The Giants of Corpus Christi of Seville

In Seville, in the sixteenth century there were giants, dwarfs, oversized headed figures (cabezudos, in Spanish) and devils. At that time, the Giants were made of wooden scaffolding and coated fabrics, inside which they positioned skilled bearers who walked on stilts. The legendary Tarasca also participated in Corpus Christi, which opened the parade. Due to some state and ecclesiastical measures issued against their use during the eighteenth century the Tarasca and processional giants were ousted from the parade of the Blessed Sacrament. Originally, the parade of the giants was entrusted to the craft guilds (gremios, in Spanish). From the second half of the sixteenth century, however, the organization of festive events came under the responsibility of the city authorities, acting in concert with those of the Church. The Giants and the Tarasca were the protagonists of spectacular ritual dances. The Sevillian danzas, however, also involved other characters. They were, generally, stage performances and allegorical dedicated to different subjects: historical events, religious matters, classical mythology and exotic subjects.