The Manaies of Girona will stop hitting this year the steps of the Cathedral staircase with their spears at the start of the Procession of the Holy Burial, an unprecedented modification that seeks to preserve the temple's heritage. The descent of the Roman militia down the staircase, one of the most recognizable moments of Girona's Holy Week, will also mark the beginning of this Good Friday's parade.
The decision affects the passage over the steps, where until now the clash of spears was part of the sound liturgy of the act. The sound will be maintained only when the maniples pass through the landings of the staircase that lead to the cobbled square, with the intention of preserving that effect without impacting the stone in the most sensitive points.
A measure to protect the staircase
The president of the Confraternity of Jesus Crucified Manaies of Girona, Xavier Serra, explains that it was the confraternity itself that proposed this alternative to the Chapter of the Cathedral after receiving concern about the possible damage that the spears could cause.
"The steps have an overhang, and when the armed men descend the staircase they hit the tip with the spear, which is perhaps the weakest part" - Xavier Serra, president of the Confraria de Jesús Crucificat Manaies de Girona
Serra frames the change in the will to "preserve the heritage", although he underlines that the intention is to maintain the liturgy and that the essence of the act is not lost. The forecast is to distribute the maniples in such a way that there is always part of the formation on one of the landings so that the characteristic sound remains present, although it may be heard with somewhat less intensity.
From the Diocese of Girona, this modification is situated within the set of preventive conservation actions that are being applied in the Cathedral, both inside and outside. It also points out that, in the case of the procession, a reduction of the general impact has been sought and not only of the passage of the Manaies.
Previous tests and discarded alternatives
It is not the first measure adopted in recent years. Serra recalls that for five or six years the Manaies no longer rehearse in the Plaça dels Apòstols and do so in the Plaça de Sant Domènec. In addition, the rehearsals on Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week have been limited.
The brotherhood studied different formulas before reaching the solution that will be applied now. Last year, rubber protections were tested at the end of the spears, but the option was discarded because it altered both the sound and the movement.
"The blocks caused the sound to be lost along the entire route and prevented the spear from bouncing, and therefore the movement could no longer be done in the same way" - Xavier Serra, president of the Confraria de Jesús Crucificat Manaies de Girona
Also, it was considered to incorporate bells at the top of the spears and to do without the metal rings at the end of the pole, as other maniples do. Serra rejected that possibility, understanding that it responds to a different aesthetic and requires a different movement of the spear.
The procession will leave at nine at night
The Procession of the Holy Burial will begin at nine at night and will travel for about two hours through different points of the Old Quarter. The descent of the Manaies down the Cathedral steps will open the event, with the participation of 120 soldiers of the Roman militia.
The brotherhood assumes this edition as a test to measure the real result of the new formula. If the sonority is maintained and the act is not distorted, the measure could be consolidated in coming years. If the change notably detracts from the ceremony, the intention is to sit down again with the Chapter to seek a solution that allows protecting the Cathedral without emptying of meaning one of the most singular rituals of Girona's Holy Week.