In the light of the lanterns, the characters meet along the streets of Sauris in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and walk all together, while remaining clearly distinct between the beautiful and the ugly. From the custom of being illuminated by the warm, dim light of the wicks comes the other name of the Carnival of Sauris, also known as “The Night of the Lanterns“.
Costumes are very important in the preparation of the characters, but the distinctive feature of this Carnival is the wooden mask worn on the face.
The community of Sauris has revived the ancient tradition of the Sauran Carnival which has preserved the customs and costumes of this particular German-speaking island.
The depiction of the ancient carnival features the typical figures of Rölar and Kheirar who manage the two groups of masks: the beautiful and the ugly.
The “Rölar” is a magical and demonic figure, with a soot-blackened face, who warns people to prepare for the masquerade.
The “Kheirar” is the king of masks: his face hidden by a wooden mask, wearing tattered clothes and holding a broom, which he uses to knock on the doors of the houses he wants to enter.
From early afternoon, under the guidance of these two main figures, a procession of “Scheintena schembln” (ugly masks, wearing as imaginative and rough clothing as possible) and “Scheana schembln” (beautiful masks, with elegant local outfits) gathers from village to village, all with their faces strictly covered with a scarf or a wooden mask.
