I Cantori di Zollino, Salento: “I Passiuna tu Christù”

I riti pasquali e della settimana sono un vero carnet di tradizioni nel sud dell’Italia. Non fa eccezione la Puglia e il Salento. Nella Grecìa (accento sulla ì) salentina, nove piccoli centri a sud di Lecce che ancora conservano il grìko (lingua neo greca), la Passione di Cristo è un misto tra pathos e tradizione che si rinnova.

Volendo dirla tutta, al contrario di ciò che si immagina, la “Passione di Cristo” è molto profana e poco religiosa, eccezion fatta per la storia di Cristo e dei suoi ultimi giorni, cantata da uomini (oggi anche da donne) che per anni rinnovano il rito e il momento. A Zollino, nel cuore della Grecìa salentina, a metà strada tra Maglie e Lecce, la Passione di Cristo che si tiene la Domenica della Palme, è cantata in lingua grìka e prende il nome de “I Passiuna tu Crhistù“.

The “Passion of Christ”: the origins

On the origins of the “Passion of Christ” of Zollino and the entire Grecìa salentina there is no certainty. No written testimony helps to reconstruct the origins of the Passion song even though it is thought to date back at least to the eighteenth century. After all, “The Passion of Christ” or, if you prefer, “I Passiuna tu Christù“, is passed down orally and even the verses vary, from village to village, in number and text. Even the number of verses, in the same Zollino, are sometimes more numerous and other times, perhaps also for reasons of brevity (such as when sung by children), are in a shortened version.

The melody, however, is almost always the same in the various centers of the Greek linguistic minority, except for the rhythm which changes depending on the Singers and the various centers of belonging.

The “Passion of Christ”: Palm Sunday

In Zollino “I Passiuna tu Christù” is held on Palm Sunday, at the end of the 11:00 mass and, in recent years, is sung first by the children and then by the adults (in the version women first and then men). The symbol of the Singers and the Passion of Christ is the Palm (olive branches) adorned with some Holy Cards as a form of protection and respect for Christ. In front of the Singers some baskets for collecting offerings, adorned with colored ribbons, symbolism often used in Salento. Before arriving at the churchyard, however, the song of the Passion was held at street intersections in order to collect more tributes that, of course, cannot be missed (out of respect and, perhaps, also for superstition).

The Singers of the Passion

The formation of the Singers of the “Passion of Christ” is always the same: two male voices alternating in the verses and an accordion player. In recent years, female voices have been added to the male voices, making the singing even more engaging. However, the singers are associated by gender. Therefore, a male singer pairs with another of the same sex and vice versa for the females. The historic voices of Zollino are Antimo Pellegrino (still active) and Tommaso Lifonso. Among the older women is Concetta Caputo but young Singers have started to carve out space to carry on this ancient tradition. Among these, I like to mention Donato Tundo, Loreto Tondi, Maristella Maniglia, and Annunziata Tondi accompanied on the accordion by Mattia Manco.

The Song of Redemption

It is told that in past years the Catholic Church did not look favorably on songs not “disciplined” by the followers of Christ, and even today the Passion Songs are held outside churches, at most in the churchyard (as in the case of Zollino). The dispute was somewhat inspired by Don Camillo and Peppone, here in a Salento version.

The text of “The Passion of Christ” varies depending on who sang it over the years, and even meticulous research efforts have not been able to find a standard version of the song. The origins, however, leave no doubt. The Passion of Christ is a song of liberation and redemption of a farming people. Many Passion Singers waited for Easter to gather some offerings. Zollino, after all, is an agricultural center where quality legumes are grown (today) and where, until the 1990s, the cultivation of tobacco was the livelihood of most of the population.

For some years, at the end of the 1950s and until 1975, the Passion of Christ of Zollino was abandoned and seriously at risk of being forgotten. Thanks to Giovanni Pellegrino and the Bottega del Teatro, who for a couple of years emigrated to Milan where he had the opportunity to know Dario Fo’s theater, since 1975 the tradition has been firmly standing and new generations, wisely instructed, continue in the intent to keep afloat what their fathers had woven.

The Passion of Christ, in this corner of Italy, is the redemption of humble people, farmers. A song of belonging that preserves an indescribable beauty. A richness without glitter that sinks its treasures in the soul of people, unique and hospitable.