The Statue and the Giant: New Liturgies of Identity in Provence and the North of France
Gueusquin, Marie-France
The Statue and the Giant: New Liturgies of Identity in Provence and the North of France - 2004.
43
The ceremonies commemorating the founders of the national or regional identity are developing tremendously in Lower Provence since the 90’s. They are celebrated in front of memorials (statues, busts, plaques) by the defenders of the « tradition » supported by the local authorities and their fellow citizens. These ceremonies are similar to funerary rituals, which is confirmed, for example, by the recurring celebration of a mass in the church. On the other hand people pay homage to their local heroes in a quite different way in the North of France. These are brought back to life in the form of giant dummies that walk and dance in the streets, susciting amical gestures from the citizens who are carried away by the jubilation of a local lay celebration in which social hierarchies are abolished.
The Statue and the Giant: New Liturgies of Identity in Provence and the North of France - 2004.
43
The ceremonies commemorating the founders of the national or regional identity are developing tremendously in Lower Provence since the 90’s. They are celebrated in front of memorials (statues, busts, plaques) by the defenders of the « tradition » supported by the local authorities and their fellow citizens. These ceremonies are similar to funerary rituals, which is confirmed, for example, by the recurring celebration of a mass in the church. On the other hand people pay homage to their local heroes in a quite different way in the North of France. These are brought back to life in the form of giant dummies that walk and dance in the streets, susciting amical gestures from the citizens who are carried away by the jubilation of a local lay celebration in which social hierarchies are abolished.
Réseaux sociaux