There are a number of important festivals throughout the year here and in March my good friend Tom & I visited a small town called Mamoiada where once a year it comes to life with traditional costumes, food & dancing. It really is a joy to see the parade of costumes and a lovely way to bring local communities together.

There are two main types of masks:

– The Mamuthones, are dressed in sheep skins and wear a black wooden mask with a suffering or impassive expression. On their backs they carry ‘sa carriga', several cowbells tied with leather straps, while around their necks they have smaller bells.

– The Issohadores wear a linen shirt, a red jacket and white trousers, carry a women's shawl over their shoulder and have brass and bronze rattles. Some of them also have a white anthropomorphic mask.

The Mamuthones, arranged in two parallel rows and flanked by the Issohadores, move very slowly curving under the weight of the cowbells. All that is heard is the rhythmic beat of the cowbells, which shakes them and makes them all ring.

The Issohadores, on the other hand, move, because they are lighter, with quicker, more agile steps. Suddenly they throw their rope, ‘sa soha', to catch someone in the audience present. To free themselves, the prisoners have to offer them wine to drink.