I believe you can learn something from just about any source and you can learn a shitload from Qi. A shitload is more than one man can carry and a load of shit is what the Caganer is all about. The Caganer is a figure found taking a poop in the nativity scenes in Catalonia and places around there.
The Caganer comes in many forms, all pooping, and there seem to be hundreds of figures available. A quick Google turned up some goofy ones like Tintin, Yoda and Spongebob but the giant guy in a mall takes all the marbles.
I do like that people stop for a pose with the guy's backside. The tradition has been going on since the late 17th or early 18th century. The Wikipedia describes the tradition.
In Catalonia, as well as in the rest of Spain and in most of Italy and Southern France, traditional Christmas decorations often consist of a large model of the city of Bethlehem, similar to the Nativity scenes of the English-speaking world but encompassing the entire city rather than just the typical manger scene. This "pessebre" is often a reproduction of a pastoral scene—a traditional Catalan "masia" (farmhouse) as the central setting with the child in a manger, and outlying scenes including a washerwoman by a river, a woman spinning, shepherds herding their sheep or walking towards the manger with gifts, the three wise men approaching on horseback, an annunciation scene with the angel and shepherds, the star pointing the way, etc. Commonly materials such as moss will be used to represent grass, with cork used to represent mountains or cliffs. Another variant is to make the setting oriental, with the wise men arriving by camel and the figures dressed accordingly.
The caganer is a particular and highly popular feature of modern Catalan nativity scenes. It is believed to have entered the nativity scene by the late 17th or early 18th century, during the Baroque period. Eminent folklorist Joan Amades called it an essential piece and the most popular figure of the nativity scene. It can also be found in other parts of southwestern Europe, including Murcia, the region just south of the Valencia in Spain (where they are called cagones), Naples (cacone or pastore che caca) and Portugal (cagões).There is a sculpture of a person defecating hidden inside the cathedral of Ciudad Rodrigo, Province of Salamanca, though this is not part of a nativity scene. Accompanying Mary, Joseph, Jesus, the shepherds and company, the caganer is often tucked away in a corner of the model, typically nowhere near the manger scene. A tradition in the Catalan Countries is to have children find the hidden figure.
It's little things like this that make me glad I tuned into Qi. So much of what is on there is appealing. I do find the Caganer less appealing than goofy. What a world, huh.
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