The Procession in honor of San Fermín
probably goes back as far in time as the cult
itself. Jesus Arraiza writes in his book San
Fermín Patrono that although it is not
certain, the custom could have begun around
1187, when the bishop Pedro de Artajona brought
the first relic of the martyr from Amiens greatly
stimulating his worship in Pamplona.
Jose María Corella, in his work "Sanfermines
de Ayer", points to the existence of graphic
evidence of uncertain authenticity which shows
that in Pamplona in the 15th century a parade
of little make-believe horses danced in the
Procession. Unlike today's papier maché
"zaldikos", however, the men dancing
the earlier wooden horses played musical instruments
while competing among themselves for the fanciest
caper.
According to the same author, the first reliable
information places the Procession of San Fermin
in 1527, when it was still being celebrated
on October 10. In those times the Town Hall
councilmen went to the Cathedral to join the
clergy on the way to the Procession and later
to the liturgical act in San Lorenzo where the
saint had been worshiped since ancient times.
© Larrión y Pimoulier Editores
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