Carnival is, possibly, one of the most well-known and anticipated festivals by the general public; especially for the children. In fact, if there is any festival that is currently associated with children, it is Carnival. One of the main reasons is the costumes, an activity that is inextricably linked to this celebration and is usually practiced by the little ones.
But… Do we know why we dress up at Carnival? Do we know the origin of this festival? In this article we propose a journey from the origins of Carnival to the present day through which we will better understand this unique holiday on our calendar.
As with most celebrations, Carnival has its roots in the dawn of time. Some historians see similarities between our festival and some Egyptian and Mesopotamian rituals In these ancient cultures (especially the Egyptian one), the world was seen as the victory of Order (commonly identified with Good) over Chaos (Evil).
In ancient Egypt these ideas were represented by Osiris and his brother Seth, respectively. At the end of the year, Chaos, led by Seth, threatened to loom over the earth again, and only the pharaoh (living personification of the god Osiris) was capable of stopping it. This is why, in the last days of the calendar, the Heb Thirst, a very important ritual in which the pharaoh purified himself and renewed his energies. If the pharaoh passed the test (it is not necessary to point out that yes, he always passed it), chaos was removed from the land and order was once again, and like every year, reestablished.
This order-chaos dichotomy, along with the idea of “purification”, is also found in two of the best-known Roman festivities : the Lupercalia and the Saturnalia, which many experts place as the most immediate origin of our Carnival. Let’s pause briefly on each of them.
The Roman Lupercalia and Saturnalia
The first point that catches our attention about this Roman festival is its date of celebration, which coincides completely with our Carnival: February 15. We find, once again, the concept of “purification” that we already pointed out in the Heb Thirst Egyptian, since “February” comes from the Latin “februare”, which literally means “to purify oneself.” Something similar happens with the modern Carnival, which precedes, not by chance, Lent.
The Lupercalia Roman churches had a very ancient origin, and their rites, which drew on the pastoral customs of the first Romans, were considered excessive by many of the respectable patricians of the Republic and the Empire. The Emperor Augustus had a frank aversion to Lupercals, and much later, in the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I was horrified at the fact that those who called themselves Christians continued to celebrate them.
What did the Lupercalia And why did they arouse so much antipathy? We have already commented that the rite had its roots in the first centuries of Roman history, when the Romans were mere shepherds settled in the region of Latium. According to legend, the twins Romulus and Remus were suckled by the wolf Luperca in a cave near the city, located on the Palatine Hill.
In that same cave the rituals of the Lupercalia (named, in principle, in honor of that wolf-mother who gave life). The luperci, the priests of the rite, gathered there, apparently chosen from among the young members of the illustrious families of Rome. The chief priest then sacrificed a goat and anointed the foreheads of the lupercos with its blood. That moment, which began the celebration, was received by the young people with ritual laughter. We have like this another link that unites Lupercalia with the “Christian” Carnival: laughter
After this laughter that constituted the starting signal, the young people left the cave and went down naked to Rome. In their hands they carried strips of skin from the recently slaughtered goat, with which, along the way, they whipped as many women as wanted to participate in the ritual, amidst screams, laughter and obscene behavior. It seems that this gruesome activity was, at the same time, a ritual of fertility and purification.
On the other hand, the Saturnalia o Saturnalia were celebrated in December in honor of the god Saturn. For an entire week, the Romans joyfully celebrated the return of light (the winter solstice): they decorated their houses and gave each other gifts. Obviously, these festivities are directly related to our Christmas, but they also contain elements in which the origins of Carnival can be traced. For example, the Saturnalia represented, like the medieval Shrovetide, a disruption of order, a “small return of chaos”, we could say: For one day, slaves were allowed to be served by their masters and the king of fools was crowned
Direct heir to the Roman tradition, these pagan celebrations survived in medieval Europe, camouflaged, obviously, under a mantle of Christianity. Thus, while Saturnalia and the solstice were related to the birth of Christ, the ancient Lupercalia, the eternal struggle between order and chaos and the consequent purification process, were transferred to Carnival, the days immediately preceding Christian Lent. Let’s stop for a moment at these carnivalesque manifestations of the Middle Ages.
Medieval thought, at least the “official” one, He did not view laughter very favorably, since it was associated with disorder and, consequently, evil Let us not forget that one of the hottest theological debates of the time was whether or not Christ had laughed. As the Middle Ages progressed, scholars gradually opened up to the benefits of laughter (as long as it was, of course, controlled); However, the people had never stopped using it. Laughter and, therefore, Carnival (that time of merriment and small chaos that preceded Lent) was popular territory par excellence. Thus, festivities related to chaos proliferated in the Middle Ages, of which the Festival of Fools and Carnival are two good examples.
Laughter is and has always been, a prelude to disorder Let us remember that the Roman Lupercalia began with a ritual laughter. Laughter disrupts the order, because it is a mockery and, through mockery, the “below” questions the “above.” Not only that; through Carnival, and for a few days, all members of a community are “equal.” That is why these types of celebrations were so poorly received by the powerful; not so much for religious reasons, but rather for social and political reasons.
But the medieval Carnival is not only a vehicle of relaxation; It is in turn a purification ritual, as was the Egyptian Heb Sed and the Lupercalia Romans. Losing one’s inhibitions to purify oneself, throwing oneself into the arms of chaos to regain order, that seems to be the constant of all these festivals that are the precedent of our modern Carnival. Already in the Saturnalia In Roman times, in its earliest form, there was the custom of naming the least prepared individual in the community as king, who was given absolute power for several days.
At the end of the celebrations, he was “sacrificed” (ritually, not physically, it is understood) so that with his “death” he would purge the sins that the community had accumulated when separating from the established order. This tradition remained in force in the Middle Ages, not only in the figure of the King of Carnival (who, in some places, is still in force in the form of a romper), but also in the aforementioned Feast of the Fools, which took place in January. .
The name already gives us an idea of the purifying charge of the festival. The most likely etymology of “Carnival” is carnem levarethat is, “remove the meat, avoid the meat” Another of the original expressions, also Latin, is “carne tollere”, which means exactly the same thing, and which would have given rise to the name “Carnestolendas”, the nomenclature that the Carnival received in the early Middle Ages and which, in fact, continues valid in places like Catalonia (where the name for Carnival is “Carnestoltes”).
And the costumes…?
The costumes are practically the only thing we currently have left from a festival as complex and with such deep meaning as the medieval Carnival. The costumes, and perhaps also the laughter, since today, in many places, it is still associated this celebration with mockery and ridicule of the authorities (that is, of order) An example of this, of course, are the well-known “chirigotas” from Cádiz.
The origin of the carnival costume has to do with the desire to hide one’s identity. If, as we have already said, the days of Carnival were days of disorder and mockery, the most logical thing was to be able to carry out as many misdeeds as one wanted without the danger of being discovered. That is why, more than costumes, At first the most common thing was the use of masks Once again, we understand why the authorities did not welcome this celebration.
Currently, Carnival has lost much of its essence. We have already seen how, from being a celebration that sought confrontation between classes, entertainment, disinhibition and the subsequent purification of the soul, it has become a party linked mainly to children. Maybe after reading this article you will see Carnival with different eyes, who knows.
