Vendettas, nuraghi and the marches: Folk tales and evil spirits

There is little to hold one's interest in any of the coastal or interior towns on the east of Sardinia. Throughout history the Sardinians have struggled, there has clearly been little time for frills and fancy. Town buildings are plain: breeze block or brick, sometimes rendered, most times not, sometimes painted, most times not. Nuoro is a major centre in the mountain region and, like most of the other towns we have seen, has two parts to it, an old historic centre and a new town for a new age. Neither is very interesting, but Nuoro does have a couple of traditional museums worth visiting, and if there are ethnographic museums to be found on this island I don't mind how ugly the town.

Mind you, we had to wait two hours, until the clock struck three, for the siesta to pass to enter. And the day was hot, so walking shadeless streets in a hilly town while waiting for a museum to open was quite a challenge. Still it was worth it, to see the tableau of nearly a hundred folk costumes that the villages around these parts historically wear on special occasions, festivals and feasts.

Lots of fiery red -- for independence; black for brooding, half underskirts that pull up over the head as a halo hat; scarves that look like face masks, pantaloons and tall rich sumptuous fabrics for the wealthy; simpler garb for the peasanta, elaborate stitchwork and cutwork on even the plainest pieces and many pantaloons and decorative styles that look quite foreign, even Cossack.

Just a little south of Nuoro is the village of Mamoiada. Villagers here celebrate the tale of Saint Anthony, who, they say, stole fire from hell and brought it to earth for man. Hundreds of villagers dress up as creatures of evil, Mamuthones, in frightening and ghoulish masks, hooded garb, and sheepskin, bearing heavy weights of cow bells over their shoulders.

The Mamuthones are captured, roped, and lead through the village by red-costumed gendarmes -- Issokadores -- who drive them from the village for another twelve months. Allaying the fears of rural man this age old battle of good over evil is played out symbolically in these parts on a regular basis.

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