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Castell (tres de deu amb folre i manilles) in Vilafranca del Penedès.
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Traditions and Symbols
Castells · Correfoc · Gegants i capgrossos · Falles
Nit de Sant Joan · Moros i cristians · St George's Day Caganer · Tió de Nadal · Muixeranga · Sardana Coca · Pa amb tomàquet · Paella · Ensaïmada Symbols · Myths and legends |
A castell (Catalan pronunciation: [kəsˈteʎ]) is a human tower built traditionally in festivals at many locations within Catalonia, Spain. At these festivals, several colles castelleres or teams often succeed in building and dismantling a tower's structure. On November 16, 2010, castells were declared by UNESCO to be amongst the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.[1]
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The tradition of building castells originated in Valls, near the city of Tarragona, in the southern part of Catalonia towards the end of the 18th century. Later it developed a following in other regions of Catalonia and, since 1981, when the first castell of 9 levels of the 20th century was built, it has become very popular in most of Catalonia and even the Balearic Islands. The only 6 teams that have built complex gamma extra castells are from Valls, Vilafranca del Penedès, Terrassa, Mataró and Tarragona.
In Catalan the word castell means castle.
A castell is considered a success when stages of its assembling and disassembling, can be done in complete succession. The assembly is complete once all castellers have climbed into their designated places, and the enxaneta climbs into place at the top and raises one hand with four fingers erect, in a gesture said to symbolize the stripes of the Catalan flag. The enxaneta then climbs down the other side of the castell, after which the remaining levels of castellers descend in highest-to-lowest order until all have reached safety.
Aside from the people who climb to form the upper parts of the tower, others are needed to form the pinya, or bottom base of the castell, to sustain its weight. Members of the pinya (most often men)[2] also act as a 'safety net' if the tower structure collapses, cushioning the fall of people from the upper levels.
The castell is built in two phases. First, the pinya the base of the tower is formed. People forming higher levels of the tower move to a position from which they can easily get to their place in the tower. This is done slowly and carefully,[3] and as subsequent base levels are completed the castellers in the pinya determine if their base is solid enough for construction to continue. Then, when the signal to proceed is given, bands begin to play the traditional Toc de Castells music as a hush comes over spectators of the event. The upper layers of the tower are built as quickly as possible in order to put minimal strain on the lower castellers, who bear most of the weight of the castell. The disassembly of the castell, done amidst the cheering of the crowd, is often the most treacherous stage of the event.
There is a form of the Castell, generally referred to as 'rising', in which each successive layer is added from the bottom by lifting the castell into the air, stage by stage. It is held that this form takes even more skill and strength and a great deal of practice. Four levels complete have been observed and five attempted, but it is said that the record is six or perhaps seven.
Typically castellers wear white trousers, a black sash, a bandana and a coloured shirt often bearing the team's emblem. A differently coloured shirt indicates which team a participant is in. For instance, Castellers de Barcelona team wear red shirts while Castellers de Vilafranca wear green shirts.
The sash (faixa) is the most important part of their outfit, since it supports the lower back and is used by other castellers in the team as a foothold or handhold when climbing up the tower. This tasselled piece of cloth varies in length and width and depends on the casteller's position inside the tower and also on choice. The length of the sash ranges from 1.5 to 12 m, and usually is shorter for those higher up in the castell. Performing castellers usually go barefoot as to minimise injures upon each other as they climb to their position and also for sensitivity when balancing and to have better feel and hold each other.
The arrangement of castellers can be into a multi-tiered structure and the highest has a height spanning of nine or ten people from ground up.[4][5] Accidents are rare during the construction of a castell; however, as in bull runs, ambulances are stationed nearby in case a person needs immediate attention.[6] Fatal accidents do occur where on August 6, 2006, in Mataró a young casteller fell off the formation of a castell and died. Prior to this, the previous death of a participant was in 1983 in Torredembarra.
The motto of Castellers is "Força, equilibri, valor i seny" (Strength, balance, courage and common sense).[7]
Castells are primarily described by number of people in each level and the total number of levels, and sometimes also by a style of formation. Levels are composed of between one and five individuals standing on the shoulders of the level below.
Common terms indicating the number of people for each level of a tower:
Numbers of levels most commonly built:
Very high towers and ones with a small number of people on each level normally need extra support from the base or bottom levels. These base levels are frequently indicated as part of the name of the tower. Three kinds of base levels are most commonly used:
The word agulla ("needle") refers to a high column of one person per level which is built inside the main tower. When the castell is being dismantled, the agulla must remain standing until the outside part of the castell is already down.
Another aspect of castell nomenclature refers to how successfully the tower was completed. Four terms are used: