Racism ? But where?
At the Ducasse d’Ath, of course! This Belgian carnival, which takes place every August in the small town of Ath, has existed for at least 600 years. It is such a part of folklore that it was inscribed in 2005 on the list of intangible heritage of humanity. A well-deserved honor, except that…
Except what?
La Ducasse features all sorts of spooky characters, including its famous giants. But there is also a frightening “savage” with feathers and chains, embodied by a white man with blackened skin. Shocked by this blackface, the anti-racist collective Bruxelles Panthères asked UNESCO to remove the festival from its list. It was in 2019.
So what ?
Well there you go, it’s done. Last week, UNESCO finally acceded to Brussels Panthères’ request. Unless I am mistaken, this is the very first time that an event has been removed from the prestigious list. Compare that to an officer being stripped of his decorations. Shame, what. “It’s a word that we don’t dare to use too much, but somewhere, we can talk about justice being done,” welcomes Mouhad Reghif, spokesperson for Brussels Panthères.
A bit of a radical decision, no? Wouldn’t an ultimatum have been enough?
This is what the Athe authorities claim. They say they were taken aback while they were thinking about the issue. “It’s a bit of a hasty decision,” confirms local historian Jean-Pierre Ducastelle, who submitted the dossier for the Ducasse’s inscription at UNESCO in 2005. What is regrettable is that we didn’t have time to explain the context. Mr. Ducastelle insists that the Ducasse d’Ath is not racist and thinks that UNESCO above all wanted to “set an example”.
That’s to say ?
How difficult it was for UNESCO to do otherwise, today, in 2022. Perceptions have changed. The “word starting with an n” has been there. Minds decolonize. We are in a period of awareness. We reassess the achievements. Whites disguised as blacks, it’s just not possible anymore. Especially this one.
Why “especially him”?
Created in 1873, the “savage” of the Ducasse d’Ath is not exactly linked to the colonization of the Congo by the Belgians, since this did not begin until 1880. But he embodies the primitive world, as opposed to the civilized world. His chains seem to indicate that he has not been trained, that he is potentially dangerous. Moreover, its function is to scare children. Those who don’t cry are considered grown-ups. All this is only a “satire”, pleads Mr. Ducastelle, insisting on “humor” and the “symbol” of this rite of passage. Bruxelles Panthères is not exactly of this opinion. For Mouhad Reghif, it is quite simply an “undeniable racist activity, unacceptable and dehumanizing for millions of people”. Point bar.
How to contradict it? And now, what will the City do?
She is thinking. La Ducasse will surely be back next year, but will it keep its “wildness”? Nothing is less sure. According to Mr. Ducastelle, “more than 60%” of Athois say they want to keep the character. But these consultations took place before the UNESCO snub. Opinions may have changed. ” The blackface will disappear. Under the circumstances, it becomes indefensible, ”recognizes the historian. Once this is done, the City could resubmit its file to be on the heritage list.
Case settled, then?
It depends. Because there are other blackfaces in Belgium. They can be found at the Malmedy carnival as well as at the Lessines carnival, where the traditional “sortie des n…” has however been renamed “sortie des Diables”. There is also Père Fouettard, a black companion of Saint-Nicholas, who visits primary schools during Christmas. Not to mention the carnival of Aalst, whose allegorical floats have been described as anti-Semitic. In short, Bruxelles Panthères has its work cut out for it. Next door, our Bonhomme Carnaval is really an uneventful guy.
Sources: Notélé, Euronews, The evening, The FreeReuters, RTL, dhnet