Dancing Devils of Corpus Christi refers to a set of popular Venezuelan religious festivals held on Corpus Christi, celebrating the presence of Christ in the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

. It generally refers to the practices of 11 brotherhoods in various regions, which include more than 5,000 people, among which the best-known is the Dancing Devils of Yare. These manifestations were recognized by UNESCO as

Intangible Cultural Heritage An intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is a practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered by UNESCO to be part of a place's cultural heritage. Buildings, historic places, monuments, and artifacts are cultural property. Int ...

in 2012.

History

The brotherhood groups originated in the mid seventeenth century on the Aragua and Vargas state farms. As early as 1749, Corpus Christi was celebrated and men, women and children dressed as devils to fulfill promises made to the Blessed Sacrament. Different origins have been attributed to the Dancing Devils of Corpus Christi. According to a story about the

San Francisco de Yare The city of San Francisco de Paula de Yare is the capital of the Simón Bolívar Municipality, in the state of Miranda in Venezuela. It is located in the Middle Tuy Valley, approximately south of Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago d ...

brotherhood, 400 years ago, a priest without the means to hold the procession of Corpus Christi said: "If there is no money nor believers to carry the Blessed Sacrament in procession, then the devils come!" After a storm, several devils presented themselves in front of the church. Regarding other stories about the Yare brotherhoods are, some references are in the novel ''Peonía'' by the writer Manuel Vicente Romero Garcia, describing in a clear and illustrative manner how the dancers were Cúa devils in the 1870s.

Brotherhoods

There are 11 groups recognized as guilds, societies or associations which constitute hierarchies to dance annually and make promises to worship the Blessed Sacrament. All are independent organizations established in their respective communities. In contemporary times, groups have organized non-profit associations that access public and private funding to improve their organizational strategies and reach a wider audience. * Dancing Devils of Yare *

Dancing Devils of Ocumare de la Costa Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

Dancing Devils of Cata Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

Dancing Devils of Cuyagua Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

* Dancing Devils of Turiamo *

Dancing Devils of Chuao Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

* Dancing Devils of Patanemo *

Dancing Devils of San Rafael de Orituco Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

Dancing Devils of Tinaquillo Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

Dancing Devils of San Millán Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

Dancing Devils of Naiguatá Dance is a performing art art form, form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolism (arts), symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its chor ...

Trying to reach a degree of organizational strength, several fraternities held a series of "national meetings," each located in a different community. As a result, the National Association of Dancing Devils of Corpus Christi was created to bring together most of the existing fraternities.

Yare

The Dancing Devils of Yare (''Diablos Danzantes del Yare'') is the name of a religious festival celebrated in

, in the state of Miranda, Venezuela, on the day of Corpus Christi. The ''Sociedades del Santísimo'' (Societies of the Holiest) are in charge of the celebration. Its origins are traced back to the 18th century, being the oldest brotherhood of the American continent. Every Corpus Christi (nine Thursdays after Holy Thursday), a ritual dance is performed by the so-called "Dancing Devils," who wear colorful garments (commonly all red), layers of stripped fabric, masks of grotesque appearance and also accessories like crosses, scapulars, rosaries and other sorts of amulets. The fraternity of the devils is divided in hierarchical order, represented by their masks. There are other expressions in this particular festival named according to the location, such as the Devils of Naiguatá and the Devils of Chuao.

Procession and dress code

In this folkloric festival, devotion is given to the patron saint

Saint Francis of Paola Francis of Paola, O.M., (or: Francesco di Paola or Francis the Fire Handler; 27 March 1416 – 2 April 1507) was an Italian mendicant friar and the founder of the Roman Catholic Order of Minims. Unlike the majority of founders of men's religiou ...

and to Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. The celebration starts Wednesday with a wake where ''fulías'' (a native music style) are played, décimas (native form of poetry) are recited and rosaries and other prayers are recited until dawn. The next day the devoted, disguised as devils, perform dances around the main town square. They also parade through the streets, dressed in their red costumes and masks, dancing to the rhythm of ''corríos'' (

octosyllabic The octosyllable or octosyllabic verse is a line of verse with eight syllables. It is equivalent to tetrameter verse in trochees in languages with a stress accent. Its first occurrence is in a 10th-century Old French saint's legend, the '' Vie de ...

musical poems). Later on, the group moves towards the front of the church and when the mass has ended, the Eucharist is placed at the church's entrance and a sort of fight representation begins between the devils and the guardians. Finally, the devils surrender and kneel in front of the Eucharist to show submission, dancing to the rhythm of the ''bamba'', a music style that is more reverential. The entire performance represents the victory of Good over Evil. The dancing devils wear red shirts, trousers and stockings, a mask depicting a devil, and canvas sandals. They carry a cross made out of blessed palm leaves, a rosary, and a medallion with the image of Christ (that can be substituted by another

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

religious image). They also carry in one hand a devil-shaped maraca, and in the other, a whip.

References

*Translated from: Spanish language Wikipedia

External links

{{commonscat, Diablos danzantes de Yare
NY Times feature on the Dancing Devils
Venezuelan culture Latin American culture Miranda (state) Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity South American folklore Demons in Christianity Christian festivals in South America