Patum de Berga
Encyclopedia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
city of Berga
Berga
Berga is the capital of the comarca of Berguedà, in Catalonia, Spain.- History :Berga derives its name from the Bergistani, an Iberian tribe that lived in the area before the Roman conquest. The Bergistani were first subdued by Hannibal in 218 BC...
during Corpus Christi
Corpus Christi (feast)
Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
. It consists of a series of "dances" (balls) by townspeople dressed as mystical and symbolical figures, and accompanied either by the rhythm of a drum—the tabal, whose sound gives the festival its name—or band music. The balls are marked by their solemnity and their ample use of fire and pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound...
.
It was declared a Traditional Festival of National Interest by the Generalitat de Catalunya
Generalitat de Catalunya
The Generalitat of Catalonia is the institution under which the autonomous community of Catalonia is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Catalonia....
in 1983, and as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness on intangible cultural heritage and encourage local communities to protect them and the local people who sustain these forms of cultural...
by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
in 2005.
Balls
- Els Turcs i Cavallets (Turks and Little Knights)
- Les Maces
- Les Guites (Folkloric "mules")
- L'Àliga (The Eagle)
- Els Nans Vells (The Old Dwarfs)
- Els Gegants (The Giants)
- Els Nans Nous (The New Dwarfs)
- Els Plens
Origins and significance
"La Patum" has its origins in pre-Christian celebrations of the Summer solsticeSummer solstice
The summer solstice occurs exactly when the axial tilt of a planet's semi-axis in a given hemisphere is most inclined towards the star that it orbits. Earth's maximum axial tilt to our star, the Sun, during a solstice is 23° 26'. Though the summer solstice is an instant in time, the term is also...
, which were recycled and given new symbolism by the Catholic Church as part of its Corpus celebrations. In Berga, the earliest conserved reference to a Corpus procession is May 20, 1454. The festival evolved and incorporated more elements popular and religious theater in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, leading to a unique combination of giants, devils, angels, moors, and other bizarre-looking characters.
Despite the religious significance of Corpus Christi, and the Patum's descent from "eucharistic
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
performances," in its present form it is rather a show of popular theater. It is unique in Catalonia
Anthropologists and specialists in folklore have been interested in La Patum.