Celebrating Carnival with the Deer Man

The Hunt, Lucanian era tomb painting, Paestum

 Photo by New York Scugnizzo

By Lucian

The Catholic religious season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts for forty days until Easter. During this time Catholics and some other Christian denominations are supposed to commemorate Christ’s fasting in the wilderness by giving up meat and other popular foods such as dairy and eggs.

The question inevitably arose about what to do with all this food before it spoiled, especially in medieval times when food was scarce and could hardly be wasted. The obvious conclusion was to eat it all, and what better way than with festivals and celebrations. The English term Carnival originates with the Latin term carne levare (translated literally as remove meat). The festival season begins on the Epiphany (January 6th) and lasts until the beginning of Lent. The final day is called Martedi Grasso (Fat Tuesday) and is celebrated in different forms throughout the world, including the famous festival in New Orleans in America. In the United Kingdom they call it Pancake Tuesday, because it is said that pancakes were an easy and delicious way to devour all the dairy and eggs before the fasting began.

Il Cervo (Courtesy of www.uomocervo.org)

Different countries and the regions within them have different ways of celebrating, and many incorporate their own ancient legends and folklore into the festivities. Southern Italy is no exception.

In the town of Castelnuovo del Volturno (Molise), they celebrate the last Sunday of carnival with a tradition of obvious pre-Christian origins. It’s called the rito del cervo, or Red Deer Man ritual.

It begins with the sound of cowbells approaching from the woods and the Janare (witches) running throughout the town. The Deer Man and Woman arrive covered in hides, acting wild and uncontrollable. The Deer Man then chases the villagers with his antlers, causing havoc.

The Martino (Faerie wizard of the mountains) comes to calm the wild beasts. He is dressed in white with a conical hat and carrying a staff. After a time, he succeeds and puts a rope around the Deer Man and his mate. They do not remain calm or tied together for long; soon the Deer Man becomes aggressive again and escapes his bindings. The Hunter then appears and kills them both, saving the village from the beasts, but with their death the people feel a great loss.

Zampogna from the MET 

collection (New York Scugnizzo)

The villagers grieve for the Deer Man and Woman, and the Hunter slowly approaches the slain couple and blows into their ears, bringing them back to life. The Deer then run back into the woodlands, and the witches return and dance around a fire to the music of the zampogna and other instruments.

The zampogna are the Italian bagpipes, and this in concert with the Deer Man and hunter reminds me of Cernnunos, the antlered Master of the Wild Hunt in Celtic mythology. It also brings to mind the white stag of various European legends.

Detail of Gundestrup Cauldron showing Cernunnos (Courtesy of Wikimedia)

The witches are called Janare, which is derived from the name of the Roman Goddess Diana. She is identified with Artemis, the Greek Goddess of the hunt and wild animals. Deer are sacred to Artemis.

Some believe that Carnival (and St. Valentine’s Day) are Christian adaptations of the Roman festival Lupercalia or wolf-festival. The central figure of this event was Lupercus, linked with the horned god Faunus and the Greek god Pan, who appears as a satyr.

Terracotta head of Artemis, 

Tarentine, 3rd century B.C. 

(New York Scugnizzo)

Whether intentional or through osmosis, elements of the old ways survive in many modern Christian celebrations and I believe that this is a positive thing. The Deer Man ritual is very old and very special. The themes of hunting, fertility, death and rebirth are all present and are consistent with similar rituals throughout ancient Europe and the rest of the world. Animal symbolism is also common in Christianity, so it isn’t surprising that this beloved ritual has survived until modern times.

As I learn more about my culture and my ancestral past, many things that I took for granted have acquired deeper meanings. This year, and in all years to come, I will celebrate Carnival with the Deer Man, no matter where I might be.