Castell

A castell (Catalan pronunciation: [kəsˈteʎ]: literally, castle) is a human tower built traditionally at festivals in a part of Catalonia (Spain), now also found in the rest of Catalonia, in the Balearic islands and in the Valencian Community.
At these festivals, several colles castelleres (teams that build towers) attempt to build and then dismantle a tower's structure. On 16 November 2010, castells were declared by UNESCO to be amongst the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Although based on the earlier traditional Muixeranga of Algemesí in Valencia, the tradition of castells within Catalonia originated in the Ball dels Valencians (Valencian Dance) in the town of Valls, near the city of Tarragona, first documented in 1712. Over the course of the 18th century, they spread to other towns and cities in the area, including Vilafranca del Penedès and Tarragona, though it was not until the last 50 years that the practice of building castells began to spread to the rest of Catalonia. Interest in castells began to grow in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s, the inclusion of women in the formerly male-only discipline ushered in the second època d'or (golden age) of castells; the presence of women is credited with allowing castells to be built lighter and stronger, enabling the construction of previously undreamed-of 9- and 10-story castells.
While in Catalonia, the Ball dels Valencians began to focus more on the acrobatic nature of building ever taller human towers, their more religious and allegorical predecessors retain their traditions: the Muixeranga, which is performed in the Valencian city of Algemesí, and in other places in the Valencian Land and Catalonia, where it is often called the moixiganga.
In 2015 the Coordinadora de Colles Castelleres de Catalunya hosted 99 groups, including Castellers de Vilafranca and Minyons de Terrassa, who were able to construct the tallest human tower to date, the "4 de 10" (10 levels of people with four in each level).
These icons of Catalan culture and sports were featured in the opening ceremony of the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics.
In Catalan, the word castell literally translates into castle, while in English its meaning is specifically that of a human tower.
A castell is considered a success when assembly and disassembly can be done in complete succession. The assembly is complete once all castellers have climbed into their designated places, and the enxaneta climbs into place at the top and raises one open hand. The enxaneta then climbs down the other side of the castell, after which the remaining levels of castellers descend in highest to lowest order until all have reached safety.
Aside from the people who climb to form the upper parts of the tower, others are needed to form the pinya, or bottom base of the castell, to sustain its weight. Members of the pinya (most often men) also act as a 'safety net' if the tower structure collapses, cushioning the fall of people from the upper levels. It is not uncommon—when not in competitions—for other colles to assist in the pinya when a small colla is attempting a specially demanding structure in terms of people needed.
The castell is built in two phases. First, the pinya— the base of the tower — is formed. People forming higher levels of the tower move to a position from which they can easily get to their places in the tower. This is done slowly and carefully, and as subsequent base levels are completed the castellers in the pinya determine if their base is solid enough for construction to continue. Then, when the signal to proceed is given, bands begin to play the traditional Toc de Castells music as a hush comes over spectators of the event. The upper layers of the tower are built as quickly as possible in order to put minimal strain on the lower castellers, who bear most of the weight of the castell. The disassembly of the castell, done amidst the cheering of the crowd, is often the most treacherous stage of the event.
A castell can also be aixecat per sota ("raised from below"). In this technique, rather than the lower levels being built first with subsequent layers added on top, the top layers are formed on the ground and then hoisted into the air level by level, with each successive layer being formed underneath. This is regarded as taking a great deal of practice, skill, and strength.
Typically castellers wear white trousers, a black sash (faixa), and a shirt in their collaʼs color, with the team's emblem. For instance, Castellers de Barcelona team wear red shirts, while Castellers de Vilafranca wear green shirts and are often called els verds (the greens). Castellers also usually wear one or more bandanas (mocadors), usually red with white spots and the team's emblem, for various purposes including to hold the faixa in place, to provide an additional handhold, to tie back hair, or to protect the top of the head.
The sash (faixa) is the most important part of their outfit, representing the tradition as a whole. The sash is also believed to support the lower back, and it is used by other castellers in the team as a foothold or handhold when climbing up the tower. This tasselled piece of cloth varies in length and width and depends on the casteller's position inside the tower and also on choice. The length of the sash ranges from 1.5 to 12m and usually is shorter for those higher up in the castell. Performing castellers always go barefoot when climbing, so as to avoid injuries, for greater sensitivity when balancing, and for better feel and grip.
The arrangement of castellers can be into a multi-tiered structure and the highest has a height spanning of nine or ten people from ground up. The motto of Castellers is "Força, equilibri, valor i seny" (Strength, balance, courage and common sense). This motto is taken from a verse of Els Xiquets de Valls by Josep Anselm Clavé, a Catalonian politician and composer.
Accidents are rare during the construction of a castell; however, as in every other crowded cultural event, ambulances are stationed nearby in case a person needs immediate attention. Fatal accidents do occur; the most recent was on 15 September 2011 when a man broke his second cervical vertebrae after falling from a castell. On 23 July 2006, in Mataró, a young casteller fell off the formation of a castell and died. This led to the requirement of specially designed helmets for all children participating in castells. Prior to this, the last death of a participant was in 1983 in Torredembarra. There have only ever been four recorded mortalities from participating in castells. Since the introduction of the helmets, there have been no cases of traumatic brain injury among children participating in castells.
Castells are primarily described by the number of people in each level of the tronc and the total number of levels and, where applicable, any special construction technique used. Levels are composed of between one and five individuals standing on the shoulders of the level below.
Common terms indicating the number of people for each level of a tower:
Castells with more than four people per level are composite structures. For example, the levels of a cinc are not pentagons; instead, the cinc amounts to a tres and a torre fused together (3 + 2 = 5), each level forming a figure-eight shape if seen from above.
Numbers of levels most commonly built:
For example, a tres de vuit (abbreviated 3d8) denotes a tower with three people per level and eight levels. (Only the first five levels will have three people per level. The pom de dalt, see below, is reckoned as making up the top three levels.)
Very high towers and ones with a small number of people on each level normally need extra support from the base or bottom levels. These base levels are frequently indicated as part of the name of the tower. Three kinds of base levels are most commonly used:
The term amb l'agulla ("with the needle") refers to a high column of one person per level which is built inside the main tower. When the castell is being dismantled, the agulla must remain standing until the outside part of the castell is already down.
Terms denoting special construction techniques include:
Another aspect of castell nomenclature refers to how successfully the tower was completed. Four terms are used:
The Món Casteller Human Tower Museum of Catalonia, in the town of Valls, opened in 2023. The project is designed as a place of reference for the human tower universe where experiences can be lived out.