Lula Carnival

Su Battileddu is the victim. He wears sheepskin or sheepskin, his dark face of soot mixed with blood, a headdress of goat, cow or deer antlers on his head, tied cowbells (marrazzos) on his chest. A goat's stomach is placed between the horns of the headdress and an ox stomach filled with blood and water is hidden on the belly. This is pierced every now and then to wet the earth: a rite that recalls ancient propitiatory sacrifices for the fertility of the earth. Followed on his journey by the Battileddos Gattias, men disguised as widows who wear male leggings. They move through the streets cradling a rag doll that they hand to the girls in the crowd asking to nurse it, while they sing funeral songs in honor of the carnival victim (SOS attitos). During the fashion show, the Gattias sitting in a circle, after forcing someone from the audience to join the group, play the game of pinching but not laughing (pitzilica and not laughing), passing a pinch to each other without laughing so as not to pay the pledge that consists of pouring a drink. Sos Battileddos Massajos, characters dressed as farmers who represent the guardians of the cattle and the scarified victim follow the procession. Their faces are smeared with soot and carry prods and leather ropes (socas), with which they tie the victim to hit her repeatedly, tug her, drag her, until she dies. Two Battileddos Massajos are hogged like oxen and pull the cart. Su Battileddu, considered crazy, is kept tied and firm by the Battileddos Massajos, while the spectators try to prick on Chentu Puzone to get out the blood with which they smear their faces. When the victim falls to the ground someone shouts “they killed him, my God, they slaughtered his throat! ” (l'an mortu, Deus Meu, l'an irgangatu!) but a glass of wine is enough to revive her. Other Battileddos dressed as widows stage the funeral with scurrilous gestures and laments. Then Battileddu is placed on a wagon to represent the rebirth and the beginning of the party.

The masks
Su Battileddu: dressed in sheepskin or sheepskin, his face is dirty with soot and blood, his head covered by a black female handkerchief, he wears a headdress with goat, cow or deer antlers. Between these is placed a goat's stomach (sa'entre ortata). On his chest the cowbells (marrazzos), on his belly half hidden by the cowbells he carries an ox stomach full of blood and water (su chentu puzone), which is occasionally pierced to wet the earth and fertilize the fields.
Sos Battileddos: they represent different figures. The Battileddos Gattias, men disguised as widows who wear male leggings, carry the doll in their arms cradling it and singing funeral moans. Sos Battileddos Massajos represent the guardians of the cattle and the scarified victim and follow the procession, with a black face of soot they keep the victim tied with leather ropes. Some yogates represent oxen and pull the wagon.

History
Many theories trace the origin of Lula's masks to Dionysian rites, with the representation of the passion and death of the god, and to the archaic agrarian rites of fertilization of the earth with blood. The Battileddu mask, abandoned in the first half of the twentieth century, was re-proposed in 2001 for a strong scientific and anthropological meaning. Two theories alternate on the etymological origin of the name of the mask. Battile in Sardinian means useless, rag, good for nothing. Bathileios in Greek means rich in messengers, as well as being one of the many names attributed to Dionysus. In fact, the mask represented the one who would make the fields fertile; he must have been a crazy person, for this reason considered close to the god and must be offered as a sacrifice. According to other hypotheses, Lula's carnival would represent the struggle between good and evil, impersonated according to legend by Voe Tomasu (good) and Trullio (evil). Only when Voe Tomasu gets his horns covered can he defeat Trullio and as a trophy he places Trullio's stomach around his horns.

Update

5/2/2024 - 12:55