Mamoiada's Carnival

Carnival in Sardinia begins on Sant’Antonio Abate, also known “Sant’Antoni e su ou,” a feast day named for Saint Anthony’s Fire. In many villages of Sardinia, mysterious ritual and propitiatory dances take place around bonfires lit for the occasion.
In the village of Mamoiada, the symbolic figures Mamuthones and Issohadores feature in the dances and celebrations.

Mamuthones, curved under the weight of bells and with their face covered by a black wooden mask, slowly move in a cadenced way along two parallel paths, shaking his shoulders to ring his bells to banish evil and invoke an abundant harvest. Issohadores, on the other hand, dressed in a white mask and red bodice, give rhythm to Mamuthones’ dance and escort them with lighter steps and leaps, suddenly throwing a snare and capturing landowners or young women in an auspicious sign of good health and fertility.

These rites have achieved fame far beyond Sardinia as symbols of Europe’s lost peasant and pagan heritage.