Easter in Corfu: The "Mastella" custom
Mastella
13 Apr 2023
/ 21:01
CORFU. The origin, the symbolism, the decoration, the water, the coins and the "chosen one".
"Μastello" is an italian word and it basically means "barrel". More specifically, it is described either as a wide, wooden container with a narrower base used in kitchens and by shoemakers until the early 20th century for liquids, or as a container used as a unit of weight for the sale of wine in Venice and on Greek islands.
The symbolism
In the past, the "mastella", as it is called in Corfu, was placed in Pinia until Palm Sunday, decorated "at first with laurels, later with myrtles" or cypress branches. It symbolises "Jesus' march to Jerusalem", after the miracle of Lazarus' resurrection and his welcome on the donkey by the people holding "vayia, i.e. palm leaves".
The "Piniatori"
The "Piniatori" were the ones responsible for the decoration of the "mastella". They filled the barrel with water, while they also took the coins, which, to this day, passers-by throw in the "mastella" throughout Holy Week and make a wish.
The chosen one
In the past, the "Piniatori" were also responsible for finding the "chosen one" and... whoever found them first.
The water
It is said that women and children washed only after the first Resurrection and then stayed without drying themselves, while some washed in the sea. Another version says that there is a possible connection with the blood of lambs, which were slaughtered throughout the country at the first Resurrection.
Today
The custom is now being organised by the Corfu Events Organisation, whose members run all the procedures (decoration, filling with water, transport of the mastella in cooperation with the Municipality). "This is a collective work of the Organisation's members in the week before Palm Sunday", said the Organisation's President Vassilis Kontos. The rest of the year the oak mastella is kept in a municipal area.
The symbolism
In the past, the "mastella", as it is called in Corfu, was placed in Pinia until Palm Sunday, decorated "at first with laurels, later with myrtles" or cypress branches. It symbolises "Jesus' march to Jerusalem", after the miracle of Lazarus' resurrection and his welcome on the donkey by the people holding "vayia, i.e. palm leaves".
The "Piniatori"
The "Piniatori" were the ones responsible for the decoration of the "mastella". They filled the barrel with water, while they also took the coins, which, to this day, passers-by throw in the "mastella" throughout Holy Week and make a wish.
The chosen one
In the past, the "Piniatori" were also responsible for finding the "chosen one" and... whoever found them first.
The water
It is said that women and children washed only after the first Resurrection and then stayed without drying themselves, while some washed in the sea. Another version says that there is a possible connection with the blood of lambs, which were slaughtered throughout the country at the first Resurrection.
Today
The custom is now being organised by the Corfu Events Organisation, whose members run all the procedures (decoration, filling with water, transport of the mastella in cooperation with the Municipality). "This is a collective work of the Organisation's members in the week before Palm Sunday", said the Organisation's President Vassilis Kontos. The rest of the year the oak mastella is kept in a municipal area.
