Alka

Alka

Alka of Sinj, Dalmatia, Croatia

Every first Sunday in the month of August, unless otherwise determined, the procession of the Alkari (Alkars = "tilters", knights, the contenders) and their squires emerges in the upper part of the tournament field in the overwhelming splendour of their ancient arms and uniforms. A brass orchestra playing a traditional patriotic march accompanies their entrance. Grandstands on either side of the course usually seat around 15,000 spectators arriving from everywhere. This multitude, surging through the streets on their way to the tournament venue, turns the town into a veritable small-scale Babel, where all of the world's important languages can be heard. Past and present stand facing each other. Coca Cola and rivers of wine flow side by side. Mutton and lamb are roasted on all sides; the tables are laden with smoked ham and cheese. When around 3 PM the Alkari appear in a procession, a deep silence descends on the crowd, as if everyone were possessed by some primeval call of the past. This only lasts for a short while, and then a sudden outburst of applause and shouting is heard, merry laughter and whistles. The company of squires, clad in the traditional costume of the region, steps uniformly and with a dignified air to the beat of the march. These vigorous men, often sporting a moustache but some of them still beardless, look neither left nor right, carrying over their shoulders long flintlock guns and, tucked away into their richly ornamented waistband referred to as "the serpent's nest"), an array of pistols and daggers.

Behind them ride the splendidly outfitted Alkari, followed by the Alajcauš (pronounced Allahy Chahoosh), the only one wearing a short dolman. They are all dressed in venerable aristocratic attires, with caps sable flaunting the white feather of a heron or of a crane. The horses prance friskily, their hooves digging into the sand. The sand is brought to the tournament field every year and watered, so that no dust is raised as the horses gallop along the course. The Alka tournament is a unique jousting tournament in today's Europe. It takes place every month of August in Sinj, a small town in continental Dalmatia, some 40 km north of Split. It commemorates the 1715 victory by 6,000 defenders of Sinj over the 150,000 strong Turkish invading army.