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The Swinging of the Botafumeiro in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
Seeing the botafumeiro swinging through the soaring Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is the highlight of every pilgrims spiritual journey on the Camino de Santiago.
"We can cultivate the soul of a pilgrim where we stay open to a way of life that is always open to newness. Ultimately pilgrimage is an outer journey in the service of this inner transformation." ~ Christine Valters Paintner
What makes the incensory at the cathedral to St. James in Santiago de Compostela so special is the size of it, and the amount of Frankincense it burns. As the cathedral absolutely fills with smoke, the sweet aroma surrounds you as it soars to amazing lofty heights. I have never seen anything like it and its mystical charm is unparalleled. You will be filled with wonder, and your eyes may even fill with tears, as mine did!
The botafumeiro used to swing every Friday at the 7:30 mass, as a "Pilgrim's Offering." Alas, this is no longer true. The botafumeiro is now only swung on fixed holy days. To get a complete list of dates when the botafumeiro swings, you can click here for the Official Cathedral website.
I am told that the decision to swing the botafumeiro, on additional days is entirely based on sufficient contributions by benefactors and/or pilgrims in advance. This, most likely would require a large tour group contributing toward seeing it swing on a particular day and time.
I haven't been able to validate this, but somewhere I learned that it costs the cathedral about 300 Euros (approx. 400 USD) each time it swings! Suffice it to say that it is quite expensive, whatever the cost.
Regardless if you planned well enough or if you are lucky enough to witness the swinging of this giant incense burner, you will never forget it!
Photo Journal of the Swinging of the Botafumeiro
I am re-living and chronicling "The Swing" in my photos to follow. I took so many of them, and several below are a bit fuzzy from the low cathedral light and the fact that I took all of these on my cell phone. I chose to include the fuzzy ones when I thought it added to telling of the story, so please forgive me!
When the Tiraboleiros (those who's job it is to swing the incensory) first come walking out in their red robes, an excited murmur is heard through the crowd! We all know that the botafumeiro is about to swing! Here they are, below, getting into position for the giant incense burner to be lit.
Several of the tiraboleiros walk up the steps toward the altar to light the burner, shown in the photo below.
The Lighting of the Incense BurnerThe chief Tiraboleiro lights the botafumeiro, as you can see in the next picture, that I took from my first day's side view. The cathedral begins to fill with the lovely incense of Frankincense.
The Frankincense is LitThen, the chief Tiraboleiro initiates the swing as the rest get into position. The way they pull down on the rope to create the soaring pendulum effect, once the butafumerio starts swinging, is absolutely amazing and awe inspiring. This can be seen best on the video clip at the end of this article, which I was able to capture very well!
Initiation of the SwingHere, again from the view at the front of the altar, the thurible can be seen, swinging, smack in the middle of the photo, right at the level of the altar table. Can you pick it out?
From my advantageous side view, I got this shot. No trouble picking it out here!
Here is yet another great shot from the many, many I snapped. And we thought we had lousy seats, on the floor, way off to the side of the altar. We were about 5 minutes late to the noon pilgrim's mass. This turned out to be the most serendipitous thing.
However, we did push our way through the milling tourists around the side of the pews and just sat ourselves down on the floor by the ropes that would allow us to enter no farther! I didn't mind sitting on the floor throughout the mass, as this was my reward!
And Still it Swings...After the incense burner swings for many swings, filling the cathedral's every corner with Frankincense, the Tiraboleiros move from the center of the altar towards the side (towards me!) and the one on the near side slows the momentum of the swing by walking towards it.
The Swing is SlowedThen they all stand closely together, very still as they grip the ropes to slow the botafumeiro's swing.
Final Motions of the SwingI cannot seem to adequately describe this event in words. All I can say is that it is very moving and mysterious, despite the tourists with their cameras, iPads and phones, all trying to capture the moment.
As you will see, in the video clip below, the ethereal music, with the nun's clear voice, the aroma of incense, and the visual of the giant swinging butafumerio, combined with the long pilgrimage to get to this special place, moved me to tears. I wanted to stay in this moment for longer than it lasted.
This is why, I still find myself unable to play the video just once, but over and over again. It is my feeble attempt to re-live the moment as it happened and to re-live my emotions on that day.
My YouTube Videos of the Event
This very short video clip, below, is the one I managed to take between the many still photographs I took on my first day in Santiago de Compostela at my very first pilgrim's mass. This was back in 2014 when the botafumeiro was swung much more often than now.
Here it is in all its glory! Enjoy!
The very next year in 2015, I completed my second Camino to Santiago de Compostela, on the Camino Primitivo. I arrived at the cathedral one and a half hours early for the Friday mass at 7:30 p.m. and barely got a reserved seat for pilgrims in the cross nave! Don't forget to take your Compostela for the reserved seating.
Here is my video, from this vantage point, in the cross nave. I filmed the entire event. Enjoy!
My wish is that you too, can one day make your own pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, this amazing spiritual site, and see the marvel of the botafumeiro swing! May your days be filled with the awe and wonder of all things on your own personal, spiritual journey.
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