Cavalhadas

Cavalhadas

50 days after Easter

During the Pentecost season, Brazilian Catholics celebrate Festival of the Divine Holy Spirit (Festa do Divino). This festival, believed to have been established by Portugal's Queen Isabel in the 13th century, observes the ascension of Christ into heaven, which is commemorated by Christians worldwide. One distinctly Brazilian tradition during the three-day festival is the Cavalhadas, a ceremony that reenacts the Christian knights' defeat of the Moors on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages.
Cavalhadas has been an annual observance since 1819. It is held throughout Brazil, although the most popular celebration takes place in the historic city of Pirenópolis in the country's central region. A smaller festival takes place in Amarantina, located farther to the south.
Among the feast's expressly religious activities are masses, processions, and the recitation of novenas. The festival's most-attended event is the staging of the knight tournament itself, which in Pirenópolis occurs in the city's bull ring. All the actors ride on horseback, with the Christian knights, dressed in blue, squaring off against the Moors, in red.

CONTACTS:
Brazilian Embassy
3006 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008-3634
202-238-2700; fax: 202-238-2827
www.brasilemb.org

SOURCES:
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 339