Castles

Castles come in all sizes, shapes and forms.  They are spectacular structures, some remembered for historical reasons, some remembered from fairytale stories about castles and knights.  But the castles I find most astonishing are castles, also known as human towers.

I had never heard of them.  It never even crossed my mind that anyone would have considered such a feat as building a human tower.  Oh, the little circus pyramids with a few people standing on the shoulders of one another... ok, but a tower?  It just goes to show you how far some people will go to try and prove something. 

I learned about human towers while watching a PBS program about the forces of nature.  Gravity, being a force of nature, is a factor in building these cultural phenomenon, particular to Catalonia, which are called Castells.  The tradition originated at the end of the 18th century when rival groups of people began to construct different kinds of human towers.

A castle has three definite parts: pinya (base), tronc (trunk), and pom de dalt (crown).  All the accumulated weight rests on the horizontal base, which stabilizes and strengthens the erected structure- and also softens the fall of climbers if a break in the tower causes it to collapse.  The trunk is crowned by children, who are more agile and light-footed.  The youngsters are in charge of climbing to the top, raising an arm and saluting the public.

There can  be several levels of supporting structures, each being added in a precise order with an allotted station for everyone within the group.  Building the tower is accompanied by special music as the last climber crowns the tower and raises an arm in salute.  The job is not finished with the crowning.  It has to be brought down safely to be considered completed.

Towers of 8 story were built in the '80s, but in 1995 a 9 story castle was given the name Cathedral due to overcoming the great difficulty when built and successfully completed.  On April 11,2012, China attempted to build the tallest 9 story castle, but failed when it collapsed.  India is also very active in building castles. 

Originally they were only built on Sundays, but over time they have become so popular that they are constructed on any day of the week, at festivals and at competitions in other countries.  Its fascinating to watch the many attempts on YouTube, and even more so watching the videos on how the base is constructed.  Its truly a heart pounding experience to watch a very small child climb a tower, crown it, then scramble back down to safety.