CARNAVAL DE MAMOIADA

This festival opens the carnival season and attracts many curious people. It is considered the most characteristic carnival of the island. The participants in the procession are divided into two clans. The Mamuthones wear sheepskin jackets and black wooden masks with marked features. Opposite them, the Issohadores wear a white, inexpressive mask. They are in charge of leading the dance and capturing women in the crowd with a rope. To be caught with a lasso by an Issohadore is a good omen and a sign of fertility.