Press release                         Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports

ANDALUCIA, MARCH 5, 2024
The Drumbeat of the Baena Jew, protected as an Asset of Cultural Interest
The ritual, carried out by the 'white-tailed' and 'black-tailed' mobs, is celebrated during Lent, Holy Week and the eve of Saint Joseph.
The Governing Council of the Junta de Andalucía has agreed to register, at the request of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports, in the General Catalog of Andalusian Historical Heritage (CGPHA), as an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), with the typology of Activity of Ethnological Interest, the Drumbeat of the Jew of Baena (Córdoba). Under this name the different methods of percussing of this instrument are included, as a collective expression in the ritual of Lent, Holy Week and the eve of the celebration of Saint Joseph's Day.
 

The protagonist figure in these processions and parades is the Jew, characterized by his specific clothing: drum, red jacket embroidered or with a gimp, black pants and a metal helmet from which a curly tail emanates, black or white, depending on the condition, or ascription, such as 'black-tailed' or 'white-tailed'. Depending on the color, the groups of Jews, attached to the brotherhoods and brotherhoods, are formed into groups, structured into two mobs or symbolic halves, the mob of the 'black-tailed' Jews and the mob of the 'white-tail' Jews, structuring both of them. vertically to local society without distinction of age, gender or social class.

This cultural manifestation, inscribed with the highest figure of protection, has an indisputable historical value as a testimony of a long tradition. Historical sources indicate that the use of the drum was confirmed in the second half of the 19th century, and at the end of that century, as a consequence of the sociopolitical differences between the different social sectors, the division between the two queues began. Over the years it has experienced processes of change that have facilitated its survival. Thus, the 18th century Jew present in the representations of baroque Holy Week, stigmatized for being the one who persecutes and imprisons Jesus, has become in Baena one of the most attractive figures of the ritual and one of the most identifying elements.Por otra parte, el Toque de Tambor se vincula con actividades artesanas que se desarrollan en la localidad de Baena, como la elaboración de tambores, la elaboración de cascos de judíos y la elaboración de bordados para las casacas, que combinan además diferentes tipos de saberes, como latería, orfebrería, filigrana, carpintería, guarnicionería o curtiduría. Además, el desarrollo de esta actividad a lo largo de los años ha permitido la generación de un léxico singular específico como vehículo de comunicación y plasmación de la peculiaridad de los elementos integrantes de la actividad valorada.

On the other hand, the Drum Play is linked to craft activities that take place in the town of Baena, such as the making of drums, the making of Jewish helmets and the making of embroidery for the jackets, which also combine different types of knowledge. , such as metalwork, goldsmithing, filigree, carpentry, saddlery or tanning. Furthermore, the development of this activity over the years has allowed the generation of a specific singular lexicon as a vehicle of communication and expression of the peculiarity of the elements that make up the valued activity.

The cultural and symbolic importance of the Banea Jew's Drumbeat is reinforced internationally by the inscription of this manifestation, along with other expressions of the Spanish State identified as 'Tamboradas, rituals of the drum', in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage from UNESCO, in 2018.