Sala de Destaques, 16 June to 16 October
Nowadays, the people of Terceira Island have a unique and distinctive three-way relationship with the bull.
In fact, on this island, we go to bullrings, we run with the bulls and, because that’s what it’s all about, we adorn the calf before the sacrifice at the Holy Spirit festivities, for the meat alms and the function.
Fun, festivities and sacrifice coexist here, with roots that go back to ancient times, and the community derives different social and mental effects from them.
It’s the idea that the animal, a partner in everyday life and entertainment, is also the animal that is consumed – in the time of the Holy Spirit, in a clearly ritualised way.
So perhaps we can conclude that, among us, the apparent opposition between the Ox, symbolising sacrifice, self-denial and chastity, and the Bull, symbolising strength and the fertilising power of renewed life, has been resolved.
