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Funeral of the Sardines Festival
By Mark Shurey
Photos by the author.
Of all the festivals in Spain, this is the one that
I am asked about the most. It's origins are in the Christian calendar
signifying the beginning of lent. The word carnival comes from the
word "carne" meaning meat, a time of feasting and the
last time that meat was traditionally eaten before Easter. The sardines
funeral is a reminder to people that they should now be eating fish.
Celebrations are traditionally in fancy dress with priests, gravediggers,
the sardines wife, mourners, ghosts, witches and even death in attendance.
In a land where until recently, life was very hard, people took
the opportunity to revel in life and laugh at death. It is this
spirit of celebration in life that makes Spain the special place
to live that it is.
The afternoon begins with the arrival of the sardines wife, the
sardine and the funeral mourners.
The sardine is placed in the middle of the town square and the wake
for the sardines wife begins. This is where the mourners congregate
together to have a farewell drink with the sardines wife before
the funeral.
As the sun starts to set the funeral procession begins, led by the
sardine held high by bearers. The photos give you an idea of the
colour but not the noise involved. A disco PA is pumping music,
a full municipal brass band fanfares the slow funeral march to a
pounding drum, and all the mourners begin crying, weeping and wailing
at the tops of their voices.
 After
a noisy circuit of the town, the sardine is brought back to the
town square and the church bells start to ring out. The sardine
is raised up and down by the bearers as the mourners wail and scream
hysterically.
The procession now follows the sardine
as it is brought down to the beach. It is now almost dark and the
grave diggers follow the sardine to its final resting place accompanied
by special guest - death!
In the last stage of the funeral,
the sardine is carried onto the beach and laid down by the shore.
After a few words by the priests, it is tied to the back of a fishing
boat which rows out to sea and is then rather unceremoniously blown
up in a blaze of fireworks much to the cheering of the onlooking
crowd. This initiates a giant firework display that illumates the
sky and sea. The end of the display signifies the end of the funeral
and the beginning of lent and the revellers continue their celebrations
until into the night.
Mark Shurey lives in Nerja on the Costa del Sol, enjoying the
festivals it has to offer.
Read the DestinWorld Guide
to Nerja, contributed to by Mark Shurey.
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