Arte chocalheira

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The Arte chocalheira is a traditional art of making animal bells ( Chocalhos ), mostly cow bells , in Portugal .

The municipality of Alcáçovas in the district of Viana do Alentejo is considered to be the center of Arte chocalheira . It was from here that the initiative to save the Arte chocalheira started in early 2015 , coordinated by the anthropologist Paulo Lima and supported by the regional tourism promotion agency Turismo do Alentejo .

At the 10th meeting of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Preservation of the Intangible Cultural Heritage from November 30th to December 4th, 2015 in the Namibian capital Windhoek , Arte chocalheira was included on the UNESCO list of the intangible cultural heritage in urgent need of conservation on December 1st, 2015 recorded.

Characterization and application

Cow in the Peneda-Gerês National Park with a chocalho tied on

The individual bells, Chocalhos called (of Portuguese chocar = abut) are in rural areas with traditional pastoralism made.

They are predominantly tied around the neck of cattle, but occasionally also other farm animals such as sheep, pigs or goats. They are used to find the free roaming and grazing cattle.

Formally, the Chocalhos are idiophonic percussion instruments. As the animals move, the free-swinging clapper hits the housing and produces a sound. Passing groups of animals or entire herds create a special atmosphere in the landscape.

Meanwhile, who Chocalhos addition also used as a musical instrument , especially in northern Portugal in the folklore - folklore groups , the Ranchos folclóricos .

distribution

In the center of Alcáçovas: Arte chocalheira has been practiced here since at least the 18th century. It is here that it has remained most alive and that is where the candidacy for intangible cultural heritage started.

The Arte chocalheira was once widespread in many areas of the country, with a focus on northern Portugal (Trás-os-Montes and Minho, including what is now the Peneda-Gerês National Park ), on the Azores Islands and in the Alentejo . Today this craft is only actively practiced in seven districts ( concelhos ):

The small town of Alcáçovas in the district of Viana do Alentejo is now considered the center of Arte chocalheira . It was from here that the initiative for the candidacy came from.

The chocalhos also play a role in the Carnival of Podence in the Bragança district, for example at the climax of the carnival, the Entrudo chocalheiro : During the procession through the alleys of the village of Podence , a number of the colorful figures also carry chocalhos with them and ring them continuously. The Podence Carnival has been on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2019 .

Manufacturing

The production of the Chocalhos is traditionally done by craftsmen, called Chocalheiros , who pass on their traditional knowledge in the family environment, mostly from father to son. In this case, iron beaten by hand into a bell-shape and bent, then coated with copper or pieces of sheet metal and coated with a mixture of straw and clay. This blank is heated in the fire and then immersed in cold water for rapid cooling ( quenching ). The fired clay is knocked off, the iron, which is now copper or sheet metal, is polished, and the bell is tuned after inserting the clapper (made of wood or metal) and hung on a leather strap around the animal's neck.

At the time Arte chocalheira was entered on the UNESCO list in November 2015, there were only eleven workshops left where chocalhos were made. There were still 13 chocalheiros , nine of which were over 70 years old. The progressive social and economic changes in the traditional areas of the Arte chocalheira , rural exodus , the decline of open and unlimited pasture areas, and the availability of cheaper materials or industrially manufactured cowbells threaten the continued existence of this tradition. Therefore, the candidacy to save this tradition took place with the classification as urgent (English: List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding ). It was the first Portuguese candidacy with an urgency rating.

Web links

Commons : Arte chocalheira  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Arte chocalheira é Património Cultural Imaterial - "Arte chocalheira is intangible cultural heritage" , article from December 1, 2015 in the daily newspaper Jornal de Notícias , accessed on January 9, 2020
  2. ↑ a b c Entry of the Manufacture of cowbells in the UNESCO World Heritage List (English, Portuguese name: Arte chocalheira ), accessed on January 9, 2020.
  3. ↑ a b Portuguese television report on the candidacy of Arte chocalheira by the public television broadcaster RTP (February 2015), recording on YouTube (Portuguese), accessed on January 9, 2020