The Regional Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport has initiated the procedure for the inscription in the General Catalogue of Andalusian Historical Heritage (CGPHA), as an Asset of Cultural Interest (BIC), with the typology of Activity of Ethnological Interest, of Nativity Scenes in Andalusia, an intangible heritage asset in constant evolution and with strong roots in the Andalusian community.
This activity, which is preserved with the highest level of protection, is not only carried out today for devotional purposes, but is also a social activity, accessible to the entire population, and which contributes to the transmission of knowledge of popular culture, showing traditional trades and ways of life that have sometimes disappeared, which makes Andalusian nativity scenes valuable graphic documents on the customs of its people.
The concept of Nativity Scenes ranges from the handcrafted manufacture of the figures to the creation of the scenographies of the Nativity Scene, using specific knowledge and skills, in a process in which traditional and modern techniques are applied, transmitting emotional and symbolic sensations to the spectator. This knowledge, which has traditionally been passed down in the domestic sphere, is currently preserved by associations of Andalusian nativity scene makers who encourage research and the safeguarding of this intergenerational knowledge.
In Andalusia, artistic production reached a notorious importance in the 17th and 17th centuries, and there is evidence of the participation of great contemporary artists in nativity scene projects, including figures such as Luisa Roldán ‘La Roldana’, Pedro Duque Cornejo, Cristóbal Ramos and José Risueño, among others. Among La Roldana’s most outstanding works is ‘El reposo en la huida de Egipto’ (Resting in the Flight from Egypt), which belongs to the collection of the Countess of Ruiseñada.
The action of setting up the Nativity Scene – or assembling the Nativity Scene – is part of a popular religious tradition that originated in Medieval Europe and which consists of constructing a set, made up of props and biblical figures, which are assembled and dismantled each year, coinciding with the Christmas season and reproducing traditional passages from the birth of Jesus.
There are three essential scenes that make up a Nativity Scene: The Nativity, the announcement of the shepherds and the Adoration of the Magi. However, depending on the size and scope of the Nativity Scene, the scenes of the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Registration, the Search for the Inn and the Flight from Egypt are often depicted, and to a lesser extent, Joseph’s Dream, the Slaughter of the Innocents or the Presentation in the Temple.
At present, the Andalusian region stands out for its handcrafted nativity scene production, where the workshops of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, San Fernando and Medina Sidonia, in Cádiz, those of the city of Granada, as well as the Sevillian workshops of Lebrija, Los Palacios y Villafranca, and the capital, stand out. And of those specialising in the manufacture of complements and accessories and nativity scenes, the workshops in Montilla, Lucena and the city of Cordoba, as well as some in Seville and Granada, are worth mentioning.
