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Members of the carnival group 'La Vijanera de Silio' dance during the traditional ancient festival in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
SILIÓ, Spain (AP) - The clanging of cowbells at daybreak in a remote Spanish village represented the restoration of the cosmic order as an ancient winter festival returned from a pandemic-induced hiatus.
The men of Silió, a village of some 500 inhabitants in northern Spain's Cantabria region, again dressed in homemade costumes and recreated the ritual slaughtering of a bear for the La Vijanera festival, whose origins date back to the Middle Ages.
Before the coronavirus caused the event's cancellation for two years, the festival was banned during the 20th century dictatorship of Spanish leader Francisco Franco, a fervent Catholic whose regime suppressed pagan traditions.
A group of local residents restored the tradition in the early 1980s after Spain's return to democracy.
The festival now is held on the first Sunday of the year, unless New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, as it did this year, in which case it is postponed until Jan. 8. Festivities kick off with the launching of a rocket at 6:00 a.m.
Men dressed in sheepskins and jingling bells to make noise, march during the traditional ancient festival "La Vijanera" in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
Men dressed in sheepskins and jingling bells to make noise, perform symbolising the death of the bear, during the traditional ancient festival "La Vijanera" in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
Over half of the 150 or so participants in the ritual are "zamarracos," men wearing conical hats and a sheepskin and carrying four heavy cowbells draped over their bodies. Their clanging is supposed to scare away evil spirits, which are symbolized in the figure of the bear. One person dresses as the bear, and the festival concludes when the zamarracos surround the beast and "stab" it with spears.
Others dress up as other characters, including a knight, an elderly couple, and slightly ghoulish beings covered in natural materials like hay, fern leaves, or corn cobs.
There are also "moss men" like César Rodriguez, 41, who has taken part in the event since he was 9 years old. He is a member of the Friends of Vijanera Association, which organizes the Silió festival and is committed to keeping it alive.
"It is an inheritance from our grandparents, the essence of belonging to a community," Rodríguez said. "It's like going back to our roots, to honor our ancestors even more in a century like we are living in."
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AP writer Joseph Wilson contributed from Barcelona, Spain.
A member of the carnival group 'La Vijanera de Silio', who represents the role of a wild bear, runs during the traditional ancient festival in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The clanging of cowbells as dawn breaks in a remote Spanish village is nothing other than the restoration of the cosmic order with the return of an ancient winter festival. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
A member of the carnival group 'La Vijanera de Silio' poses during the traditional ancient festival in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The clanging of cowbells as dawn breaks in a remote Spanish village is nothing other than the restoration of the cosmic order with the return of an ancient winter festival. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
A member of the carnival group 'La Vijanera de Silio' poses during the traditional ancient festival in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The male adults of Silió, a village in Cantabria of some 500 inhabitants, once again dressed in their homemade costumes to recreate the ritual slaughtering of a bear after "La Vijanera" festival was cancelled for two years due to COVID-19. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
A member of the carnival group 'La Vijanera de Silio' poses during the traditional ancient festival in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The festival, whose roots extend into the Middle Ages, was banned under the 20th-century dictatorship of Francisco Franco, a fervent Catholic whose regime persecuted this and other traditions of pagan origins. But a group of youths set out to restore the tradition in the early 1980s after the return to democracy in Spain. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
A member of the carnival group 'La Vijanera de Silio' poses during the traditional ancient festival in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. The male adults of Silió, a village in Cantabria of some 500 inhabitants, once again dressed in their homemade costumes to recreate the ritual slaughtering of a bear after "La Vijanera" festival was cancelled due to COVID-19. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
Jorge Ceran, 31, and Pablo, members of La Vijanera, pose during the traditional ancient festival in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. Traditionally held on New Year's Eve, it is now held on the first Sunday of the year, unless New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, as it did this year, when it pushed back to Jan. 8. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
Members of the carnival group 'La Vijanera de Silio' dance during the traditional ancient festival in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
A member of the carnival group 'La Vijanera de Silio' blows a horn during the traditional ancient festival in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
A member of the carnival group 'La Vijanera de Silio' poses during the traditional ancient festival in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
A member of the carnival group 'La Vijanera de Silio', dressed in sheepskins and jingling bells to make noise, poses during the traditional ancient festival in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
Men dressed in sheepskins and jingling bells to make noise, march during the traditional ancient festival "La Vijanera" in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
A member of the carnival group 'La Vijanera de Silio' poses during the traditional ancient festival in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
A member of carnival group 'La Vijanera de Silio', dressed in sheepskins and jingling bells to make noise, poses during the traditional ancient festival in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
Members of the carnival group 'La Vijanera de Silio' dance during the traditional ancient festival in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
Members of the carnival group 'La Vijanera de Silio' march during the traditional ancient festival in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
Men dressed in sheepskins and jingling bells to make noise, walk to take part at the traditional ancient festival "La Vijanera" in the town of Silio, northern Spain, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)
