AMBULATORY
PLAY
Written
and Produced by Alain Munoz
The Ambulatory Play of Osse, Bearn (2005)
In conjunction with the 200th anniversary of the reconstruction of the Temple Bethel in Osse,
Bearn (now Osse-en-Aspe), Alain Munoz wrote a pastoral play, which was performed for four nights
prior to the temple rededication ceremony on Sunday, August 7, 2005. Confirming the historical
cohesion of the people of Osse, both Catholics and Protestants participated in the play and the
associated social functions. The council which organized the celebration, Les Amis de Bethel,
consisted of five Protestants and six Catholics. About two-thirds of the participants in the
play, especially the singers and dancers, were Catholic.
This is a traditional Bearnais pastoral play which requires the audience to move from scene to
scene so that the entire village of Osse is used as a stage. The title has been translated from
the French as “Ambulatory Play,” basically a “play of strolling around.” The play was performed
after dark with the village’s street lights extinguished in order to highlight each of the
scenes along the stroll.
Osse is part of the old province of Bearn. The Bearnais dialect is still spoken in the mountains
and the Bearnais chants and dances tracing back many centuries are still performed by people
wearing traditional costumes.
In the text of the play the Bearnais word “passa cerrera” is used to describe how the audience
is led from one scene to another. Passa cerrera, therefore, is like a parade. In the text of the
play, each scene is referred to as a parade. In this case, the audience is led from one parade
(scene) to another by gendarmes, stone cutters bearing the arch stone of Temple Bethel, and
musicians. Following them is Jean Latourrette who speaks in French and the Shepherdess who
speaks in Bearnese. At local Bearnais festivals, musicians come into the village streets playing
songs to announce the festivities and people follow them, often singing, dancing, and having
fun.
The commentator for the play, Jean Latourrette, is described as a descendant from one who
migrated to America. He and the Shepherdess tell the story of Protestantism in Osse, leading up
to the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The arch stone from the original temple, built in
1620, was saved when the structure was destroyed in 1686. It now is over the door to the new
temple, completed in 1805. During the play, a replica is carried from scene to scene symbolizing
the permanency of the faith.
The play will make more sense to the reader if it is read in conjunction with the short history
written by Madame Gaubil (click on the Huguenot Cross).
ALAIN MUNOZ
Alain Munoz holds a Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies (Detailed Studies Degree), which took him to
Venezuela as a sociologist, and a Doctorate in history. In France, he has taught high school
history and geography; communication at a technical institute; and drama to baccalaureate
students. Since 1994, he has been leading the "Gascogne Pastoral Revival" in the tradition of
the prestigious TEP (Theater of Popular Education). He was born in 1955.
Munoz is the author and director of many pastoral plays in southwestern France. In the Aspe
Valley he composed the pastoral play "Cyprien Despourrins" at Accous in 1998, and the ambulatory
play, "Bethel", at Osse-en-Aspe in 2005.
Arrival of the spectators: they are greeted by people among the crowd dressed in period
costumes.
The costumed characters approach each spectator speaking to them in Bearnese, the local
dialect.
The stage is decorated with a few straw bales and drapes strewn with branches and roses. Above
the stage, stretched between two small trees, a painted banner says in Bearnese:
"Osse narrates
Lights out: the
musicians take their places below the stage. On the stage, there are three
gendarmes. Entering the stage there are a shepherdess and Latourrette, a
descendant of an emigrant to
Lights on with traditional music of Yan Petit
in background.
THE SHEPHERDESS in Bearnese: "It
is an honor to welcome you, dear spectators! We thank you for coming from so
far away to listen to the story of
LATOURRETTE in French:
Approach! Approach all of
you! But don't settle too comfortably because tonight, in your company, we are
going to wander through the streets of our village to uncover the history of
the
THE SHEPHERDESS in Bearnese: And
also to me, a modest shepherdess.
LATOURRETTE in French:
This story started 400 years
ago. In those days, confusion was deep in the spirits of our beautiful
THE SHEPHERDESS in Bearnese: It all started a long time ago, when our beloved
Queen wanted her states to become Protestant. 1569 was a year of great
unhappiness.
LATOURRETTE in French: Then, under Henri IV, spirits cooled down. The edict
of
THE SHEPHERDESS in Bearnese: In
Osse and in the
LATOURRETTE in French: In 1620, while Louis XIII imposed his authority on
THE SHEPHERDESS in Bearnese: All these bells ringing mixed with the bells of the
flocks made quite a cacophony which resounded in the valley, all the way to
Accous, over the tumult of the torrent. (Accous is
located about 3 miles across the valley from Osse and near the
LATOURRETTE in French: A beautifully sculpted brown stone reminds us of
those times of tolerance and brotherhood. Today, it sits above the door of
From the back of the stage, enter the bearers of the stone. It is a full-size reproduction of the
THE SHEPHERDESS in Bearnese: Here is the stone! Here is
LATOURRETTE in French: The stone cutters show us the way. Let us follow
them. May the "passa-carrera" begin!
The passa-carrera starts, the parade, with the gendarmes at the head of the line.
The Pastor's family follows.
The stone cutters
follow with the stone.
MUSIC OF PASSA-CARRERA "DIA
DE HESTA" (J. L. Mongaugé)
Latourrette and the shepherdess come
behind.
The costumed villagers guide the crowd of spectators behind the parade.
The costumed villagers close the line.
PARADE 1
The passa carrera passes in front of the
protestant houses of Osse. They are lit with candles on the relief of the
facades marked with a large Protestant medal with a dove (The Huguenot Cross). Some windows are open onto the
street. One can see inside the weak light of a lantern in the darkness, and a
voice can be heard in the background reciting psalms, a little like a litany.
The passa carrera slows down in front of these houses. The music stops but
starts again after they pass the houses.
SECOND TABLEAU
Arriving at the little square where the water fountain is, the
passa carrera stops.
A banner hangs on the far wall, on it, written in Bearnese, is
the phrase "Respect and Tolerance".
Lights: The place lights up. People in period costumes sit
like wax statues. There is a group of women near the fountain, children
playing, a peasant with a fork, a man with a cart, another man sits near a
door, sharpening his scythe. A cow can be seen through the open door of a barn.
In the middle of the square, a group of Protestants stands in a circle. A bible
sits on a lectern near them. They are praying, a man shows a loaf of bread, a
woman shows a chalice.
The Minister's family with the stone and the
stone cutters join the group of Protestants.
The group remains still while the other characters become
animated.
A merry love song in Bearnese follows: Allegrie... Jamei Jo No
Veirei
Joy, Joy,
Joy, Joy
Never will I see
A prettier brunette
Than the one I met
Alone the other day.
Chorus
She is so pretty
That I want her for
me.
For this shepherdess
I would die if I had
to!
Her eyes are as
bright
As two stars
Or even as diamonds
In the midst of a hundred
candles.
Chorus
Around the waist, there is
none
In the world so nice and
thin:
Delicate feet, soft
hands,
No one is more
perfect.
Chorus
When I had to leave
her,
Alas, what sadness!
When I saw her go away,
I was so weak I fell
down.
If this little
shepherdess
Had not consoled me
When I found her
alone,
My luck would have
ended.
A herd of sheep passes through the square.
Traditional happy dance: PETIT ANHETH
One after the other
the costumed characters stop, holding their position.
A woman in the praying group of Protestants
starts speaking. She stands next to the Bible: Osse,
The Minister: ... the parish was happy to
see her in these good and sincere sentiments for our religion and in a firm
resolution to embrace it and to profess it for the rest of her life. They asked
her if she would have the courage to testify publicly in front of the entire
Church...
All the Protestants, including the woman: ... the parish members gladly received... the said
Jeanne Dagoure... in communion of the Church to enjoy the grace and happiness
that God grants to all who belong to it...
Lights off: Movement
to the entrance of the street, leading to the next tableau.
PARADE
II
PASSA CARRERA MUSIC
"DIA DE HESTA" (J.L.Mongaugé)
The passa carrera continues as
before.
A staircase
is lit up. Across the way, three persons stand still
on three barrels, lights focused on them. The gendarmes come and stand at the
bottom of the stairs. Latourrette and the shepherdess break away from the
group, climb the stairs, and turn to the audience. The music stops.
The crowd
gathers.
LATOURRETTE in French: Everything was going so well that no one could
foresee the miserable times to come when the great King of France decided to
break the peace his grandfather had made with his humble and devoted subjects.
Inquiries and harassment against the Protestants aimed at weakening their
influence. However, out of 130,000 Bearnese people, one sixth only openly practiced
their "So-called-Reformed-Religion" as it was now being called.
THE SHEPHERDESS in Bearnese: : We,
here in Aspe and in Osse, were living apart from the rest of the world,
following a rhythm of transhumance, Saint-Jean of the summer, and Saint-Jean of
the winter. Our shepherds, who, when the snow came, walked the wide open heath (moor) to
LATOURRETTE in French: In 1665 in Osse, there were a little less than 1,000
inhabitants, among which there were 346 Protestants, in 69 families. (This is from the King’s census. About one-third of the
1,000 were Catholics in the hamlet of Lourdios, about 9 miles by road from
Osse, so the Protestants were at least half of the population of Osse. In
response to the census, the Bearn Synod reported 75 families and “nearly 400”
Protestants.) A minister officiated at
Sad Bearnese Song: Damned is Love
Damned is love
Night as well as day
Night as well as day, My
Lord
How many tears those
farewells have cost me.
Do not come to console
me
Leave me to my
sadness
Leave me to my
sadness
Shedding tears.
My fickle mistress
Has just left me.
A new lover
Was so greatly in
Love
Was so greatly in
Love
That my head was turned
Oh poor me!
I had to go
And watch the sheep
Up there
How many tears those
farewells
Have cost me.
Nothing more
happy
That Shepard
in the mountains
My Lord
How many tears those
farewells
Have cost me.
The gendarmes move
to stand in front of the barrels. The costumed characters, still until now,
start being animated. What follows is an excerpt from a pastoral show against
the Huguenots by Lenfant de Mazerolles (mid XVIIIth century).
A MONK Yes,
the great Henri IV, of glorious memory
With the hardest blow
captured victory:
In those day perhaps his
inclinations
Against the Protestants
started to show...
Educated, he abjured your
religion
The catholic dogma became
his faith.
Follow his example, leave
heresy behind.
Abandon prejudice and
accept life,
Sacrifice your schism for
our holy law,
Stop rebelling against the
King's will;
Our majestic monarch is
your gentle father...
At once submit to his just
kindness
Leave your heresy and you
will be saved...
A PROTESTANT: Our majestic monarch
has never doubted
Our obedience and
sincerity,
We still hope for his rare
clemency.
It appears that he will
protect us.
A PEASANT: (poetry
in Bearnese)
"As you all know the
King has signed an edict
Against the Huguenots who
had great influence:
Our parliament and the
others in
Which I believe are good
judges of the weight in the balance
And the one in
I was told, started
persecutions as decided;
A PROTESTANT:
(poetry in old French)
"When we learned our
days here would come to an end,
We did not change our
faith or our speech,
We will always hold on to
our ancestors' faith,
We will follow our
masters' advice:
Sirs... behave yourselves
and follow your cross."
A MONK, unrolls
a parchment scroll, and reads:
"Osse,
Magdelaine de Latourrette,
David Dapouey and Jean Dapouey, his son, Marguerite de Latour, wife of Pierre
de Peyret, Minister and two of their children, Joseph de Laplacette, Bertran de
Candau, Jean de Pretout, Izac Darriet, Noé de Capdevielle and Abraham de
Capdevielle, Marguerite Darabanet, Marguerite de Loustau, Jean de Marguelotte,
Jeanne de Mouguer, wife of Pierre de Curet, Marguerite de Martigues, wife of
Pierre de Lapassade and David de Lapassade, Pierre de Casset, Magdelaine de
Masou wife of Jean de Carrere, Marie de Domecq, David de Lagunpocq... … There are
a large number of villagers, who have abjured the So-Called Reformed religion,
but they do not do what good Catholics must do, they do not go to church to
listen to the Holy
(In the original document,
Magdelaine Latourrette is described as the spouse of David Latourrette, who bears the title of
abbe laique d’Osse. An unanswered question is why the local priest, who wrote the list, did not
accuse David. Was it because of his prominence, title and the protection of the Leclede family
in nearby Bedous, the most prominent Catholic family in the valley? Moreover, Marie, the
daughter of David and Magdelaine had recently married a Leclede. Or, at the time, did his
prominence allow him to pretend to accept Catholicism without publicly abjuring? From
information about his life after 1685, it appears he acted as if he never abjured and publicly
berated a priest.
As it is clear
from Madame Gaubil’s short history of Protestantism in Osse, many were forced
to publicly abjure their faith, but did not practice Catholicism. Over a
hundred years later, after the Edict of Tolerance and the French Revolution,
there are as many Protestants in Osse as cited above in 1665.)
Costumed characters stop moving and stand still.
The passa carrera
forms again as before.
PASSA CARRERA MUSIC
"DIA DE HESTA" (J.L.Mongaugé)
The passa carrera walks down the
On the little square, men in long black cloaks and black felt hats, their
faces hidden under black masks, hold lit torches, their hands are gloved in
black. They are as still as statues. They join the passa carrera, closing the
line.
From the street,
one can see a stage, framed by the actual porch of the Catholic Church. It is
draped in black cloth strewn with little branches and roses. It is like the
mirror image of the first stage. Above the porch, a banner reads in Bearnese
"Revocation of the Edict of Nantes -1685". A judge in wig, carnival
style, stands still on the stage. He holds a black gavel.
Third Tableau
The passa carrera arrives
on the square in front of the church. A few straw bales are offered to the
spectators. The costumed characters invite them to sit and make themselves
comfortable. The gendarmes from the passa carrera open a circle in the crowd.
The musicians surround the stage. The characters in black, passing through the crowd
block access to the streets. The shepherdess and Latourrette climb onto the
stage, and stand next to the judge.
THE SHEPHERDESS in Bearnese:
THE JUDGE: Come now, walk in order, my foot soldiers
Keep your rows tight, my battalions
Show your heart, my
dragoons, courage infantry
Resist strongly, brave
cavalry
March straight ahead, stay
tight,
Never allow the squadron
to be broken.
Always carry your weapons
valiantly,
Musketeers show your valor
everywhere,
Support your Lord David
strongly.
Build strongholds,
trenches and fortifications,
Prepare all your cannons and,
at moonlight,
Cast your bombs up towards
those beautiful buildings,
Disperse, move everywhere,
down to the foundations,
Never withdraw, feed
bodies to your swords
And with blood, get them
drunk.
Ransack and pillage
Hamon's children...
In other words, destroy in
barbaric ways,
These evil enemies,
Hamon's children.
Bombs, fireworks,
red smoke at the public wash house. Sword fights can be observed in the
background.
Meanwhile,
the bearers of the stone have climbed on the stage. The
LATOURRETTE in French:
THE JUDGE
violently strikes the
THE SHEPHERDESS in Bearnese and
LATOURRETTE in French, together: The
land of the
THE SHEPHERDESS in Bearnese: Do not fool yourselves, Mister Executioners, no one
from Osse or Aspe would ever betray his kinfolk. It is the strength of the
mountain...
Song: Yan Petit.
CHILDREN DANCE: Yan Petit.
LATOURRETTE in French: We
saw then some of the well-to-do Protestants take the road to exile toward
BEARNESE SONG: "Goodbye Pretty Margoton!" (written by Cyprien Despourrins, local poet
-1699-1759
"Goodbye pretty
Margoton!
You are about to loose
your servant
I am leaving
To serve the King.
Damned be the war!
In love, there is none so
unhappy
On earth!
In my condition, I lived
happy,
I never wanted gold or
silver;
Or beautiful horses,
Or rich herds;
Sure of your
sweetness
I lost everything!
I won the lottery
My God, what sadness!
O I love you, I will love
you,
Margoton, as long as I
live;
If I can,
Soon I will return.
And during the
campaign,
If there is paper,
I will write to you,
From deep inside
If I die, pretty
Margoton,
It will be from
lovesickness;
I will be unhappy;
And by my will,
I will be buried in the
ground,
And on my tombstone
Margot, one will read:
Here lays my friend
Pierre"
PASSA CARRERA MUSIC
"DIA DE HESTA"
The passa carrera resumes as before:
Gendarmes
Bearers of the knocked down stone of
Musicians
Latourrette and the shepherdess
The judge
The torch bearers
The spectators
The costumed villagers close the parade with the children
of Yan Petit.
Fourth Tableau
Walking around the church, the passa carrera arrives at a medieval house in front of a little
square. A banner across the entrance says: "The Desert Period".
Out of the medieval house, a group of Protestants enter the square, lanterns in
hand. They form a circle around the Minister.
Meanwhile, a group of men and women bearing arms led by a
notable form a half-circle around the Protestants.
Music and Dance: Bruchetto danced by men and by women in two simultaneous circles.
THE MINISTER, at the end: May the Lord in
all places help us find grace,
May the Lord to each one
of us save a seat?
In the
We may all enjoy happiness
in all eternity
Of the sweet fruit of
Jesus in a holy manner
Where we will never have a
reason to fear,
As long as we are with our
Savior
Jesus Christ, our leader,
our Redeemer
Who has been victorious
over death for us
To elevate us toward the
Heavens and to give us glory
That we had lost by our
first parents
Who had transgressed the
laws of God
But we who have followed
all their evils and the trace
Only our Jehovah wants to
save us by grace.
In the
Without deserving it,
But he wants to show upon
us his charity
Finally my dear friends
this great God calls us
Let us run hastily into
the eternal life.
The two groups face off. The Protestants have rods. Men as well as women.
THE NOTABLE: to the audience, in front of the
still scene: My friends, what were we
about to do? These people seem determined to defend themselves, and among them
are some robust men able to measure up with the sturdiest among us. We take the
chance of not returning as many as we came. If you will listen to me, we will
leave these people alone and we will go home.
Gunshots from the
Protestant side.
The Catholics flee
shrieking.
The women sing: The Barberina song in Bearnese (Inspired
by Poet Alfred de Musset) M. Maffrand
"Handsome knight, on
your way to war,
Where are you going
again,
So far from here?
Don't you see the night is
dark,
And the world
Is full of anxiety?
You who believe forgotten
love
Go away without pain,
Alas! Alas! Glory
seekers,
Your story
Is vanishing away.
Handsome knight, on your way
to war,
Where are you going
again?
So far from us?
I am going to cry, for you
did not stop to tell me,
That my smile
Is the
sweetest."
Enter two carts,
pushed by two small angels. The carts are covered with candles in small red
glasses. They place themselves one on the yard side, the other on the garden
side, in front of Maria Blanga's stage (next scene). (This
is the story of a love between a Protestant woman and a Catholic
man.)
On a dark stage; Maria Blanga sings: AUROST TA LA LACLEDE (Marie
Blanque wrote this song for the funeral of her lover Armand de Laclede, in
1808).
"It was the war of
Sarragossa.
God, how many tears it has
cost me
I must have had a lot of
water in my head
I threw a torrent of
cries!
When they told me the sad
news
I thought it was a
lie
I immediately left for
Bedous
And I went to your
house
To inquire about you.
All I found there was
sadness
Mr. Fayton's daughter
First approached me
Thinking she would console
me
I told her: let me
cry!
Jesus! There is no one
like Cledon (Armand)
He was more precious than
Who had not seen him or
known him
Cannot know what I have
lost.
The valet is in the
stable
But the knight will never
come home
The horse is in
Sauveterre.
Wherever is the proud
warrior?
I will never see him
again.
Neither in
I will ever see you
again
Early morning July 15
I got up to see you
go.
In Michelon's cabin
Were all your friends, my
dear Cledon
Mr. Noussitou, Mr.
Vignancour
How short were these
farewells
To Blanga, Mr.
Dambourges
You said goodbye
forever.
My God, you were in a
hurry to leave
To go celebrate over
there.
It was August 5th
Oh! it was quite a day for
you!
Oh I had such a nice
friend
He would have never
betrayed me
When Laclede
disappeared.
The emperor you have
served
When he came after
Maestricht
To send you to Sarragossa
The journey that cost you
your life.
Laclede If I had the
power
Your death would be
avenged
Your death will be
avenged
Better that Louis XVI's
death was
Farewell, Cledon,
forever
God wants us to meet again
on his right hand side."
Maria Blanga (Marie
Blanque) covered in white, is propped up like a pieta. Lying at her feet,
Laclede is dressed in the uniform of Napoleon's soldiers. The Protestants mourn
as Marie sings.
LIGHTS OUT.
The street above is
lit up. From a low wall, Latourrette and the shepherdess invite the passa
carrera to form again.
THE SHEPHERDESS in Bearnese: How sad and cruel are broken loves. And who
better than Maria Blanga to remind us? Love is impossible in times of war and
persecution. What a story!
LATOURRETTE in French: Dear
spectators, Marie Blanque la Parpaillote's unhappy love moves us... The Desert
times lasted until the Edict of Tolerance in 1787, not long before the
Revolution. Immediately, in Osse, 57 protestant marriages were legalized, 151
children became legitimate. Already they talked about rebuilding
The passa carrera gathers
and starts moving again, leading the audience to the Minvielle house.
Fifth Tableau
The passa carrera leads
the audience to the Minvielle house, where French revolutionary flags hang. The
sans-culottes, the revolutionary soldiers, are waiting. The facade is
illuminated with the French colors --blue, white and red. On a stage, Pierre
Datournau, also draped in blue, white and red stands with traditional
musicians. The spectators arrive. (The sans-culottes –
without breeches---were the ill-clad and ill-equipped
volunteers of the French revolutionary army. The working-class sans-culottes
wore long trousers to distinguish themselves from the upper classes, who wore
knee-breeches or culottes.)
Pierre Datournau's song: Tribulations of an Aspe Notary Lyrics and Music: Jean-Luc Mongaugé
I am Datournau, Notaire of
Aspe, and of this village,
I am married, honest,
courteous, and I have children,
But, to continue to work,
the law forced me
To abjure my religion and
serve the King's God.
My brothers thought it an
insult, to change my practice,
With time they understood
it was a tactic,
But I have never changed;
I can swear it in front of God
To prove this, all my
children were baptized in the Desert.
I became a preacher in
hidden barns,
And for that I was cruelly
denounced,
The priest, a "good Christian",
went to find
The judge and the Jurats,
who came to arrest me.
I left my land, my country
in a hurry,
I