Visiting foreigners often look twice when they first encounter Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) during the Dutch Sinterklaas holiday. In our times of ethnic consciousness, who is this blackface sidekick of the man in red?
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| Former Erasmus Student Network board members in the Bastille prepared to surprise international students. Simone Hein, left, Lennart |
Black Pete is associated with a number of different legends. One tells the story of three Moorish boys sentenced to death for a crime they did not commit by the 15th century Catholic Spaniards. As the boys fled into the Sierra Nevada, they encountered Saint Nicholas who saved them from the persecuting officials. In return, the boys became devoted servants to the Saint.
What is more likely, however, is that Black Pete used to be your neighborhood Italian chimneysweep. If you take a close look, Zwarte Piet is dressed in an Italian chimneysweep costume. Tradition holds that on December 5, he enters the house through the chimney, and leaves a `roe' (a bunch of willow branches used to clean the chimney) for naughty children. Even his name derives from the Italian `Pietro'. Before the start of the long, cold winter, most chimneys needed a good cleaning, and smaller-statured Italian immigrants typically performed this yearly ritual. Chimney sweeping is a messy business and leaves you covered in black soot, hence the black face and hands.
The Italian theme also derives from Saint Nicholas' arrival to the West in 1087. Returning from Constantinople by ship, crusaders brought the saint's holy relics to Bari, Italy, where his remains are venerated to this day. From Bari, Nicholas' legends, rituals, drama, and dedications spread to just about every country in Western Europe.
During these days of political correctness, Dutch children are told that Zwarte Piet attends a special school in Spain, where he learns his trade before being gainfully employed by Sinterklaas. In some towns this year, Zwarte Pieten has even shown up with red, purple, and yellow faces. Sounds good, but the old bishop is still behind the times. What about equal opportunity? Surely, women can sweep a chimney and distribute sweets as well as any man!
