Ritual dances: Cossiers, Cavallets, Àguiles...

Cossiers, Cavallets, Àguiles... are dances that date from the era of the Christian reconquest, and are the oldest dances still maintained on the island. They have a pagan origin, but with time, the Church forbade them and incorporated them within their religious ritual. Some of these dances were fighting representations (shielders, pollbearers, festivities of Moors and Christians, bruising). Others represented more or less complex ceremonies of adoration and cult to agricultural divinities: dances of fertility of the land to promote good harvests or in thanks for abundance.

The web Folk de Mallorca, that grows day by day, is presenting a new section dedicated to ritual dances of Mallorca, with information about "els Cossiers" from Alaró, Algaida, Montuïri, Manacor and Pollença; "els Cavallets" from Pollença, Felanitx and Artà; "Sant Joan Pelós" from Felanitx, Son Servera, Sant Llorenç Pollença; and other dances.

Date of publication: 31/05/2000

Mallorca >> News >> Archive 1999-2003 >> Ritual dances: Cossiers, Cavallets, Àguiles...