Gignac and its Historical Heritage
Gignac and its Historical Heritage
GIGNAC is a medieval village in the heart of the Hérault where traditionally we celebrate, during the Ascension, donkey savior of the Saracen invasion,
ideally located at the foot of the Cévennes between sea and mountains, in the heart of Languedoc-Roussillon, in the Hérault Valley,
• 200 m from the Old GIGNAC Bridge on the Hérault,
• 800 m from the heart of the village,
• 1 km from the Church of Our Lady of Grace built in the 14th century following a miracle, the Virgin having restored her senses to a blind, deaf and dumb.
• 10 km from the medieval city of SAINT-GUILHEM-LE-DESERT,
• 15 minutes from MONTPELLIER and 30 minutes from the coast, where you can discover all the pleasures and leisures of the mountains and the countryside under a still blue sky.
THE BRIDGE OF GIGNAC (18th Century)
CHEMIN DE CROIX – SES CHAPELLES
THE CHURCH NOTRE DAME DE GRACE
TOUR DU CASTELLAS
TOUR DE L’HORLOGE
FONTAINE CARRIERE
GIGNAC is a medieval village in the heart of the Hérault where traditionally we celebrate, during the Ascension, donkey savior of the Saracen invasion,
ideally located at the foot of the Cévennes between sea and mountains, in the heart of Languedoc-Roussillon, in the Hérault Valley,
• 200 m from the Old GIGNAC Bridge on the Hérault,
• 800 m from the heart of the village,
• 1 km from the Church of Our Lady of Grace built in the 14th century following a miracle, the Virgin having restored her senses to a blind, deaf and dumb.
• 10 km from the medieval city of SAINT-GUILHEM-LE-DESERT,
• 15 minutes from MONTPELLIER and 30 minutes from the coast, where you can discover all the pleasures and leisures of the mountains and the countryside under a still blue sky.
THE BRIDGE OF GIGNAC (18th Century)
CHEMIN DE CROIX – SES CHAPELLES
THE CHURCH NOTRE DAME DE GRACE
TOUR DU CASTELLAS
TOUR DE L’HORLOGE
FONTAINE CARRIERE
The Folklore
The Folklore
Local traditions and folklores are deeply rooted in the Hérault Valley and are perpetuated from generation to generation.
In the spring, the villages invite you to their traditional festivals.
If you like to dance, sing and have fun, you will be delighted to participate in carnivals and totemic animal parties.
During cultural events, the inhabitants of certain villages scroll through a totemic animal.
At GIGNAC, every year, in May, the village celebrates Ascension celebrating the Ane Martin, the totemic animal.
Legend tells that on Ascension Day 719, a donkey awakened the Gignacois by his braying as the Saracens were preparing to invade the village. The donkey would have helped to repel the invasion.
From then on, he became the totemic animal of GIGNAC.
Every year, this picturesque event is celebrated on Ascension Day.
The day before at 19 H, the donkey with a large frame covered with a blue dress,
surmounted by a head whose jaws clash loudly, is walked in the streets, surrounded by costumed dancers.
The mimes and dances then begin with the sound of the fife and drum and will continue on Ascension Day.
TRADITION IN HONOUR WITH THE FEAST OF THE DONKEY MARTIN AND HIS PROCESSION IN ST PETER’S SQUARE ON ASCENSION THURSDAY
Local traditions and folklores are deeply rooted in the Hérault Valley and are perpetuated from generation to generation.
In the spring, the villages invite you to their traditional festivals.
If you like to dance, sing and have fun, you will be delighted to participate in carnivals and totemic animal parties.
During cultural events, the inhabitants of certain villages scroll through a totemic animal.
At GIGNAC, every year, in May, the village celebrates Ascension celebrating the Ane Martin, the totemic animal.
Legend tells that on Ascension Day 719, a donkey awakened the Gignacois by his braying as the Saracens were preparing to invade the village. The donkey would have helped to repel the invasion.
From then on, he became the totemic animal of GIGNAC.
Every year, this picturesque event is celebrated on Ascension Day.
The day before at 19 H, the donkey with a large frame covered with a blue dress,
surmounted by a head whose jaws clash loudly, is walked in the streets, surrounded by costumed dancers.
The mimes and dances then begin with the sound of the fife and drum and will continue on Ascension Day.
TRADITION IN HONOUR WITH THE FEAST OF THE DONKEY MARTIN AND HIS PROCESSION IN ST PETER’S SQUARE ON ASCENSION THURSDAY
The “Senibelet” commemorates the heroic resistance of the inhabitants of GIGNAC against the Saracen invaders.
This mime fight occurs parallel to the donkey party, the Ascension day.
The man representing the sarrazin puts on several cotton bonnets before putting a heavy metal helmet on his head.
His only weapon is a long wooden staff representing a sword.
The Gignacois, for their part, are armed with roots of “trentanel” from surrounding scrubland and a straw cushion to protect their backs from the violent blows given by the “sarrazin”.
THE IMPRESSIVE SENIBELET, A SIMULACRUM OF COMBAT BETWEEN TWO GIGNACOIS AND A SARRAZIN
The “Senibelet” commemorates the heroic resistance of the inhabitants of GIGNAC against the Saracen invaders.
This mime fight occurs parallel to the donkey party, the Ascension day.
The man representing the sarrazin puts on several cotton bonnets before putting a heavy metal helmet on his head.
His only weapon is a long wooden staff representing a sword.
The Gignacois, for their part, are armed with roots of “trentanel” from surrounding scrubland and a straw cushion to protect their backs from the violent blows given by the “sarrazin”.
THE IMPRESSIVE SENIBELET, A SIMULACRUM OF COMBAT BETWEEN TWO GIGNACOIS AND A SARRAZIN
The Tambourine Sport
The Tambourine Sport
Jeu de balle descendant de la Longue Paume.
Il a, par des formes variées, traversé les civilisations pour arriver au siècle dernier (1870) à sa forme moderne et prendre alors le nom de l’instrument utilisé pour frapper la balle.
Le tambourin se pratique à tout âge, en plein air ou en salle.
Discipline à la fois collective et individuelle, d’un coût modeste, facile d’accès, le tambourin peut être pratiqué en compétition au plus haut niveau par des athlètes hommes ou femmes.
Il peut aussi être proposé comme sport de loisir (sport pour tous).
Les aires de jeux sont faciles à improviser puisqu’une surface plane bien dégagée autorise une pratique immédiate une fois tracées les limites de l’aire de jeu.
Ce sport se pratique sur des terrains en terre battue ou bitume durant la période estivale avec des équipes composées de cinq joueurs.
A NOTER que la communauté de communes Vallée de l’Hérault organise, chaque année, UN TOURNOI INTERCOMMUNAL AU MOIS D’AOÛT.
SOME DRUMMING MATCHES IN GIGNAC
Jeu de balle descendant de la Longue Paume.
Il a, par des formes variées, traversé les civilisations pour arriver au siècle dernier (1870) à sa forme moderne et prendre alors le nom de l’instrument utilisé pour frapper la balle.
Le tambourin se pratique à tout âge, en plein air ou en salle.
Discipline à la fois collective et individuelle, d’un coût modeste, facile d’accès, le tambourin peut être pratiqué en compétition au plus haut niveau par des athlètes hommes ou femmes.
Il peut aussi être proposé comme sport de loisir (sport pour tous).
Les aires de jeux sont faciles à improviser puisqu’une surface plane bien dégagée autorise une pratique immédiate une fois tracées les limites de l’aire de jeu.
Ce sport se pratique sur des terrains en terre battue ou bitume durant la période estivale avec des équipes composées de cinq joueurs.
A NOTER que la communauté de communes Vallée de l’Hérault organise, chaque année, UN TOURNOI INTERCOMMUNAL AU MOIS D’AOÛT.
SOME DRUMMING MATCHES IN GIGNAC
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