Império de Rosais

The impérios [Small Temples] are buildings aimed for the exhibition of elements of the Holy Spirit’s cult, namely the crown, the banner and the staffs. Its relevance in the religious experience of the population in which these impérios(small temples) are inserted is materialized in the rites and ceremonies on the period of the Festivities of the Holy Spirit, which follow a religious calendar, beginning on the first Sunday after Easter and ending 8 weeks later. On the weekends of the Holy Spirit and of the Trinity (week 7 and 8), the greatest festivities, called mordomias, are carried out, with the distribution of Portuguese sweet bread, wine and cheese to the population. The parade of the flag’s cars (ox carts ornated with flowers and flags) is also carried out, in which the revellers and the cavaleiros [local denomination for a group of 3 men with 1 instrument player and 1 or 2 singers in improvised singing challenges] parade.