To atone for sins, fulfill promises or for pure adrenaline, dozens of the faithful danced with whips on Saturday in the patron saint festivities of San Juan de Oriente in southern Nicaragua, a tradition that has been going on for four centuries.
In the so-called dance of the “chinegros” the participants blacken their faces with charcoal and exchange blows with whips or whips made from the stuffed penis of a bull and which the people call “chilillo”.
The ancient dance took place in a street in front of the church, contrary to the traditional celebration in several streets of the town, due to police restrictions to massive celebrations of the Catholic Church.
The Archbishop of Managua, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, who officiated a mass before hundreds of faithful, indicated to AFP that “it is one of the most traditional celebrations”.
“This is a people of indigenous origin, it has a lot of influence from the indigenous part, but also the deep faith of these people,” said Brenes.
“When it is a San Juan Bautista thing, it is tradition to grab a chilillo (…), the picha or the cock of the bull stuffed with a slit of leather, the same leather, then shot by shot we grab, and for me it is quite de-stressing,” explained Isaac Norori, 39 years old.
Norori told AFP that he doesn’t mind getting hit with the chilillo because “I like it, I love it, I don’t know, but I don’t want to say I’m a masochist”.
The state-run Institute of Nicaraguan Culture estimates that around 1617 was the first time that the dance of the Chinegros was practiced, the dance-game of dueling with handmade whips that is a tradition shared by at least three municipalities in the department of Masaya.
In the municipality of San Juan de Oriente, about 45 kilometers from Managua and with about 5,000 inhabitants, the festival is held in honor of San Juan Bautista between June 23 and 26 each year.
In the dance of the Chinegros it is normal for the parishioners to show on their backs, arms and heads the reddish chicanes product of the combat with their rivals and without anyone getting upset with their antagonists for the blows received.
“It can be a bit strong the game for those who are not used to it, but as you can see, the game is nice, it’s flashy, it’s something unique that happens and it feels pretty good to do it,” said Jefrey Vanegas, 23.
“This is what all of us San Juans love, we like it, it fills us and always motivates us; year after year we wait for the party with anxiety, with love, with devotion and tradition,” Vanegas added.
In the duels there are unwritten rules, such as not directing blows to the face or below the waist, giving equal opportunities of attack and defense for both contenders and stopping when the opponent leaves the attacking position.
Since 2019, the tradition of the Chinegros has been declared “Intangible Municipal Heritage of San Juan de Oriente”.
