Bell founders and bell ringers — Traditional craft of Mallorca

What it is and technique

Two trades united: the ringer casts bronze bells; The bell ringer rings them by hand and takes care of the bell tower. The bell was the clock, the alarm and the voice of the people.

Short story

1312: Gothic bell Na Tèrcia de la Seu (it was broken; its recasting or sale in 1991-1993 has contradictory versions).
1592: N'Aloi, the largest of the Seu (about 4,632 kg), cast by Miquel Alomar and Joan Benet Bonnín.
1642: N'Antònia (about 1,243 kg), by Rafel Gener.
1769: Na Maria Concepció (about 670 kg), by Joan Cardell i Rabassa.
19th-20th centuries: bells arrive from foundries from outside (Pallés, c. 1880; Roses Vidal, Valencia, 1945; Manclús, Valencia, 90s).
2022: the manual ringing of bells in Spain, registered by UNESCO (to verify scope in Mallorca).

Process step by step

Traditional casting (summary):

1. Profile design (template or die) that fixes sound and thickness.

2. Mold: male of brick and clay, "false bell" of clay and tallow with the inscriptions, and outer layer.

3. The false bell is removed; the gap remains.

4. Casting bronze (approx. 78% copper and 22% tin; check) in a pit next to the church or in the workshop.

5. Cool, dig up, clean and tune.

6. Assembly on the jou (wooden yoke) and the badall.

Manual touch: flipping, ringing or playing with a rope depending on the occasion (dead, party, storm, hours).

Forms and objects

Tower bell (major, mitjana, petita).
Esquella and picarol (cattle; see blacksmithing).
Jou: wooden yoke; La Seu preserves the original of N'Antònia.
Campanar: tower and bell room.

Vocabulary

campaner: who rings and takes care of the bells.
fonedor: founder.
fosa: recasting.
jou: yoke.
batall: clapper.
llavi: lower edge of the bell.
toc: ringing.
vol: complete flip.
toc de morts: death knell.
esquella / picarol: cowbell.

Geography

Palma (la Seu): the most studied complex.
Bells from Pollença (Sant Domènec) and all the towns.
The bronze is imported; The foundries were itinerant or local (see Mallorcan workshops after the 18th century).

Xifres

N'Aloi: 4,632 kg (1592). N'Antònia: 1,243 kg (1642). Na Maria Concepció: 670 kg (1769).
Catalog of Mallorca bells at campaners.com (documentation by Eliseo Martínez Roig).
0 active bell foundries identified in Mallorca (to be verified).

Why is it design

Acoustic design: the bell profile is a sound calculation.
Communication system: touch codes that the entire town understood.
Object with its own name: each bell has a name, author and date engraved.

State

Context: the local foundry disappeared; manual ringing survives in groups of bell ringers (to verify active groups).

For the project

Possible piece: soundscape of bells for the exhibition; inscriptions as typography.
Contact: campaners de la Seu; authors of the campaners.com catalogue.
Background question: the bell as the island's first "notification system."

Frequently asked questions

What is Bell founders and bell ringers?

Two trades united: the ringer casts bronze bells; The bell ringer rings them by hand and takes care of the bell tower. The bell was the clock, the alarm and…

What are the traditional words for Bell founders and bell ringers?

Some words: batall, campaner, esquella / picarol, fonedor, fosa, jou, llavi, toc.

Sources

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

Open it in the atlas →