Traditional Mexico offers a rich bounty of fascinating and colorful fiesta customs, but for the young and young-at-heart nothing quite compares with the boisterous fun of piñata bashing that caps off special occasions such as birthday parties and Christmas gatherings.
Over the course of five centuries the piñata has developed into one of Mexico’s most distinctive popular art forms. At the heart of the authentic piñata is a crude clay pot called an olla. Clever craftsmen can ably transform the simple pot into a whimsical figure by covering it with a foundation of papier maché and sticking on layers of carefully clipped colored paper. For the holiday season the end result may take the form of a star, candle, Christmas tree, angel, a wise man, caroler, lamb, chicken, burro, or Santa Claus. Popular choices created for birthdays range from traditional objects such as flowers, fruits, clowns, dolls and animals to the latest rage in characters from Disney films or kiddy cartoon shows.
The olla serves as a vessel for an assortment of candy, peanuts and seasonal fruits. The piñata is strung up above the heads of the party celebrants, suspended by a rope in a manner that allows for easy vertical movement. Between verses of the traditional piñata song, blindfolded batters take turns swinging a hefty stick in all directions while the designated “driver” jerks on the rope to keep the target out of range. Meanwhile spectators cheer on the action from the sidelines calling out “up,” “down,” “behind you” and so on as they watch appendages disintegrate and await that final tell-tale CRAAACK that will send them scrambling to gather up the treats.
The piñata has gained its popularity as a Mexican party custom from deep historical roots. While the practice bears some similarity to certain religious rituals of ancient Mesoamerica, most scholars today link it to an ancient Chinese ritual associated with the start of the agricultural cycle in early spring. Marco Polo is credited as bringing pot-breaking into vogue among Europeans.
The term piñata originated in Italy, where an ancient Lenten tradition called for feudal lords to dispense gift-laden pots--called pignattas--to their serfs. From there it spread to Spain where it became customary to romper la olla (break the pot) on the first Sunday of Lent, referred to as Domingo de Piñata.
Spanish missionaries introduced the piñata to Mexico in the 16th century as an aid to inculcating the Christian religion among the country’s indigenous population. The interruption of agricultural labors during the Conquista had brought on widespread epidemics and famine. Augustinian friars at the A colman monastery invited the hungry Indians to bust up clay pots filled with peanuts and fruits as an enticement to get them to attend pastorelas, the theatrical presentations they staged during the Christmas season to teach the Nativity.
As the custom gained popularity, craftsmen began to give the piñatas a more festive guise by tagging on bits of cloth and paper. Eventually traditional Christmas piñatas were shaped into seven-pointed stars symbolizing the seven deadly sins. Thus piñata breaking took on a deeper philosophical meaning: the eternal struggle of good versus evil. The glittery exterior of the piñata stands for temptation, while the blindfolded person swinging at the piñata personifies blind faith and the sweets spilling from the broken pot represent the just reward of heavenly pleasantries that await the true believer.
Anyone who has ever witnessed the kind of greedy mayhem that ensues once the broken piñata spills out its shower of goodies may well wonder whether little party-goers of the 21st century get beyond instant oral gratification to reflect on matters more profound. Still, the piñata keeps bringing on smashing good times for fiesta-lovers today as surely it will for generations.
