History of Carnival: origin, in Europe, in Brazil

O Carnival it's a traditional popular party held in different locations around the world, being the most celebrated in Brazil. Despite the strong secularism present at Carnival, the party is traditionally linked to the Catholicism, since its celebration precedes Lent. Carnival is not a Brazilian invention, because its origin goes back to Antique.

The word Carnival comes from Latin, carnis levale, whose meaning is “to take away the meat”. This sense is related to the fast that should be performed during Lent and also to the control of worldly pleasures. This demonstrates an attempt by the Catholic Church to control the wishes of the faithful.

Accessalso: Body care we must have during Carnival

Origin of Carnival

Some scholars understand Carnival as a Christian festival, as its origin, in the way we currently understand the festival, has direct relationship with fastingLent. This does not prevent tracing the historical origins that show us the influence that Carnival has suffered from other parties that existed in antiquity.

At Babylon, two parties possibly originated what we know as Carnival. At satiates they were a celebration in which a prisoner assumed, for a few days, the figure of the king, dressing like him, eating in the same way, and sleeping with his wives. In the end, the prisoner was whipped and then hanged or impaled.

Another rite was performed by the king in the period close to the equinox spring, a time to celebrate the new year in Mesopotamia. The ritual took place in the temple of Marduk (one of the first Mesopotamian gods), where the king lost his emblems of power and was beaten in front of the statue of Marduk. This humiliation served to demonstrate the king's submission to the deity. Then he again assumed the throne.

What was common to both parties and which is linked to Carnival was the character of subversion of social roles: the temporary transformation of the prisoner into a king and the humiliation of the king before his god. Possibly the subversion of social roles in Carnival, such as men dressing up as women and other similar practices, is associated with this Mesopotamian tradition.

The association between Carnival and orgies can also be related to Greco-Roman festivities, such as the bacchanals (Dionysian feasts, for the Greeks). They would be dedicated to the god of wine, Bacchus (or Dionysius, for the Greeks), marked by drunkenness and surrender to the pleasures of the flesh.

There was still, in Pomegranate, a saturnalia and the Luperkalia. The first occurred in the solstice of winter, in December, and the second, in February, which would be the month of infernal deities, but also of purifications. Such parties lasted for days, with food, drink and dancing. Social roles were also temporarily reversed, with slaves taking the place of their masters, and the masters taking the role of slaves.

Christianity and Carnival

The festivals cited were, of course, pagan celebrations and were extremely popular. As its power strengthened, the Church did not look favorably upon these celebrations in which people indulged in worldly pleasures. In this conception of Christianity, there was the critique of the inversion of social positions, therefore, for the Church, by inverting the roles of each one in society, the relationship between God and the devil was also inverted.

The Catholic Church, then, sought to reframe them by giving them a more Christian sense. During the High Middle Ages, Lent was created — period of 40 days before Easter characterized by fasting. Later, the festivities carried out by the people were concentrated in this period and named carnis levale.

The Church thus intended to keep a date for people to commit their excesses, before the period of religious severity. At this moment, the Carnival went on for several weeks, between the Christmas and the Easter.

Accessalso: Christian Easter - celebration held 40 days after Carnival

Carnival in Medieval and Modern Europe

Medieval Carnival was marked by parties, banquets and lots of games.

During the carnivals medieval, around the eleventh century, in the fertile period for agriculture, young men who dressed up as women went out into the streets and fields for a few nights. They claimed to be inhabitants of the frontiers of the world of the living and the dead and invaded homes, with the acceptance of those who lived there, feasting on food and drink, and also with the kisses of the young women from the houses.

During the Rebirth, in Italian cities, the commedia dell'arte, improvised theaters whose popularity lasted until the 18th century. In Florence, songs were created to accompany the parades, which also featured decorated cars, the trionfi. In Rome and Venice, participants wore the bauta, a black hooded cloak that covered shoulders and head, plus three-cornered hats and a white mask.

It was common in Renaissance Italy to hold masked balls during Carnival.

The logic that governed the Antiquity festivities was the same for the Carnival in Europe of Middle Ages and Modern: the world upside down. Therefore, it was a period of purposeful inversion of the order, therefore, the restrictions of people's lives were abolished, and the roles that existed in that society, inverted.

From the 16th century onwards, there were initiatives to impose control over carnival celebrations on the continent. This attempt at silencing was a reaction to religious conflicts that reached Europe in that period, but it can also be explained as a way of impose social control. Another explanation could be the current conservatism who sought to demonize popular festivals.

Accessalso: Carnival in Modern Age Europe - find out how it was celebrated

Carnival in Brazil

Carnival arrived in Brazil during colonization and became the biggest popular festival in the country.[1]

The history of Carnival in Brazil began in the colonial period. One of the first carnival events was the Shrovetide, a game of Portuguese origin that, in the colony, was played by the slaves. In it, people went out to the streets, dirtying each other, throwing mud, urine, etc. Shrovetide was banned in 1841 but continued into the mid-20th century.

Then came the cordões and ranchos, the ballroom parties, the privateers, and the Samba schools. Afoxes, frevos and maracatus also became part of the Brazilian carnival cultural tradition. Marchinhas, sambas and other musical genres were incorporated into the greatest cultural manifestation in Brazil. If you are curious about the topic, read our text: History of Carnival in Brazil.

Image credits

[1]CP DC Press and Shutterstock

By Daniel Neves and Tales dos Santos Pinto
History Teachers

Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/carnaval/historia-do-carnaval.htm