El Caganer

The precise origin of the Caganer is unknown; sources agree the tradition entered nativity displays by the late 17th or early 18th century and is commonly dated to at least the 18th century, with ties to Baroque-era nativity practices. Ethnographic and popular accounts treat the figure as a long-standing element of popular nativity construction rather than as deriving from a single founding myth; commentators note the historic uncertainty while recording its presence in Catalan cultural practice since the early modern period.

Traditionally the Caganer is depicted as a peasant figure wearing a Catalan red cap (barretina), shown squatting with trousers lowered and backside exposed, in the act of defecating. In pessebres it is usually a small figure tucked away in a corner of the model rather than placed near the manger; hiding the figure is itself a family custom. Modern variants commonly portray celebrities, politicians, or authority figures in the same squatting pose, extending the motif as social satire while retaining the essential visual elements.

The Caganer is a static, non-supernatural figurine; sources do not attribute animate or occult powers to it. Any 'effects' are symbolic and folkloric: ethnographers like Joan Amades record a belief that the figurine's act symbolically fertilizes the nativity ground, ensuring fertility, good fortune, or wellbeing for the coming year. Socially, the figure functions as a levelling, humorous device—bringing powerful people 'down' by portraying them in a humiliating bodily act—and as a playful focus for children who are encouraged to find the hidden figure in the pessebre.