The ringing of the bells is a language in itself

The ringing of the bells is a language in itself. And now a World Heritage Site too

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bell: 1.f. Metallic instrument, generally in the shape of an inverted cup, that sounds when struck by a mallet or external hammer.

Here is what the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) says in its first meaning when searching for the term “bell”. As so often, from theory to practice, from tool to application, but it is a long, very long way, rich in nuances and meanings, which meant in this case recognize with all its letters —and sounds—UNESCO itself.

Its Committee for Intangible Cultural Heritage has just declared the manual ringing of Spanish bells a treasure important enough to appreciate and, even more interesting, to protect it so that it is not lost if possible.

Of course, the focus of the UNESCO experts is not on the instrument, but on its management as an instrument media, the advantage that we communicated for generations long before we walked around with smartphones in our pockets or a few clicks on Google arrived to know what was happening in the city, the city next door, the city or the country on other end of the world. Of course without words. Everything with a clapper.

Pure death knell.

A “medium of mass communication”

“The carillon was certainly the most important means of mass communication in traditional society. They reported on important events for the group and issued messages with spatial, temporal and social representational connotations – explained Françesc Llop i Bayo more than four decades ago –. Not only did they report: they simultaneously reinforced a way of seeing the world, organizing time and space, and structuring society.”

Llop i Bayo, anthropologist and bell ringer, also recalls that while there are certain cultural traditions “of more or less regional scope‘, much of its transference into practice, such as messages or techniques, used to adhere to ‘little more than regional forms’.

To understand the importance they had in their time, it is also good to remember two keys that transcend technological advances: first, that bell towers used to mark cities’ skylines as the highest point; and second, and equally important, when playing in small towns and without heavy traffic, its sound reaches almost every corner.

UNESCO wanted the gates of the year 2023, with many motorized or even dismantled bells and the number of bell-ringers in decline move tab to include this language, the manual ringing of Spanish bells, in the intangible cultural representative list of humanity.

To date, in Spain there are more than thirty different types of manual touch, “a solid language cultivated over the centuries as a means of communal communication”. “With a wide repertoire of forms and techniques, both religious and civil, bell ringing has governed many aspects of celebration, ritual, work and daily life throughout Spanish territory,” notes the Iceta Department.

“There is a great variety of sounds, determined by the techniques – toll, twist, or half-twist – combined with the skill of the bell ringer and the physical and acoustic qualities of the bells, spires, and spiers. The elements blend into a depth and rich repertoire. rich,” agrees UNESCO, which also emphasizes its use outside of the religious realm: “The touch has served in Spain as a means of expression and communication, fulfilling a series of social functions, from the exchange of information to coordination, protection and cohesion”.

For practical reasons, Kultur emphasizes that the step that the UNESCO Committee has just taken will make it possible to defend the language, value it, and “ensure the continuity” of tradition. “It helps protect almost always unique communications systems that are on the brink of extinction due to the lack of ringing, a fundamental figure in the preservation of this age-old practice,” he points out.

The decision was welcomed by the experts themselves, who received it as “a before and after”. This was defended in an interview on Channel 24 hours by Antonio Berenguer of the Valencian federation Campaners d’Albaida, one of the promoters of the candidacy. The decision was taken in Rabat, where some representatives of the sector traveled to address the committee.

The ringing of the bell is not the only signing of the intangible heritage recognized by UNESCO. Its experts have decided to appreciate in this gastronomic case another of probably the most underappreciated treasures of European culture: the baguette with French bread. Aiming to “honor the know-how” of the artisans and “celebrate an entire culture” created around its character.

Cover photo: Ministry of Culture