processional giant

The processional giant is a gigantic costumed figure that represents a fictitious or real being. Inherited from medieval rites, tradition has it that it is carried, and that it dances in the streets during processions or festivals. Its physiognomy and size are variable, and its name-giving varies according to the regions; among the Flemings, it is known by the name of reus (plural: reuzen), among the Picards it is called gayant. The large biblical figures in the procession also served the purpose of catechising a largely illiterate population.{{cite book |last= Ducastelle|first= Jean-Pierre|title= Géants et dragons : Mythes et traditions à Bruxelles, en Wallonie, dans le Nord de la France et en Europe Relié|trans-title= Giants and dragons: Myths and traditions in Brussels, Wallonia, Northern France and Europe|language= French}}

The first registered date for the gigantones e cabeçudos is the Corpus Christi festivity in Évora, Portugal, back in 1265.{{cite book |title=Festividades cíclicas em Portugal |publisher=Publ. Dom Quixote |isbn=9789722003353 |edition=2.|year=1995 }}{{cite web |url=https://wepa.unima.org/en/giant-figures/|title=Giant Figures|date=2017-07-10}} It included the snake, the demon and the dragon which represented the challenges that Jesus Christ had to defeat. In Spain, the first written references in novels date from 1276 in Pamplona (Navarra) with three giants representing three people from Pamplona: Pero-Suciales (woodcutter), Mari-Suciales (villager) and Jucef-Lacurari (Jew).{{Cite web |last=Navarra.com |title=La Comparsa |url=https://navarra.elespanol.com/articulo/san-fermin-informacion/comparsa-gigantes-cabezudos-san-fermin-kilikis-zaldikos-pamplona/20160609171615047582.html |access-date=2022-10-17 |website=Navarra.com |date=9 June 2016 |language=es}}

Belgium has nearly 1500 giants on its soil. Their appearance dates back to the 15th century; Goliath of Nivelles, which is mentioned as early as 1457, is the oldest known Belgian giant.[http://www.tourisme-nivelles.be/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=264:giants&catid=35:en-articles-menu-principal&Itemid=303 Nivelles Tourism website, about Nivelles' Goliath] Belgium also has the largest giant in Europe; Jean Turpin of Nieuwpoort, which exceeds {{convert|11|m}}.

The Belgian cultural heritage includes the following events:

• Ducasse d'Ath
• Ducasse de Mons
• Meyboom of Brussels
• Ommegang van Appels
• Ommegang van Dendermonde
• Ommegang van Lier
• Ommegang van Mechelen
• Reuzenstoet of Borgerhout

File:Ath ducasse 2004 Ambiorix.jpg|The giant Ambiorix at the Ducasse d'Ath, Belgium

File:Géants de Tournai pendant la Grande Procession (DSCF9101).jpg|Giants of Tournai, Belgium

File:GeantsMeyboom2.jpg|Giants of the Meyboom of Brussels

File:Walloon Giants Belgian Day Wisconsin.jpg|Giants of Belgian American community in Brussels, Wisconsin

File:Reuskens_van_Borgerhout.jpg|The "little giants" of Borgerhout resemble Spanish cabezudos

The giant is one of the symbols of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. It is the object of ancestral cultural practices that are still kept alive. Present at regional festivals and events, he represents the northern community.

The region currently has more than 450 giants, spread over the whole territory. There are nevertheless more dynamic intra-regional zones, located around central points. The Flemish part of the region is a land of giants; each city has one or more of them. Examples include Reuze Papa and Reuze Maman of Cassel, Tisje Tasje of Hazebrouck, Jean de Bûcheron and La Belle Hélène in Steenvoorde, and Totor of Steenwerck. In the South, in the Languedoc region, there is the Pézenas colt, and in the Provence, the tarasque of Tarascon (Bouches-du-Rhône).

• Cassel: Reuze Papa{{Base Palissy|PM59001786|Note about Reuze Papa}} and Reuze Maman{{Base Palissy|PM59001787|Note about Reuze Maman}}
• Douai: Gayant, Marie Cagenon, Fillon, Jacquot, Binbin
• Pézenas: le Poulain
• Tarascon: la Tarasque

File:Reuze Papa Cassel.jpg|Reuze Papa of Cassel, France

File:Gayant.jpg|Giants couple; Gayant and Marie Cagenon, Douai, France

File:Tarasque in Tarascon 02.jpg|Fibreglass Tarasque in Tarascon, France

File:Gigantes pamplona jorge urdanoz.jpg, Spain]]

File:Els Gegants de Lleida.JPG, Spain]]

The giants are usually hollow figures several meters tall, with a painted paper maché head and arms, the rest of the body being covered in cloth and other clothing. Their frame is usually made of wood or aluminium, with carton-pierre—a mixture of papier-mâché and plaster of paris—used to make the head and hands. The frame of the body is hidden by cloth, and the arms typically have no structural element to allow them to swing in the air when the giant is turned.

Within the frame is an individual controlling the giant. He carries a harness on his shoulder that is linked to the internal structure, and will move and shake the giant in a dance, usually accompanied by a local marching band. Typically, these dances will include at least two giants, the male gigante and the female giantess, called giganta or gigantona, though some towns have multiple couples. Badalona for example has two couples of giants.{{Cite web |last=webinnovo |title=Els quatre gegants reis de Badalona canviaran de vestits l'any 2021 |url=https://independentbadalona.cat/setmanari/noticia/711-els-quatre-gegants-reis-de-badalona-canviaran-de-vestits-l-any-2021 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=independentbadalona.cat |language=ca-ES}}

The figures usually depict archetypes of the town, such as the bourgeois and the peasant woman, or historical figures of local relevance, such as a founding king and queen, or pairs of Moorish and Christian nobles.

Cabezudos are smaller figures, usually to the human scale, that feature an oversized, carton-pierre head. The heads are worn with a matching costume. The person dressed as cabezudo will use one hand to hold his head, while the other hand carries a whip or pig bladder, used to frighten children or young women. Seeing through the "mouth" of the head, he will chase after these people, though he might pause to calm a frightened child.

As with the giants, the cabezudos typically represent archetypes of their town.

File:El_Robaculeros.jpg|Cabezudos from Zaragoza, Spain

File:Un cabezudo.jpg|A cabezudo from Vitoria, Spain

File:Capgrossos_de_Sitges,_caps,_Festa_Major_24.8.2014.jpg|Capgrossos from Sitges, Spain

Gigantes y cabezudos is also the title of an 1898 zarzuela, with music by Manuel Fernández Caballero, set in Saragossa and featuring a contemporary event: the Spanish army's return from the disastrous defeat of the Cuban War of Independence. The action unfolds during the festival of the Fiestas del Pilar, and concludes with a rousing jota focusing on the stereotypically strong, hardy character of the Aragonese, comparing them to the ever-battling "Gigantes" and "Cabezudos".

File:Mare de Déu de la Salut 21.jpg|Gegants at La Mare de Déu de la Salut Festival from Algemesí, Spain

File:Gigantes de San Vicente.jpg|Gigantes of Barakaldo, Spain

File:Encontro de Bonecos Gigantes de Silvio Botelho.jpg|Bonecos d'Olinda, Olinda, Brazil

File:St_Christopher,_The_Salisbury_Giant.jpg, upon the coronation of King Edward VII, 1902. Photograph from the Salisbury Museum]]

File:Mr Fishy the Hastings Giant in Hastings Museum Durbar Hall 2023.jpg

England's most famous gianteering tradition is arguably that of the Jack in the Green, however the country is also host to giants more visually similar to those of continental Europe. These giants may represent figures of folklore and pseudohistory, or can be more general personifications. The earliest record of a processional giant in England is a reference from 1570 to the Salisbury Giant who processed on the eve of St John the Baptist's Day, or Midsummer's Day. The Salisbury Giant, a depiction of Saint Christopher, is believed by some to date to the 1400s, and was owned by the Tailor's Guild before being purchased by the Salisbury Museum in 1873.{{cite web | url=https://theseislands.blog/2022/03/29/salisbury-giant/ | title=Land of the giants | date=29 March 2022 }}{{cite web | url=https://salisburymuseum.org.uk/collections/giant-and-hob-nob/ | title=Giant and Hob-Nob }}{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/go8a1jrkR_aiiIfKon1LNA | title=BBC - A History of the World - Object : The Salisbury Giant }} St Agnes, Cornwall, hosts the May festival Bolster Day featuring a processional giant that represents the mythical giant Bolster. Other English giants include Nathandriel, The Morrigan, War and Peace, Hannah Clarke, Gog and Magog, and Mr Fishy.{{cite web | url=https://tradfolk.co/customs/beasts-and-giants/hastings-giants/ | title=Meet the Hastings Giants | date=10 January 2022 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/14732552@N03/2472283686/ | title=Hastings Jack in the Green 2008 Nathandriel | date=4 May 2008 }}{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amhXja8TVYw | title=Jack in the Green Hastings Parade / Procession 2022 Hastings Old Town - Giants and folk in green | website=YouTube }} There also exists a variant of giant called a Ninnie which consists only of a large hollow mask which covers the entire head and leaves the wearer's body uncovered, similar to the oversized heads of American sports mascots.{{cite web | url=http://www.giants.org.uk/bigg/aboutn.htm | title=BIGG: About ninnies }} Carriers of English processional giants are called porters, or dancers.{{cite web | url=http://www.giants.org.uk/bigg/gicrew.htm | title=BIGG: Giant crews }}

The Higantes Festival is held in Angono, Rizal between 22 and 23 November since the late 19th century.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

• Celedón
• Hobby horse
• Joaldun
• Judas Iscariot
• Olentzero
• Toro de fuego
• Zanpantzar

• Processional giants and dragons in Belgium and France
• Giant puppet

{{notelist}}

{{reflist}}

{{commons category|Figures of giants}}

• [http://www.itzurun.org Giants and big heads group in San Sebastian]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110710204805/http://www.gigantesycabezudosdemadrid.org/ Madrid's group]
• [http://www.facebook.com/gigantesycabezudosdevalladolid Valladolid's group - Giants and big heads]
• [http://www.ciag.org International Circle of Friends of Giant Puppets]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20131103050433/http://www.gegantsdelleida.cat/ Giants of Lleida Friends Assotiation]
• Gigantes y cabezudos of Zaragoza

{{Traditional festivals in Spain}}

Category:European folklore

Category:Puppets

Category:Culture of Spain

Category:Culture of Catalonia

Category:Culture of the Basque Country

Category:Culture of Portugal

Category:Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Brussels