ABSTRACT
This Chapter examines how the people of Monteros articulate these basic divisions of class, gender, and age in their folklore and expressive culture, there emerges a pervasive metaphoric association between relative height and other qualities. This spatial symbolism resonates throughout Monteros folklore and informs people’s interpretations of masculinity and femininity, upper– and lower–class behavior, as well as qualities associated with youth and maturity. The spatial symbolism that emerges in the parade of Giants and Big-Heads, Mass, religious processions, and the olive harvest is also evident in children’s games. The most common technique is for players to echar pies. The game reinforces a dual image of females—as dominated sex objects, on one hand, paragons of purity and goodness, on the other—that prevails throughout much of the Spanish–speaking world, including southern Spain. This universal desire provides perhaps the single most effective motivation for children to develop motor and cognitive skills.
