Moors & Christians

By 711 AD, less than a century after Mohammed founded Islam, the Moors (a mixture of north African Berbers, black Africans and Arabs) had crossed the straits of Gilbraltar and overrun almost all of Spain and Portugal.  Their dominance was such that at its high point around 85% of the population of the Iberian peninsula was muslim, evidence of which can be seen here today in the food, customs and architecture of modern Spain.

The Moorish advance was turned back when they were defeated in 722 at Covadonga, in the north, a battle which opened the path for the Christian reconquest which spread slowly south, until it was finally completed 770 years later.  More than half a millennium into this gradual process, the catalan King Jaume took control of the Kingdom of Valencia in 1279 after the battle of Alcoy when St George allegedly appeared to frighten away the Moors and bring victory to the Christians.  The battle is commemorated by the Moors and Christians fiesta, which takes place in many of our neighbouring towns at various times of the year.  This week has been the turn of Pego, our nearest town. 

A captain on horseback rallies the troops

These lot were at the scarier end...

A lot of preparation goes into the event with the rival groups (filas) of Moors and Christians competing to put on the best display and most of the town comes out to watch.  We went along to watch the entry of the Moors, when eight filas paraded towards a mini-castle erected in the town centre.  Each fila has a captain who leads his team down the street brandishing his cutlass, grinning maniacally and generally looking a bit unhinged.  He (or she) is then followed by some ranks of colleagues in costume, arm in arm, dressed in the sort of frightening manner that you would associate with marauding armies of invaders.  The men mostly smoke cigars too, a detail which may or may not be historically accurate.  Each fila hires a brass band from a local village to accompany them along the road with suitable music.

The girls get in on the act

...and dance too

As the procession wore on we were treated to belly dancers, horses, donkeys, camels and a tractor pulling a cart full of “Moorish” children who threw things to (at?) the crowd.  The gentleman in front of us was hit on the temple by some kind of missile but took it very well.  The Moors marched off to certain defeat for yet another year but seemed to determined to have a very good time in the process.  We take the result for granted of course now, but what if the Moors had never lost control of Spain? On a local level we would eat a lot less ham for sure, and wouldn't the world be a different place if the conquistadors had taken Islam, instead of Christianity, to the Americas?