Prizzi – l’Abballu di li diavuli
The Holy Week of Prizzi, known for l’Abballu di li diavuli of Easter Sunday, is very articulated. On Palm Sunday there is a procession that sees the archpriest of the town crowned by an aureole and dressed in blue to represent Jesus, cross blessing, on a donkey, the streets of the country decorated with laurel arches. On the Holy Thursday, at the Mother Church, were celebrated the rite of the lavender of the feet and dinner with the staging of a rich table of breads, citrus, lettuce and fennel in favor of the apostles, impersonated for the occasion by the boys. On the morning of Holy Friday, from the Church of the Most Holy Crucifix begins the procession of the dead Christ. The sound of drums and trumpets are the background to the parade which has the urn of the dead Christ as the protagonist followed by five actors dressed up by Roman soldiers and by faithful carrying scales, nails, and crown of thorns that will serve to stage the crucifixion on Calvary. In the evening, a new procession to Calvary starts with the empty urn, richly decorated, the Sorrowful and the statue of the Piety, to gather the body of the Crucifix and take it to the procession through the streets of the country.
On Easter Sunday, in the early afternoon, it starts the Abballu di li diavuli: death in a yellow suit with a skull-shaped leather mask, crossbow armed, and the devils, in a red suit with the face covered by a wide tin mask and shoulders covered with a goat skin, armed with chains, wander around the town, dancing and brandishing their “weapons”, disturbing the public with insistent demands for money and molesting them with jokes. At Piazza Barone, where the encounter between the Risen Christ and Our Lady takes place, they start to shake jumping and running from one statue to another, trying to prevent the reunification. At this point some actors dress up angels and armed with swords that affect the devils by killing them and allow the meeting to take place, while the bells ring in glory. This dramatic action is repeated in the afternoon, in four other parts of the country: Matteotti street, Piana Rullo, Sant’Anna square and Piano Crocifisso.