L’on dansa dans tous les caboulot au son du hautbois, du biniou, du tambour. (La disparition, Georges Perec, 1969, p. 20)

This post was published for the first time on the Europeana Sounds Blog the 29th of February 2016, at this URL: http://www.europeanasounds.eu/news/when-carnival-buries-winter, and fortunately, this post is not dissolved in the web! We found it on the Wayback Machine (many many thanks Archive.org) at this URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20160624193905/http://www.europeanasounds.eu/news/when-carnival-buries-winter

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When the carnival season opens, festivals flourish anew all over Europe and America.

In Southern France the tradition is to burn a straw man on Ash Wednesday. His name is “Caramentran” – a combination of “Carême / Lent” and “Entrant / Incoming” – because it’s time to bury Winter. The period is marked by merrymaking and young people enjoy themselves by dancing and singing. A very popular song in Provence and throughout Occitan territory is Adiéu Paure, adiéu Paure, adiéu Paure Carnaval (“Good bye, poor Carnival”). Before its demise, the Caramantran is walked around the city, taken to court, judged and… always found guilty. The farewell song Good bye, poor Carnival is sung and, while onlookers are watching the flames, winter passes away¹..

In an other part of the world, in Oropeza’s Province, Bolivia (near Sucre, Chuquisaca Department), Carnival is also a very important festival. The ethnomusicologist Rosalia Martinez worked in the years 1990 on the old tradition of Soico city. Then, two boys and two girls sing, playing a Mediana (five double cords lute) during young people dance. Sometimes the dancers follow a musician. Ahead the young girls unmarried shacke white flags. The line, in circle, dance waving as a snake (amaru) or in zigzag (k’enqo). Waves and center, claim to bring up the way of the Supay’s walking, the godness of the Carnival. The earth resonate by the girls and boys’ kicks, shouting “chaki, chaki” (foot, foot).

Listen to the dance.

If you want to read more about Carnival in Bolivia “Music and demons” you can read this article by Rosalía Martínez on the Journal de la Société des Américanistes, 1990, Vol. 76, n°1, pp. 155-176

and about Caramantran & Carnival in the South of France and the struggle between Carnival and Lent: “Le combat de Carnaval et de Carême”, by Claude Gaignebet, Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations, 1972, vol. 27, n°2, pp. 313-345.

The post was written by Véronique Ginouvès, Aude Julien-Da Cruz Lima, Ariane Néroulidis, Joséphine Simonnot, from Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) — with many thanks to the reviewers.

 

Crédits photographiques : Restitution des travaux de Rosalia Martinez à Uyuni en 2005, en image à la une et danse de carnaval dans le village de Soico  (photographies de Rosalia Martinez, licence CC BY-NC-ND). Fin de caramentran au carnaval de Peypin, 8 mars 2008,  Compagnie Karnavires, Spectacle “Être ou ne pas être”, Jean-Marie Muggianu, licence CC-BY-NC-ND.

1. Listening to Paure Carnaval on Ganoub: http://multimedia.mmsh.univ-aix.fr/phonotheque-436-13 [↩]

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