The Halloween party is known to all, a celebration born in Celtic Europe and which now has a purely commercial setting. And if Halloween has esoteric origins, and children go from door to door asking "Trick or treat?", In Sardinia the cult of souls has its roots in religion: Sardinian children, in fact, use different formulas, in Sardinian language, which they vary from area to area to ask for a gift to offer to the deceased.

  • In Ogliastra, Tiana and Seui say "Su Prugadoriu"
  • In the Campidano it is "Is Animas, Is Animeddas, Is Panixeddas"
  • In Nuoro it is "Su Mortu Mortu"
  • In Sulcis it is "Su Biddiu Longu"
  • In Dorgali and in Baronia it is "Su Peti Cocone"

They are all names that tell something about the festival of souls and some variations depending on the area. “Su prugadoriu” tells us that on the night between October 31st and November 1st the doors of purgatory would open, thus letting penitent souls circulate in the world of the living. "Is Panixeddas" and "Su Peti Cocone" reveal the custom of asking for bread for those dead souls to whom the terms of "Is Animeddas" and "Su Mortu Mortu" are dedicated, for example.
According to tradition, the children, dressed in rags, would go around the country to ask for gifts for the dead, for souls. And if before we gave bread, fresh and dried fruit, almonds and hazelnuts, now we also offer sweets and chocolate.

Where does this cult of souls come from? Between October and November the days get shorter and for the pagans it was as if the "portals" between the world of the living and that of the dead overlapped, thus making souls return to Earth, in their homes. It was therefore up to their families to honor them by offering them food.

For this occasion it is also traditional to prepare typical sweets.

This is Gianni Zanata's Sardinian column: every week anecdotes, curiosities, origins of Sardinian expressions.

(Unioneonline)

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