With nearly 50,000 participants, 500 musicians from the four corners of Occitania and elsewhere and 500 volunteer actors, the Carnaval Biarnés de Pau is one of the five largest carnivals in mainland France.
It has existed for 30 years and takes place every year in Pau, its festivities lasting several days.
The Pyrenean Carnival has its own pantheon, liturgy, places...
His pantheon with the king "Sent Pançard", his wife "Carronha", "Quarèsma" (Lent), the bears, the gendarmes...
Its liturgy and places with bear hunting in the historic centre, the "Sèga" (Carnival entrance to the city), the handing over of the keys in the Royal Square, the trial before the Court and the cremation.
A whole history...
The story that the Carnival Biarnés tells is rich in characters, which can be found every year during the different animations.
King Sent Pançard, who had taken refuge in Aragon to escape the pyre, returns to Pau with his wife Carronha, stopping off in one or more towns.
On his arrival, the timpona reigns in the city: everyone eats, drinks, sings, dances... The bears are having a blast, and Sent Porquin the Pig God is celebrated...
But beware, the sinister Quarèsma is watching and wants to take over the reins. The inconsistency of Sent Pançard brings him the wrath of the people. He appears in court, and he is blamed for everything that went wrong during the past year. Finally, the judges sentence him to be burned at the stake and the gendarmes take him to the stake.
The 2020 edition will take place from 20 to 23 February 2020.
http://www.carnaval-biarnes.com/
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
free version)
