Moros y cristianos
Encyclopedia
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, mainly in the southern Valencian Community
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...
; according to popular tradition the festivals commemorate the battles, combats and fights between Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
(or Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s) and Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s during the period known as Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
(from the 8th century through the 15th century).
The festivals represent the capture of the city by the Moors and the subsequent Christian reconquest. The people that take part in the festival are usually enlisted in filaes or comparsas (companies that represent the Christian or Moor legions), and for several days, they parade with bombastic costumes loosely inspired by Medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
fashion. Christians wear fur
Fur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensives body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal...
, metallic helmets, and armor, fire loud arquebus
Arquebus
The arquebus , or "hook tube", is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modeled on the German hakenbüchse; this produced haquebute...
es, and ride horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s. In contrast, Moors wear ancient Arab costumes, carry scimitar
Scimitar
A scimitar is a backsword or sabre with a curved blade, originating in Southwest Asia .The Arabic term saif translates to "sword" in general, but is normally taken to refer to the scimitar type of curved backsword in particular.The curved sword or "scimitar" was widespread throughout the Muslim...
s, and ride real camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
s or elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s. The festival develops among shots of gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
, medieval music, and fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
, and ends with the Christians winning a simulated battle around a castle.
The most well-known Moors and Christians festival takes place in Alcoi (Valencian Community
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community is an autonomous community of Spain located in central and south-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Valencia...
) from 22 to 24 April, around the Feast Day of Saint George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...
(Catalan: Sant Jordi, Spanish: San Jorge). According to legend, after James I of Aragon
James I of Aragon
James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...
reconquered the city of Alcoi, the Moors, in turn, tried to recover it shortly after. But, when they were about to start the battle again, Saint George miraculously appeared to the Moors, who were frightened away.
Other remarkable Moors and Christians festivals are celebrated in the towns of Bocairent
Bocairent
Bocairent is a municipality in the comarca of Vall d'Albaida in the Valencian Community, Spain....
(Medieval town 1–5 February), La Vila Joiosa
La Vila Joiosa
Villajoyosa or La Vila Joiosa is a coastal town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea....
(with its desembarc), Villena
Villena
Villena is a city in Spain, in the Valencian Community. It is located at the northwest part of Alicante, and borders to the west with Castilla-La Mancha and Murcia, to the north with the province of Valencia and to the east and south with the province of Alicante. It is the capital of the comarca...
with approximately 12,000 participants (most crowded festival), Biar
Biar
Biar is a town in the comarca of Alt Vinalopó, province of Alicante, Spain. Biar lies at the foot of the Serra de Mariola and is located 39km from the city of Alicante.The economy in Biar is based on manufacture, particularly dolls, and pottery....
, Cocentaina
Cocentaina
Cocentaina is a town located in the comarca of Comtat, in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city is located between the mountainous Serra de Mariola national park and the Serpis river.The economy of Cocentaina is chiefly based on the textile industry....
, Crevillent
Crevillent
Crevillent is a town and municipality located in the Alicante province, part of the Valencian Community, Spain. It is situated in the comarca of Baix Vinalopó, and lies at the foot of the hill range known locally as Serra de Crevillent...
, El Campello
El Campello
El Campello is a town on the Costa Blanca of Spain, within the Valencian Community. It is a 20-minute tram ride from Alicante city. There is a busy marina and fish market, where people can go and purchase freshly caught seafood....
, Elda
Elda
Elda is a city located in the province of Alicante, Spain. , it has a total population of 55,618 inhabitants, ranking as the 7th most populous city in the province. Elda joins together with the town of Petrer to form a conurbation with over 85,000 inhabitants...
, Muro d'Alcoi, Oliva
Oliva
Oliva is a municipality in the comarca of Safor in the Valencian Community, Spain, in the Valencian language area. To its east lie 10 km of coastline and beaches fronting the Mediterranean Sea....
(third weekend in July), Ontinyent, Orihuela
Orihuela
Orihuela is a city and municipality located at the feet of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Spain. The city of Orihuela had a population of 32,472 inhabitants in the beginning of 2006...
, Petrer
Petrer
Petrer is a town located in the comarca of Vinalopó Mitjà, in the province of Alicante, Spain.Petrer joins together with the city of Elda to form a conurbation with over 95,000 inhabitants...
, Pollença
Pollença
Pollença is a town and municipality situated in the far north corner of the island of Majorca, near Cap de Formentor and Alcúdia. It lies about 6 km west of its port, Port de Pollença.-History:...
and some districts of Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
city. One of the most ancient festival is celebrated in Caudete
Caudete
Caudete is a municipality in Albacete, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It has a population of 10.157 and is located at ....
(nowadays in the Albacete
Albacete (province)
Albacete is a province of central Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha. It is bordered by the provinces of Granada, Murcia, Alicante, Valencia, Cuenca, Ciudad Real and Jaén....
province, but then was part of the Kingdom of Valencia
Kingdom of Valencia
The Kingdom of Valencia , located in the eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon. When the Crown of Aragon merged by dynastic union with the Crown of Castile to form the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Valencia became a component realm of the...
), dated from 1588.
A version of this festival survives in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
in the form of the moro-moro play, staged during fiesta
Fiesta
Fiesta, a Spanish word that means "party", "feast" or "festival", may refer to:-Film:*Fiesta , a 1941 American film directed by LeRoy Prinz*Fiesta , a 1947 MGM film starring Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalbán-Music:...
s. The show begins with a parade of stars in their colorful costumes. Actors playing Christians wear blue costumes while those playing Moors wear red costumes and are fully ornamented.
External links
- Pictures of Moros y Cristianos in Muro de AlcoyMuro de AlcoyMuro de Alcoy or Muro d'Alcoi , also briefly called Muro is a town located in the comarca of Comtat, in the province of Alicante, Spain, lying at the foot of the Serra de Mariola. As of 2009, it has a total population of c. 8,900 inhabitants...
2006 - Unión Nacional de Entidades Festeras de Moros y Cristianos, Web page of the official organism, in Spanish.
- Fotos Moros y Cristianos, Pictures of Moros y Cristianos festival in La Vila JoiosaLa Vila JoiosaVillajoyosa or La Vila Joiosa is a coastal town and municipality in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea....
. - Alcoy Foto Pictures of Alcoy and La fiesta de moros y cristianos in Alcoy.
- Moros i Cristians of Alcoi.
- Moros y Cristianos Festival history and today
- MusicaFestera.com Music of Moros y Cristianos
- Moros y Cristianos of Elda.
- Moros y Cristianos of Villena.
- Junta Festera de Moros i Cristians del Campello, Web page of the official organism.
- Comparsa Saudites d'Ontinyent (valencian)
- Tourist information Travel guide and info.