Text taken from the Nomination file no. 01120 for inscription in 2016 on the Representative List of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
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The Whitsunday Pilgrimage of Şumuleu Ciuc mainly attracts Roman-Catholic
communities from Romania and abroad, but also other religious communions.
The communities involved in the Pilgrimage are The Superior
Ecclesiastical Authority of the Franciscan Monastery Şumuleu, The Franciscan Community from St.
Stephen Province of The Order of Friars Minor, Roman-Catholic believers from
Transylvania and Moldavia, pilgrims from rural and urban settlements from
Romania, Europe and other continents.
Foreign pilgrims are grouped according to their native countries:
Hungary, Slovakia, Germany, Brazil, Australia, their confession being an
element of social cohesion, as well as extra-religious interests, among which
cultural and religious tourism.
Standing out from the pilgrim categories are the ones organised
according to traditional criteria: gender, age, local/regional provenance and
repertorial competence. Due to them, for centuries on end, the religious
tradition of Whitsunday was transmitted from one generation to another, as an
identity value that highlights confessional, ethnical and regional affiliation.
Şumuleu Ciuc (Csíksomlyó in Hungarian, Schomlenberg in German), where
the pilgrimage of the catholic Whitsunday Eve takes place each year, is a
quarter of the Miercurea Ciuc municipality in Harghita County, Romania. It lies
in the valley of Şumuleu creek, at the feet of Şumuleul Mare (1033 m) and
Şumuleul Mic (834 m) peaks. Most of the inhabitants are ethnic Hungarians.
This pilgrimage is the largest religious procession of Roman-Catholics
in Romania, and, after 1990, it became an important religious event in Central
and Eastern Europe. The pilgrim processions are formed in Eastern and Central
Transylvania, as well as in Central Moldavia. Annually,
hundreds of thousands of pilgrims come here from Romanian cities and villages,
together with other Catholics from Hungary, Slovakia, Germany, Brazil,
Australia and even South Africa.
The Whitsunday Pilgrimage of Şumuleu Ciuc is a major religious and also
ritual event, attested in the area around the Franciscan monastic settlement of
Şumuleu since 1442, by ecclesiastic documents and oral tradition.
Practicing the cult of Virgin Mary is an important objective of the
pilgrimage. The participants give thanks to Virgin Mary through donations and
commemorative plates, expressing their gratitude and devotion through prayers
and practices specific to folk religiousness.
The pilgrim passage can take from hours to days, depending on the
starting place. The arrival is on the Friday before Whitsunday. The pilgrims
follow theological and ritual sequences, following the same spatial and temporal scenario. After
the greeting in front of the cathedral, they enter the church to pray at the
statue of Virgin Mary. They spend The night either in pernoctation or in the
sanctuary.
The morning after, the faithful climb towards the four chapels on
Şumuleu Mountain. Some pilgrims choose the Way of the Cross, or "The Climb
of Jesus". Most of them get through difficult conditions on purpose,
praying to the 14 crosses, symbols of Jesus' stations on Golgotha. Next comes
the Holy Liturgy service in the open-air chancel, between the mountains of
Şumuleul Mic and Şumuleul Mare. This is the solemn moment of maximum sacred
intensity, lived by the pilgrims with Christian emotion and devoutness.
After this, the pilgrims rest, eat together, start new friendships and
rejoice over the fact that they succeeded to arrive to Şumuleu to give thanks
to Virgin Mary.
Pilgrims of both genders and of all ages, women, men and children,
participate at the Pilgrimage without social, political, confessional or
cultural discrimination. The group cohesion element is the belief in Christian
values and the cult of Virgin Mary.
People believe the road to Şumuleu must be taken on foot, because it
symbolises Via Dolorosa or the hard road to the everlasting life.
The pilgrim groups are traditionally formed following three main
criteria: confession, local provenance and ethnic group. The first criterion
reflects in knowing and honouring the specific behaviour, but especially in
performing a repertory that is carried on from generation to generation. Also,
the group leaders see to the keeping of tradition, from maintaining a pious
attitude and an adequate conduct to learning and singing songs during the
entire pilgrimage. To these, the remarkable efforts of the Franciscan teachers
were added, who cultivated a valuable drama genre dated in the 17th century,
plays with religious themes that contributed to the education of young people,
the enrichment of the sacred repertory and the preservation of the original
symbolic messages. The ethnic and local memberships are also carefully
highlighted by the group/pilgrim cortege leaders: insignia and vegetational
symbols are carried, and the participants wear traditional costumes.
In the last decades, the original groups were joined by others, based on
religious, professional, age and gender criteria, and also pilgrims from other
countries, young faithful from other cults and tourists, attracted by the
natural landscape and the values of the local heritage.
Following the cult of Virgin Mary represents the primary meaning of the
pilgrimage. The participants thank Virgin Mary through donations and
commemorative plates, expressing their gratitude and devotion through prayers
and practices specific to folk religiousness.
The pilgrims arrive on Friday before Whitsunday. At the monastic
complex, they follow several stages of the Franciscan monks imposed religious
scenario. After greeting, they enter the church to pray to Virgin Mary statue.
At night they watch or sleep in the sanctuary.
Next morning, the faithful climb to chapels on Şumuleu Mountain, on Way
of the Cross or «Jesus' climbing». Some walk difficultly on purpose - on their
knees or barefooted - praying to the 14 crosses, symbols of Golgotha stations.
Next follows the Holy Liturgy service, moment of maximum solemnity and sacred
intensity, lived by pilgrims with Christian emotion and devoutness. This
behaviour, specific to devoted persons with pilgrimage experience who know the
meaning of every gesture, is spontaneously transmitted to each involved person
and refined in time. Sharing to the group the experiences lived by some
pilgrims, doubled by religious praxis, represent efficient ways to pass over
the knowledge, to confront, decipher and experiment the relationship with the Sacred.
The young listen to elders' stories, follow their behaviour, are convinced by
the emotional-psychological value of information, getting involved in religious
practice exercise.
The Franciscan community promotes the spiritual values of pilgrimage, contributing
to pilgrims' sensitization and education towards theology and Christian ethics
precepts. The harmonious development of socio-human relations is encouraged.
The Whitsunday Pilgrimage contributes to Roman-Catholic Christians’
identity and cultural conscience development through cyclic reactivation of
communion memory and local history.
The oral traditions investing the religious event with historical value
are based on the Catholic Church teachings, especially the cult of Virgin Mary,
contributing to their consolidation in the conscience of whole generations.
The Franciscan order has a defining role in configuring this impressive
event, by promoting its spiritual values, contributing to pilgrims’
sensitization and education towards theology and Christian ethics. The
harmonious development of relationships between persons of different ethnic
groups and cultures, and within the communities, is encouraged.
The Pilgrimage of Şumuleu Ciuc maintains and perpetuates communion
conscience, consolidates group inter-human relations and reactivates spiritual
connections between Romanian rural and urban communities and the ones from
other European and extra-European countries.
The space is dedicated by Roman-Catholic tradition: the Franciscan order
activates here since the mid-14th century; the privilege of pilgrimage was
given to the sanctuary since 1444 (according to the pontifical letter of Pope
Eugene IV); in 1798 the bishop of Transylvania declared the statue of Virgin
Mary as miracle-worker. In time, this religious fame grew due to the legend
based on a historic event: the defeat, on Whitsunday 1567, of Prince János
Zsigmond by the Szeklers who refused to convert to Protestantism. The oral
traditions crystallised around the 18th century relate that the support came
from Virgin Mary. Since then, each year, the Catholic faithful gather at
Şumuleu, in the largest religious procession in the area.
The Whitsunday Pilgrimage from Şumuleu Ciuc expresses mutual respect
amongst communities, and does not contravene international human rights law.
This form of intangible cultural heritage expression, specific to the
Roman-Catholic Christian communion, encourages the sincere dialogue between
people, cultivates the mutual respect between persons, regardless of gender,
age, communion and political orientation. As a religiousness manifesting form,
it is inscribed in universal phenomena that can be identified in religious
systems of all times, from antiquity until our days.
The pilgrimage contributes to the preservation of human solidarity, by
sharing the same spiritual value system. Coming from different geographic
areas, from rural and urban environments, the pilgrims promote superior moral
values, meant to contribute to the harmonious communities’ development.
Christian moral values -
humbleness, generosity, honesty, the love for one's neighbour - acquire new
meaning in the minds and souls of children, youths, adults and elders,
redefining their place among their peers.
Beyond spiritual implications, this event contributes to the sustainable
development of the localities on the pilgrims' road, through the material and
human investments made for infrastructure consolidation, in the services area,
in the traditional crafts perpetuation and mass media. The faithful gathering
at Şumuleu Ciuc offers the intangible heritage researchers one of the most
complex study environment for the current religious mentality and practices.
Last but not least, the pilgrimage is – and can remain, in the future – an
efficient way to make the most of, develop and promote the local heritage in
its entirety.
Words, behaviour and musical language pass knowledge on the significance
of pilgrimage and its functions in post-modern society, cultivating mutual
respect and solidarity.
The symbolic dimension of theological Christian acts and old magic folk
practices – picking miraculous plants, waiting for the sunrise on
Whitsunday, gives this event singularity among similar ones in
Europe. The number of participants and diverse expression of religious
experience bring the pilgrimage from Şumuleu Ciuc closer to the ones from
Lourdes, France and Fatima, Portugal. If the Pilgrimage will be accepted on the
list, will raise awareness in each year among the half of million pilgrims from
all over the world about the importance of intangible heritage, knowing that
they take part and hand over to next generations such an important value. The
Pilgrimage gets huge media attention each year, so the importance of its
heritage value will be transmitted to citizens all over the world.
(Photos)
