La mirada musulmana sobre la cultura festiva de la España de los siglos XVI y XVII

When dealing with the game of canes, most of sixteenth- and seventeenth century authors state that it is a cultural influence from the medieval Islamic period in the Iberian Peninsula, which often leads them to establish analogies with the equestrian culture of North African Muslims on the other shore of the Mediterranean. While there are several evidences about the celebration of these kinds of equestrian exercises between Christians and Muslims in the Mediterranean, most of the documents about these encounters barely reflect on the alleged cultural affinity. This article analyzes differences Castilian and Portuguese sources (namely equestrian treatises, miscellanies, and historical texts) that include the alleged Muslim perspective on festival practices in the Iberian Peninsula. We must apply a certain methodological caution when interpreting these documents, since the Muslim voice is mediated (if not entirely fabricated) by Christian authors. Yet these sources are very telling about the dialectics about certain cultural practices which relies on the imaginary gaze from the Muslim Other.