The XXXIII International Traditional Mask Festival was held this February, coinciding with the start of Shrovetide. Masked groups gathered from all over the country to Limbaži, Latvia to celebrate their folklore.
In ancient pagan times, mummers would go door-to-door throughout the country, paying visits to villagers in a seasonal tradition to bless the land and bring forth a bountiful harvest. Each collective has different masks, outfits, dances and songs – each with their own symbolism for fertility, and springtime success.
This particular mask group embodies the power of fertility, more specifically concentrated on the last crop that was left in the field. They march through the fields, playing loud music with a bagpipe-like instrument and blowing horns to wake up the soil and make everything fruitful.
Their outfits are highlighted by their conical hats made of rye grass straw. In the prior year, just before the harvest, when the rye had matured, Latvians pick rye stalks for making these rye hats and crowns, which are used the following year during these Shrovetide celebrations. Rye bread has always been a staple dish that sustains Latvian life, and has become one of the country’s National symbols.
Additional sources used: Celotajs.lv ///// The name of the group of bud masks is derived from the word “bud,” “seding” – to awaken, to excite, which reflects the task of masks – to awaken nature and people for a new cycle of life and to promote the success of the next harvest. Both the appearance of the buddies and the actions are symbolic, that is, every element and action of the costume has some, at first glance, an invisible meaning, which is understood only by a person knowing about traditions. As the way of life changes, we have gradually lost our understanding of the meaning of ancient traditions, and we need the help of researchers to rediscover it. The budēļa suit is made up of a feather on the outside of a sheepskin fur, girded with a twisted straw herb or an old linen strip. At the “belt” of the budēļa, calls are tied, because the creation of sound is an important element in the operation of masks. Call sounds actively recreate and shape the world, as well as scare away evil spirits. Also, a bottle of water with water is hugged to the belt of the budēļi, with which the buds water the households during the visit. Isolation or splashing with water is a symbolic activity that ensures the health and fertility of the family, as water is a life-giving and supportive substance. For fertility reproduction, a phallic symbol is holds at the belt – a carrot and two onions. Also, the high straw hat of the buddock is considered to be a sign of masculine strength and potency. Finally, the Budel holds a “distance tool” in his hand – a birch hiccup, with which all the householders are mastered, but especially the daughter-in-law and other young daughters, whose fertility is important for the further existence of the family.
Fertility or creation is the most important quality of man, which unites us with the world of gods. A person must be able to create not only offspring, but also his own spiritual and material well-being, but also his own spiritual and material well-being of the family, family and nation, thus fertility applied to all aspects of human existence. All the activities of the buddies are aimed at the activation of nature and human creation, which corresponds to the time of the Shrovetide celebration, when a turnaround to spring takes place in nature.
The group of masks, which during Shrovetide actively active in the Lejaskurzeme region, is a mug. In the queues, wives and daughters are jumped, and the symbols of feminine fertility can be clearly seen in the costume of mues. — http://brivdabasmuzejs.lv/zinas/metena-maskas-un-tradicijas/
