The prophecy of lava : festivals of the Holy Spirit in Azores—a case study of paracletian cultural heritage in the municipality of Madalena on Pico Island

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Franco, José Eduardo and Rego, Rui Maia and Alves-Jesus, Susana; Sadowski, Mirosław M. and Bonaviri, Gianluigi Mastandrea and Ceccotti, Filippo, eds. (2025) The prophecy of lava : festivals of the Holy Spirit in Azores—a case study of paracletian cultural heritage in the municipality of Madalena on Pico Island. In: Heritage in War and Peace IV. University of Strathclyde Publishing, Glasgow. ISBN 9781914241802 (https://doi.org/10.17868/strath.00093388)

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Abstract

This study, which starts with a historical, theological and cultural framework of the origin, evolution and metamorphosis of the cult of the Holy Spirit since its medieval genesis, aims to analyse how paracletian traditions have been recreated in the municipality of Madalena on the Azorean island of Pico to characterise them and inventory the reasons for their strong permanence in this territory, where they are still very much alive and widespread. The study is based on a survey of documents, photographs and oral interviews with the main protagonists of these festivities from 13 of the 16 Brotherhoods of the Holy Spirit that are responsible for promoting them each year. The work aims to understand the extent to which the rituals of the Holy Spirit in Madalena do Pico reproduce the essential outline of the Holy Spirit Festivities in the Azores archipelago. It would also be interesting to know how these annual festivities present differentiating particularities within the framework of the island’s cultural heritage, with their rituals inspiring values and social practices that promote fundamental human rights such as equality, solidarity and social fraternity.

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