COLOMBIA: Town re-enacts a traditional battle between the area's indigenous, African, Arab and Spanish populations

In one of Colombia's most historical towns, an annual tournament involving forty-eight horsemen played out the traditional battle between the area's indigenous, African, Arab and Spanish populations on Sunday (November 13). The event in San Martin Meta (located some 150 kilometres southeast of Bogota) opened with four squadrons of horsemen representing the four different groups paraded through the town to celebrate its patron saint and passed by an altar, before continuing on to one of the town's main squares for the recreation of the battle. Each group played out their role from the time of the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the country. According to Colombian historian Alfonso Henao, the event originated in Spain and was specially adapted to incorporate South American elements. "It's a tradition that comes to us from Spain with the discovery (of America), with the Moors. They impose their culture, they have some Moorish and Christian games there between two groups of horsemen. They arrive here and over time they involve themselves with two other groups representing the American indigenous and the black African slave, and they put on the same figures they had there. They try with this to detach themselves. Initially they were trying to detach themselves from the indigenous people, from their religious culture, their celebrations, and to change them for celebrations that came from Europe with the dominant culture," explained Henao. The Moors, or Arabs, were represented as the warlike race, wearing pink and yellow silks, and using swords and projectiles in the battle. The ´´Indians´ represented the area's indigenous populations, defended their ancestral homeland. They wore costumes of dark trousers and cotton shawls, and painted their faces. The Spanish wore European suits with hats and carried white pennants, while the African slaves wore exotic costumes using animal hides and feathers, and carried a black pennant. "We are Africans. We dress in wild animal skins with leaves, with everything we find in the forest," explained Carlos Castro, one of the African representatives. The four groups of twelve horsemen came together with all the colour of their various costumes, and began the various games which culminated in fireworks and traditional music.

ITN Source | November 17, 2005

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