Festival of the snake-catchers
 | This article, Festival of the snake-catchers, has recently been created via the Articles for creation process. Please check to see if the reviewer has accidentally left this template after accepting the draft and take appropriate action as necessary.
Reviewer tools: Inform author |
Comment: It's best to have 5 sources, give or take two. I dream of horses (My talk page) (My edits) @ 05:19, 15 May 2019 (UTC)
| Festival of the snake-catchers | |
|---|---|
 Statue of St Domenico being carried in procession at Cocullo | |
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Religious |
| Frequency | Annually |
| Location(s) | Cocullo |
| Country | Italy |
The Festival of the snake-charmers is held every year on May 1st in Cocullo, Italy in honour of St Dominic, saint patron protecting against snakebite and toothache[1], however its origins date back to pre-Christian times and have roots in an ancient pagan celebration in the honour of the goddess Angitia [2]. The festival sees a procession carrying the statue of St Dominic covered with snakes across the streets of the village.
History
After Mass, the statue of St Dominic is brought out and paraded through the streets, completely covered in snakes, followed by the Serpari (local snake-charmer) who is also draped with snakes. The Serpari are a hereditary brotherhood of snake-charmers who play a major role in the festival and are held in high regard. This festival has pre-Christian roots and is related to a much older rite, that of the snake deity/witch Angitia. In pagan times The snake-charmers were the priests at the sanctuary of Angitia[3].
The festival was nominated as a cultural ceremony to be protected by UNESCO[4].
References
- ^ Grant, Richard (4 February 2016). "Italy's fascinating Festival of the Snake-Catchers". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2018-05-01.
- ^ Pecoraro, Emiliano (October 2018). "La festa dei serpari: tra antropologia, arte, religione e mito" (PDF). Retrieved 8 Feb 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Delos Initiative. Workshop (3rd : 2010 : Inari, Lapin lääni, Finland) (2012). The diversity of sacred lands in Europe : proceedings of the Third Workshop of the Delos Initiative, Inari/Aanaar, Finland, 1-3 July 2010. Mallarach i Carrera, Josep Maria., Papagiannēs, Thymios., Väisänen, Rauno., International Union for Conservation of Nature., IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas., Metsähallitus (Firm). Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. ISBN 978-2-8317-1423-3. OCLC 793221858.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Abruzzo, la festa dei Serpari cerca riconoscimento Unesco". Rainews (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-02-09.