The Spooky Festival of the Dead in the South of France

If you love spooky stuff and street theatre, head to Pézenas in the darkest month of the year for the Fête des Morts.

All photos by © Steve Turnbull

The charming town of Pézenas, at the heart of Hérault, is best known for its connection with the celebrated 17th-century playwright, Molière. But come November, a very different kind of theatre takes place as night falls on its narrow, cobbled streets: Martror, la fèsta dels Mòrts.

This festival of the dead (fête des morts in French, fèsta dels mòrts in Occitan) is presented by Pézenas-based association, Collectif Temporadas. Their mission is to ‘organise seasonal festive rituals by pooling knowledge, practices, research and imagination linked to the notion of ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’. Put more simply, they’re a ‘crazy bunch’ who want to keep the ancient traditions of the area alive. In 2015, they took over the organisation of Martror from another group (the festival began in 2007) and it was a great success. Since then, it has continued as an annual event. However, despite the obvious comparisons (scary costumes/antics) with modern-day Halloween, it aims to be as meaningful as it is fun.

In fact, the word martror (pronounced martrou in Occitan) means ‘martyr’ and features in many religious texts from the Middle Ages. But the concept behind the festival combines elements of Christian and Celtic cultures. It takes place at the beginning of November around the time of All Saints’ Day (La Toussaint) and All Souls’ Day (La Jour des Morts) in the Christian calendar, and the ending of the Celtic year. This may be the ‘darkest month’ in the latter, where the gloom descends and the ‘veil’ between the living and dead is most penetrable, but the winter solstice holds the promise of light and life. Altogether, it’s a spiritual gathering in the broadest sense, albeit with a distinctly pagan feel.

The format for the festival varies a bit from year to year, but there is always a musical procession, not unlike a New Orleans jazz funeral, that winds through the streets of the town. This year, onlookers were ‘menaced’ by a giant skeleton representing death, and the procession culminated in the central square (Place Gambetta). Here, the skeleton tried to convince a cast of comical ‘pleureuses’ (mourners with death-related occupations) that their time had come, as the carnival mood continued.

Later, another character appeared on the scene, a strange looking and highly symbolic horse – Le Poulain – draped in a resplendent coat bearing the town’s insignia. As one version of the folk story behind this goes, Louis VIII was passing through Pézenas on his way to the crusades when his horse became lame. This forced him to entrust the townspeople with its care. On his return, he was thrilled to discover the mare had given birth to a foal (poulain, or polin in Occitan) and a wooden mock-up was created in celebration.

The sizeable horse was transported by several strong men from the community who hoisted it up and down in commemoration as the names of local deceased were read out, much like the Mexican Day of the Dead. As a totemic animal, the horse appears in other festivals too. But in the context of Martror (ridden by archetypal male and female figures, Estiennou and Estiennette) its role is to carry the souls of the dead to the next world and bring back those of unborn children, reinforcing the theme of renewal.

Ever more popular, Martror has established itself as part of the rich and varied cultural programme in Pézenas. But fundamentally it transcends the here and now, sending a powerful message about the cyclical nature of life.