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In
Neapolitan dialect the ass is the mascot in
Naples football team.
It all started in 1927 when, after a disappointing
championship for the Parthenopean team, in
a bar which was the meeting place for Naples
fans, a fan cried out:
"our team looks like o ciuccio 'e fichelle
, an ass complaining for its 33 wounds and
its flabby tail.
The angry phrase was reported to a newspaper
's office. The newspaper edited a cartoon
showing the ass in a bed way, filled with
plasters and with a flabby tail.
since that day the ass became the mascot of
Naples team replacing the horse which didn't
bring any luck to the team.
The ass, or o'ciuccio, often recurs in Neapolitan
proverbs, which are a reflection of Neapolitan
wisdom.
Here are some remarkable ones:
Miette 'e denare 'ncanna a 'o ciuccio e 'o
chiammano don ciuccio"
Hide
your money in the mouth of an ass and it will
be called Don Ciuccio
( in a word, one can get respect only with
money).
'O ciuccio che se crede cervo, quando va pe'
zumpà 'o fuosso se ne addona
The
ass believin to be a deer realizes to be not
as it tries to jump over the ditch failing.
Chi
se sposa a Nerano addeventa nu ciuccio o nu
cane
The
man marrying a girl from Nerano becomes an
ass or a dog. This saying is motivated by
the fact that Nerano was the town of janare,
that is the priestesses devoted to Diana goddess.
S'e
appicciato 'o ciuccio cu ttutt'a carretta
The
ass and the cart caught fire altogether. It
stands for " we've lost everything".
All's gone.
Dicette
'o ciuccio - si arriv 'a ascì' a
miez 'a 'sti botte, nun esco cchiù
a cacà' 'e notte
The
ass said: " If I succeed to escape these
fireworks, I won't get out anymore at night
to relieve myself".
The proverb refers to the Neapolitan tradition
of lighting fireworks at the New Year's Eve
but the poor ass didn't know. |