video
- Praxis in Portugal : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvJfTM9CznI
- Portrait of a portugeese singer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3mmqKcIA-8
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Praxes!
“It’s so big you can’t fit it in your mouth!! - It’s so small you can’t see it!!” – boys and girls with painted faces shout at each other across the street. The new students, or “caloiros”, are led by senior students in chants, some full of blatant sexual innuendo and crass competitiveness.
Nelson Chantre, a second year student at ESCS helps me to unravel this vibrant ritual, as the colourfully painted students dance and shout around us. The caloiros are separated into four teams and adorned with frivolous costumes – mafia, pirates, zombies or Mexicans – and spend a week battling it out in a celebration designed to welcome them to their new life as a university student.
For the senior students, who are also the organisers of the ceremony, the dress code is a much more serious matter. Whilst they fully participate in the celebrations they must also dress in a strict uniform – black trousers or skirt, a white shirt and specially tailored waistcoat and jacket. Most also wear the “capa”, a special cape which (occasionally lovingly decorated with badges) which they wear over their left shoulder. ‘Why the left shoulder?’ I hear you ask. “Because it is near my heart”, Nelson explains. For Nelson, this ceremony is not just about getting drunk and singing nursery rhymes – it is also a symbolic ceremony marking entry into a new system of rules, and a new way of life. “ The uniforms that we wear symbolise that we are all equal, but we must also teach the students to have respect for the rules, and respect for the school”.
The caleiros have a lot to learn, in this game of symbols and subtle signals. Scratching the surface, I discovered that if you are wearing your jacket, your “capa” must not be more than 10m from you. Also, one button undone on your waistcoat means you are single, two buttons undone and you are spoken for (certainly useful information).
Still, what is the point in all this ceremony? As the students begin dancing the ‘party train’ there is no doubt that they are having a good time and getting to know each other better (if perhaps a little too well), but why all the crazy costumes and shouting? “Integration” says Joana Goncalves, who is joined by her fellow Zombie and Pirate, “Without this ceremony we would feel like outsiders around each other” Francisco Inacio adds. Even Vanessa Duarte, a seemingly shy 18 year-old, admits, “the sexual songs make me feel normal with everyone – we are not embarrassed!”
The praxes ceremony certainly puts “Fresher’s Week” in the UK to shame – getting drunk and getting laid seem to be the two main purposes of our ‘ceremonies’. Yet in Portugal, the aim is rather to break down barriers between young people with diverse interests and backgrounds in a fun and sociable way. Whilst in Holland some universities have degrading ceremonies in order to initiate students into cliquey ‘fraternities’, in Portugal the point is to make everyone seem approachable. Comparing European culture is not a task I would like to assume, but whilst watching the colourful caloiros, I couldn’t help but feel like I had missed out on an important life milestone.
Text: Tanyella Allison
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