Why Is There a Pooping Figurine in Some Nativity Scenes?

In Catalonia, there's a two-hundred-year-old tradition of including a figurine of a man pooping in the shadows of Nativity scenes. Learn about el caganer in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/holidays-christmas/pooping-man-catalan-nativity-scene.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey Brainstuff, Lauren
volebah Here as crappy holiday traditions go, Catalonia may have
the rest of the world beat. That's because this northeastern
outpost of Spain has some decidedly bathroom laden Christmas customs

(00:22):
that leave many unsuspecting visitors scratching their heads, laughing, or both.
Without further ado, we present you El kaghana, a statue
of a person pooping placed off in a corner of
the traditional nativity scene. This isn't some recent cultural development
that signals the downfall of modern society. Rather, it's a

(00:45):
tradition that dates back at least two centuries. In Catalan,
a Romance language from the region of Catalonia, Spain, the
word kagane translates roughly to crapper, though some sources use
refer languae whig. The most popular caginet figure depicts a
male peasant in a red hat, a crouched with his

(01:06):
buttocks exposed, and an unmistakable little brown pile at his feet.
At Christmas time. The khagane is sneakily hidden somewhere with
then a nativity scene. A children make a game of
trying to spot the figurine as he crouches in the shadows.
The kaganet is never at the front of the scene,
because that would be disrespectful. No one really knows what

(01:30):
gave rise to this long lived tradition. The Nativity scene
as we know it was developed through a series of
early Christian stories, including one called the Infancy Gospel of
Matthew from around the six hundreds, which is probably the
first to mention animals being present in the stable. The
practice of recreating the Nativity scene was conceived by Saint Francis,

(01:51):
the founder of the Franciscan Order, in the early twelve hundreds,
and was cemented in Catholic devotional culture by the end
of that century. By the Renaissance, Nativity imagery played large
in art. But so where does the poop come in?
Because fecal matter has been used as fertilizer for agriculture

(02:12):
throughout history, some say that kaggate statues are a fertility
symbol of sorts. By plopping a pooper in the midst
of the scene, perhaps farmers hope to find favorable conditions
for crops and ultimately wind up with greater yields At
harvest time. But there are a couple other theories in play.

(02:33):
Because the Christian faith states that Jesus literally became human
in order to save people from their sins, perhaps the
kaganey is a reminder of humanity's common bonds. Maybe the
Kaguday purposefully portrays a rather undignified private moment in conjunction
with the Nativity scene to reinforce our shared vulnerability in

(02:53):
the presence of a higher power. No one really knows,
but one thing is for sure. El Khaghanet is big business.
The kaganets turned toward fame came in two thousand and three,
when demand for Cadalan made statues was dropping and cheap
Chinese imports were cutting into the market. A company called

(03:15):
appropriately El Kaghanet took note that it was an election
year and made statuettes bearing politicians likenesses. Rather than take offense,
those politicians gamely embraced the silly mockery, and consumers loved it.
The irreverent statues became a huge hit, and now the

(03:35):
company sells tens of thousands of them every year. Since then,
the artists who make these figurines have been turning other
celebrities into pooping icons. Each year, they monitor news headlines
and pop culture, introducing new faces that they think will
sell well. The workers carve likeness from plaster and construct

(03:56):
a mold. From that mold comes hundreds or thousands of
clay reproductions. Poop and all the little figures are painted
by artists, which sometimes include disabled people in the local community.
Their inspirations range from historical figures and popes, to artists
and athletes, and even fictional characters. As of twenty twenty five,

(04:18):
think Cleopatra, Chae Guavera, Zaron Mamdani, Darwin Einstein, Lebron James,
a whole bunch of footballers, George Michael, Madonna, the singer,
an alien xenomorph ash and Pikachu Yes a lu Boo Boo,
and even more abstract pieces like a balloon sculptured dog
squatting over a small balloon. Poop and kaganets aren't the

(04:43):
only area tradition that involves metaphorical poop. There's also the
TiO di Nadal or Christmas log, which is a log
modernly depicted with a smiling face painted on one end.
Children feed the log with treats during the week's leading
up to Christmas, and it's kept cozy with the blanket

(05:03):
or other covering. Parents sneakily switch out the log with
larger ones to make it seem as though it's getting bigger.
On the final day, the log takes a pinata form
and kids beat it with a stick while singing a
vulgar pooping song until the log poops out. Treats galore
for the whole family. The lesson here at Christmas time

(05:25):
in Catalonia. Poop still smells, but it also sells and
brings people together. Today's episode is based on the article
There's a Pooping Man in the Kadalan Nativity Scene on
HowStuffWorks dot Com, written by Nathan Chandler. Brain Stuff is
production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com,

(05:46):
and it's produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts my
heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.