The Rite of the Deer Man, known locally as “Gl'Cierv”, is an ancestral tradition that combines magical-religious elements and hunting scenes, reflecting aspects of primordial life and peasant culture. The representation symbolizes the passage of the seasons and the renewal of nature through a sacrificial death, recalling ancient fears linked to the unknown and the indomitable strength of the natural environment.
In this rite we find the original meaning of Carnival, an echo of the archaic Dionysian myth, in which the rebirth of the natural world occurs through a bloody act. It is, at the same time, a metaphor of the human soul, which has always tried to exorcise the irrational, the incomprehensible, the uncontrolled violence of nature to give life a manageable and orderly face.
On the evening of the last Sunday of Carnival, as the sun sets, when the shadows lengthen over the village of Castelnuovo al Volturno and the air becomes filled with anticipation, the square transforms into an open-air theatre.

At the foot of the Mainarde, among the ancient stone houses, the cries of the people rise: it is the beginning of the ritual.
Suddenly, among smoke, sounds and screams, the Deer Man – Gl’Cierv – emerges from the darkness.
Covered in dark furs, his face hidden by an animal mask, he carries a majestic branched stage on his head. His figure dominates the scene, disturbing and archaic. He moves with ritual slowness, then explodes in runs, jumps, screams. The audience, wrapped in darkness, watches him suspended between fear and fascination.
A short distance away, the Deer appears, a mirror creature, who repeats his gestures, chases him and imitates him. Together they compose a primitive and wild dance, a duet of instincts and impulses.
Then comes the Martin, an ambivalent character, mediator between chaos and order. He tries to dominate the two deer, attempts to capture them, but fails. It is then that the people intervene on the scene, local inhabitants who, with decisive gestures, manage to tie up the mythical animals, forcing them to bend to the collective will.
The Popolana arrives, the only character who speaks. She addresses the deer with ironic words, mocks them, feeds them. But the act of feeding them unleashes rebellion: the deer wriggle, become agitated, rebel against captivity. It is at this point that the Hunter enters, a mysterious and shamanic figure, who faces bestiality without fear. With a ritual gesture he kills them: the bodies of the deer collapse to the ground, marking the moment of symbolic death. But immediately afterwards, with a breath, with an arcane call, the shaman restores their life. The deer rise again, transfigured. Chaos has been tamed, balance has been re-established, nature is preparing to be reborn.