Piñatas may have originated in China. Marco Polo discovered
the Chinese fashioning figures of cows, oxen or buffaloes, covered with colored
paper and adorned with harnesses and trappings. Special colors traditionally
greeted the New Year. When the mandarins knocked the figure hard with sticks of
various colors, seeds spilled forth. After burning the remains, people gathered
the ashes for good luck throughout the year.
When this custom passed into Europe in the 14th century, it
adapted to the celebrations of Lent. The first Sunday became ‘Piñata Sunday’.
The Italian word ‘pignatta’ means "fragile pot." Originally, piñatas
fashioned without a base resembled clay containers for carrying water. Some say
this is the origin of the traditional pineapple shape. Also the Latin prefix
‘piña’ implies a cluster of flowers or fruits as in ‘pineapples’ and ‘pine
cones’.
When the custom spread to Spain, the first Sunday in Lent
became a fiesta called the ‘Dance of the Piñata’. The Spanish used a clay
container called la olla, the Spanish word for pot. At first, la olla was not
decorated. Later, ribbons, tinsel and fringed paper were added and wrapped
around the pot.
At the beginning of the 16th century the Spanish
missionaries to North America used the piñata to attract converts to their
ceremonies. However indigenous peoples already had a similar tradition. To
celebrate the birthday of the Aztec god of war, Huitzilopochtli, priests placed
a clay pot on a pole in the temple at year's end. Colorful feathers adorned the
richly decorated pot, filled with tiny treasures.. When broken with a stick or
club, the treasures fell to the feet of the god's image as an offering. The
Mayans, great lovers of sport played a game where the player’s eyes were
covered while hitting a clay pot suspended by string. The missionaries
ingeniously transformed these games for religious instruction. They covered the
traditional pot with colored paper, giving it an extraordinary, perhaps fearful
appearance.
No comments:
Post a Comment