It's hard to believe for anyone who wasn't born in Dendermonde, but here we really LOVE our horse! It's a medieval tradition, going back to the times of the mighty town guilds, which had a yearly procession to thank their patron saint. The most important ones had a giant, which refered to their trade (Indian, Mars and Goliath). I've talked about them already in earlier blogs.
But more important than the giants is of course Horse Bayard. There's a picture here to show how it looks in realty.
It's a massive structure, carried by teams of 12 sturdy men, who make it walk and even canter and raise on it's hind legs. On top sit 4 young boys. According to the tradition, they have to be born in Dendermonde (preferably also their parents and grandparents) and no girl should come in-between them. Hard to find nowadays, but they still manage!
In earlier times, Bayard only roamed the streets of our town on special occasions. My first time was with the World Expo in 1958. I remember I sat on a cushion, next to a priest and one of the figurants got away with his hat! Then the next time was 1975, on occasion of the completion of the works on the new Dender. Then in 1990. But the people wanted to see more of the horse, and so the town council determined that from now every 10 years there would be a big celebration.
Next time it will be on 24th May 2020. So tonight the count-down officially starts with a big party on the town square. The three giants will make their appearance and dance for the public, and afterwards there's a reception for everyone who attends. Nice gesture!
No comments:
Post a Comment