The Befana Is Returning: The Story of a Tuscan Festival

On the night of January 5, in certain areas of southern Tuscany, a costumed, singing troupe of characters visits residents' homes, expecting to be fed and feted. This is the Befanata, a mumming tradition centered in Tuscany, whose main character--the Befana--is a kindly old woman or grandmotherly witch who delivers toys, candies, and gifts. The Befana Is Returning is a deeply researched, deftly insightful presentation of this living tradition that adds a large missing piece to the array of contemporary ethnographic scholarship on mumming.

• | Author: Steve Siporin
• | Publisher: University Of Wisconsin Press
• | Publication Date: Aug 16, 2022
• | Number of Pages: 312 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Hardcover
• | ISBN-10: 0299337308
• | ISBN-13: 9780299337308