Lobbing Turnips for Fun, Piornal, Spain
publication date: Dec 1, 2007
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author/source: Polly Evans
Some festivals in Spain are famous. There’s the running of the bulls at Pamplona, and that one in Valencia where everyone hurls tomatoes at each other. Those crazed antipodeans that chuck themselves in front of grumpy bovines have probably never even heard of tiny village of Piornal, though. It’s in Extremadura, in the picturesque Valle del Jerte – a place best known for its production of cherries. But each January, this tiny hill village celebrates the festival of Jarramplas and, for sheer quirkiness, this celebration saps the colour from the rest.
The Jarramplas is a figure. His origins aren’t known – some say he’s a thief subjected to punishment by the villagers; others say the spectacle is a re-enaction of the early conquistadors’ battles with the Indians of South America, or the of skirmishes between the Christians and the Moors. However the Jarramplas started out, though, it’s agreed that he stands for an evil force that must be driven out – in this case, by having hundreds of turnips thrown at his head.
Now, it’s all very well for man dressed up as the Jarramplas. He’s wearing armour. But the rest of the festival goers don’t have helmets handy and – here’s the thing – the turnips in this village are extraordinarily large. Some of them are the size of footballs, and the people that throw them are drunk. So, when the villager dressed as the Jarramplas appears in the narrow streets banging his tambourine, a scrum ensues. Those who fancy themselves as a hot shot with a turnip (mostly men) surge towards him, merrily hurling. Those who don’t want to be hit on the head by an outsized root vegetable (mostly women) scream and try to run away. But then the Jarramplas suddenly changes direction, or takes a shortcut and reappears in a different street. Now the runners-away are confronted by a too-close Jarramplas, while the turnip throwers must charge to catch him.
It’s exciting stuff, as rural Spanish festivals tend to be. It’s also a lot of fun. And when sprinting away from airborne turnips gets too much, you can always take refuge in a bar.
Getting there: The Jarramplas festival takes place on 19-20 January each year. Piornal is about 30km northeast of Plasencia, in Cáceres province.
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