The Meaning of the Mamuthones: Tradition Meets Heritage in the Highlands of Sardinia

This article deals with the effects of commercialization on the essentially local and seemingly long-standing Mamuthones masking tradition based in the village of Mamoiada in the Sardinian highlands, a tradition customarily set on January 17. The tradition involves adult males clad in dark skin costumes, scarves, and hand-carved black masks, along with between twenty-five and thirty kilograms of bells. The figures in question annually process through the town, led by other figures (Issohadores) dressed in red with white masks. The tradition has recently found itself being turned not only into a national symbol, but also a model for other similar masking traditions in other villages. Today, all over the island, one encounters numerous souvenirs based on the Mamuthones tradition which also attracts a number of tourists, seemingly turning what was once a local event into a more public heritage performance. This article is based on interviews taken with a number of those involved in the tradition at different levels and discusses what local people feel about these changes. Particular attention is paid to the question of how the local people feel they can preserve the “original” local meaning of the tradition in the face of these recent developments.