In pictures: The Caretos of Podence

Dressed in classic costume, revellers – acknowledged as Caretos – have been racing by means of the streets of the Portuguese village of Podence in a ceremony that was the moment banned.

The Caretos of Podence usually takes put above 3 days and celebrates the conclude of wintertime and the arrival of spring.

It was lately declared an celebration of intangible cultural heritage by Unesco soon after remaining banned by António Salazar though prime minister of the nation a long time back.

The revellers have on brass or wooden masks and dress in costumes produced of dyed wool with cowbells on their belts.

In the previous it was men behind the masks as the pageant was a ceremony of passage, even though a couple of girls would from time to time disguise by themselves, but nowadays ladies and kids are inspired to consider part in the current ceremony.

They revellers shout and chase men and women, dancing all over them, and the moment cornered the revellers bang their cowbells.

There are a variety of situations in the course of the festival, one particular being the ritual of the burning of a Shrovetide determine.

The village has a inhabitants of some 200, but thousands can transform out to see the spectacle.

All photographs courtesy Octavio Passos/Getty Pictures