Jose Vercoulen
On the piazza of the southern Italian mountain village of Accettura (in the region Basilicata) my girlfriend and I waver on Fridays Pentecost, nauseated from the 125 hairpin bends, got off the bus. We traveled here to Il Maggio di San Giuliano to experience. A special annual fertility ritual: the marriage between the Big Oak (male energy) and the Little Holly Tree (female energy) is an age-old tradition to force a rich harvest.
On the instructions of the hotel manager, we walk towards the oak forest on Saturday morning when we are offered a lift from Michele. Sitting uncomfortably on a large cooking pan with heating device, he tells us that he is the organizer of this party. He does want to be our guide.
He drops us off deep in the forest where the most beautiful oak tree selected by a special committee, stripped of branches and leaves, is ready to be dragged by oxen to the market square.
Festive procession
It is a festive procession accompanied by cheerfully honking and drumming musicians. There are breaks at regular intervals. The inevitable spaghetti simmers in tripod cauldrons. Decanters of the local red wine are passed by word of mouth. In the evening we arrive at the village square filled with cheerful people.
Climbing out the window
Michele promises us that we can ride with him the next day to pick up the holly tree. We meet in the square at five o'clock. Pentecost Sunday we are awakened at four o'clock by passing musicians. We get up quickly, but we can't leave the hotel. The manager is certainly still asleep in a close embrace with his wife.
Screaming with laughter, and under the suspicious looks of an old woman dressed in black and headscarved, we climb out of the window. There is a blistering excitement in the piazza. Trucks, tractors and passenger cars leave before our very eyes… Michele's too. He has forgotten us.
rickety Fiat
Create a carabineer holds up a rickety Fiat. Between hoes, brooms and forks, we arrive fifteen kilometers away on the other side of the mountain. There the chosen female holly tree is cut down and carried (in turn) on the shoulders of the men of the village to her future 'husband'.
We also know how to obtain a twig from the chosen one, this brings luck. Just like the day before, this return trip will be accompanied by plenty of food and drink. Completely tired of the frequently offered bicchierini di vino, and slightly unwell from the food thrown at us Giambelle (ring-shaped oliebollen), we arrive at the square again.
Established
We are already well established. As we make our way to the wedding ceremony, the people of Accettura greet us warmly from all sides. The holly tree is attached in its entirety to the top of the oak trunk. To loud cheers, a special lever props both up.
In the crown hang packages that the young men can try to pick out by climbing this high maypole. In the evening the party continues with performances by local celebrities and music groups.
We regret that we are no longer allowed on Whit Monday to watch the annual procession of the women in their folkloric costumes, with heavy cake-shaped headdresses made of wax candles on their heads.
The only bus that is supposed to take us to the airport leaves at 5 o'clock in the morning. A pity, but a reason to return one more time to this mountain village with its friendly people.
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