During the Ducasse d'Ath procession, a famous parade that takes place every August in the small Walloon town of Ath, the controversial figure of "the Savage" still appeared to the public in blackface and with a large nose ring – despite assurances the character would be transformed.
The Ducasse d'Ath is a traditional parade held to mark the victory of David over Goliath that takes place on the fourth Sunday of August in the town of Ath in Belgium every year. The parade depicts many characters from local history.
However, last year, the procession was removed from UNESCO's list of the world's intangible heritage following multiple complaints that one of the parade's characters – "the Savage" – was still presented in blackface, a well-known racist stereotype.
Not too long after, a citizens' commission on folklore decided that the figure was to be transformed into another character: "the Devil." He would no longer wear chains or a nose ring, and other attributes that refer back to the days of slavery.
A misunderstanding
On Saturday 26 August, Ath mayor Bruno Lefebvre expressed his delight that "the path to a solution" and "consensus" had been found at the end of these heated debates.
However, while the festivities were still in full swing in front of more than 50,000 people, the "Savage" descended into his boat to the booing of the crowd during the parade on Sunday. While observers expected him to emerge transformed into the "Devil," the "Savage" reappeared under a hail of red smoke with the same controversial attire.
While it seemed as if the group behind the procession had not listened to the criticism at all, they issued a statement on Monday to explain what they call "a misunderstanding."
The 'Savage' pictured during the Ducasse festivities. Credit: Belga/Justin Namur
"In consultation with the town of Ath and the House of the Giants, we prepared a ceremony to mark the character's evolution, in line with the expectations of the Citizens' Commission for Folklore," the statement reads. "We added red make-up around the Devil's eyes. Unfortunately, we were faced with some technical issues: the addition of the red colour did not give the desired result because of the perspiration and the black background, as well as the lack of light."
The group wants to make it "absolutely clear" that the character "will evolve in the spirit of the Citizens' Folklore Commission," they stated. "The presence of the nose ring was not a provocation, but the desire to mark a transition. The Devil character we chose wears a nose jewel, which has nothing to do with a slave ring."
However, they acknowledged that they "perhaps did not go far enough in the elements we wanted to highlight in the excitement of the moment" and expressed their regret at the "misunderstanding of our group's intentions."
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"The Devil's new story makes it clear that he is now a fantastic character. His appearance must be diabolical, no doubt in a slightly different way than today, but still in the spirit of the character dear to the hearts of the people of Ath."
The "definitive" evolution of the character is due to take place in 2024, but an evolution had been announced for the 2023 edition, at the end of the procession.
