COMPARATICO … WHAT ?

When it comes to Comparatico, most likely, from the city of Naples on down they will have heard of it while in the opposite direction it will be a completely new term; perhaps, you will have to repeat it several times, spell it out and, having failed in the previous steps, rewrite the term on a piece of paper to make your point.

(AS REGARD TO Treccani ENCYCLOPEDIA ) COMPARATICO :  In the folklore of various Italian regions, the comparatico, vulgarly "Sangiovanni," is differentially named according to the rite that gave rise to it. Special obligations are incumbent on the different categories of compari. The wedding one has to lead the bride to the altar, put the ring on her finger, accompany her to the marital home, give her some valuable object. The one of baptism must hold the godchild at the font, recite the Creed clearly and precisely, lest the creature grow stuttering or short-lived, give him the gift prescribed by custom. Should the godchild be left without parents, the comrade somewhere is obliged to raise him at home (because el vien a esser pare del putelo, as Bernoni says); and if he comes to die, he is obliged to contribute to the funeral expenses. The salt comare does not go to the sacred font, but remains in the dwelling, by the puerpera. The confirmation comrade accompanies his godson to church, tying a colorful ribbon on his arm and giving him a few gifts. Nor are these only the ways of contracting spiritual kinship, among the people. One becomes a compañero by cutting a child's nails or hair for the first time in the first or fifth month of age, or by piercing the earlobe in the seventh month of age of a little girl; just as one becomes a compañero if, in order to escape imminent danger, one invokes the help of some person or the pity of the aggressor himself by saying, Sangiovanni! Calabrian young girls make themselves comrades on the day of St. John the Baptist (June 24) by exchanging a bamboccio (zitiellu), which is often a large bunch of flowers or herbs, among which puleggio is indispensable, bearing in the place of the mouth a red carnation and in the place of the eyes two white carnations, well wrapped and covered with a cap. The puleggio is taken to the church to be blessed and then to the procession, behind the saint; then the comarelle eat a puleggio leaf, which they draw from the bunch. Some of these ceremonies are in essence forms of that special institution, which is the affratellation (see).

St. John’s, there is little joking

Many times the saints are invoked by devotees to be enlightened on this or that matter, to obtain a response, to find a lost object, or to locate someone who has left a slander. The invocation is often accompanied by strange practices, which overwhelm any religious spirit, and give signs of trivial credulity.

The most feared saint is St. John, who presides over the Comparatic, precisely.

Woe to one who violates the duties it imposes! If one does not keep them scrupulously, he causes manifest offense to it, and will be punished for it. Curious are the bonds by which the children bind themselves in fellow-uncles. One of the ways consists in trapping a hair for each, winding it up and throwing it to the wind; another lies in entwining the little fingers of the right hand, accompanying the gesture with a chant invoking the saint, and asking for his protection.

Il 24 Giugno non si deve lavorare per non offenderlo e sperimentare delle disgrazie, fulmini e grandine. Alcuni scalpellini di Molfetta ( città a 20 kilometri da Bari , circa ) che non vollero ubbidire al precetto, rimasero schiacciati sotto una grossa pietra che trasportavano in un cantiere. Dei contadini del Tavoliere per non avere voluto smettere di lavorare, videro andare in fiamme i mucchi di manipoli di grano accumulati nelle aie.

Comparatico in Sicily: Saint John the Baptist

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The strongest among the various comparatics is that of St. John, in which one entrusts one’s friendship to the saint. For one to decide to become a compari or commari essential prerequisite is a close bond of friendship and deep trust. In Barrafranca, in the province of Enna, St. John the Baptist was traditionally celebrated with practices different from the classic processions. The Barrere tradition, in fact, is that of the comparatico. One entrusts one’s friendship to the saint (hence the sacred character of the bond that the two comparators assume), forming a bond that remains valid until death. This tradition is known as “u cumpari e sangiuvanni.” Those who want to become compari would stand in front of each other and repeat a particular formula.

Le regole del Comparatico in Sicilia: ecco cosa bisogna fare per essere veri Cumpari

Cumpà and Cummà: compare and comare. Behind these two terms is a whole world, made up of Sicilian traditions that, even today, are passed down.
Being a compare is no small thing: it is a bond that comes close to that between brothers.
This very close relationship has a value that we could call “sacred”: perhaps not everyone knows, it is connected to the figure of St. John.

United as brothers, or rather, as comparatico. That of the Comparatico in Sicily is an ancient tradition that continues to be kept alive in various localities. It is difficult to explain what this bond represents. Different from a blood bond, it is based on mutual trust and is sanctioned by certain rituals that bind the two “contracting parties” forever. Both pledge to support and help the other in case of need and, in general, to walk side by side along the path of life. The quasi-sacred value of the comparatico and commaratico becomes apparent when one delves into the traditions of this bond, which link it to the figure of St. John.

1. Acting as witnesses at the wedding (cumpari o cummari d’aneddu = of ring).
2. Holding a friend’s child in christening.
3. Stringing comparatico or commaratico on the night of June 24. There are various ways to tighten this kind of comparatico: in the Madonie Mountains it is customary to exchange a red carnation and eat together after reciting some formulas for the comparatico; in the Messina area the ceremony is done through the exchange of a confetto; in other places it is customary to take a sip of salt water or braid the hair of the compari.

I primi due modi sono misti, ossia un uomo può divenire compare di una donna e viceversa, mentre il terzo viene solitamente usato per il comparatico di due soggetti dello stesso sesso.

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