Twice a year the Tarasque – a river-monster – is dragged through the streets of Tarascon in memory of the heroic deed of St. Martha of Bethany. In 2008 it was included on UNESCO’s list of “Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”. For once we know the tradition has impeccable medieval roots
St Martha holding the beast. from: Legende Doree BNF, Francais 242, fol 154r
“There was at that time, on the banks of the river Rhône, in a certain wood between Arles and Avignon, a great dragon, half beast and half fish, greater than an ox, longer than a horse; having teeth as sharp as a sword and horned on either side, a head like a lion, a tail as a serpent, and two wings, which defended him on either side, he could not be beaten with cast of stones or with other armour, and was as strong as twelve lions or bears. This dragon lay hiding and lurking in the river, and ate those that passed by and drowned ships. He came there by sea from Galicia, and was engendered by Leviathan, which is a serpent of the water and forests, and of a beast called Bonacho, that was also engendered in Galicia. Martha, at the prayer of the people, came into the wood and found him eating a man. And she cast holy water on him, and showed the cross to him. At this the dragon was immediately overcome, and standing still as a sheep, she bound him with her own girdle; and then it was slain with spears and glaives of the people. The dragon was called Tarasconus by those, who dwelled in that country, whereof, in remembrance of him that place is now called Tarasconus, which before that was called Berlue and the Black Lake, because there were shadowed woods. And there the blessed Martha… lived, daily occupied in prayer and fasting. Somewhat later she assembled and gathered together a great convent of sisters, and built a fair church to the honour of the blessed Virgin, Mary. Here she lived a hard and sharp life. She eschewed flesh and all fat meat, eggs, cheese and wine… After: The Golden Legend. Transl. By William Caxton. Cambridge University Press 1914, p. 35.
Twice a year a large-scale model of a dragon cum river-monster – the Tarasque – is hewn through the streets of the town of Tarascon in memory of the heroic act of St. Martha, recounted in the Legenda Aurea – Golden Legend.
This was never a unique tradition for Tarascon. Similar traditional processions featuring huge effigies of giants and dragons can be found in a number of Belgian and French towns. However, it stands to reason that the festivities in Tarascon in Provence stand out. Partly, of course, because Voragines, who collected the Golden Legends around 1260, located it specifically there; partly, because it is connected with the fact that we have specific information about how the traditional festivities developed there.
Already in place in the 14th century, René d’Anjou decided to reorganise the festival in 1469. Thus, he founded the Order of the Tarascaires, a group of men who should be responsible for organising the local religious festival. At the same time he declared that the festivities should take place at least seven times each century and people were “to have a massive party, celebrate weddings, dance the farandole and gorge at feasts for fifty days”. The town was also called upon to welcome people from outside town and “keep them well fed throughout the games”. To what extent these directions for organising a religious festival grew into the present-day secular festival is disputed. Also, the “moving monster” cannot be dated before 1564, witnessing to the shifts in the The original monster was destroyed in 1792 by revolutionaries who found it too “royal”. In the 19th century it was reinvented and then banned, before being finally “reborn” in 1946.
However, it was obviously early on meant as a way of calling upon St. Martha to help the city defend its dykes and dams against the flooding of the Rhône; as such, it continued to play this role in the minds of the good people from Tarascon
Today, the festival has nevertheless changed from being local tradition to an entertaining festival harnessed as an important element in the local tourism strategy. Behind this strategy lies the scoop that UNESCO in 2008 saw fit to list the festivals on the “Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”.
No longer just an element in the city’s celebration of itself, the Tarasque is accordingly now paraded through town in order to get the sleepy town of Tarascon more firmly on the itinerary of the tourists driving through to the Mediterranean. Thus, the 350 kilo monster with flashing red eyes, is no longer just hewn through town at the end of June. This year (2016) the festival of the Tarasque is scheduled to be celebrated from the 23rd – 27th of June together with a programme including a costumed medieval procession, featuring “King René and his queen, an archery contest, a medieval banquet, medieval concerts and a market.
The monster, itself is permanent display in a local shop window or seen in the form of the new sculpture fronting the castle and used as the city’s hallmark. The ubiquitous key-rings, mugs, t-shirts and pamphlets are now on sale all year through.
Behind all this simmers the fact that In general, Tarascon suffers from it position between famous destinations like Avignon, Arles and Nimes plus the lack of focus in Paris on popular folkloristic festivals in the periphery. Even the castle – one of the best preserved Late Medieval Castles in France is a well-kept secret – cannot attract more than 50.000 visitors a year. This must be compared to such venues as Blois, which had 272.000 visitors in 2015 and Chateau de Chambord which could muster 783.000. And these castles are not on the “Route de Soleil”!
To this is added the heavy burden by the large contingent of seasonal workers from the Mahgreb who are currently unemployed. Half a year ago the unemployment rate was 30% and presently 700 houses are for sale, while downtown is characterised by a mixture of empty shops and diverse cultural activation projects housed in the locations of former craftsmen. Tripadvisor tells that there is a castle, a church and a pleasant mainstreet.
In a sympathetic effort to help the town along, a new museum – Musée d’art et d’histoire de Tarascon – opened in June 2016. This offers a combined art- and history museum. The first exhibition is naturally centered on the fests of Tarascon and tells the story of the Tarasque. However, true to the French spirit, it will also offer exhibitions of local artists. The first is a collection of “modern” Tarasques created out of trash by the artist, Thibault FRANC.
The challenge is of course that the Tarasque through these processes of heritagization and artification has finally been rendered totally harmless. meanwhile the climate is deteriorating and the dykes are collapsing.
The locals may very well ask: what’s in it for us?
