Meet the Sardinian delegation of Luna Nuova, for the first time in New Zealand, for a lecture in Italian and English about the traditional Sardinian nuptial breads, presented by Prof. Battista Saiu, anthropologist, University of Eastern Piedmont (Università del Piemonte Orientale).
Making ritual bread to celebrate crucial life events – birth, marriage, death—is part of Sardinia’s ancient tradition. The ritual bread’s wide variety of shapes shows both centuries-old creativity and expertise in the Sardinian craft tradition. Different bread shapes, such as crowns, baskets, flowers and leaves, express people’s feelings or the patterns of nature and of life.
21 September 2016 - 5pm
University of Auckland
Arts1 Building 206, Rooms 203,
14A Symonds Street.
Auckland
Free entry
In Sardinia, ritual, ceremonial and votive breads are made in the shape of crowns, baskets, flowers, leaves, and birds for special occasions such as weddings, religious celebrations and other exceptional events. They are symbols of an ancient and new religiosity, inherited from the past through oral tradition and gestures.
The art of bread making is a precious part of Sardinian folklore and history. Simple nourishment, but with a high symbolic value, bread has been among the basic elements of the Sardinian diet since time immemorial. As well as everyday shapes, we can find elaborate and decorated shapes for every major family or community celebration. It’s possible to count several thousand different breads produced in Sardinia, differing in shape, kind of flour, and purpose: everyday, ceremonial, votive, ritual. Through these breads, thanks to the thousands of years of tradition, we hear the ancient languages of the people who have inhabited the Sardinian countryside since at least 3000 BC. Amongst them, we will see bread for the souls of the dead, different nuptial breads and the blessed bread for the Christian Easter and for Holy Communion.
