The Nativity
"The Nativity" is a pastoral dance every Christmas is still celebrated in Braojos de la Sierra. It is a relic of the past, do not know exactly when he started this tradition, the first written references which date from the fifteenth century, although it is thought that the Nativity goes back to the thirteenth century.
It's Christmas Eve, the shepherds come down to the people and the Church to present the child's best lambs of their flocks in the midnight mass.
We entered the church, the whole town goes to Mass, to the right of the altar we see a group of women dressed in their best clothes, pretty petticoats purple, red, yellow .... his head, played by colorful scarves.
Beside the musicians are simple percussion instruments. Which directs plays a large tambourine with which marks the hard knocks, and the instruments that accompany are rudimentary or our kitchens, the tambourines, the pestle, irons, bones (huesera, arrabel or carrañuelas) are a group of bones connected by a wire and hung around the neck with a rope, dog bones on his chest and make it sound roz Andolan with castanets.
Instruments: Pandera, irons, huesera, mortar, tambourine, bottle
Mass begins. Women sing carols and nine pastors come dancing to the Church, they approach the Altar, directs "the zarragón" or overseer of pastors and they form two rows with zarragón in the middle, are holding a staff, wearing a leather suit, reminiscent of the old trappings of the pastors of our land, sandals and a backpack, carry in your backpack zarragón a lamb to offer it to Jesus.
Valentin Garcia, was zarragon for more than thirty years
dance different parts of the Mass, Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Agnus Dei .... broken sung in Latin and popular.
To the sound of music, the shepherds move towards the altar, the Zarragón going forwards and backwards between the two rows. Before starting the dance give a rap with his staff on the ground, then the staff, always in the right hand moves from right to left, following the beat of the feet.
to "The Adoration", the shepherds kneel before the Child Jesus and the birth rate of simple carols of the people will prostrate before him, the first being the Zarragón offering the lamb that carries in his backpack then come the other pastors and the rest of the people.
We can see the Nativity:
Þ Day December 24: 24:00
Þ Día 25 de Diciembre: 13:00 horas
Þ Día 1 de Enero: 13:00 horas
Þ Día 6 de Enero: 13:00 horas
dance before the altar
