In Orosei, a center located in the historic subregion of the Baronies, the pre-Easter rites start from the Lenten season, when, every Friday, the Sas Rughes ceremony takes place. Each Way of the Cross is characterized by the presence of a wooden statue, sos Tziommos (from the Latin Ecce Homo), that is, Christ, represented in the crucial moments of his Passion.

On Palm Sunday, the olive branches and the admirably intertwined palm trees (sos pàssios), are carried in procession, blessed and then preserved for protective purposes.

We pass directly to the evening of Holy Tuesday, when the procession of the Mysteries (Misteros) has fallen into disrepair in the first decades of the last century and restored in the early 2000s. The processional procession starts from the Oratory of the Brotherhood of Santa Croce. It is attended by confreres and sisters (corfàrios and Mandatarias) of the three brotherhoods that organize the rites of Holy Week: Sas Ànimas, Santa Rughe and Su Rosàriu. The confreres carry the cross and SOS Tziommos in procession, visit seven churches, while the singers sing the Miserere and the sacred lauds (gotzos).

On the evening of Holy Thursday, however, the Mass in Coena Domini takes place, a re-enactment of the Last Supper, announced by the sound of the bells tied until the Easter Resurrection. Within the same function, the rite of washing the feet (on lavabu) takes place: the priest washes, dries and kisses the feet of twelve confreres who are part of the three brotherhoods mentioned above. At the end, starting with the oratories of the three brotherhoods, the Protzsione de sos Sepurcros e sas Chircas (the search by Our Lady of Sorrows for the Son) takes place. Two Madonnas are led through the streets of Orosei. The Sepulcres were set up by priories and trustees, placing the crucifix on cushions richly adorned with floral arrangements, candles, blessed breads, a tray for the offerings of the faithful and sos nenneres, plates of cereals and legumes sprouted in the dark between the fourth and fifth Sunday of Lent. On the sides of the Sepulchre there are palm trees and olive branches. At the center of the Sepurcru of the Parish Church of Saint James, instead of the Crucifix, there is the tabernacle of the Sacred Species, kept here after the Mass in Coena Domini for adoration until midnight and kept until the next Mass. Inside the seven churches, the simulacrum of Our Lady is placed next to the Sepulchre, while the singers, arranged circularly, sing a stanza and the refrain of the Gotzos de sa Jovia Santa. During the song, the faithful go to pay homage to Christ, leaving an offering in the special prepared plate. Late in the evening, the confreres, in their offices where they belong, perform the rite of Saint Suchena, evoking the Last Supper of Jesus with the Apostles, based on fish soup and eels. This specific ritual is opened and closed by the song of the Miserere.

Good Friday is marked by the two ritual events of s'Icravamentu (the removal of Jesus from the cross) and s'Intzerru (the funeral procession, following the deposition of Jesus from the cross), organized by the Brotherhood of the Holy Cross. The prior officially invites the other brotherhoods to participate in the rite and to carry the Dead Christ and Our Lady of Sorrows. Even s'Iscavamentu, like the above-mentioned Misteros procession, is a rite, which fell into disrepair in the early twentieth century, recently restored. All the phases of this ritual (the liberation from the crown of thorns, the extraction of the nails, etc.) are accompanied by specific songs: the Stabat Mater, the Kirie and the Seven Ispadas of Pain.

This is followed by the procession with s'Interru de Zesu Gristu, led by the Prior of the Rosary, who is presented with the sign of the Prior of the Holy Cross. The Christ, covered by a veil, and placed on a litter (brossolu) richly adorned by the Mandatarias with precious fabrics and fresh flowers, together with the sacred instruments used for s'Iscravamentu, is carried in procession through the streets of the historic center of the town by the confreres of Sas Ànimas. At the center of the procession are the confreres of Santa Rughe who hold the large dark cross, almost five meters long, called Sa Rughe Manna. Our Lady of Sorrows, on the other hand, is carried by the confreres of the Rosary Oratory while a large, sad and participating crowd closes the procession. The procession proceeds through the streets of the town reciting the Rosary and at each station the singers sing verses of Miserere and SOS gotzos de s'Interru. At the end of the Way of the Cross, the simulacra are brought back to the Holy Cross Oratory, and a single singer sings a touching monody that resumes the dialogue between the Crucified Jesus and the sinner.

On Sunday morning, the confreres collect the periwinkle, which will be arranged along the Easter procession, while the day before the arches of the Holy Cross and the Rosary were decorated by the sisters with fresh asparagine and flowers. These preparations are aimed at celebrating a festive rite: the encounter between the statues of the Risen One and the Madonna, at the ringing of the bells finally dissolved, as a sign of celebration.

The two simulacra are carried by two processional groups, who meet and bow to greet between the two statues, gradually moving the veil that covers the Madonna, until it is completely discovered.

S'Incontru reaches the height of the Jubilee at the hymn of the Magnificat, when the crowd witnesses the exchange of signs between brotherhoods as a sign of brotherhood and while the festive sound of bells invites the faithful to participate in the solemn Easter Mass.

History of the event

The rites of Holy Week in Orosei are full of charm and faithfully refer to the Iberian tradition that generated them. Also from a lexical point of view, for example, su brossolu (lit. cradle) is compared with bressol in Alghero. The use of plant species is interesting, such as periwinkle, a plant propitiating nature's flourishing (not surprisingly present in Sa Pippia de Maju, scepter of Su Componidori, king of Sartiglia di Oristano, with which the king of the equestrian joust blesses the crowd) and asparagine, an evergreen plant, a sign of the defeat of death by the Risen One.