IN OLD MAJORCA

Evening Star, Issue 22783, 4 May 1931, Page 1

IN OLD MAJORCA

MIRACLE PLAY IN THE HILLS In the rush and 1 turmoil of modern life it is rare to find a place in the civilised world where the onward march of tihie has made_ no change, where old traditions persist, and where customs which have their beginnings _in remote antiquity,_ are preserved to-day in all their primitive simplicity.' Such a place is the little village of Fornalux, which lies folded in the,slopes of tho mountains above Seller, in the Island of Alajorca (writes a contributor to the London ‘Sunday Times’). Light-covered carts-Jigaring families o: '‘ujorca p horses wdrh ‘.did v\cif way upward, for" ‘•co-day is the great Fiesta in Fornalux. Hero, at Epiphany, every three years, is enacted the second oldest- play in Europe, which has been handed down through the ago unchanged.— How ancient is its origin can bo gathered from the fact that one of t'he characters is the Sybcla, whoso part it is to chant the prophecies of Christ’s birth—clearly a survival of Greek influence in tho church. The stage, a rough platform, decorated with boughs and drapery and approached by wooden steps, is set in the little plaza of the village, and the villagers themselves are the sole actors. A little way apart in the angle of the two walls, a bower of greenery has been placed. Here sits the Purissima—the Virgin, holding the Child; Saint Joseph, portrayed as a young; boy, sits on her left, and on her right an angel with wings and diadem. From, the audience, seated on wooden chairs at their doors and on the rough flight of cobbled steps leading, to the little church and to the houses ,on the mountain slopes above, a murmur ,of excitement arises as the play begins. King Herod and his court, pages, heralds, and ■ soldiers mount the rhstic stage and group themselves, and through the crowd of onlookers who press forward to the foot of, platform come riding the three Easter Kings—Caspar, Alelchor, and Baltasar —each led by an attendant page and guided bv a golden star which,’ slung on a cord, is drawn in the direction of the Virgin. ■AIASSACRE OF INNOCENTS.

The three Kings greet Herod and ask him; where is the newborn King for whom they have brought gifts, but Herod'in high dudgeon repudiates the birth, and says there is no King but himself. He consults his learned men —two servile, black-robed lawyers who, driven to an answer, admit that there is a prophecy of such a coming King who shall rule the world. To frustrate this Herod orders the killing of all male .children to the ago of .three years. 1 , ’. ’ ’ . . , Aleanwhile the three Kings, led by the star, are guided to the bower where sits the Purissima v and Child. they kneel and' make, obeisance /and offer gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Herod returns to the stage, and at his demand the Sybela chants prophecies confirming the coming of the King. The King refuses to accept the prophecy, and vow death to any rival king, whereat in sulphurous smoke and flame the devil emerges from beneath tho stage and grapples with him, and, after a terrific fight, bur s him over the hack of the stage to the flames of hell, amidst the rapturous applause ot the audience. ’ . This ends the play, hut a charming sequel follows. The actors mingle with tho crowd, and the children press forward to touch_ tho Punssmia’s robe and to gaz‘e with awo on the Holy Child. . . ' The sun is sotting behind the mountains, and from the waiting carriages conies the jangle of bells as the impatient horses toss their heads. And so we leave Fornalux as'the lengthening shadows enfold it, taking with us a memory of something simple and unspoiled, of something enduring in a changing world. ■ ,