One of the more peculiar occurrences at a Mallorcan summer fiesta is the insistence by some to indulge in physical exertion of a sort that the meteorological office and the health authorities advise against, especially during the great heat of the day. There is any amount of this activity going on and foremost among it is the fiesta race or races: they come in various guises.
An example of this madness occurred at the start of this month. It was the race to La Victoria in Alcúdia. Anyone with a bit of local knowledge will know that La Victoria is up the side of a mountain. It involves a steep and tortuous climb, and that's just by car. There is a less demanding alternative than running, i.e. the whistle while you walk (itself slightly mad), but neither method is recommended for anyone whose definition of exercise is the stroll to the motor in order to drive to the newsagents.
In Sa Pobla they've come up with a new twist on this summertime torture. It's called "Brutal Running", and the brutality is due to take place this coming Saturday. At a distance of four kilometres, the title seems somewhat exaggerated, but there are always the obstacles, ones for which it is recommended that participants wear clothing of "little value" on account of the potential for said clothing to "deteriorate", which is probably a euphemism for being ripped to shreds. Brutal or not, the only sensible aspect of it is that it doesn't start until six in the evening, when it is likely to have cooled down to 32 degrees: Sa Pobla is typically one of the hottest places on Mallorca.
Such races might be said to have a common fiesta lineage, and it is one that came from across the sea in Valencia and which didn't involve racing on foot but on horseback. Take a look at many a fiesta programme schedule and you will find, assuming the schedule has been translated into English, which it probably won't have been, something known as "jewel races": in Catalan, these are "corregudes de joies".
These jewel races date back to the eighteenth century, and they were typically contests between farmworkers who would challenge each other to see whose horse could go the fastest. The prizes for the victors were jewels, hence the name, though these prizes were subsequently changed - a silk scarf became popular instead, for example. The village of Pinedo can boast having kept this tradition going virtually uninterrupted since the 1700s. Indeed, it is the only village to be able to make this boast. Nowadays, the races, over a distance of 800 metres, take place on the beach and involve some serious sprinting by the horses.
These horse jewel races made their way to Mallorca. There isn't a great deal of historical evidence regarding them, but one town where they were certainly popular until the Civil War was Manacor. The races were both on horseback and on foot, and there is a photo from an unknown year which shows that a large crowd had gathered to watch them. The races used to be staged during the town's celebrations for Sant Jaume, whose day it is this coming Saturday. These fiestas in Manacor were, once upon a time, one of the largest events in Mallorca and had been since the time of King Jaume II (as opposed to the saint), who had established a residence in the town in the early fourteenth century. So popular were they in fact that they have been described as having once been one of the three great fiestas of the Mediterranean: which was all quite a long time ago.
The jewel races that are listed in fiesta programmes are races for which the name has survived rather than the prize. Winners can today expect all sorts of rewards - sweets, typically, for children - and runners, be they young or old, are often egged on by demons or big heads, as is the case in Campos, from where there is a photo from the 1950s which shows the adult male winner of the race homing in on his jewel, which was a hen. They are races which crop up at many a fiesta, and tomorrow in Santa Maria del Camí, just as an example, the town's Santa Margalida fiestas have their jewel races. And at what time? Midday. Yes, midday. Fortunately, the races are only short.
Showing posts with label Sant Jaume. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sant Jaume. Show all posts
Sunday, July 19, 2015
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Water Of The Meadow: Sa Pobla
Yesterday was the first day of the Santa Margalida fiestas in Sa Pobla. There are times when these fiestas get confusing. It's also Santa Margalida time in, where else, Santa Margalida, just down the road a bit. The Sa Pobla Santa Margalida fiestas last until 20 July, the day of Santa Margalida, and then the fiestas of Sant Jaume take over. Sant Jaume is the patron saint of Sa Pobla. One of them, the male one. Santa Margalida is the other one, the female one.
Santa Margalida came to be the female patron saint of Sa Pobla before Sa Pobla became Sa Pobla. Or rather, she was the patron saint of what was the original Sa Pobla, which wasn't where Sa Pobla is but was where Crestatx (Crestaig) now is, so over the other side of the motorway from Sa Pobla.
Santa Margalida was the patron of the sanctuary at Crestatx, a settlement of which there is evidence of there having been Roman occupation, which isn't all that surprising given the relative proximity of the Pollentia Roman town in what became Alcúdia and also of Bochoris, which is nowadays Puerto Pollensa. It is perhaps worth noting that, though Alcúdia and Palma are always cited as having been the two most significant Roman towns, Bochoris was the third most significant, and the settlement there left behind the Roman bridge in Pollensa town.
Various Roman artifacts have been discovered in the Crestatx area - ceramics, coins and so on - and so the origins of Sa Pobla can be said to be Roman. Indeed, the name Crestatx is said to come from the Latin "castra" for camp. But after this Roman period, as with Alcúdia and Pollensa or anywhere in Mallorca, little is really known about the time between the Romans being kicked out in the fifth century and the Muslim occupation starting at the beginning of the tenth century. The settlement in Crestatx at some point during this occupation also acquired the name Huyalfàs, which was later corrupted as Uyalfas or Vialfas. Huyalfàs was derived from the Arabic - "hnayar-al-fas" (or variously, huayar-alfar or huayar-alfhas) - meaning water of the meadow, a reference, one imagines, to Albufera.
During the Muslim epoch, this Crestatx settlement came under the jurisdiction of the district of Inkan, i.e. Inca, but after the conquest of Mallorca in 1229 by King Jaume I of Aragon, Huyalfàs was firstly documented in 1241 in the "Llibre Verd" (green book) of land and was eventually relocated to what now is Sa Pobla. In 1300, Jaume's son, Jaume II, decreed the establishment of the royal town of Sa Pobla de Huyalfàs. In fact, there were a number of "poblacions" (small towns or villages) created in Mallorca at that time, such as Artà and Manacor. These new towns were established on the basis that they were all equal in that they had a hundred residents, 500 acres of land and a further 1000 acres of scrubland. It would seem that Crestatx couldn't be developed in this way, which is why Huyalfàs moved.
Officially, the new town took the title of "vila reial" and was granted a charter as a "poblament" (or "pobla"), which basically means settlement and can quite easily be confused with "poble", which means town, village or people. In the new town, 32 establishments were permitted plus the building of a church, and it was this, the church, that brought Sant Antoni firmly into the Sa Pobla story.
It might be thought surprising that Sant Antoni isn't one of Sa Pobla's patron saints. The association of Sant Antoni is of course very strong and gives rise to the most important of the Sant Antoni celebrations in January each other. This association can be traced back to the original Catalan conquest. The tradition or cult of Sant Antoni was strong in Catalonia, and it was one that King Jaume I imported. On the one hand, it was a tradition that appealed to a superstition for the protection of animals, as Antoni was the patron saint of animals, but it was the cult that was to eventually spawn, thanks to legends of Antoni and demons and what have you, what there now is - the demons and the nights of fire.
The church that was built in the new town was, therefore, the church of Sant Antoni de Huyalfàs (or Uialfàs or Uyalfas) and it was finally established in 1357, this original being replaced over 300 years later in 1697.
So, this all explains something about how Sa Pobla and its saints came to be as they are, but there is a question about its name, the answer to which I don't have. Why was Huyalfàs (Uialfàs or whatever) dropped? It ceased to officially be part of the name centuries ago, during the fifteenth century in fact. Sa Pobla, the settlement, has been the name ever since, and the use of the definite article "sa" (which is Mallorquín rather than Catalan) makes a definitive statement for this most Mallorcan of towns and one with the history that it has and a history, moreover, which makes the "castellanisation" of the town's name into La Puebla (a translation which still does occur and which very much occurred during the last century) a total nonsense. It can only be Sa Pobla.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Santa Margalida came to be the female patron saint of Sa Pobla before Sa Pobla became Sa Pobla. Or rather, she was the patron saint of what was the original Sa Pobla, which wasn't where Sa Pobla is but was where Crestatx (Crestaig) now is, so over the other side of the motorway from Sa Pobla.
Santa Margalida was the patron of the sanctuary at Crestatx, a settlement of which there is evidence of there having been Roman occupation, which isn't all that surprising given the relative proximity of the Pollentia Roman town in what became Alcúdia and also of Bochoris, which is nowadays Puerto Pollensa. It is perhaps worth noting that, though Alcúdia and Palma are always cited as having been the two most significant Roman towns, Bochoris was the third most significant, and the settlement there left behind the Roman bridge in Pollensa town.
Various Roman artifacts have been discovered in the Crestatx area - ceramics, coins and so on - and so the origins of Sa Pobla can be said to be Roman. Indeed, the name Crestatx is said to come from the Latin "castra" for camp. But after this Roman period, as with Alcúdia and Pollensa or anywhere in Mallorca, little is really known about the time between the Romans being kicked out in the fifth century and the Muslim occupation starting at the beginning of the tenth century. The settlement in Crestatx at some point during this occupation also acquired the name Huyalfàs, which was later corrupted as Uyalfas or Vialfas. Huyalfàs was derived from the Arabic - "hnayar-al-fas" (or variously, huayar-alfar or huayar-alfhas) - meaning water of the meadow, a reference, one imagines, to Albufera.
During the Muslim epoch, this Crestatx settlement came under the jurisdiction of the district of Inkan, i.e. Inca, but after the conquest of Mallorca in 1229 by King Jaume I of Aragon, Huyalfàs was firstly documented in 1241 in the "Llibre Verd" (green book) of land and was eventually relocated to what now is Sa Pobla. In 1300, Jaume's son, Jaume II, decreed the establishment of the royal town of Sa Pobla de Huyalfàs. In fact, there were a number of "poblacions" (small towns or villages) created in Mallorca at that time, such as Artà and Manacor. These new towns were established on the basis that they were all equal in that they had a hundred residents, 500 acres of land and a further 1000 acres of scrubland. It would seem that Crestatx couldn't be developed in this way, which is why Huyalfàs moved.
Officially, the new town took the title of "vila reial" and was granted a charter as a "poblament" (or "pobla"), which basically means settlement and can quite easily be confused with "poble", which means town, village or people. In the new town, 32 establishments were permitted plus the building of a church, and it was this, the church, that brought Sant Antoni firmly into the Sa Pobla story.
It might be thought surprising that Sant Antoni isn't one of Sa Pobla's patron saints. The association of Sant Antoni is of course very strong and gives rise to the most important of the Sant Antoni celebrations in January each other. This association can be traced back to the original Catalan conquest. The tradition or cult of Sant Antoni was strong in Catalonia, and it was one that King Jaume I imported. On the one hand, it was a tradition that appealed to a superstition for the protection of animals, as Antoni was the patron saint of animals, but it was the cult that was to eventually spawn, thanks to legends of Antoni and demons and what have you, what there now is - the demons and the nights of fire.
The church that was built in the new town was, therefore, the church of Sant Antoni de Huyalfàs (or Uialfàs or Uyalfas) and it was finally established in 1357, this original being replaced over 300 years later in 1697.
So, this all explains something about how Sa Pobla and its saints came to be as they are, but there is a question about its name, the answer to which I don't have. Why was Huyalfàs (Uialfàs or whatever) dropped? It ceased to officially be part of the name centuries ago, during the fifteenth century in fact. Sa Pobla, the settlement, has been the name ever since, and the use of the definite article "sa" (which is Mallorquín rather than Catalan) makes a definitive statement for this most Mallorcan of towns and one with the history that it has and a history, moreover, which makes the "castellanisation" of the town's name into La Puebla (a translation which still does occur and which very much occurred during the last century) a total nonsense. It can only be Sa Pobla.
Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
MALLORCA TODAY - Alcúdia supper decision attacked
Although Alcúdia's Sant Jaume fiesta programme has not suffered dramatic cuts to its schedule, one event that is conspicuous by its absence is the open-air supper and bingo. The decision not to include this event, which has attracted up to 3,000 people, has been attacked by Pere Malondra of the PSOE. It should be noted that it has been normal for those attending the supper to pay. It was three euros per person last year.
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