Ball de diables
The ball de diables (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈbaʎ də ðiˈabːɫəs], Western Catalan: [ˈbaʎ de ðiˈaβles]; Catalan for "Devils' dance") is a dance tradition originating from Catalonia, though it is also observed in the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands. Over the course of centuries, the balls de diables have evolved into the modern day correfocs (fire runs), and nowadays, participation in the form of passacaglia (processions) and correfocs is an essential part of the main celebrations in many towns and cities.
Origins
The origin of the ball de diables is uncertain, but they are believed to have come from medieval street theater and passed down through oral tradition, undergoing numerous changes in the process.
Though the ball de diables is popularly known as a dance, it is more appropriately an entremés since the performance was presented in between the entrees of the nobility in the Middle Ages.
The synthesis of the ball de diables is a theatrical representation of the struggle between the good and the evil. In its scenic context, it has been also used mainly for Corpus Christi festivities, in the ecclesiastic processions as accompaniment to provide a more ceremonious and spectacular aspect. The demons used to parade in leading the procession to announce its arrival making a racket. In a deafening and noisy way they used to separate the public present opening the path for the procession.
Either way the figure of the devil or little devil is in the origin of all the spoken dances. It is a character that does not have any relationships with the play being represented, but when put in the middle, it makes the audience laugh with stunts. At the end of the play some satiric verses are recited which are related to the political or public life of the locality where it's represented, and that everyone await with delight.
This could have been the origin of the ball de diables. Starting from a character that each time was taking more prominence and exceeding the importance of the original play, and as a result the devil part became the most popular one.
The first written account of a ball de diables, according to Joan Amades, on the year 1150. The act was represented in the banquet of the wedding of the Barcelona count, Ramon Berenguer IV with the princess Petronilla, daughter of the king of Aragon and Catalonia. The chronicle tells us that it represented the struggle of some demons, commanded by Lucifer, against the Archangel Saint Michael and a squad of angels.
The second written reference that we know, quoted in the book of solemnities of Barcelona, is about the festivities of 1423 remembering the arrival to Barcelona of the king Alfonso V of Aragon, coming from Naples.
Also in Cervera, the devils participate for the festivities of Corpus Christi in the year 1426. In Barcelona, on the occasion of the arrival of the duke of Calabria in September 1467, some parties were organized where the devils were also present.
In the beginnings of the 15th century, the processions of Corpus Christi in Barcelona were closed with a short play, formed by a squad of angels and another of devils.
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