The Taranta, the healing dance

 

The origins of the taranta, how it has become a traditional dance and a symbol of Puglia and of southern Italy from a past therapeutic ritual.

In Puglia, especially during summer, it’s easy to find some events where the main attraction is a folk music concert, played with tambourine, violin, accordion and dancers who dance on the  distinctive rhythm of traditional melodies (an example for all is the Notte della Taranta in Melpignano).

Leggi in italiano

I’ve often attended some of these events: the artists on the stage and the public standing in front of them. There are rarely chairs and for a simple reason: it’s impossible not to let yourself drive by the distinctive rhythm of the music and, without being aware of it, you’re  moving at the rhythm of the tarantella.

The taranta has become the emblem of southern Italian tradition, but do you know where this dance come from? I vaguely knew it, so I dove into the research of information in order to know something more about this tradition.

In this blog post, I want to tell you about the phenomenon of Tarantism, about the origin of pizzica, of the ritual at the basis of it and about some curiosities about this dance.

What’s Tarantism?

Let’s make it clear explaining what Tarantism is. The encyclopedia defines it as “a choral-musical technique of catharsis from psychic crisis” What does it means? It’s a ritual where, thanks to music, the person who receives this practice overcomes a state of psychic crisis.

Now, I admit that told like that it lacks of the beauty and of the mystic aspect that this tradition brings with itself. That’s why now we dive in the history of Puglia, and of Salento in particular, to understand better what we’re talking about.

Who was the Tarantula?

They say that a person who has been bit by the tarantula, also called taranta, felt in state of “possession” caused by the venom of this spider. The only way to get rid of it was to dance expelling it through sweat.

Actually, in terms of tradition we talk about a spider, but it seems that it’s a common representation for a not clearly defined entity. These phenomena occurred mainly during summer months, which in the South correspond to the period of harvest, and the victims were mainly women.

Once bit, the Tarantula behaved differently according to the “category” of the Tarantula: there were the erotic ones, so the victim had lascivious behaviours, those who sang, who had the irresistible impulse to sing, the stormy ones, characterized by fighting power and those sad and mute, where there were depressive states.

When a family discovered that a member had been bit by the taranta, this happening was considered a shame, a curse, because, beside the displeasure for their beloved, they had to support the charges for the healing ritual, that most likely had to be repeated in following years. Actually, it seems that this condition, even once recovered, cyclically reappeared, as if the spider had left a footprint in its victim. It’s easy to understand how onerous might be for a family of farmers having to handle this misfortune.

How to be freed through the dance

During my research, I found online some traces of the work of the anthropologist Ernesto De Martino, who in the 50s made a study about the phenomenon of Tarantism and documented the ritual.

In his work, you can see that there were two phases: one on the floor and a standing one. At the beginning the players played different melodies to find those to which the Tarantula reacted, because each Tarantula was recalled just by a particular rhythm and they had to find it.

When they found the right music, the Tarantula started to move, to writhe and to roll stimulated by musical rhythms. Once caught and in a trance state, the Tarantula stood up and tried to react to the “venom” through dance.

A curiosity: the particular dance step of the taranta, where you beat your foot following the rhythm, mimics the will of stepping on the spider. This ritual could last even more days. So, it was an exhausting thing for all parties involved.

On the 28^th of June, the Tarantulas were brought in a pilgrimage to Galatina, to Saint Paul’s chapel, so he could free them from the evil. They said that the water of the well of Saint Paul was miraculous and able to cast out the venom of the taranta.

A little useful piece of information: this chapel, together with the well, is in the old town centre of Galatina, in Corso Giuseppe Garibaldi, in the court of a palace, where there’s the B&B Il Pozzo di San Paolo (just to give you an indication). If you don’t pay attention, you may walk past it without noticing it. I found it just by chance, thanks to my infinite curiosity.

If you’re curious to see how the ritual was practiced, you can find online an extract of De Martino’s documentary.

The decline of the ritual

With the development of neurology, the explanation for the states of the victims of the taranta has been found in frustrating conditions manifested through possession or, seen the period when they appeared, caused by the weather conditions endured by farmers.

A thing is sure: the problem of the Tarantula disappeared with the passing of time becoming a folk belief and the dance, with which the Tarantulas got free from sickness, acquired the title of traditional dance.

The Tarantism nowadays

Nowadays no one talks about people bit by spiders or about possession and those characteristic melodies are not played to heal anymore. Everything has acquired a more spectacular character. The tarantella recalls an Apulian tradition and his therapeutic past has almost been put aside.

Every event where there’s the pizzica, especially during summer, sees everyone involved in the dance, in a joyful and party atmosphere.

But this must not us think that the origin of this dance has been forgot, on the contrary. Even though now the taranta is associated to playful moments, the experts keep spreading the knowledge about its origin, about that past when calling the players meant that you had a disgrace.

Today Tarantism has found its evolution in this unbridled, but always controlled form of joy. But those who know the taranta, always look at the past, at its origin and its tradition and, why not, can dance to get free from the “venom” of our days and from the stress of everyday life.

Have you ever taken part in an event dedicated to the taranta? Have you ever danced it?