Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - In ancient rite, Spanish horses brave fire to fight virus

In ancient rite, Spanish horses brave fire to fight virus

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
A horseman rides through a bonfire in the village of San Bartolome de Pinares in the province of Avila in central Spain, during the traditional religious festival of ‘Las Luminarias’ on Sunday. AFP

In ancient rite, Spanish horses brave fire to fight virus

At full gallop, the horse emerges from the darkness and races through a string of bonfires in an ancient ritual to ward off sickness performed every January in a tiny Spanish village.

Known as Luminarias, the festival takes place every January 16 in San Bartolome de Pinares, a village perched high in the hills about 100km west of Madrid.

By the light of an almost full moon, several local officials are sweating copiously, despite freezing temperatures, as they pile branches onto the bonfires blazing along the main street of this village of just 600 residents

As the bells ring out, there’s a sudden clatter of hooves as the first horse and rider come charging out.

After the first horse passes another follows, then a group of them, sparks flying from their hooves as they gallop down the street, cheered on by hundreds of onlookers here to witness this mystical, medieval-like spectacle.

The tradition takes place every year on the eve of the feast of San Anton, Spain’s patron saint of animals, and dates back to the 18th century when an epidemic devastated the horse population.

“Before when animal died because of infection, they had to be burned,” said Leticia Martin, a 29-year-old physiotherapist riding a horse called Fiel.

“So when the epidemic disappeared, people began to believe that the smoke protected the animals.”

Purifying fire

“These fires, which purify animals from all diseases, are lit on the eve of San Anton’s day, which is celebrated on January 17,” said Anton Erkoreka of the Museum of the History of Medicine in Spain’s Basque Country region.

During the feast, masses are held across Spain to bless animals.

“Fire is always a purifying element and this festival asks the saint for his protection on animals.”

In other Spanish villages, bonfires are lit at different times of the year to remember earlier plagues and epidemics, although the global pandemic has given the Luminarias festival a slightly new dimension.

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
Known as Luminarias, the festival takes place every January 16 in San Bartolome de Pinares, a village perched high in the hills about 100km west of Madrid. AFP

But locals such as Emmanuel Martín insist the tradition has nothing to do with Covid. It is only about blessing the animals and keeping them “healthy all year round as the smoke from the green branches purifies them”, he says.

“It’s not a show to entertain people,” insists this 26-year-old who first witnessed the event when he was two years old.

Urged on by the crowd, one rider crosses the bonfires with his arms spread wide in a cross, his horse’s mane plaited, its tail rolled up in a type of topknot, to avoid catching fire.

Adrenaline

Although the tradition is widely criticised by animal rights groups, Martín insists it doesn’t harm the horse nor the rider.

“You don’t even notice it,” says his cousin Andrea Lenela, who compares it to brushing a finger quickly through the flame of a cigarette lighter.

Every year, the event is attended by vets and firefighters brought in by the local authorities.

“If I thought there was any risk to the horses, I wouldn’t do it,” says local resident Mario Candil.

“Nothing has ever happened to anyone, ever,” insists Monce García, 49, who has come along to enjoy the “atmosphere, the smoke and the typical village tradition”.

Dismounting from her horse, a 46-year-old pharmacist Noelia Guerra speaks animatedly about “the emotions and the adrenaline” which flood through both horse and rider.

“You don’t have to force them, they just go on their own,” she says of the festival, which was celebrated this year for the first time since the pandemic began.

“In this village, there wasn’t a single case of Covid until December 2021,” when Omicron arrived, says Leticia Martin.

“We laughed about that, saying it was because we didn’t celebrate the Luminarias in January 2021.”

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • PM outlines plans to discuss trade, policy during US visit

    Prime Minister Hun Manet is set to meet with senior US officials and business leaders during his upcoming visit to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 20. While addressing nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Speu province, Manet said he aims to affirm

  • Manet touches down in Beijing for high-level meetings

    Prime Minister Hun Manet arrived in Beijing on September 14 for his first official visit to China, where he is slated to attend the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and meet other leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping. Upon his arrival, Manet laid a wreath at the Monument