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Dance of the Cornut and Tree Festival

Cornellà del Terri, Pla de l'Estany, Girona

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Dance of the Cornut and Tree Festival

Activity · Cornellà del Terri, Pla de l'Estany, Girona

A traditional Good Friday celebration, documented since the 14th century, one of the oldest popular traditions preserved in the region. It consists of the Plantada de l'Arbre de Maig ('planting of the May tree') and the enigmatic ball del Cornut ('dance of the cuckold'): on Good Friday the tallest poplar in the municipality is cut down, and on Easter Monday it is carried to the square and hoisted up, decorated with a plume of pine and horns, until the following Good Friday. The dance, with choreography and music drawn from Joan Amades's Costumari, is a round of six couples around a small horned tree planted in the square, around which a dancer wearing two large horns leaps. According to tradition, it may recall ancient rites invoking good harvests, to which was later added the rejoicing at the end of the oppressive feudal customs (mals usos) in 1337.

Viernes Santo

Photo: Viquipèdia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)

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