U Scacciuni of Cattafi
Elena Tartaglione - CC4.0
U Scacciuni is a typical mask of Cattafi, an ancient farmhouse of San Filippo del Mela, which recalls a historical fact that took place in the mid-14th century.
It is said that back in 1544 a group of Saracens led by Hjerdiss Barbarossa, admiral of Suleiman I, sowed devastation and looting throughout the Messina area. On their way, the Saracens took an ancient road called della Cucugghiàta where they were surprised by the peasants of a small farmhouse called Cattafi. With the help of Baron Balsamo, armed with spades, sticks and tridents, the peasants managed to thwart the attack of the Saracens, saving the town from invasion. After the bloody battle, the Cattafesi wore the clothes of the vanquished as a sign of superstition and victory. Thus they began by putting on a skirt of fine fabric with short trousers worn above the knee underneath; of the same fabric they wore a shirt full of fine embroidery and on it they crossed colored ribbons. Finally, they put on long stockings and booties to wrap around the ankles. But the most important accessory was the headgear: a very long cone-shaped hat covered in fabric, decorated with colored precious stones from whose top numerous colored ribbons departed.
Thus was born the mask of the cattafese carnival: the Scàcciuni.
