Elegie dall'inizio del mondo: Uomini e alberi

Directed by Francesco Dongiovanni

The images you are watching were shot by Domenico Notarangelo, who was correspondent for the communist newspaper “L’Unità”. He has documented over time the customs and traditions of Southern Italy villages. 1969. Accettura, a few kilometres from Matera. Whitsunday. A big Turkey oak, cut down on Ascension Day, is tied to yokes of oxen and dragged out of a wood. In another wood, a holly is carried by peasants on their backs. In the evening, these trees meet in the village. The following Tuesday, the treetop, the “Cima”, is grafted onto the Turkey oak, the “Maggio”: it’s the marriage of trees. Meanwhile, the procession of the patron saint makes its way along the village streets, preceded by a group of women who carry votive constructions on their heads. At sunset, the bravest climber, Zizilone, climbs up and reaches the treetop.