Twice Mice

I had always heard the story of David and Goliath, but had never stopped to consider it from Goliath’s point of view. In the city of Ath, I was able to see a whole new side of him during the Festival of the Giants. On the fourth Friday in August, the townspeople gather in the park to burn Goliath’s trousers. Why? Because the next day he is to be married.

On Saturday he and his tall bride gather in the town square, accompanied by his personal guard – the devil Magnon, two wild men covered with ivy, and two horsemen. The giants and their entourage dance down the street to the church, accompanied by the “Bleus”, French soldiers who periodically fire blanks into the air after a dramatic drum roll.

They two giants are married in front of the church, in the language of Picard (not French) before dancing back to the town square. Suddenly, shepherd David approaches, dressed in white and red. He challenges Goliath to a duel in a dialogue (“bonimée”) that dates back to the 16th century. This dialogue has been passed down by oral tradition, and now some segments are so garbled that they have lost all meaning, even to historians. At the end of the banter, David calls on his lord to give him strength and power to bring vengeance on the villain. The young shepherd has a single attempt to throw a stone through the peephole in Goliath’s wicker frame. If he succeeds, the town will be bathed in a year of happiness.

This year, David was played by seven year old Noa Depôtre, the son of the chief carrier of Madame Goliath. Unfortunately, for the second consecutive year, the shepherd did not succeed, and Goliath lived. This meant that the giants did not perform their final dance, which is seen as a bad omen for the town. David slunk off, ashamed and disappointed. His mother said “Of course, we are very disappointed for Noa, but the festival continues. I am very proud of him because he perfectly recited his lines perfectly. We cannot blame him because the pressure was so great, especially for a child so young.”

It might have been a dark moment for Ath, but our day was bathed in beer and sunshine. Friends Grant and Michelle were visiting from Cambridge, and we were able to sit together amongst the festivities and sample special grape beers that were brewed just for the event. A short ride on the train, and we were back in Brussels to end the day with some magnificent Cuban cuisine for dinner.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 26th, 2009 at 6:20 pm and is filed under Belgium.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.