The Caganer: a provocative Christmas tradition in Spain

This figure often makes people feel awkward. He is usually placed in the Nativity scene though tucked away in the corner to protect his dignity. He is normally a peasant, wearing the traditional Catalonian red cap (barretina). His trousers are always down, showing a bare backside. This defecating Christmas character is known as the Caganer.

The name literally means "the pooper" and many have seen this figurine in Catalonia where it is a traditional element of Nativity scenes. However, a similar pooper also appears in crib scenes in Valencia, in the Balearic Islands as well as in Andorra, Italy and France. And the tradition also exists in the south. The so-called ‘cagón’ can be found in Murcia, a neighbouring region to Andalucía.

The exact origin of the Caganer is unknown, although there are several possible hypotheses. One of them attributes the birth of the figure in the 14th century, when a caganer carved in stone was found in the French Roussillon, then a free zone bordering Catalonia. Another, more widespread conjecture states that the caganer appeared between the 17th and 18th centuries, coinciding with the Baroque period, a time when the aim was to represent reality more and more faithfully. It is reported that in the same period the Caganer first entered the Nativity scene.

The interpretation of his appearance in the ‘Belén’ is still controversial. The question remains unanswered though with the main hypothesis - by creating faeces, the caganer impregnates the earth. The Catalonian ethnographer and folklorist Joan Amades i Gelats reported that the Caganer became "a common figure in Nativity scenes because people believed that this symbolically fertilises the soil of Nativity scenes, which becomes fertile and provides the Nativity scene for the following year, and with it the health of the body and the peace of mind necessary for the creation of the scene, as well as the joy and happiness brought by Christmas in the home. So placing this figurine in the Nativity scene brought good luck and joy, while failure to do so brought bad luck."

The Caganer can thus be called the pragmatic counterpoint to the mystique of the Christmas mystery. Incidentally, no other Nativity character arouses such genuine interest. Not surprisingly, the Caganer is becoming increasingly popular and is appearing even in regions where there is no tradition. For example, in Galicia.

The town of Viveiro is known as the site of Galicia's largest Nativity scene. The ‘Viveiro ante o Berce’ captures the essence of the medieval era. This impressive assemblage with life-size figures is located in and around the atrium of the church of Santa María del Campo. It is not only the Holy Family and the Three Wise Men who are represented in the nativity scene. Blacksmiths, masons, shepherds, vintners, laundresses, fishermen are also integrated into the market with a medieval aesthetic. There you will also see a man defecating.

The Galician city of Vigo, Malaga's Christmas rival in Spain, also started following this trend a couple of years ago. La Formigueta de Figueres, an artisanal turrón shop, dedicated its first ‘caganer’ to the city's mayor.

Actually, there are shops in Catalonia dedicated only to this controversial Christmas character, and they're open all year round because caganers have become a collector's item and especially popular with foreign guests. Today, caganers represent celebrities and authority figures. Moreover, due to growing gender equality, in the late 70s, figurines of Catalan peasant women in traditional dress, including a long black headdress, began to be produced.