The Caretos of Podence, the carnival of the devils

Text by: Marie-Line Darcy

In the northeast of Portugal, the small village of Podence has maintained the tradition of "human scarecrows" for centuries. Reportage.

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From our correspondent in Portugal,

First it is the deafening sound of the bells that evokes the arrival of a huge herd. Then we see garish colored silhouettes. The Caretos which arise between the shale houses of the village of Podence, in the region of Trás-os-Montes (northeast) cause a stampede. Only the glance which can be guessed by the slits of the terrifying mask they wear brings a little humanity to these characters with a strangely sharp nose. Who are these noisy and hopping demons that scare the villagers? Their exact origin is unknown, but the Caretos have been part of Podence since time immemorial.

It is at carnival and only at this time that the devils roam the streets of the village of 180 inhabitants. Caretos - their name comes from the bells they wear on their belts - exist only to frighten and distract. They thus perpetuate an ancestral rite linked to the fertility cycle. Their prey is essentially young women, who must be literally shocked. The Careto sways and bangs its bells on the hips of the young ladies trapped. The symbolism escapes no one. The funny dance punctuated by screams and laughter is that of Eros and Thanatos. She has no other goal than to postpone winter, to hope for a good harvest with the return of spring, and of course, to generate the new generation.

A pagan cult that has resisted

The Caretos de Podence are part of a fairly widespread tradition in the north of Portugal, which begins on November 1 and ends at Carnival. But Podence's costumes do not exist elsewhere. No ancient text sheds light on the history of role-playing. For some researchers, the rite has its origins in the Celtic people. This explains the similarities with other rituals encountered from east to west in Europe, following the migration route of this civilization. Other researchers tend to favor the Roman influence and the Lupercalia festivals. They were given in honor of the god Luperco, to be curious borrowing from the wolf and the goat, to be evil.

At the Careto house (museum) in Podence, we keep an extraordinary heritage. RFI / Marie-Line Darcy

As the spring equinox approached, the men took the youngest to the forest so that they could get lost and return alone to the village. The initiation rite ensured generation succession. Even today, the boys of Podence, dressed in traditional costume, accompany the elders and learn by mimicry the gestures and the assaults of the Caretan devils. Luperco, a carnival inspirer, was so admired that the Church as soon as she could transform him into a Saint. And what a Saint! a certain Valentin.

Red, green and yellow wool: a rot-proof social bond

In Podence, each family has one or two Careto costumes. It is passed from father to son, and from uncle to nephew. The old costumes are carefully preserved within families, or now at the village museum opened in 2004. They are made to measure, on request. First, a combination is cut from thick, very strong mattress fabrics.

Then the costume is sewn with long strips of wool, red, yellow and green curls. The hood has a long braid that goes down to the calves. A leather harness on the chest receives two or four bells, while six or eight large bells adorn the belt. Finally, the paraphernalia is completed by a brass mask painted in red or black, and sometimes in leather. A Careto de Podence costume is worth between 500 and 700 euros depending on the quality of the materials used.

Young people resume the activity of making costumes and masks. RFI / Marie-Line Darcy

A carnival that resists desertification

Podence today looks like an abandoned village. The inhabitants are old, and the contemporary homes of immigrants remain closed most of the time. The rural exodus has hit the territory. But for carnival the village lives again: we come from far away to perpetuate the tradition, to put on the family costume of Careto. Because if we mimic aggression, the kidnapping of women, if we spread terror by howling like wild beasts, we especially like to find family and friends, during the seasonal fights.

The inhabitants unite in the face of harsh living conditions. Without Caretos, the carnival almost disappeared in the 1980s. Saved from oblivion, it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019. Pride.

An evolving carnival

Today a couple of young people have settled at the entrance of the village to make costumes and masks. They are sold to visitors who flock to the action of the Caretos every year. In 2019 Carnival gathered more than 30,000 people, and the event takes on the appearance of a Festival. Bagpipes and drums parades, reenactments and balls enliven Podence. The Caretos them continue to melt on their prey to encircle it by uttering howls and making tinnitus their bells. After all and as the Portuguese saying goes: " It's carnival, no one can take it wrong ".

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