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AROUND THE WORLD

By Margharita Wailes-Farbairn

“Carnival is the natural theatre in which animals and animal-like beings take over the power and become the masters. In carnival, even the kings act like populace. […] The

upside-down world has become the norm.” Umberto Eco

Carnival

Almost all cultures, no matter how varied, have reserved some part of their calendar - usually the spring - as a period of carnival, one that projects an image of riot and debauchery.

From the rump-rolling rollercoaster of Rio to the flagrant gender- bending of Sitges in Spain, the aim is to turn the world upside down: to offend convention, satirize the powerful and to run wild. But however lewd the antics and extravagant the posturing of masked revelers, the real interest is in what lurks behind the mask and beneath the make-believe.

Some trace carnival back to the Saturnalia of Roman times. For up to seven days the Roman world was turned on its head: almost anything was accepted, even the songs of Roman legionaries crudely alluding to the sexual proclivities of their leader, Julius Caesar. But carnival is even older than that. Societies around the world have tended to mark the passing from the dark of winter to the dawn of the New Year. Hence the celebratory mood: itís an orgiastic celebration of survival, a multi-coloured motley - fast, furious and funny.

But there was more to carnival than a heralding of better times.. As the social anthropologist Mikhail Bakhtin points out, carnivals in their earlier incarnations were effectively mini-dramas in which the whole community took part: a release valve in which the different layers of society acted out scenarios satirising their leaders

Given that ancient societies were often so forbiddingly rigid, the phenomenon of a carnival tradition precisely designed to offend authority seems almost incomprehensible. But allowing violent inversions of status, lewd mockery of authority by cross dressing and satirical masks sucks the pressure out of the system. As such, it appears to emphasize and reinforces social cohesion rather than the opposite. It acted as a sort of cultural condom, allowing the pleasure of lampooning authority but preventing the seeds of discontent spreading and putting down roots.This apparent paradox is what fascinated sociologists like Emile Durkheim and Mikhail Bakhtin.

So what of today? Carnivals still exist - at least in name. Indeed they are infinitely more elaborate and in your face than they ever were. But they bear about as much relation to the original function and purpose of carnival as a moth to a mammoth. However elaborately garish, however self-consciously outrageous, modern carnivals have been drained of everything they originally stood for except the spectacle.

Significantly, many modern carnivals describe themselves as Mardis Gras. Translated that means Fat Tuesday, a name particularly appropriate in the western society where chronic obesity is common. The results, however entertaining, are garishly painted husks bereft of social content. This is not surprising. The tourist industry is not going to forego the opportunities offered by blockbuster events like the carnivals of Rio de Janeiro or Venice which, like their equivalents in movies, are concerned to provide thrills rather than drama. But, as Victor Hugo remarked, where everything is carnival, there is no carnival.

Obviously, it would be absurd to claim that early societies were champions of liberty. Forelock-tugging obeisance to some superior authority was often a way of life. But unlike us, these societies were aware that the safety of their system required some moment of relief - a period of riotous carousal, a volley of satire and ridicule and the license to rib those who lorded it over them without risking retribution. Today’s carnivals have become organized mayhem, drained of meaning, spectacles with no purpose other than to be spectacular. The Roman legionaries may have marched through Rome singing salacious songs speculating about Julius Caesarís sex life, but it would be difficult to imagine a battalion of the Grenadier Guards marching down Whitehall singing something similar about someone like David Cameron.

Carnival’s origins may be lost in the mists of time, but quite possibly it still has something to teach us.

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Venice

Venice Carnival is dress up time squared: The entire city is dressed up: vice and virtuousness hide as well as ever.» Maximilian Misson

The masks and costumes that are for hire in the back alleys hark back to stories that have been passed down the different generations all the way from Plotinus and earlier.

Carnival itself probably began in the 15th century. In those days it wasn’t for the faint-hearted. In those days private clubs organised masked balls, and popular entertainment was depressingly cruel. To the hilarity and excitement of the crowd, live dogs were fired from cannons.

By the eighteenth century it was an excuse to party for months at a time, with supplementary entertainment provided through the comedies of men like and operas by composers like Vivaldi. Its central importance in this regard can be seen by Goldoni’s promise in 1749 to to deliver 16 new comedies for carnival.

The masks have a direct connection to another Italian tradition - namely Commedia dell’Arte - a mixture of comedy and buffoonery that has retained its unique spirit of frivolity up to this day. Its heyday, however, was between the 16th and18th centuries.

The performances were improvised around a repertory of stock conventional situations, adultery, jealousy, old age, frustrated love – typically a young couple having to do battle with the older generation. In between acts, there would suddenly be a break for further ad lib improvisation and acrobatics.

The dialogue and action could easily be made topical and adjusted to satirize local scandals and current events. For the historically minded some of the plots are visible hand-downs from the roman playwrights, Plautus and Terence. In addition, story-lines were frequently borrowed by mythology and ancient Greek and Roman plays.

The mask element is also a direct borrowing from ancient Roman comedies – so there is a direct lineage from Rome through to the masked figures that turn up at San Marco Platz today. My own memory is of a large Doctor type figure kitted out in a black gown. The city was flooded and ‘he’ was on stilts. It was a surreal moment.

The stock characters in particular, have their own insignia. There’s Il Dottor. e mocked for his habit of speaking in non sequiturs, often quoting Latin inappropriately He wears black academic robes and a black mask that covers only the forehead and nose. Then there’s a very miserly character called Il has a costume of a costume of red vest, breeches, and hose, a black cassock, and a mask with hooked nose.

Another favourites is Arlecchino, or Harlequin. One of his likely origins is from Dante’s Inferno – a demon. Now, however, he’s a little less frightening. He’s morphed into being a poor man – hence his diamond speckled costume style. His mask is either very ugly with warts or shaped like the face of a monkey, cat, or pig. Traditionally, he’s often paired up with a maidservant called Columbina.

At the other end of the social scale, come the masquerade balls. These were initially popular in Venice in the fifteenth century. This is an event where everyone who attends wears costumes and beautiful decorative masks.

The mascareri (the maskmakers) have an endless repetoire to draw on. The quintessential Venetian disguise is referred to as the Bauta and consists in a cloak, tricorn hat and a smooth white mask referred to as a Volto.

The enigmatic white Volto (or larva, from the Latin meaning “mask” or “ghost”) and worn by both men and women is typically Venetian. Traditionally, it is made of light waxed cloth that made them easy to wear while dancing or dining. Variants on the Volto include decorative paint and jewels or elaborate Baroque gilding.

Here is how Casanova tells about his visit to the convent of Murano under the costume of Pierrot which enabled him to meet the M M., who was also the Ambassador of France’s mistress:

I decided to hide as Pierrot. There is not cleaner mask to dress somebody up if it is not either hunchbacked or lame.

The broad morning coat of Pierrot, its long very broad sleeves, his broad pants which arrive at his heels hide all that he could have of distinctive in all his size so that somebody who would know it particularly should be able to acknowledge it. […]

I go down to the parlor which was full; but everybody makes room for this extraordinary mask, the beings of which nobody in Venice knows.

I get ahead walking like a nincompoop, as the character of the mask demands, and I go to the circle where they danced.

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New Orleans

The first European settlers of America were primarily English puritans escaping religious persecution in a country soon to be torn apart by sectarian feuding between a Catholic establishment and a new wave of protestant fundamentalists. By comparison

with other Catholic countries in Europe like Italy or Spain, England in the late 16th century seems to have had a relatively weaker carnival tradition. In any case, the Puritan settlers of the New World, while being less ‘kill-joy’ than they are sometimes represented, would have taken a dim view of the lewd frolics and vulgarity displayed at Carnival.

No surprise therefore that Carnival was a French importation. On March 2nd 1699, Jean Baptiste Le Moyne Sieur de Bienville established a settlement some 60 miles south of what is now New Orleans, and named it Pointe de Mardi Gras. The first known celebration of Carnival itself occurred three years later at the French settlement of Mobile. From there it followed the progress of French colonization to what became New Orleans; here, Carnival was well established by the 1730’s.

From the start, the New Orleans Mardi Gras seems to have been a pretty lively affair. In 1836, James R Creecy published his ‘Scenes From The South’, complete with a graphic description of Mardi Gras. ‘… men and boys, women and girls, white and black, bond and free, yellow and brown, exert themselves to appear in grotesque, quizzical, diabolic, horrible strange masks

and disguises. Human bodies are seen with the heads of beasts and birds; beasts and birds with heads of humans…mermaids, satyrs, beggars, monks and robbers march on feet or horseback in rich confusion…Wildly shouting, singing and dancing…’ Discretely, he avoids mentioning the common practice of women, caught up in the excitement, baring their breasts in order to attract attention – a habit that the invention of mobile phones with built-in cameras has done little to diminish.

From the mid 19th century, Mardi Gras was increasingly organized around a growing number of secret societies or social clubs which jealousy preserve the anonymity of their members: to become one it was usually necessary to buy association– sometimes at a cost of hundreds of dollars. The best known of these is the exotically named The Mystic King Of Comus, but there are dozens of others – Krewe of Proteus, Knights of Momus, Knights of Babylon, Mystic Knights of Adonis, Rex, Zulu Social Aid And Pleasure Club and many more. The two best known clubs, Rex and Comus have created a mock royal status for themselves complete with King, Queen and ladies in waiting. The end of Mardi Gras is marked by a solemn meeting between the court of ‘King’ Comus and Rex.

Each parade is preceded by a Krewe - a float, themed and often very elaborately decorated, which carries the organizers of the club, special invitees and sundry others who often have to purchase their place at considerable cost. Those lucky enough to get a place on a float throw gifts of beads and other trinkets to the crowd, a practice that can provoke an increase in the number of breasts on display.

Initially, Mardi Gras was a largely Creole affair, freely mixing French, Spanish, Indian and black influences. Inevitably, over time, it has become ‘Americanised’, a fact that has sometimes produced an element of racial tension. In 1909, the Zulu Social Aid And Pleasure Club was formed partly as a reaction by blacks to the increasingly Caucasion domination of Mardi Gras. From a relatively humble beginning, Zulu has grown to be among the most important clubs in the carnival. In 1949 it became known nationally when it elected Louis Armstrong, probably the single most important figure in the development of 20th century popular music, as its ‘King’. Louis was born in New Orleans and he has left his own description of Mardi Gras. ‘It’s a great day for all New Orleans, and particularly for the Zulu Aid Pleasure and Social Club. Every member of the club masquerades in a costume burlesquing some famous person. The King of the Zulus, also in masquerade costume, rides with six other Zulus on a float giving away coconuts as souvenirs. The members march to the good jumping music of the brass bands while the King on his throne scrapes and bows to the cheering crowds’.

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Rio de Janeiro

However, over the centuries, the Portugese influence has been whittled down to be replaced by the other cultures within Brazil. In this regard, the musical and religious traditions of the Africans – fused with some traditions from the local Brazilian populaton - proved seminal.

For example, the Samba rhythms which have percolated almost every element of carnival, can be traced back to the musical accompaniment to Candomblé – a religious observance that was practiced by the original slave population and seems to have originated in Bahia. Spectacle was already integral to the experience: early celebrants of African background dressed in American India War bonnets and Yoruban toques.

Specific dates are difficult; but, gradually, the traditions from both lineages in Carnival folded into one another. When the freed slaves remained off the invitation list, their response was to celebrate out on the street rather than within the grand colonial houses. Gradually, the young, in particular, attracted by the outrageous costumes and dance rhythms started to take to the street too.

One of the most interesting aspects of this carnival is that at specific stages it seems to have acted as a rallying point for political resistance and then reform – with ultimate control moving back and forward between the elite and the wider population. Even today, the battle for the soul of the carnival continues.

In the mid nineteenth century for example, the elite in Brazil made one last and futile attempt to gain control over the carnival, trying – in vain – to ensure that it was a civilized affair which had the ruling class very clearly placed in the centre of things. The explanation given by historians was that they wanted to model the Rio carnival after the carnival revelries of Paris and Nice and thereby to “civilize” the Brazilian public. In practice, they therefore put themselves at the centre of the tableaux and floats,

The sheer pressure of public feeling and the natural exuberance put paid to this desire for good. Effectively the population wrested back control, simply by staging their own floats and performances in other parts of the city. In this way the festival became a glorious fusion of all of Brazil’s constituent parts rather than the showcase of the rich. In fact, some would say the balance has tipped the other way with the African rhythms of Samba leaving a lasting imprint on the fiesta.

Some see the construction of a purpose built stadium and parade the Sambadrome, as the beginning of the end. Designed by Oscar Niemeyer it consists of 700 m stretch of the Marques de Sapucai.

In the eyes of virtually everyone, Rio Janeiro is the carnival that beats all carnivals. According to the Rio mayor, in 2013, five million revellers poured into the streets, divided into 450 groups of paraders, many called “blocks” and others “bands.”

Across our screens we are provided with endless spectacle and performance: drum queens and passistas drenched in sweat and dripping with plumage and garish jewels smash through the streets, beating out the samba.

The short mini-skirts and scantily-clad women bear witness to the contradictions of carnival. For this is a country in which in 2009, a female student was expelled from the conservative university of San Paolo on the grounds of indecency when she wore a mini-skirt. (After a world outcry on twitter, she was reinstated)

Rio Janeiro began hosting its pre-Lenten Festival in 1723. The Portugese brought over to Brazil their religion and accompanying celebrations – including that of Carnival. Compared to now it was also surprisingly sedate. Mostly, it was an indoors affair in the spirit of grand Parisian balls.

“It was not Brazil that invented Carnaval; on the contrary, it was Carnaval that invented Brazil” Roberto da Matta

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Tenerife

The election of the carnival queen in which the 12 candidates involves a short-list of 12 girls.

The dresses whatever year you look at are nothing short of spectacular. For example in 2012, the winning costume called ‘Imperio’, was a stunning interpretation of the splendour of the Roman Empire, designed by Santi Castro was both intricate and heavy. It was designed to remind onlookers of a chariot and centurion helmets in luxuriant feathers of the palest blue. The crowned queen had to ride “ her chariot” from the epicentre of the dress - no mean feat given that the costume weighed a frightening 300 kilos or 47 stone.

The ability to “Wear’ a costume as if it weighed nothing at all is one of the most important aspects of being a candidate for Carnaval Queen and the girls who are chosen to represent the designer and the sponsors have to be able to move as if they are a part of the costume and to look happy and relaxed as they do so.

After a girl is chosen, there’s a frantic rush to prepare for the opening parade. Festivities at Santa Cruz basically start on the Friday before Shrove Tuesday and continue through the weekend until Tuesday.

After the Rio de Janeiro version, Spain enjoys the world’s liveliest Carnival. The Carnival Queen is chosen from 14 young hopefuls. Two days later, the winner, is parade through town with a large cast of bridesmaids, costumed performers, musical

groups, comedy artists and dance troops.

The carnival of the Canary Islands began at the end of the 15th century after Spaniards colonized the area. A current of people of all nationalities started coming to the singular islands, and a group of Italians started a small masked carnival in the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. From then on, the festivities progressively grew in size until they reached their current splendour. This masked carnival tradition eventually spread from Gran Canaria to the other islands nearby. Santa Cruz de Tenerife became another location where this celebration grew to its fullest. Nowadays, these two cities provide the most popular group of activities during the carnival, to make for an unforgettable experience.

This year theme was Bollywood. Last years ( from which these pictures come) was… There have also been themes about the Roman Empire and X

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Limoux

”While parliament was discussing a bill to ban a banquet organised by the opposition, the bourgeois enjoy their exclusive masked balls , the working class parade in the street. Some, improvised skits poke fun at the country’s rulers. On February 23rd, in the evening, a donkey wearing a red hood is led under the windows of a minister. At the same time a large procession marches towards the Ministry of foreign affairs. Revellers then confront the police. The police return fire and 16 people are killed. Their bodies are loaded on a horse-drawn truck which is driven around the town like a carnival float to the cry of vengeance: the people are being slaughtered. The sight arouses the anger of Parisians. Barricades were built. They Royal Palace of the Tuillerie is invaded. The throne is set alight. The carnival turns into a revolution, and the second Republic takes over from the last French King, Louis Philippe.

Throughout January to March, every Saturday and Sunday at 11:00, 16:30 and 22:00 hours and on Mardi Gras from Mardi the arcades of the Place de la République resonate to the sound of traditional music preceded by bands.

The Festival in Limoux dates back to 1604. It is the longest carnival in the world in that it carries on every weekend from January through to March. This being France and even more the South of France the period has always contained the potential for conflict between the rich and poor. In eighteenth century documents report a rumbustious carnival. The trades confronted each other – for example textile workers against the merchants.

By tradition, different trade bodies used to march in different bands - the violin of the rich as opposed to the tambour of the poor. At the end of January, 1787 of young people of good family and the working class youth. Events escalated to such a degree that officials found themselves pelted with stones and doused with water. A rotting horse’s head accompanied by a

threatening notice was also placed outside the door of the local lawyer. Who was also the consul of the town.

Interestingly this year was unlike any other – in that for the first time in all the carnival’s history the sub-prefecture clamped down on several of the city’s parades and traditions. The reason given – one that sparked off a huge amount of debate – was that the festivities would be a possible target for terrorists. In addition, officials were fearful that pictures of carnival during a state of emergency might be disrespectful so close to the tragedy of the Paris shootings.

The French have always been steeped in their history. Perhaps the action of the sous-prefect was not so surprising. Possibly he is remembering the events that occurred in 1848. As was normal in the month of February carnival was being prepared, but this year the atmosphere was one of political turmoil.

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Cologne

Nor is it just the poor who were given a short taste of “power”.. Women, too, were traditionally given their head on a day called “Weiberfastnacht” – in which they preside over proceedings rather than men. The transfer of power is symbolised by a rather kinder cut than that sometimes envisaged in revenge literature: Throughout the day, the women hunt down the men and triumphantly cut off their ties.

For carnival fanatics, it’s important to realize that the lead up to carnival starts in November. With great precision in fact – beginning on the 11th day of November at exactly 11minutes after 11am. In the now famous Heinrich Boll novel, The Lost Honour of Katharine Blum, the carnival plays is both the incitin g incident and a metaphor for the lies that are told by those in power. Everybody is playing charades and masquerading as something they either are not or should not be. During Carnival in Germany, Katharina attends a private dance at her god-mother’s residence and meets a man by the name of Ludwig Göten who has been under police surveillance for robbery.

Everything follows from there. Apart from the shock of revelation, Heinrich Boll uses the device of carnival to explore the intrusive and sometimes unscrupulous practices of the media.

In Koln, Carnival is embedded into the soul of the town. An enormous amount of effort goes into the construction and decoration of the floats.

There are at least 105 carnival associations and it is a great honour to be invited to be a member of the Dreigestirn ( three Stars) – who are respectively kitted out to become the Carnival Prince (known as Seine Tollität, ‘His Craziness’), the Bauer (peasant) and the Jungfrau (damsel).

Carnival and the rollicking songs and ditties that ring out around the streets and squares are centuries old. Almost, indeed, as old as the city itself. “Carnival” in fact comes from the Latin “carne” and “vale” which means “meat” and “good bye”. So good-bye meat as fasting takes hold of all good souls. Fastnacht also has a well-known etymology. It hails from the medieval German language “vase”, meaning “to turn things into trash” or “lay to waste.”

As so often, the traditions incarnated in places like Cologne and Munich are a happy blend of pagan and religion. The Old Germans didn’t just believe in God; they feared the malevolence of Satan’s marauding armies. The grotesque masks and cacophony of noise from drums, bells and rattles are a response to this. Supposedly, the bedlam and mayhem would inspire all the undesirable elements to put their hands over their ears and run away

Medieval elements have also left their mark. Here in the Rhineland area, many countries were under the rule of harsh potentates. At carnival, the frustrated population were allowed a brief moment of rebellion. .

The clearest expression of this topsy-turvy world – what the Germans call “ die umgestuelpte Welt” is provided by the customary crowning of a person of humble social origins who is elevated for a day or so to the role of Carnival king or some other figure of authority such as a priest, bishop or pope.