The Sartiglia

On the last Sunday and last Tuesday of carnival Sa Sartiglia takes place in Oristano, an ancient eqestrian turnament dating back to the 1600. The chief protagonist of the demonstration is Su Componidori, an enigmatic and charming character wth the androgynouos mask who leads the knights.It begins with the taking the habit of the chief of the race which occurs in public by means of young women wearing costumes, is massaieddas, and is organised by two Gremia or Corporations, the one of countrymen on Sunday and the one of joiners on Tuesday. While the drums roll and the trumpets blare a man is turned into a demigod. The expert hands of the “massaieddas” put him the snow-white shirt, the jacket and the belt and then it is the turn of the face. They frame it with handkerchieves, put the wooden mask on, fix the veil, put the black hat and at the end pin the camellia.

Su Componidori sits motionlesson on a stool which is put on a table scattered with flower petals and other symbols of fertlity; from this moment up to the end of the race he can not put the foot on the ground not to run the acquired sacredness down. Once the taking of the habit is accomplished he rides the horse directly from the table. Preceded by a group of trumpeters and drummers and followed by a procession of masked knights with multicoloured costumes, Su Componidori goes through the city blessing the population with sa "pippia'e maju", a bunch of violets linked to a sceptre of periwinkle stems, symbol of the coming spring. The tournament takes place in the street of the Dome where, hanging by a thread of green silk there is the star that the knights have to transfix with the sword riding full gallop.

The population which follows the race with great participation, depending from the stars that were transfixed, draws the auspices for the following year. The star race ends with the character of the chief of the race who, supine on a full gallop horse, blesses the crowd with the bunch of violets.

Shortly afterwards, in another street of the city the races of the Is Pariglias begins: groups of two or three knights who perform acrobatics on riding horses, trying to overtake, show great gifts of skill and courage.