Social
Spectacles
It
is in human nature that we crave social interaction and through this desire we
have created social gatherings to celebrate and honor one thing or another.
Beyond the social aspect, festivals are held in order to satisfy spiritual
needs. Whether a town puts on a huge spectacle to please the gods or just to
pray for a bountiful season, festivals are first and foremost religious in
nature. It is pretty amazing to think of how these festivals came to be, like
Castell, the human tower festival that was held around 200 years ago as appeasement to the Virgin Mary of the candela to ward away the plague. Recently with
the explosion of media and it’s availability, these spectacles have seemed to
become more about the pageantry than the religious or spiritual aspect; having to put on a show that the whole world can watch. The people who watch get a taste of
that group’s culture. In that sense, it may not be so bad that the focus is
moving away from the religious aspect. In the beginning the celebrations didn't get noticed but with media, people want to come from afar just to see these
amazing shows of color and massive human convergence.
Though
most festivals have similar religious foundations, each one couldn't be more
unique. One of the more obscure festivals is the Catalan Human Castles which
takes place in Valls Spain. This tradition consists of teams, each wearing a
different colored uniform based on what town in Spain you’re from. The uniforms
are made up of white trousers, a black sash, a bandanna and colored shirt to indicate
which team the “casteller” belongs to. This tradition began around 200 years ago
through a desire to protect against black
plague. Building the human towers were a way
of praying to the town’s patron saint for protection against the ravaging disease.
The way that I see it, castles are a symbol of everlasting strength and to
build one takes endurance; this is what they sought after in order to best the illness. Not only does this feat satisfy the people’s spiritual goals but it
also brings them together in cooperation to achieve something truly astounding. That’s what
festivals are really all about, the cohesion of a community and making strong
relationships. Communities will go through quite the effort just to make a
celebration 'up to par', Dia de los Muertos is one festival that takes a lot of time and
resources to prepare.
Dia
de los Muertos or “The day of the Dead” is a Latino celebration of life and
death, where a huge amount of effort is put into making everything look perfect. Everyone puts forth the effort to help make crafts and special
candy skulls among other traditional foods. One thing you can count on is every
family having a shrine or an alter to commemorate those who have died in their
family. Offerings are left at these alters because it is believed that the
spirits come back and gain the nutrition from the food and drink that is left
for them. It was believed that when the food rotted or decayed that it was actually the spirits eating the food. The
families build the shrines to be beautifully
colored with lace, crosses, pictures, and skulls to make their loved ones happy. The skulls are an essential part
to this holiday because of its relationship with death and also they serve as a
way to drive the spirits back to the afterlife. Families will make tomales, decorate
candy skulls as well as drinking alcohol throughout the ceremonies to honor the
dead. Symbolism also plays a huge part in Day of the Dead and other celebrations; it
is what the whole thing is based upon. Papel picado is delicately decorated
tissue paper which represents the wind and the frailness of life. Certainly
there is a primal aspect to the festival itself, with the masks and skulls, but
the idea that the spirits of those past are always with us is comforting and not so rudimentary. Also the migration of the monarch butterfly falls right
on the time of the festivities so it is no surprise that the butterflies are
believed to be the spirits of the deceased coming back to the world of the
living. People who share the same beliefs tend to stick together and when a
whole culture shares common ground that brings them that much closer. 
Color
is always a recurring theme with any spectacle but the Holi festival in India
takes using color to a whole new level. Every year around the end of February
people all over India celebrate the coming of spring by throwing colored powder
and water balloons at each other. The festival is meant to be extremely fun and
lively to illustrate the triumph of “good” over “bad”; this is shown by
covering each other with various colored dust, the colors of spring. It is a
time for mischief and celebration, and the phrase “happy holi” is thrown around
quite often, as well as hugs. Although the festival itself is the same, there
are many regional variants. One such variant involves the men singing to the women
in an attempt to woo them, returned by the women giving them a good-hearted
beating with bamboo sticks. I feel that this spectacle exemplifies tradition
and community in its purest form better than any other. Not to say that it is
the best festival just the most true to its roots. A huge impact of Holi is the
shear amounts of water that is consumed during it. Thousands of people using
water balloons and hoses to douse citizens in colored water can really make an
impact on the supply of water. When India is in a drought this effect can
become a large concern and needs to be addressed accordingly. Holi is meant to be
a gathering of fun and happiness but no other spectacle can top the magnitude
of Brazil’s Carnival.
Dubbed
the ‘Greatest Party on Earth’ Carnival is held every year 46 days before the
start of Lent. The word Carnival comes from carnelevare which literally
translates to “removal of meat”. This comes from the period where Catholics
would cut meat out of their diets in order to live a more pure life. Followers
of the Roman Catholic Church would indulge in a last day of dancing, fun,
alcohol, and sex before the beginning of lent, which is a period of abstinence from
alcohol and other sins. The most well-known Carnival is that of the city Rio de
Janeiro where people throng to the stadium where the parade of lavishly adorned
floats and dancers come through. To the people who celebrate
The
origins of any festival out there can be traced to religion. Whether it’s to
protect you from the plague or to just have the world’s largest party, the
underlying reason folks throw festivals is human convergence. There aren’t many
things more powerful than bringing a group of people together under one cause. Religion
was the driving force for most of these festivals but once you take away
religion all you’re left with is a group of people who are now more tightly
knit than if they had never come together. Beliefs can change but what these
shows of human convergence do for a community, bringing them closer, cannot be taken away.
Works Cited:
Castells. 2011. Photograph. Google
Images, Valls. Human Castles. Barcelona Urbany Hostels, 29 Apr. 2011. Web. 15
Apr. 2013.
<http://www.barcelonaurbany.com/myblog/human-castles-and-flamenco-fusion-in-the-feria-de-abril>.
"Catalan Human Castles
Festival in Valls, Spain." Gourmand Breaks Food Wine Cultural Tours.
Gourmand Breaks, 21 Jan. 2011. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.gourmandbreaks.com/blog/catalan-human-castles-festival-in-valls-spain/>.
Farfán, Karen Castillo. "Day
Of The Dead, Decoded: A Joyful Celebration Of Life And Food." NPR. NPR, 1
Nov. 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/11/01/163549325/day-of-the-dead-decoded-a-joyful-celebration-of-life-and-food>.
"'The Greatest Party on
Earth': Rio Carnival Reaches Its Breathtaking Climax as Thousands of Scantily-clad
Samba Dancers Gyrate through the Streets in an Explosion of Music and
Colour." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers Ltd., 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 15
Apr. 2013.
<http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2276859/Rio-Carnival-2013-photos-The-greatest-Earth-reaches-climax.html>.
Raqimova, Rena. "Indian Holi
Festival 2013: Colorful Powder, Food & Dancing | Sunnyvale."
FunCheapSF.com. FunCheapSF, 30 Mar. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
<http://sf.funcheap.com/holi-celebrations/>.
Saurabh, Parijat. "Holi
Festival and Its Lineaments in Different Indian Regions." Mytourindia
Blog. My Tour India, 22 Mar. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.mytourindia.com/blog/holi-festival-and-its-lineaments-in-different-indian-regions/>.
