This work is about the secular significance of religious expression in Spain. It is also primarily an ethnographic study of several aspects of everyday life in a Spanish town in 1981. There are four main aims: to explain the relationship between local customs and beliefs and nationally sanctioned symbol systems - in particular, but among others, the relationship between the 750 year old cult of the Cross of Caravaca and the Catholic Church and Spanish State; to describe the unique behaviour of the Fiesta of the Caballos del Vino, and to give an account of one instance of the popular Moors and Christians Fiesta; to describe and analyse the social structure of a provincial town; and to show how important symbols are affected by social change. The thesis is divided into five parts and a conclusion. The first part deals with the geographical setting and the relationship of this study of Caravaca to other anthropological studies undertaken in Spain. The second is concerned with the details of everyday life. It shows the relationship between town and countryside and between everyday economic and political concerns and everyday religious activities. The third part includes a description of the largest and most influential institution in the town - the Cofradia —- and a discussion of religious devotion and the cult of the Cross of Caravaca. The fourth, a description of the Fiestas held in honour of the Cross of Caravaca, and especially the Jubilee year of the 750th anniversary of the apparition of the Cross, the pageant of Moors and Christians, and the unique 'Horses of the Wine 1 competition, provides a contrast with more mundane activities. In the fifth part an examination of the Fiesta symbols contains a discussion of festival behaviour in relation to the everyday life of the town, and changes that have taken place and continue to take place. These sections are followed by a brief conclusion.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:580780 |
| Date | January 1983 |
| Creators | Pugh, Alaric Sydney |
| Publisher | University of Oxford |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:2c560ebe-87c6-4e64-8817-cae235518285 |
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