I have reached a point where I understand what is going on
around me. It has been a while since I have just stood smiled and felt lost…..
Then I went to the Doudou Festival…… That festival my friends changed
everything! I was almost killed by sweaty men after “dragon hair”, trampled by
horses, and then pushed into so many random people I really almost died! Watch
this video and you will understand a bit of what I mean.
Watch the first 10 seconds then skip to a 1:30
What you saw in the video was: the horses that almost killed
me, and a golden cart carriage like thing. Thousands
of hands joined together to push the carriage up the cobbled hill to reach the
collegiate church; the stakes are high. The people of Mons hold the belief that
the Car d’Or must reach the top of the hill in one go around, or war
will breakout with in the year… This happened in 1803, due
to the French Revolution,
in 1914 and in 1940, just prior to the First and Second World Wars.
I “participated in what we call the combat….. This game is
played on the Trinity Sunday between 12:30 pm and 1:00 pm. It represents the
fight between Saint George (the good) and the dragon (the evil). The fight is
called Lumeçon. This
name comes from the old French name Limaçon (old French name meaning a spectacle
with horses that made circular movements.) The combat happens on the central
square of Mons. The length of the dragon is about 10 meters. The end of his
tail is covered with horses' hairs (mane). The dragon is
displaced with the help of the white men (fr:Hommes
blancs). Saint George is protected by the Chinchins who
represent dogs. The dragon is helped by the devils (French: Les
diables). Each devil is armed with a cow bladder full of air (the balloon in the past before plastic had
been developed). With this weapon, they knock the Chinchins and
the public that are placed all around the arena. The dragon fights Saint George
by giving Tail attacks. The dragon gives also tail attacks in the public.
So, the public is also an important participant in the fight! People try to
take the mane of the tail because it gives luck for one year long. Finally,
there are also the Leaf men (fr:Hommes
de feuilles) that are covered
with real leaves of ivy. They help the dragon by defending and supporting his
tail. The combat is a high precision choreography. Saint George on his horse
turns clockwise. And the dragon turns in the other direction. (This is a
reference between the good against the evil). Saint George tries to kill the
dragon with his lance but the lance
always broke on the contact of the dragon's skin. Saint George uses a pistol
and finally kills the dragon on the third try. It is 1 p.m., the participants
leave the square, people rush in the arena to find the last lucky manes which
have fallen on the ground. And the carillon of Mons rings.
This is a good video that
shows a bit of everything…
This celebration is several days long; I only
went for one day… the combat and the golden cart!! I could only see people’s
heads but it was still worth it… I got Dragon hair! Two pieces at that! Due to
the amount of people there I figured it was best if I didn’t have my camera out…
people who have been in the combat, closer to the dragon then I was, have died…
the amount of people there was unreal and unsafe for my camera! The amount of
excitement was crazy! This was by far one of the coolest most unique things I
have ever seen and or done!
These are some brave exchange students who made it into the combat... People even taped their shoes on so that they would be sure to have them when they came out... If you lost a shoe there was no getting that thing back!
All of us exchangers who survived the craziness of The Doudou!!
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