midsummer and morris in portugal

Midsummer and Morris in PortugalAuthor(s): Violet AlfordSource: Folklore, Vol. 44, No. 2 (Jun., 1933), pp. 218-235Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of Folklore Enterprises, Ltd.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1255821 .

Accessed: 16/06/2014 07:13

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Folklore Enterprises, Ltd. and Taylor & Francis, Ltd. are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve andextend access to Folklore.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.20 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 07:13:58 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=taylorfrancis

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=fel

http://www.jstor.org/stable/1255821?origin=JSTOR-pdf

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp


218 Collectanea

MacCecht was passing across the third ridge towards the house he saw two men striking off Conaire's head. One man he struck down as he fled; and after the other, who was flying with the

king's head in his hand, he flung a pillar-stone that chanced to be beneath his feet, and it broke his spine. Then Mac- Cecht flung the water of the cup over the neck and gullet of Conaire .... After this MacCecht followed the foe and he routed them.

ELEANOR HULL

BILLY-GOATS

AN old gardener in Berkshire tells me that when he was young he worked on a farm where a large number of cattle were kept. There was always a billy-goat as well, and the explanation given to him was that if any illness were about to attack the cattle, it would fall first on the billy-goat, and the cattle would escape. As this is quite contrary to modern ideas of infection, it seems to fall more into line with the ancient Hebrew idea of the scapegoat.

Many livery-stables and mews in London, where horses were

kept, kept a billy-goat as well. The reason given in this case was usually that the billy-goat is less liable to lose his head in case of fire or other emergency than the average horse, and that in case of fire, if the billy-goat were led out first, the horses would follow without panic.

But although this is a rational explanation enough, is it not more likely that originally the billy-goats of London stables were kept to ward off evil in whatever shape ?

PHYLLIS GARDNER

MIDSUMMER AND MORRIS IN PORTUGAL

THE people in the northernmost province of Portugal, Entre Douro e Minho, are of the same race as the Galicians to the north of them again, and are therefore largely of Celtic blood.

They are of medium height or tall, their eyes are often a clear grey, and they show no signs of Moorish or African taint. Like all Portuguese their language is the same form of Romance as that used in Galicia.



Collectanea 219

Divinations

Their great festival is that of So Joio, St. John the Baptist held on Midsummer Day, June 24th. The feast in some places begins on St. John's Eve, with illuminations, fireworks and fires, but more generally these are lit on the night of the 24th. As everywhere men and boys jump through the fire, but girls use the occasion for making a marriage divination, in the province of Beira Alta they write men's names on pieces of paper ; these they screw into tiny boats and leave them all night floating in a pool or bath of water. The one which has opened in the morning bears the name of the future husband. This charm must be worked between midnight on the eve and sunrise of the 24th. Another Beira Alta charm is to put a coin in the St. John's fire, then give it to the first beggar you meet-and it is certain you will not have to go far. Ask his name and that will be the name of your husband. Anyone, man or woman, may hang a spray of the erva de Nossa Senhora, Our Lady's grass, on the wall, and if in the morning a new branch has grown out it will bring good luck with it. Further to the south and round Lisbon, girls scorch a thistle in the fire, then put it in the ground and water it. If, in the morning, it has recovered (or a new bloom has opened) the girl will marry that year.

Cascatas A feature of the feast is the Cascata made for the saint so

properly connected with water. These are little erections or shrines, built up against the house wall or in a corner or recess, reminiscent of the Wimbledon grottoes (Please Miss, remember the grotto) and the decorated tables and chairs outside the houses at Juvangon, B6arn, ranging from the poor little affair of picture postcards on a newspaper backcloth made by boatmen's children the other side of the Tagus, to the resplendant, electric-lit water- fall pouring down behind the figurines, silver objects, shells and flowers, seen at midnight in a riverside district of Oporto. A collecting box or an eager voice begs the passer-by to " remember the fountain." The Cascatas belong equally to St. Anthony, who as a Portuguese is highly honoured. It is he who sends girls their sweethearts, who finds lost property and cures illness.



220 Collectanea

His feast is the I3th of June, and is more honoured in the south, but he and St. John of the north certainly become confused in the public mind, and both seem to have taken the place of some forbidden fertility god. This is particularly hard on so modern a person as St. Anthony of Padua, but seasonal songs addressed to him and his brother saint make it quite clear. Examples will be given later. The little song below is of a different nature, charmingly simple, and while being the first noted remains also first in quality.

A ST. JOHN'S SONG FROM CAMINHA Noted by V. A.

I. Sao Jo - to O! de ling, de ling, de ling; de ling:

Temrn um carneir-o, de long, de long, de long, de long;

Tra la li la li la 16, Com dois gui-zos ao pes - co- ~o.

2. Picando toca, de ling, de ling, de ling, de ling; O guizo fino, de long, de long, de long, de long ; Tra la li la li la 16, Tambem toca a guizo grosso.

TRANSLATION.

I. Saint John O ! (de ling equates ting-a-ling) Has a lamb With two bells round its neck.

2. The little one rings And the big one rings too.

All these things however are not unique to Portugal and are mere accessories to the Midsummer doings once carried out all over the north of the country, and surviving well, though now in decay, at Braga, at the village of Sobrado, and probably in other places of which I have not heard.



Collectanea 22 I

A St. John's Play at Braga On Midsummer morning, 1932, the streets of Braga were

full of townspeople and peasants come in from the country, the women wearing beautiful regional costumes, the old men, biblical with large felt hats, staves and dignified side whiskers, The first thing that caught the eye was an immense, artificial rock like a slowly moving tower, high above the crowd. This proved to be the Carro dos Pastores, the Shepherds' Cart, staging a little St. John's Play. When drawn by eight bullocks bowed beneath their high wooden yokes, pierced, painted and carved, it must have closely resembled the old Chester Cart Plays. Now, on a motor lorry, the young actors bevelvetted and be- wigged, it only shows the execrable ecclesiastical taste of present- day Portugal. St. John tugged a live lamb by a red ribbon-I noticed a curious ignorance of the fact that the lamb is a symbol of Christ ; even educated people laugh and say " Ah ! Sio Joso must always have his curly lamb." The presence of the lamb seems to have suggested Shepherds and Shepherdesses. An angel--very objectionable-shot up out of the interior of the rock to screech a Gounod-like song, the Shepherds and Shep- herdesses went through some unsteady Country dance figures, and the lorry moved on to its next pitch. The Carro, which is mentioned in 1729, is only interesting as an example of how far a saint can travel from his origins even under ecclesiastical supervision, while the popular part of the feast shows what the folk can make of him.

Pushing out of the crowd I saw a second assembly outside an ancient palace. In the entry were thirteen men ranged in a semi-circle, every man carrying an instrument. These were Spanish guitars, fiddles, a cello and a flute. They were dressed in the sort of costume the seventeenth century imagined to be oriental. Their coats were of velvet, the trimming divided into squares by silver braid. Their would-be turbans had high crowns, they wore lace frills round their necks, kneebreeches, pink stockings, and curious white boots with a ruche of silk turned over the ankle. The dress and instruments have not changed since 1904, nor has the tune played for the dance. A photograph of this date is extant with the printed air.



222 Collectanea

Then began A Danpa do Rei David. Two " Princes " came out of the semi-circle, met and danced forward side by side. They held guitars but did not play them, the music being sup- plied by the rest of the company. Their step was very simple, a much employed English Morris step.

L.R. R.L. Forward R. R. c'an L. L.cane change change.

Retiring. R. hop Reiring. L. heel swung across R. instep.

L. hop R. heel across L. instep, etc.

This is similar to the " Fieldtown backstep " but shows a

hop only on the stepping foot. They then bowed to the King and retired to their places.

Out came King David in cloak and crown, to cover the same ground and to use the same step as his Princes. He also held a

guitar, but did not play it. When he retired to his place the semi-circle divided into two files one on either side of him, and executed a march in two concentric circles, one moving clock-

wise, the other anti-clockwise. The whole was orderly and well rehearsed. The King espe-

cially showed great earnestness, wearing the well known ex-

pression common to folk performers and singers, reminding me -in far off Braga of a succession of Devon step dancers com-

peting on a cart. The Kingship is hereditary, the father of the

present holder having been in office many years. The music seemed to be some I7th or early I8th century composed air

beginning thus

KING DAVID'S DANCE, BRAGA Noted by V. A. and from a printed source

_ _ .

_ - _ _- , .

I believe the Dance of King David to be a priest-handled Morris. " King David danced before the ark." It is so easy an



Collectanea 223

explanation, and so biblical an excuse for these regrettable old customs, and I have listened to it from priests of many different tongues. This dance is mentioned under its present name in 1726, but long before that Braga possessed a Mourisca which came out on the day of Sio JoSo, with a King and all proper appurtenances. It is instructive to read of rites before their decadence, and I here give a resumeof information found in a booklet " 0 do Yodo em Braga " by Jos6 Gomes, 190o4.

In 1482 Hobby horses called, Cavellinhos fuscos, and a Dragon are mentioned. The latter was called Bicha festiva aos rapazes, the young men's festal animal-which name is significant.

The Mourisca bemrn ordenada mentioned above, took part in the Corpus Christi procession and other festivals 1532. This would certainly include St. John's Day. The Mourisca was reformed that year, after having " caused disorder and much criticism" through admitting "negroes and persons badly dressed and badly disciplined, without grace or knowledge." A master-shoemaker was the King, and he modelled his re- organized Mourisca on those of Guimaries and other cities where " the said Mourisca was well done." He succeeded in

making a boa Mourisca with twenty persons counting the King. They were gallantly dressed and also had a Dragon.

Historical Mouriscas in Braga

Forty-seven years after this, the confraternities of San Thiago (St. James) and Sio JoSo went out in 1579 with candle- bearers (the candles may have been torches or firebrands) the King of the Mourisca with his company, the Dragon, two Hobby horses and the city flag. With them also went the girls who danced the Danpa das Pelas which needs some description. Several girls walked or danced in the procession, each carrying another girl dancing on her shoulders. It was performed in 1482 by fisherwomen-but I suppose this was not at inland Braga-when their musician was a bagpiper. In 1484 it was seen in a Corpus Procession at Setubal, when the dancers, called desenvoltas, danced on each others' shoulders. It is not made clear whether the lightness was of foot or of morals, but in



224 Collectanea

either case it was " an admirable thing," and as the women who surrounded the dancers "ran about like Bacchantes

jumping and playing tambourines " it is quite likely the lightness referred to behaviour. And, if so, do not be surprised that this should take place in a Corpus procession, for strange as it

is, this is often the chosen occasion for indecorous ebullitions.

Witness, to give one example only, the Dragon of Redondella, Galicia, called the " Coca," to whom they throw little boys, and whose r61e is to enliven the sacred procession by shouting obscene jokes to the crowd. The Danga das Pelas is known in

Spain also, but is done there by pairs of young men, and is called Moxigangas. I should much like an explanation of that

name, if an etymologist would kindly advance one. One description of the Braga Mourisca brings it into line with

the countless Sword dances of Europe, many of which, of course, are known as Morescas, in the same way as ours are known as Morris. At one time the Braga young men were armed with little shields and sticks like lances-long swords perhaps-" and to the sound of the drum advanced against each other as though to battle."

A Black Pig

Before we come to modern times I must add that mixed up with these well-known ritual characters and animals was a

ceremony concerned with a black pig. The procession of 1579 already described, went on St. John's Eve to fetch this animal. The Shoemaker's Guild took it to " the traditional spot," a

bridge which they were not allowed to pass. Later we learn that the King of the Morris paid for drinks for the company, and that on the morning of the 24th again processing to the

bridge, they let loose the pig and eventually killed it. In 1615 the procession of the pig was known as A Corrida do Porco, and was considered " Indecente e geralmente repprovada." The

compiler of the booklet thinks the ceremony of the pig was

formerly an independant affair. He may be right, though Morris men are quite likely to kill a pig-witness the Kirtlington Lamb Ale. In any case it has now disappeared from the St.

John's Feast.



iiiliiiiii~;:Eii8ii;?~j~ai~iliil~/:J~:: :::::::::

::-_---.:8sssl~ssssas~Bsrs~sacr-?aan~:-a I~B?s~s~ga ? '~ar~raaara~ll~s8gepI~:~gL~:~j~~:::_:

iiiil'~s%~iiiii:~g8~sarPsssl~BB -: I

:::::

:::::

Photograph by Rodney Gallop MOURISCOS.

r

M

X n

.e



Collectane'a 225

King David appeared and the Mourisca disappeared, as we have seen, some time before 1726, but if the name had been changed by priestly influence that influence had not been strong enough to change the spirit. In 1729 we learn that giants and gipsies went first " to open the way " and that " as they danced without any art they opened a large space." Forty of them turned and spun to the sound of drums. This reminds one of the gipsies in the Basque Masquerade '3 who carry round one of their number waving his feet in the faces of the audience, opening therby a large space without any art. A hundred years after (1875) the village of Pedrogam-Pequeno still owned a Mourisca. But like the Danpa do Rei David this Mourisca has lost its swords and bucklers, its Dragons and Hobby horses. Although keeping its ancient name it has become as ecclesiastical and respectable as its Braga brother. When we read the description of the dress we have only to glance at the photograph of King David to see it. There were or are seven men in skirts with entwined ribbons, jackets and conical caps with flowers. The skirts are interesting if a survival of men-women, but I rather suspect they were part of the priest-handling, and were intended to represent an eastern dress. As at Braga to-day they play instruments as they dance, the last couple carrying "thyrsos with a large bunch of carnations on the top end." The King wore a shawl and .crown, and carried a sword and a shield on which was painted St. John's lamb-a proof, I think, of Church influence. Instead of attacking each other they now advance with majestic steps to the chapel and bow before the saint. The dance lasted half an hour and " much resembled French contredanses." I have no doubt that by that time it did, and to make quite sure the old spirit was exorcised they concluded with a genuflextion before the saint. The King however re- tained sufficient activity to make a pirouette on the left foot, at which signal all cried loudy " Long live my companion Saint John the Baptist!" The dance was then repeated in the churchyard. This Mourisca, then, was in the same state as the Braga dance is to-day.

13 Folk-Lore, vol. xxxix., 1928, pp. 68-90.



226 Collectanea

A Live Mourisca

The second Morris witnessed that same Midsummer Day was going on many kilometers away at the village of Sobrado near Vallongo. The dancers practise carefully for several Sundays beforehand, and crowds come in every year as though they had never seen it before.

About 11.30 a.m. at the moment the congregation comes out of the festal Mass, the Mouriscos enter the village from a short distance down the road, in pairs, in their dancing procession. There are at least thirty of them, led by a King and a Vice-

King. The company is dressed in white or very washed-out

pink or blue cotton suits with red facings, high cardboard shakos with two red plumes and three small mirrors. They reminded me forcibly of the Basque Corpus Christi dancers 14 in the Nive district. Each carried a sword, from the hilt of which floated a clean handkerchief. The King was a tall, good looking young man, who took his part very seriously. It was his first

year in the r61e and the village expressed its approval. He wore the shako, and suit of yellow cotton with epaulettes and quanti- ties of the gold chains worn on the Minho women's costumes- doubtless borrowed for the day as the Basque Volants borrow the jewelry of their womenkind.

The Vice-King was dressed like the King and danced as No. I in the column. From the opposite side of the village came another and more extraordinary procession. These were the

Bugios, whose name literally means mimer or imitator, with, however, the possibility of a second meaning. If this can be corroborated it enhances enormously the value of this Morris, and strengthens the light thrown on all Morris and Midsummer rites by the Dianic cult theory. For the secondary meaning of

Bugio may be sorcerer. Sorcerers taking part in a rite on Mid- summer Day, one of the very moments with Candlemas, Lammas and May Day Eve, when the power of witches was at its height, when the covens of the " old religion " were sum-

moned, when the Grand Master himself appeared, once to

facilitate, afterwards to blight fertility at the critical period of the Summer Solstice, gives food for thought. I will endeavour

14 Folk-Lore, vol. xliii. (1932), p. 55.



Collectanea 227

to outline some of these meditations later so as not to interrupt the description of the Sobrado rite.

The Bugios then enter the village about fifty strong. They wear faded velvet cloaks (hired I believe from Oporto) with tinsel trimmings. Some wear kneebreeches with frills at the knee, and all are masked. Some of these masks are ordinary Carnival faces, some represent animals, while some are antique- looking cork masks, apparently home-made from the bark of the cork oak trees. All wear small bells and have castanets in their pockets. The most striking part of their attire are the huge hats with paper fringes on the brim and showers of paper streamers hanging from the crown. These reminded me of the Overton Mummers' paper streamers which serve to hide their identity.

The King of the Bugios had inherited the office from his father. He is privileged to choose a vestment from the Sacristy the day before. This year he wore a crimson damask cope arranged like a mantle, and had added a lace frill round the shoulders. He wore the high, mirrored shako of the Mouriscos instead of the paper plumed hat, and was sometimes masked. When un- masked his facial play was wonderful, and altogether he made a remarkable figure.

A Sower, a Plough and a Harrow

Now comes a man riding a donkey, his face to its tail, while the donkey wears its collar under its chin. He sows flax seed- but calls it maize. After him comes a plough which ploughs up the road, and a harrow to harrow it. The plough is, or is supposed to be, broken up after this ceremony, so as never to be used again. Once through the village the procession dis- perses and goes to dinner.

A Leaping Dance

We arrived about 5 o'clock from Braga to find the feira, market or fair ground, thick with people, and the second part of the proceedings not long begun. Incredible heads shot into view and dropped into the crowd again, where groups of Bugios were leaping up and down. This was no set dance but



228 Collectanea

a series of jumps on the spot. This they did singly or in groups all over the ground. Small parties of Mouriscos also were dancing, scattered all over the feira. Sometimes a Bugio sprang into a group of peasants to dance a Vira (a Fandango-type dance) with a girl, but I never saw a Mourisco do this. Presently the Mouriscos paired up in procession and danced right down the

ground and into the yard of the priest's house, to dance there in honour of Senhor Padre. They faced each other in two long files as in a Longways Country dance, the King danced down the middle, the top couple " cast off " outwards followed by all the rest. They met at the bottom and came up the middle in

couples. Sometimes one couple followed the King down the

middle, who also danced down between each couple's turn. Now and again he led them into a " snail," for which they arranged themselves in single file. Occasionally they separated into two single files, one led by the King, the other by the Vice-

King. Turning abruptly they were led back again, the two leaders meeting face to face. This, done at a good speed, was

quite an impressive figure. Swords were held erect in right hands and the step was simply step and hop (pos~, temps levB) except when waiting to go down the middle. The waiting files then executed on the spot or slightly sideways, the retiring step of the Braga King and his Princes. Finally they danced out of the priest's yard, always in pairs, and the Bugios danced in. As these came down the feira led by their King, they leapt, howled and threw their arms about, strongly recalling the " Noirs" of the Basque Masquerade. Inside the yard they took a Longways formation, the King in the middle about half-

way down. Then began a most extraordinary dance, if dance it can be called.

The top couple, paper plumes waving, arms going like wind-

mills, rushed at their King, sometimes bent at the waist with hands on their knees, sometimes almost crouching. Their Lord waved them off with dramatic movements and sinister facial

expression, whereupon they leapt or bounded round him and he had to turn to face them. When he had sufficiently played with them, or had perhaps subjugated them, he bowed in a

priestly manner from the waist. They bowed back, rushed to



Collectanea 229

the bottom of the dance only to return several times before taking the bottom place. Thereupon the bottom couple rushed out at their King, to go through the same queer acts until chased or waved away. The same couple seemed to continue to attack, or their adoration of, the King till he and they were tired, but the numbers and the masked faces, the leaping up and down and the ceaseless repetition made it difficult to keep accurate track of them. Meanwhile those waiting in the Longways files rattled their castanets and bowed to right and left.

Enemy Castles

I thought my Pyrenean work had shown me things as curious as any existing in Europe, but nothing, except possibly the Prats de Mollo Bear Hunt,s15 comes up to the strange and sinister height of these Portuguese Midsummer Ritualists.

About 6.45 p.m. a few of each party climbed into their " castles." These were rough platforms about 8 ft. square and quite 12 ft. above the ground, made of firpoles, built round a tree, each with a ladder at the back, and about Ioo yds. apart. The occupants began a fusillade at each other from the most dangerous old muzzle-loaders imaginable, while a boy on each castle was kept employed sweeping up the scattered powder, one with a broom, the other with a branch of leaves. These sweepers caught my attention, but I soon found they had no ritual significance, having been instituted a few years previous to our visit, after an explosion which caused damage. Each time a Bugio fired, every man on the Bugio stronghold leapt up and down madly so that the castle shook and swayed. This fusillade went on for over an hour and the whole of that time mounted messengers, one from each camp, galloped to and fro bearing messages impaled on their swords' points. Part of the time a third cavalier joined them, but I think he was merely a young outsider anxious to show off his horsemanship. When, about 8 p.m., the sun of a cloudless Midsummer Day was beginning at last to set and the powder was all done, the Mouriscos made a sortie from their castle. Circling the crowd they

15is The Springtime Bear in the Pyrenees." Folk-Lore, 1930, vol. xli., PP. 277-9.



230 Collectacnea

crawled up the ladder and attacked the enemy in the rear. As they fought the defenders fell in a shower from the platform, and lay on the ground howling and kicking. Those left endeavoured to protect their King, but the Mourisco King prevailed and took him prisoner. An impressive moment occurred when he stood over his kneeling captive, one hand on his shoulder, a naked sword held aloft in the other. The Bugios bent and solemnly kissed their captive King, who was marched off in the middle of the Mourisco procession. A uniformed band

(from Vallongo I believe) which had been playing popular, not folk airs, all the afternoon, now joined the procession with

dirge-like music. The vanquished company hovered on the

outskirts, keeping up a continual moaning. All this part was exceedingly curious.

A Dragon But now a few of those left on the castle descended, and pro-

duced a Dragon from its lair beneath the platform. This creature was called the Bicha (serpent or dragon) and was about 8 ft. long, made of sacking covering a light wooden frame and

painted with large spots. His tail was a fir branch, his tongue of red cotton. The Bugios ran with him into the crowd, making him rear and dart, edging towards the approaching and still

lamenting procession. When sufficiently near they " let loose " the Dragon, the Mouriscos fell into disorder, and the Captive King escaped into the crowd.

The Saint's Dance.

Almost immediately after the Mouriscos reformed into pairs, danced down the feira, where, in front of the Church, they danced in honour of S5o Joio. This was the same dance as in the priest's yard and took half-an-hour. The Bugios followed, performing their strange movements, rushing at their King and

being waved away. This time they danced to a tri-tonal tune, monotonous past bearing, played by two violins and a Portu-

guese guitar with a drum, while the Mouriscos had danced to a drum beat only.

Illuminations, fireworks and explosions began all over the



Collectanea 23 I

countryside, for the saint must be honoured by as much noise as possible. After which the people went home through the warm night, men and girls exchanging hats, singing such songs as these.

A ST. JOHN'S SONG FROM CANAS DE SENHORIM Noted by V. A.

SGaily.

S-o Jo -o e - ra bom santo, se n~o fosse tBo mar- 6 - to;

S~io Jo - .o e- ra bomrn santo, se nio fosse tio mar-o - to.

O-ra vwde raparigas, o-ra v,-de,

Sio Joio como deita a rode.

TRANSLATION:

St. John would have been a good saint If he hadn't been such a scamp (in the sense of liking the girls) Just look girls, just look How St. John casts the net !

A ST. JOHN'S SONG FROM OPORTO

Noted by V. A.

Sio Jodo p'ra ver as mo - gas, ai foz um -

a fon-te de pra - ta, ai as mo-gas n. - o for -

am 14, ai Sao Jo - do to-do se ma- ta.

The following is a St. Anthony's Song, and would have been sung a week earlier.



232 Collectanea

A ST. ANTONY SONG FROM CANAS SENHORIM

Noted by V. A. Fast.

O meu ri-co Sant' Anton-io, Tu es um dem - on - io,

Tu es um Ju - den! E'sum santomil a - gros- o,

De pau carun - cho-so, Que nos a- par-e - ce - u1

TRANSLATION:

O my dear (lit. rich) Saint Antony You are a demon, You are a Jew! You are a miraculous Saint Of worm eaten wood Who has appeared to us.

We have no history of the Sobrado rite, so we cannot illumi- nate the present confusion with gleams from the past before deterioration set in. But we have an account, as usual dis-

appointing, of another rite in which Bugios figure, and that no further away than the town of Vallongo on the Douro railway. A pamphlet entitled " Bosquejo Historico da Villa de Vallongo" by F. J. Ribeira Seara, 1896, shows not a Mourisca, but a

Bugiada. A president of the Bugiada was chosen and the members were dressed as clowns. One Bugio died, the others lamented until the dead man was resuscitated " by the power of

Saint Anthony " and began to dance amongst his surprised and

joyful brethren. After the manner of writers who know only their local rite, Seara gives the frequent explanation of an

epidemic stayed by the power of the Saint-who of course is a

healing saint as well as a giver of sweethearts-and adds, hitting the nail on the head with uncommon accuracy though quite unwittingly, that the theme was " um motivo um tanto monotono." Of course it was. How could the essential rite be

anything but monotonous, reproduced as it must be unfailingly



Collectanea 233

year after year ? The epidemic occurred as lately as I750, and it was then that the town put itself under the protection of Sant Antonio. If information were available we should probably find that the Bugiada was an annual event long before that date, but that it was held in honour of Sio Joso. In other words a Midsummer Festival. In any case it spread over both feasts, for on June 28th 1896, at night, a band of donkey-riders dressed like Bobos (fools) preceded by a drummer, rode through the town reciting satirical verses. On the eve of the second Sunday in July they still kept it up with torches, visiting the saint who was set up on a granite column in the street, and on the following Thursday with another visit ending with a noisy festival " like that of the god Bacchus."

The only other Morris I yet know of in Portugal does not bear the name, and is a dance only, without any play, battle or death. The dance is called Paulitos, little sticks, and is done in the district round Miranda do Douro in the province of Traz os Montes. It is not connected with the St. John's Feast, but is done at various times according to village usage. The most interesting feature is that until just recently half the dancers wore women's skirts, with embroidered white petticoats and drawers. There are eight or sixteen, half men and half men- women, and the dance comprises twenty-four figures called

Lagos. One of these, the " Acto de Contricido " contains a kneeling gesture, but it did not seem to have any ritual meaning as I saw it done. The whole thing is about as much like an Oxfordshire Morris stick dance as it well can be.

A few points which have occurred to me may be worth men- tioning, though I have ventured to draw but one conclusion. The Sobrado Mourisca seems to be a Mummers' Play on a large scale, the protagonists whole companies instead of individuals, until the moment of the capture of the Bugio King. That moment of suspense, the Mourisco King standing, naked sword in hand above the kneeling captive, struck me forcibly as having once been more than a capture. The death of the Vallongo Bugio in the next town gives legitimate reason to believe that the Sobrado Bugio died also, and I think the death took place at this moment and at the hands of the Mourisco

Q



234 Collectanea

King. The escape and the attack by the Dragon would be an episode added when the need of a death had been forgotten. We have no evidence of what was the Dragon's r61e in our Mummer's Plays and Morris, and Dragons have now died out. I think I am right in saying any Dragon now appearing is a "revived" one. The Revesby Sword Play, called also the " Plow Boys or Morris Dancers," as written down in 1779, says

" We are come over mire and moss, We dance an Hobby Horse, A Dragon you shall see, And a Wild Worm for to flee."

But what the Dragon did is not stated. Was he there solely to be killed by Saint George ? Neither do we know what the

Portuguese Braga Dragon did. The plough and harrow prove that this Mourisca is at least

partly connected with agriculture. The breaking up of the

plough so that it shall never be used again after its sacred

employ, shows how important and sacred the rite is or was considered. The man riding backwards on the donkey, and the

donkey wearing its collar under its chin is plainly inversion of set purpose,-and the witch cult was an inverted religion with a great festival at Midsummer. Why does the man call the seed he sows maize when in reality it is flax ? Was this sower

already sowing grain before ever maize, now the most important crop, was introduced from South America ? But in this case it would hardly have been flax, which is not a food. I have not even heard that flax is used for divination in Portugal, which

might have led to its being sown at Midsummer. In England hempseed is the correct seed for divination ...

" Hempseed I throw Hempseed I sow, And he that is my true love Come after me and mow."

Grass, thistles, coins and paper boats are used for the Mid- summer divination magic quoted at the beginning of this account.

In Portugal, with her long history of Moorish conflict, it seems

strange not to find them still represented, as in Spanish and



Collectanea 235

other Morescas, battling against Christians. I firmly adhere to the practical theory that Christians, Turks, Moors and the word Morris only made their appearance after the Moorish, and in Eastern Europe, the Turkish invasions had made so deep an impression on Society. For it seems clear that the word Moresca in all its forms, worked downwards from conscious art to folk art-more or less unconscious. What the seasonal ritual dancers and players were called previous to this second Moorish invasion we shall, unhappily, never now know I suppose. But it occurs to me that the present Mouriscos may once have been the Christian company, and the Bugios the Mouriscos. I know two folk plays in which the Christian element has been trans- ferred to the wrong character. One makes Le Roi Maure wear a crown with a cross on it; the other puts the same Christian emblem on the head of the Arabe. These Sobrado companies may have suffered the same mistaken change, and the fact that the Bugio King wears the Mourisco headdress might be regarded as some indication that this has taken place. But this would by no means lessen the interest of finding sorcerers bowing so oddly to the Chief of their Coven on a Midsummer Day, for we then might argue that it strengthens both the connection between Morris and a Fertility cult, and the probability of all Mummers and Morris being descendants of the ritualists of " the old religion "-though the question would still remain as to how these managed to keep their ceremonies out in the open instead of being driven underground as were the latter day witches.

Out of all this I venture, as already stated, to draw but one conclusion, and that a very simple one. Apart from the broader aspect of a great Sun Festival, it seems certain from their songs, from the way the women laugh when singing them, even from the exchange of hats between men and girls, that both these Midsummer saints, Sant Antonio and Sio Joso, are but the slightly camouflaged traditional memory of a Priapic god connected with lovers, marriage and water, whose feast was at the summer solstice, and whose manners were proper to a fertility god at a fertility festival.

VIOLET ALFORD



midsummer and morris in portugal

Documents