Abstract
Ritual Dances in Portugal. Miss Violet Alford contributes to Folklore, vol. 44, June, 1933, a note on the midsummer and Morris dances of Portugal, directing attention to features which appear to point to a survival of a pagan cult of the type reputedly celebrated by the witches' coven in the Sabbath. Two performances are recorded, one of a St. John's play at Braga on midsummer morning and a second on the same day at Sobrado, near Vallongo, in honour of St. Anthony. The interest of the former in this connexion lies not so much in the performance of the present day as in past practice. It is recorded that in the sixteenth century young girls danced in the procession with other girls dancing on their shoulders, while the dancers were surrounded by women who behaved with considerable freedom. At Sobrado the performance was of a lengthy and complicated character, and only certain features are mentioned here. The dancers were divided into two troupes of which one, the mouriscos, was opposed by another coming from the other side of the village. The latter consisted of about fifty persons with a king. They are called Bugios, which means ‘imitators’, but with a possible secondary meaning of sorcerers. Following them comes a man riding a donkey with his face to the tail. He sows flax seed, calling it maize. The donkey wears a collar under its chin and is followed by a plough which must be broken up after the performance. At a certain stage of the proceedings the bugios danced a remarkable dance in which each couple rushed toward the king in a crouching attitude, while he waved them off. They then danced around him. This in its context is curiously reminiscent of the ritual salute at the witches' Sabbath. A fight then takes place between the two parties, who use muzzle-loaders, firing from wooden ‘castles’. The bugio king is captured, and it may be formerly suffered a ritual death, though now he escapes, when a dragon is introduced. It is suggested that both the saints are a traditional memory of a priapic cult associated with a fertility festival at the summer solstice.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Research Items. Nature 132, 211–213 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/132211a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/132211a0