Carnival

It is known by the name “Carrasegare” which has the same etymological origin as the Italian word for carnival “carnevale”, derived from the Latin “carne levamen”, which means “to remove the flesh” in anticipation of the upcoming lent. The celebrations begin on January 17th and end on the first day of lent. In Sardinia, you can still find villages that maintain strong ties with the original pastoral society and where it is still possible to get close, even if only in the form of subtle hints, to the original meaning of the carnival ceremonies. Despite their differences, the celebrations always represent the issue of struggle and opposition between men and animals, the struggle between the rational will and the force of nature with its magical and animal qualities. The most visible and also the most evocative part of these rituals are certainly the masks that depict typical figures and stories: animal, human and semi-divine. Mamuthones and Issohadores in Mamoiada, Boes and Merdules in Ottana, Bundos in Orani, Thurpos in Orotelli, Buttudos in Fonni, Mamutzones and Urtzu in Samugheo, Tumbarinos in Gavoi, Colonganos in Austis, Sonaggois in Ortueri, Maimones in Oniferi, Maschera and Gattu in Sarule… in short, we can say that each of the main centers of Barbagia, a mountainous area in the center of Sardinia, where archaic traditions have been preserved during long centuries of isolation, has its own masks and ceremonies to celebrate the end of winter every year. And it is the same in other centers of the Sardinian hinterland, from Laconi to Sinnai.