traditional dance and music).
- The Final Ritual: In the evening, when the Statue returns, the Tammorrari gather in the Califano courtyard for the vigil at the Tosello, playing music until the morning of the next day when the new procession to the Sanctuary begins, marked by the relentless sound of the drums. Upon reopening, the Tammorre (drums) are placed at the feet of the Madonna’s statue. Two prayers written by Tiano are recited, and the song Madonna della Grazia is sung, bidding farewell to the Virgin without ever turning one’s back on her.
- The Ransom Ritual: The Madonna remains exposed for eight days. Tradition tells of hens promised but not given, which spontaneously make their way to the church. Even today, many devoted retrieve the animal they offered by paying a pre-established ransom, thus avoiding any bad omen.
The Feast of the Madonna delle Galline is distinguished by the persistence of religious and traditional rituals. It is in the perfect synthesis of these elements—religiosity, faith, tradition, devotion, and popular culture expressed through sounds, dances, songs, smells, and colors of the feast—that the socio-cultural and anthropological value of this intense ceremony is defined. KB/GF