Origins

More than 600 years of history: from medieval play to Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

The origins of the Patum can be traced back to the old interludes that paraded in the Corpus Christi processions and were intended to educate, moralise and teach people so that they would have a deeper understanding of the Holy Scriptures. Over time, however, these interludes took on a character of their own and became popular, more so for their playful rather than instructive nature.

They gradually lost their original meaning and only the most festive parts remained of these performances. The revelry of the processional march increased in intensity, especially before the procession commenced and also once it was over.

This ultimately gave way to festive shows that inevitably formed the Bulla (commotion) or Bullícia del Santíssim Sagrament (frenzy of the Blessed Sacrament), which was in fact the former name of the festival before it was replaced by the Patum at the turn of the 19th century.

This phenomenon, which took place in several towns and cities in Catalonia, became lost as a result of the prohibitions passed by civil, ecclesiastical and royal powers, which meant that few of these expressions survived the Council of Trent (1563), and the death knell was even sounded for all the interludes by the restrictive provisions of the 18th century.

Of all the former Bullícies of the Blessed Sacrament that took place in Catalonia, only the town of Berga has managed to maintain and preserve one throughout the centuries. It is known as the Patum.