Mamuthones and Issohadores, the Barbagia carnival ritual attracts more and more visitors

Their tradition dates back to ancient times. The name dates back to the times of the Phoenicians, who called the Sardinians “melameimones": black faces, which were those that the colonizers attributed to the local populations. And the Mamuthones have dark faces, one of the aspects of the traditional mask of the Barbagia carnival that inspires the most fear. The black alder mask is called “visera”. And then there are the black sheepskin clothes – a vest – which recall the deep connection with agro-pastoral traditions, velvet clothing, a hat called “bonette" and then a handkerchief called “su muncadore". On their shoulders they carry a group of cowbells weighing 20, 25 kilograms, which during the ritual walk and the jumps of the parade generate that almost infernal noise which is attributed in an almost iconic way to the Mamoiada carnival. Then on the chest the Mamuthones also have bronze bells tied to leather straps.

That of Mamuthones and Issohadores is a tradition with which the entire island is now identified, to the point that events arise throughout the year in which these traditional masks are used for tourist purposes. But it is clear that the deepest, most authentic meaning of their parade is linked to Barbagia and the carnival period: decontextualising the folklore manifestations risks not doing a great service to initiatives that have their own specific meaning linked to identity deeply rooted in connective tissue of a community. Attending the Barbagia carnival is a very intense experience and it is no coincidence that every year it attracts thousands of visitors to Mamoiada, a center of 2,500 souls which is also known for its Cannonau and the presence of numerous winemakers and wine producers (practically every family bottles, even just for personal use). The leading group is made up of 12 Mamuthones, who move together creating a kind of procession. Together with them also a dozen Issohadores, related but distinct from them. They wear part of the traditional costume of the country: red bodice, white shirt, white cloth trousers, black wool socks. They have a “hat" on their heads and a colored handkerchief surrounds their faces. The shawl around the waist and on the chest a leather rattle with small bells: sa soha, which they use to catch anyone watching their performance.

Mamuthones and Issohadores move together divided into two rows: an Issohadore marks the typical cadenced step of the procession, a mysterious dance that still manages to fascinate, involve and disturb. It starts on January 17th, every year, on the occasion of the feast of Sant’Antionio Abate, which represents the beginning of the Barbagia carnival. Then Carnival Sunday and Shrove Tuesday. But what does the Barbagia carnival represent? Certainly it is a propitiatory rite linked to the cycle of nature, to remember the pagan nature of the event. Cowbells serve to ward off evil spirits, along with rites related to the earth and fertility. Then with the black mask and animal skins man strips himself of his human appearance, with a double nature that puts him in contact with the divine. Some pagan rituals have slowly been replaced by a Christian interpretation of the festival: in Sant’Antonio the ritual is combined with the Christian festival, with the priest blessing the fire.

Some recent theories on the interpretation of the Barbagia carnival and of Mamutohes and Issohadores also speak of the fight of the Sardinians against the Moors, or even the reference to a Byzantine festival, the Majuma, from which the very name of the town, Mamujada, originated. The Carnival ritual involves the whole community, which feels the celebration in a profound way: part of a very long-standing identity and significant participation, from the children – who are born and grow up immersed in these stories – and the elderly who have spent their existence marked by the carnival ritual. Wine naturally plays a leading role and the town’s winemaking tradition is deeply rooted, thus composing a community identity based on the intertwining of carnival and vineyards.

In paese sorge anche il Museo delle maschere del Mediterraneo, uno spazio che mette a contatto le tradizioni sarde con quelle che si affacciano sul ‘Mare nostrum’. Ampio spazio naturalmente alle maschere barbaricine ma l’attenzione è focalizzata anche sulla volontà di mostrare la matrice comune dei riti sardi e quelli di altre civiltà vicine alle nostre: maschere, abiti, gli oggetti che generano i suoni frastornanti della processione, un ampio apparato iconografico e visivo consentono di approfondire la cultura che c’è dietro al carnevale, una cultura che è patrimonio comune di tutta la Sardegna. E che rappresenta una suggestiva chiave d’accesso per turisti e visitatori alla scoperta dell’immenso patrimonio del folclore sardo.