Rome in three days: Eid, Sikh and Tattoos

Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan. Vittorio Square. Rome, 23 April 2023

There are times when in the space of a few days, if not on the same day, everything seems to happen in Rome.

Festivals, religious ceremonies, and events follow one after the other, almost getting stuck and keeping up with them is not an easy task.

But this is the charm of the city that shows a lot but also hides a lot among its gates and parks.

With bewitching beauty, it enchants with its immortal and famous historical and cultural riches while on the other hand, it covers the fibrillating wonders of the peoples who inhabit it from the sight of most.

As happened during the long weekend that began on Friday 21st with the celebration of Eid-il-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, which took everyone by surprise because it was now taken for granted that it was the following Saturday, given that in Asia, and in Bangladesh too, Eid was celebrated on that day. Instead, in agreement with the Great Mosque of Rome, and Saudi Arabia, the end of the Holy Month of Ramadan has been decided for Friday.

Like every year, I followed and photographed the prayer of the Bangladeshi community in Torpignattara, as I have been doing for more than twenty years now.

This time focusing on the two squares: the first prayer at 8.00 in the morning in Largo Preneste with the faithful of the Greater Dhaka Somity and then in Sangalli Park, in Largo Raffaele Petazzoni with the Torpignattara Central Mosque.

A long morning which ended with the last prayer at 10.30, truly participatory and colorful as usual. In the end, after the hugs and greetings, everyone enjoyed the day between a coffee at the bar, games on the rides with the children, and long lunches at home or in local restaurants.

 

Eid-il-Fitr. Torpignattara. Rome, 21 April 2023

Not even have the time to catch my breath as the following Sunday was truly a tour de force both for the body and for the eyes.

Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan was celebrated at lunchtime.

April 13 or 14 is the beginning of the new calendar year for the Sikh community, the day which commemorates the baptism of the “Panj Piare” (the five devotees) at the hands of the tenth and last guru Gobind Singh, in 1699, from which derives the custom of taking the surname “Singh” (lions) for men and “Khaur” (princesses) for women.

A Sikh (“disciple”) is a follower of Sikhism, a monotheistic religion that originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of the northwestern Indian subcontinent. The term “Sikh” has its origin in the Sanskrit words शिष्य (śiṣya; disciple, student) or शिक्ष (śikṣa; education). A Sikh, according to Article I of the Sikh Rehat Maryada (the Sikh code of conduct), is “any human being who believes faithfully in an Immortal Being; ten Gurus, from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh; Guru Granth Sahib; the teachings of the ten Gurus and the baptism bequeathed by the tenth Guru”.

Sikh properly refers to adherents of Sikhism as a religion, not as an ethnic group.

Like every year, after the people gathered in the square and ate the dishes offered by the organizers, they prayed in front of the Holy Book before starting the procession – which is the most beautiful part of the festival.

Usually, the members of the procession are barefoot in deference to the Book. Likewise, many cover their heads and wear the color saffron or orange. The street before the procession is cleared of the Sewadars and interspersed with the gatka, the martial arts, and combat displays of the Sikhs, which become the main attraction in the afternoon to fascinate the Sikhs and all those who have been magnetized by the triumph of colors that exploded in the square.

 

Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan. Vittorio Square. Rome, 23 April 2023

But, this time, I had to run away at the end of the procession because the last event of the day was waiting for me: the Filipino Tattoo Festival, the “Dawdawan5” organized by POTA and ROMA GANG, now in its Fifth Edition.

A breathless change of atmosphere and mental state, attenuated by a small hour-long break to eat something and rest my bones.

From the light and intense heat of the sun in Piazza Vittorio to the dark and smoky rooms of the CSA INTIFADA in Casal Bruciato.

Until late in the evening wrapped in thick blankets of smoke, with the walls vibrating to the hip-hop music of the Roma Gang and the white lights illuminating the skin designed by the expert tattoo artists.

The last photograph taken was a glimpse at the shirt a guy was wearing at the bar. The unmistakable face of Apo Whang-Od, also known as Maria Oggay, the Filipino tattoo artist of Buscalan, Tinglayan, Kalinga, “the last” and the oldest mambabatok (Kalinga traditional tattoo artist) who is part of the Butbut people of the wider group ethnic Kalinga.

A precious homage to the profound Filipino culture, even among the rhymes and basses of modern hip-hop culture.

 

“DAWDAWAN5”. CSA Intifada. Rome, 23 April 2023

All this is Rome, my Rome.

A kaleidoscope of religions, people, faces, sounds, and colors.

Italian version