Belgian Gilles & Carnival Societies

The form grew out of the pre-Lenten carnival of central Wallonia, and Binche's carnival carries roots back to the medieval town. UNESCO proclaimed the Carnival of Binche a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2003, and it is also listed as intangible heritage of the French Community of Belgium. The same festive impulse took distinct local shapes across the region: the Cwarme of Malmedy is documented from at least 1459, and the Ducasse de Mons from 1248, its Car d'Or and dragon combat later joining UNESCO's list of processional giants and dragons in 2008.

You almost certainly start young: Gilles range from small children to men in their sixties, and most are folded in through family and the endorsement of a societe that vouches for them. Your first real taste is the soumonces, standing in the cold street learning to move to one drum among many until the beat lives in your legs. On the day the society dresses you, packs your linen suit with straw front and back so you stand square and stout, hands you the twig ramon and a basket of blood oranges, and sends you out to dance from dawn, never alone but always inside the group.