The Masquerade of Lanterns, the Masquerade of Šipun, or simply dominali– these are all names for the unique Cavtat masquerade celebration, each with its own special story. According to ethnologist Ivica Kipre, that story takes us back to the 1930s, when the tradition of masquerading in traditional masks or costumes called dominali began. However, the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s mark a particularly significant period in the history of this masked festivity.
The timing was well known – after nightfall, around 6 PM, always on a Thursday. As the elders say, it was planned to coincide with Fat Thursday, therefore, on the eve of the Lenten season. The location of the celebration itself is part of the intrigue in this simple carnival story. It all started in front of the House of Culture in Cavtat, then moved along the waterfront, accompanied by the “Small Group” of the Cavtat Brass Band, consisting of 12 musicians dressed in orange-and-black jumpsuits, with top hats on their heads. Along the way, they would enter houses and “pull out” new participants for the procession, eventually making their way through Prijeko Street to the Šipun Cave, where a large gathering of dominali would assemble, each holding a small lantern. The lanterns were an essential part of the costume, and everyone quickly understood why once they began descending the narrow alleyway leading to Šipun Cave.
The mystique of this celebration, with its unusual masks, was heightened by the entrance into a cave located in the town, in the very heart of the peninsula called Rat. Through a narrow opening, they would descend into the cave itself, and in its central chamber, where, according to legend, the dragon Boas once lived, the dance would begin, interwoven with reverence for the dragon that the ancestors of the dancing people of Cavtat once feared. How could one not constantly think of the terrifying dragon when even the detail on the hood of the dominali carnival costume reminds many of a dragon’s crest or crown? Despite everything, people enjoyed the traditional šporki makaruli (local style braised beef with pasta) and a glass of red wine in the Šipun Cave. The entire carnival ritual in the cave seemed, for a moment, to bring back the time when the fearsome dragon lived in Šipun before being slain by Saint Hilarion, who burned it on the very spot where today the church built in his honor stands in the nearby town of Mlini. On the wall of the church in Mlini, there is still a painting depicting Saint Hilarion in battle against the fearsome Cavtat dragon, and on clear days, one can still see the mark left behind in the Cavtat-Župa Bay as Hilarion dragged the dangerous dragon away. This legend was first mentioned in the 4th century by Saint Jerome of Stridon.
The carnival costume worn by the people of Cavtat during this celebration also exists in Dubrovnik, but for Dubrovnik’s dominali, the hood is wider. At the Bourboulia celebration in Patras, Greece, we learn that women wear dominali, while men wear suits. It is said that this very costume gave women in Cavtat the opportunity to participate in masked celebrations, as it covers the entire body and face. It is believed that the costume arrived in both Greece and Cavtat from France and Italy, inspired by the robes of Capuchin monks. The dominali costume allows for complete concealment of identity, which is why elders always wore exclusively black dominali. Identity could only be guessed from the colorful ribbons on the hood, but some clever individuals thwarted this by attaching a different ribbon to their domino at various points during the celebration, misleading others. Only in Cavtat can the dominali costume symbolize the connection between good and evil. On one hand, dominali represent a benevolent hermit or monk; on the other, they incorporate elements of a dragon, with scales appearing on the hoods of Cavtat’s dominali.
A costume that conceals identity allows people to relax the most under the mask, so the biggest pranks were often done precisely under the cover of dominali costumes. Everyone was teased, no one was spared, yet despite this, dominali were always warmly welcomed into the homes of the people of Cavtat, who often treated them to food and drinks.
For the people of Cavtat, the dominal or domino is an essential part of their carnival costumes, and many often keep not only their dominali but also numerous unique, hand-sewn costumes, as Cavtat has always placed a strong emphasis on the quality and originality of costumes in all its carnival celebrations. The tradition of dominali is preserved by new generations as well. Before carnival time, women of Cavtat gather at the Bukovac House, the birthplace of Vlaho Bukovac, where they learn to sew dominali under the watchful eyes of skilled tailors and seamstresses. Under their skillful fingers, new dominali are created. The future of this traditional and unique Cavtat mask also lies in the hands of ethnologist Ivica Kipre, who initiated the idea of registering this folk tradition as an intangible cultural heritage for UNESCO protection. This would be yet another crowning achievement in the story of dominali, Cavtat, and the fearsome dragon.
Napisao: Ivica Puljić