Calendário Cósmico

The present work is based on the research of anthropologists, sociologists and folklorists, such as Wilhelm Mannhardt, James Frazer, Arnold van Gennep, Wladimir Propp, among others. The combined analysis of their work resulted on the conception of a schematic formula (seen in synthesis below), which classifies the Azorean events pertaining to the system.


This text is a synopsis, or a skeleton of the classification, pointing to the existing vestiges from the past structuring most of the Azorean cultural ceremonial practices which reflect the proximity of the Sun or Moon (now known as erroneous).


Many of the actual European cultures have lost the original sense of their rituals, which were routed on practices from, at least, 20.000 or 30.000 years ago. However, those still connected to the rural life maintain memories of this past. Europe is now rediscovering this heritage, and the Azores, due to its rural nature and the richness of its ethnography, is part of the process.


Holy Spirit Festivities in Pico island
The core of the European culture is marked by traumatic events caused by the severity of the weather, during the glacial ages, which influenced its symbolic practices, creating the ‘Cosmic Calendar’ here referred, which followed the changes happening to the Earth in relationship to the Sun’s influence. The effects that these events have had on culture prevailed, persisting to the present time, but covered by different meanings, due to Catholic prohibitions and consequent alterations or adaptations. Thus, only knowing about this past it is possible to understand what is hidden underneath the present cultural performances.


Gaia figuring Mother Earth
The presence of this past is reflected on the spirit behind cyclical Azorean rituals. Following its traditional knowledge rooted in Europe, we may observe two basic differences and feelings which separate significant times within those cultures: a) a) fear and sadness, on the rituals of expulsion of the Winter Demons;


e b) joy and hope, on Springtime, with the welcome of the Spirit of Vegetation.


Sandro Boticelli, The Springtime
The swift change of mentalities has forced societies to abandon the beliefs related to these practices, which were the result of thousands of years of experience and related knowledge. They were based on the perception of the skies, the stars, and the forces which control them, understood as ‘gods’, and their influence in humans and in their activities.


The ultimate destiny of the universe, and the position of mankind, within this context, influenced the past behaviour, because these matters were the centre of attentions, dominating the daily life of entire populations. They gave rise to a calendar of events, nominated here as the ‘Cosmic Calendar’. In spite of the change happening on today’s world, Culture is still a result of those beliefs, which remain as its very substratum.


Marc Chagall – detail of the “Three Candles”