Customs

The magical-religious background of Carnival in the Dominican Republic

There is documentation certifying that carnival began in the city of Santo Domingo around 1520. There were already carnival-like celebrations being held for the feast of Corpus Cristi, Saint John the Baptist, three days before the beginning of Lent, to celebrate the founding of the city and for all other worthy commemorations and events.

Any type of carnival activities usually implied there would be masked parades and processions, theatrical scenery in the atrium of the Cathedral, horse riding in the Cathedral’s atrium as well as the street. People play games with oranges and egg shells filled with scented water, the hole plugged with wax, “wax eyes”, which they throw into the crowd as people dance on the street or on their balconies.

In reality, carnival fills a function of catharsis, a mix of evasion, recreation, compensation, encounter and freedom in a society with profound social control that often debated the imposition of formal regulations disguised and taken out of context.

It wasn’t long before the Catholic Church began to comment on the “excesses” of carnival and how they were a “relaxation of good customs.” Originally, carnival in Europe was a “pagan” event which the Church was unable to eliminate. Therefore the Church began to dedicate itself to “Christianizing” carnival, something it was only partially able to achieve, Carnival is held three days before the beginning of Lent so that Catholics are able to participate.

There is also the negative and symbolic representation of the Devil who, little by little has managed to become the central character in the Dominican carnival.

And, what’s more, Independence Day celebrations in the last century often coincide with the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and are celebrated along with carnival much like was done back in colonial times when huge festivals were patriotic expressions and have now become a permanent part of the holiday. Since then, pre-Lenten carnival has become “the Carnival of February” or “Independence Day” not unlike the August 16 celebration of the Restoration. In our country, ever since then, carnival is no longer connected to the liturgy of the Catholic Church.

(Taken from “The Carnival of Carnivals” by Dagoberto Tejeda Ortiz. Edited by the National Carnival Commission of the Ministry of Culture in 2002)

Candelo and the Carnival

During the middle of the 20th century the dominant classes celebrated a “corso florido” (Italian influenced festival) on El Conde Street while the masses celebrated their carnival in Enriquillo Park. Delegations from Los Mina, Mina, Mandinga, Villa Duarte, Villa Mella and Mendoza showed up playing the conga drums and carrying sticks they’d deposit on the altars (tables) in the little paper huts where the devils lit the candles. They’d leave some coins on the altar as moved about, under the watchful eye of the queen of each troupe.

The following day, the devils would reunite again in Enriquillo Park and head off toward the home of Anita Caba who, with a scarf on her head, went into a trance in Candelo. Using holy water in a special ritual, she would baptize everyone.

From there they would go to Sara’s who prepared a special drink from the innards of a cow and they would offer it again before an altar. She gave them a glass of wine made from the blood of a sacrificed animal which they offered up to the 21 Divisions to purify and protect them.

For that reason, disguising oneself was a commitment and a promise, partly to do with people’s view of the world, with their deeply held beliefs. It wasn’t just about devils. For example, the protector of the Indians of Quisqueya Group was the famous “Servant of Mysteries” of Borojol, María Consuelo Gómez, affectionately called Doña Blanca.

In time, as the carnival was beginning to be identified with elements that define the roots of our culture, it was becoming a democratic space for the expression of magical-religious culture. Pipi, the most famous Roba de Gallina/Chicken Thief, was not just in a trance to be part of his carnival character, rather he went about accompanying his favorite diety, “Anisia Pie Dantó”. She was represented in a lovely doll adorned with symbols and paraphanelia.

While the Ga-gá troupe displayed the 21 Divisions in their handkerchiefs in the National Carnival Parade and were seen in all voodoo rituals, the 21 Divisions Group in the San Cristobal Carnival won the acceptance of the people and the highest prizes from the pageant judges, year after year, opening and maintaining the magical-religious character and background of the carnival.

Why the mirrors? ….

The most important magical-religious element of carnival is expressed in the limping devils’ costumes that are full of tiny mirrors that symbolize their ancestors. The little dolls represent birth, passing from the old to the new and the jingling bells symbolize a dimension of eternity.

What’s more, in the capital and in some places in the center of the country, many of the troupe leaders are “Servants of Mystery” who have their missions to Luases. They keep their costumes after the activities are over, thus concluding the ritual of consecration that began before the first carnival outing.

On Holy Saturday in Elías Piña, it is the custom to burn all the devils masks in the countryside then collect the ashes and sprinkle them over their crops in a fertility rite.

In this way, there is a magical-religious content in the Dominican carnival which is just as varied as the national cultural make up of the country although it has not been sufficiently studied yet.

(Taken from “The Carnival of Carnivals” by Dagoberto Tejeda Ortiz. Edited by the National Carnival Commission of the Ministry of Culture in 2002).