Imágenes del rapto de la doncella en rituales festivos ibéricos

Abstract

During the patron saint's feasts in several small towns of the Iberian Peninsula, it is the devil who persuades the "moors" to kidnap the Virgin Mary. This ritual abduction of the model woman in Iberian culture can be regarded as part of a symbolic complex expressed throughout the centuries in various significant ways, the persistency of which indicating its deeprooted presence in hearts and minds and its influence on collective values and beliefs. Here I propose a comparative ethnohistorical approach, using the analytical tools of visual anthropology, to the symbolism of the different images of the abducted woman appearing in such patron saint's feasts, whether sacred or profane.