The mamuthones take to the streets, cowbells and bonfires in the Barbagia winter.

For almost the whole year, the mamuthones live in the museum. But every winter they come out into the street, and seeing them in Mamoiada is something else: the noise of the cowbells is heard before they turn the corner.

What it is

The mamuthones are the masks of Mamoiada's carnival, one of the oldest in Sardinia. They wear a carved black wooden mask, the visera, the body covered in sheepskins and on the back sa carriga, about 30 kilos of cowbells. They advance as a group with a measured step, all at once, and each shake of the shoulders makes the bronze ring. They are accompanied by the issohadores, in a red bodice and white mask, who carry the soha, a rope with which they lasso someone from the audience. Being lassoed is taken as a good omen.

Nobody knows for certain where this rite comes from. Theories link it to agrarian and pastoral rites, with the death and rebirth of the year; the Museo delle Maschere Mediterranee explains them.

When they come out

• 16 January, Sant'Antonio Abate. It is the year's first outing and opens the carnival. That night bonfires are lit in the village's historic districts, and the mamuthones and issohadores go round them. Around the fire there are propitiatory rites, wine and sweets.
• Carnival. They come out again on the days of carnival, which fall in February or March depending on the year. The dates and times of each edition are announced by the village; check the museum's calendar a few weeks beforehand.

How to experience it

It is a village festival, not a show for tourists, and it is free. Arrive early to park: the streets of the centre are closed and Mamoiada is small. Wrap up well, because at 650 metres January nights are cold. With small children, the din of the cowbells can be frightening: watch from a little further back. Do not stand in front of the group or block its way, and leave room for the issohadores, who move fast with the rope.

Where to sleep on those nights

In January and at carnival the village fills with people from all over the island. Book in good time: the Hotel Cualbu, in Fonni, is about 20 minutes away, and Su Gologone, in the Oliena countryside, about 40.