After the procession in Sainte Waudru church, at about 12.30 pm,
an enormous crowd gathers in the Grand Place and wait for the famous battle
called "Lumeçon".
I can feel excitement fills the air.
People are singing the famous Doudou song while busy reserve
their spots to get the best view of the day.
There’s one time I finally reached the front row of the battle
but other guys didn’t allow me to be there because it’s very dangerous.
When I looked around.. well, yes it’s pretty intimidating.
Big and muscular topless men, sweating and shouting, pushing
each other like they couldn’t wait for the battle.
So I decided to step back, away from the fuss and watch it from
a big screen.
And finally the characters of the battle came down from the
Sainte Waudru church via Rue des Clercs.
The mayor.
Guest of honor (2012 was Justine Henin, Belgian tennis player,
former world no.1).
Hero of the day, Saint George.
When the dragon comes.. everyone goes crazy.
They applause and cheers.
There’s some sort of tradition I’ve been noticing that when the
dragon reached the Grand Place, someone will let fly some colorful balloons
away.
The
figure of the dragon is about 10 meters long and a group of men dressed in
white (Hommes Blancs) who support and move the dragon’s body. There are some horse's
hair ("mane") on its tail to attack Saint George and the spectators.
Saint
George is protected by the Chin chins representing dogs. While the devils (Les Diables)
help the dragon. They use balloon-shaped weapon which was traditionally made of
cow bladder (today they are made of plastic). They knock the Chin chins and spectators
who try to steal the mane in the dragon's tail.
The battle also includes
Leaf Men (Hommes de Feuilles) who also defend the dragon and wear green jumpsuit
covered with real ivy leaves.
It's crazy to see those
guys on the front row who try to grab the dragon’s tail and get the mane or colorful ribbons as both of
these bring good luck. Meanwhile they’re beaten by the dragon’s defender.
But don’t worry.. it’s not
that dangerous, really.
Most of the act has been
scripted.
Every moves has been precisely
determined. Saint George on his horse turns in the clockwise direction and the
dragon moves in the opposite way.
This should symbolize the
good and evil.
That’s why the battle
called "Lumeçon". The word is derived from French 'Limaçon' which
used to be an event with horses that made circular movements.
Saint George uses his
lance to kill the dragon but he does not succeed. He kills the dragon in the
third attempt with his pistol.
As the dragon is finally slain, the
participants roar out a triumphant: "The people of Mons shall never
perish!" and the town is made safe for another year.
The battle finished at 1 pm.
The carillons from the
nearby Belfry ring the Doudou song.
People rush in to the battle field to find some lucky
"mane" left on the floor.
But so far, I always lucky. There must be random people who has more than enough give some to us (we
don’t even ask). Thanks guys!
Because it mostly rain during the battle, sometimes it's more convenient to watch from local tv TéléMb or the official video for the recap of the most important part of Doudou.