The New Processions

In this deeply Christian valley, the Church once organized regular or extraordinary processions. The most memorable of these dates back to the great droughts of 1834: a religious procession ascended to the Zinal glacier to pray for rain. Shortly afterwards, torrential rains fell upon the valley.
 
Even today, religious processions still take place every year on the Feast of Corpus Christi. The tradition lives on, although the routes are now much shorter: each village organizes its own procession, which no longer goes beyond the bounds of the inhabited areas.
 
Yet some legends suggest that such processions may date back to well before the Christian era. In the tale of the dwarf Zachéo, for example, it is understood that the ancient pagan inhabitants worshipped the mountains as deities, and that the glaciers were sacred places where sacrifices were performed.
 
Other ancient stories and legends describe the valley as a purgatory for the dead. It is said that processions to the glaciers also take place in the beyond. The elders used to say that between November 2nd, the Day of the Dead, and January 14th, the feast of Saint Hilary, the souls of the departed would set out toward the glaciers to atone for their sins. Those who crossed paths with this somber procession knew they would soon be called to join it. It was also said that, certain nights, on the glaciers, pure hearts could see the faces of those who would soon be set free.
 
Today, the only processions still visible on the ancient paths are those of tourists and mountaineers. And yet, at times, in the crystalline silence of the high altitudes, some of them still hear the prayers echoing through the ice, or the songs of restless souls?