Sometent

The Sometent (in Catalan; in Spanish: somatén) was a parapolice institution from Catalonia. In its beginnings it was an armed corps of civilian protection, separated from the army, for self-defense and defense of the land. The dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923–1930) extended it to all of Spain, making it one of the pillars of the regime. It was dissolved in 1931 by the Second Spanish Republic, except for the Catalan rural Sometent, and reestablished under Franco's dictatorship. The definitive abolition took place in 1978 after the reestablishment of democracy. The name sometent literally means making noise.^[1]