Last June, I had the most bizarre experience. I had no particular destination in mind when I spread my wings. But, en-route I espied a small village in Spain where there seemed to be some frenzied activity. Curiosity being my failing, I swooped down. It was the village of Castrillo de Murcia.
I was aghast to see people in yellow faces running through the streets, shouting insults at the villagers they met. When I heard shrieking, I turned and saw them whipping some villagers with a horsetail that was attached to a stick. But, the people lining the street were also rebuking the yellow-faced people. There was no way these yellow-faced devils could be contained. I sat safely on my perch, high up on the rooftop, from where I had a bird’s eye view of the happenings.
Then, suddenly, the drums began to beat and a group of black clad men appeared. They began to chase the yellow faced devils out of the town.
Fleet feet
I had barely recovered from this spectacle when I saw mattresses laid out on the street. I flew down and was utterly shocked to find that some babies were laid out on these mattress. The yellow devils took flight and ran down the street, jumping over the mattresses with the babies.
Finally, girls dressed in white carrying baskets came past and showered the babies with rose petals.
I followed the yellow-faced devil and asked him what was what. His answer shocked me. It was a festival! A baby jumping festival — to be precise.
This began in the 1620s, and takes place at the end of June. The yellow masked fellows depict devils ( el salto del Colacho) , while those in black ( atabalero ) are pious men whose job is to drive out the devils. It is called the ‘flight of the devils’.
It is believed that these devils absorb the sins of the babies, giving them protection from any disease or misfortune. The spectators berate the devils, to ward off their own bad luck.
Surprisingly, through all these centuries, there has never been an accident in the jumping activity. I am sure a lot of practice goes into this, to protect the babies.
Published - June 22, 2019 11:49 am IST
