In a Lenten tradition preserved over the centuries, men dressed in black t-shirts, hoods, or bandanas walk along the lanes of Mumbai's gaothans, or villages, at midnight, singing mournful litanies and stopping at every wayside cross for prayers.
The 40-day Lent season, which began on March 5, commemorates the period Christ spent in the wilderness before his arrest and crucifixion. The melancholic chants of the black-clad men, called 'passionists' or papiyas in the East Indian dialect of Marathi, recall the pain and prayers of Christ in his final hours. Their songs are drawn from the Christ Puran, a Marathi version of the Bible written in the style of Hindu religious epics. The singers call out to slumbering residents to wake up, kneel, and pray in repentance.
"The papiyas or penitents represent the apostles—Peter, James, and John—who prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus before his agony and crucifixion at Mount Calvary," said Walter Murzello, founder-trustee of the community group Mobai Gaothan Panchayat.
Men dressed in black t-shirts, hoods, or bandanas walk through Mumbai's gaothans (villages) at midnight, singing mournful litanies and pausing at every wayside cross for prayers | FPJ
Men dressed in black t-shirts, hoods, or bandanas walk through Mumbai's gaothans (villages) at midnight, singing mournful litanies and pausing at every wayside cross for prayers | FPJ
This tradition, unique to the East Indian Catholics—formerly called Portuguese Christians—has seen a revival over the last decade, thanks to efforts by the Mobai Gaothan Panchayat. Arnold D'Souza, a resident of Orlem, Malad, says that most of the 'Passionists' in his 40-member group are young people from the local community. "I heard the papiyas as a child and later joined them," said D'Souza, adding that the tradition has become so popular that it now takes place every Friday during Lent, whereas it was previously limited to Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday.
The Orlem group's Lenten calendar is so packed that they have a schedule for the season, with visits to villages like Dahisar, Kurla, Manori, Bhayandar, and Bandra.
Men dressed in black t-shirts, hoods, or bandanas walk through Mumbai's gaothans (villages) at midnight, singing mournful litanies and pausing at every wayside cross for prayers | FPJ
Steve Pereira, a resident of Kurla village, is part of a 35-member group called the Holy Cross Papiya Group, named after the local parish church. "My dad was a great papiya singer. He taught me to sing and told me the tradition would end if the younger generation did not embrace it," said Pereira, whose group travels nightly to Chakala, Marouli, Parla, and other Christian localities.
"Because of mixed marriages, other Catholics like Goans have joined papiya groups. We even have a Tamil-speaking member," said Murzello, noting that a contemporary feature of the tradition is the black shirts, bandanas, and dark-coloured trousers worn by the penitents, replacing the hooded black tunics of the past.
