264 BRYOLOGICAL NOTES

The legend and procession ofthe Moss Men fromBe  jar Salamanca, Spain)

The study ofthe past and present uses ofbryophytes by The tradition ofthe Moss Men has survived until the man has received considerable attention. Bryophytes, espe- present day and is commemorated every year in the cially mosses, have been used in medicine, hygiene, horti- procession ofthe Corpus Christi festivity,which is cele- culture, gardening, pollution bioindication, decoration, brated nowadays on the ninth Sunday after Easter. An construction, whisky making, as fuel material, etc. see additional tradition involved the pilgrimage ofthe people reviews in Richardson, 1981; Ando & Matsuo, 1984; from Be jar to the hermitage dedicated to Saint Marina, Glime & Saxena, 1991). We report here a legendary and, which was built in the 12th century at the site where the apparently, unique use ofmosses forman camou¯age, Mass was said before the battle. This pilgrimage, which something previously seen in some insect larvae and used to take place every ``Monday ofAlbillo'' 8 days weevils Richardson, 1981). after Corpus Christi), is not celebrated nowadays, and the In 711 the Arabs, coming from Africa, invaded the Iber- hermitage has disappeared. ian Peninsula. They dominated most ofit towards 714, The Corpus Christi procession was established by Pope except for some scattered Christian redoubts, mainly Urban IV in 1264 and, according to documentary located in a strip formed by the Cantabrian Range, the evidence, it has been celebrated in Be jar at least since 1397 Cantabrian coast and the Pyrenees. In 718 the Christian Lo pez A lvarez, 1996). Originally, the procession in Be jar kings began the reconquest ofthe lost territories, depart- combined the celebration ofthe proper religious feastwith ing from the still independent northern zones, especially that ofthe town conquest, due to the close proximity of from Covadonga in the present province of Asturias, in the dates and the religious implications ofthe Christian the Cantabrian range). The reconquest ®nished seven victory. The procession involved the top ecclesiastic, centuries later, in 1492, with the storming ofGranada by governing and military authorities the abbots, the chap- the Catholic monarchs Arie , 1981). ter, the town council, the chiefmagistrate, etc.), together The region ofBe jar, situated in the centre-west part ofthe with the nobility, members ofthe guilds, soldiers, the Iberian Peninsula, in the present province ofSalamanca, Moss Men, and mayors, priests, vergers and citizens ofthe occupied a strategic place near the ¯uctuating border region ofBe jar. Twenty triumphal arches and eight altars, between the Moslem and the Christian kingdoms for over where the monstrance a sacred vessel in which the conse- 300 years. It su€ered from successive attacks by both sides, crated host is displayed) stopped, were erected along the and was de®nitively taken by the Christians in the 12th route. On arriving at the main square, the alderman century. The region was repopulated towards 1180 by King ``regidor'') with the banner, accompanied by two Moss Alfonso VIII of Castilla, who also clearly ®xed the bound- Men, paid homage at the monstrance. A military authority aries ofthe council ofBe  jar in 1209 Aguilar Go mez & ``alfe rez mayor'') also lowered his baton, in the company MartõÂn MartõÂn, 1989). The legend ofthe Moss Men prob- oftwo other Moss Men. Finally, a Mass was celebrated in ably originated at this time. The legend tells that the Chris- the church ofEl Salvador, where the monstrance remained tians were hidden in the mountains at a place called El exposed and guarded by members ofa brotherhood for8 CastanÄ ar ``chestnut grove''), located 3 km from the present days. town ofBe jar. On 18 June, the feast day of Saint Marina of In addition to their speci®c role in the procession, an Bitinia a virgin who lived disguised as a male monk in a hour before the beginning of the ceremony the Moss Men monastery during the 8th century), the Christians got enacted the town conquest in the walls, defeating the together to celebrate mass at a site called La Centena. After Moslems again and leading the prisoners along the proces- that, the Christians covered their clothes and weapons with sion. Historical documents show that 30 Moss Men were the moss growing on the nearby stones and, before dawn, needed for the enactment, and these were all prominent went to the Moslem fortress and lay camou¯aged on the knights ofthe town Lo pez A lvarez, 1996). The Moss Men walls and neighbouring rocks. When the sentinels opened also dressed up on certain other days ofthe year forpopu- the fortress gate called since then ``Gate of the Treason'' or lar entertainment. All these traditions continued until the ``Gate ofthe Bears'', but now disappeared), the disguised 17th century, when some neighbouring villagers, attending Christians entered the place and surprised the watchtowers, the Corpus Christi procession with wax torches used for knocking them down. Starting from there, the Christians lighting images), set light to the Moss Men. After this took the streets one-by-one in a hard, day-long struggle altercation, for which someone was sent to prison, the and, ®nally, conquered the town. performance was abolished and only two Moss Men have

# British Bryological Society 2001 Received 18 January 2001. Revision accepted 9 April 2001 BRYOLOGICAL NOTES 265 attended the procession since then. Furthermore, the Fig. 1) continues, with an itinerary similar to the original knights ofBe jar were prevented from dressing in moss and one, involving the attendance ofhigh-ranking authorities thus 'plain men' replaced them. These changes were prob- and many citizens. The Moss Men still play a privileged ably promoted by the Duke ofBe jar, in order to appropri- role in the event; they accompany the Spanish ¯ag and ate the political and social symbolism ofboth the Corpus pay homage to the mostrance, together with the town Christi procession and the mythical conquest ofthe city councillors. The moss plates used to dress the Moss Men by the Christians. The iron control imposed by the house are kept in the Convent ofSan Francisco, and only small ofthe Duke on the traditional celebrations ofthe town quantities ofmoss that have been shed have to be replaced became more acute in the 18th century Lo pez A lvarez, from year to year. Six volunteers Fig. 2) are usually 1996). dressed with more than 200 m2 ofmoss plates. They use It is curious to see that, in historical documents, the an overall as their base clothing, to which small hooks are Moss Men were named indistinctly ``monsters'', fastened. Moss plates are tied with twine all over their ``savages'', ``bears'' and ``men of MoÂ'' Aguilar Go mez & heads, trunks and extremities, so that only their faces Martõ n Martõ n, 1989; Lo pez A lvarez, 1996). The term remain visible Fig. 3). Each Moss Man carries a club, ``MoÂ'' might be an ancient and, in certain zones ofSpain, also completely covered with moss, on his shoulder. still used) denomination ofmoss, derived fromthe Pictures ofMoss Men and tourist informationcan be contraction ofthe Spanish term formould ``moho''). For found on the following websites: http://www.readysoft.es/ example, Antonio ofNebrija 1444±1522), the author of home/cisalamanca/pablo/bejar/infobejar.html, http://www. the ®rst Spanish grammar, says that ``moss'' is synon- guiarte.com/bejar ymous with ``tree mould'' or ``fountain mould'' Coromi- The moss species employed for the plates depend on nas & Pascual, 1987). local availability, but some common and abundant species Nowadays, Be jar is an important centre of17,000 inha- such as Antitrichia californica Sull., A. curtipendula bitants, situated at 959 m altitude. It is surrounded by Hedw.) Brid., Homalothecium sericeum Hedw.) Bruch, mountains up to 2,400 m altitude Sierra de Be jar and Schimp. & W.GuÈ mbel and Hypnum cupressiforme Hedw. Sierra de Candelario), and extensive woodlands ofchest- are usually used. nuts and oaks cover the slopes. The main economic activ- ities are textiles, cattle raising, agriculture and tourism. We are grateful to Eloy Dõ az Redondo and A ngel Elices The original and colourful procession of Corpus Christi for giving permission to publish their photographs,

Figure 1. The procession ofCorpus Christi ofBe  jar Salamanca, Spain). The Moss Men, authorities and people accompany the monstrance at the Plaza Mayor. 266 BRYOLOGICAL NOTES

Figure 2. Six Moss Men standing at the Plaza Mayor ofBe jar afterthe end ofthe procession, with the church ofEl Salvador at the back.

Pla cido Rubio Rufo Ayuntamiento de Be jar) for his valu- able information and the Comisio n Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologõ a ofSpain Projects AMB95-0468 and PB98-0202) for ®nancial support.

TAXONOMIC ADDITIONS AND CHANGES: Nil.

REFERENCES

Aguilar Go mez JC, Martõ n Martõ n MC. 1989. AproximacioÂnala historia medieval de BeÂjar. Salamanca: Ediciones de la Diputacio n de Salamanca. Arie R. 1981. EspanÄ a musulmana siglos VIIIXV). In: TunÄ o n de Lara M, ed. Historia de EspanÄa, Volume 3. Barcelona: Labor, 1±430. Ando H, Matsuo A. 1984. Applied Bryology. In: Schultze-Motel W, ed. Advances in bryology, Volume 2. Vaduz: J. Cramer, 133±229. Corominas J, Pascual JA. 1987. Diccionario crõÂtico etimoloÂgico castel- lano e hispaÂnico. Madrid: Gredos. Glime JM, Saxena D. 1991. Uses of bryophytes. New Delhi: Today and Tomorrow's Printers and Publishers. Lo pez A lvarez A. 1996. IdeologõÂa, control social y con¯icto en el Antiguo ReÂgimen. El derecho de patronato de la Casa ducal sobre la procesioÂn del Corpus Christi de BeÂjar.Be jar: Centro de Estudios Bejaranos, Ayuntamiento de Be jar. Richardson DHS. 1981. The biology of mosses. Oxford: Blackwell Scienti®c Publications.

JAVIER MARTI NEZ-ABAIGAR and ENCARNACIO N NU NÄ EZ- OLIVERA,A rea de Biologõ a Vegetal, Universidad de La Rioja, Complejo Cientõ ®co-Tecnolo gico, Avda. Madre de Dios 51, 26006 LogronÄ o La Rioja), Spain Figure 3. A detail ofa Moss Man with his moss-covered club. e-mail: [email protected]).