Doubting Thomas And The Pigs Of Sineu

In terms of how widely celebrated they are, there is a distinct pecking order for the Apostles. Without any doubt, the number one on the list is James the Great, Santiago, Spain's patron saint by virtue of his remains being in Santiago de Compostela (reputedly). Vying for second place are Peter and Bartholomew. After these two, it is something of a toss-up: Paul, Matthew in places four and five maybe, but the rest are Apostle also-rans, Judas Iscariot in particular.

Lurking at the back of the pack, therefore, is Thomas, he of doubting fame, who gets barely a look-in. Celebrations are minimal, but there is, however, the St. Thomas Fair, Fira de Sant Tomàs in Sineu. While the Apostle has been attributed with being the pretext for this fair, there are doubts about the doubting apostle's responsibility. And for very good reason. It has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with him.

Doubting Thomas's feast day is on the third of July. It isn't in December, which is when Sineu has its Thomas fair. An assumption has been made about his connection with the fair, but probably for no other better reason than that rival saints of the same name are obscure to the point of being virtual unknowns or are saints who, while well known, don't really get a fiesta treatment - Thomas à Becket, Thomas Aquinas.

The tenth of December is in fact the feast day of one Thomas of Maurienne, also referred to as Thomas of Farfa Abbey, this abbey being in the Lazio region of Italy. Thomas was supposedly the first abbot, having founded the abbey in the late seventh century. There is, as with many a saint, something of a question mark as to the validity of this. Doubts about Thomas of Farfa Abbey aside, it can be said with some certainty that it is he who Sineu honour and not Doubting Thomas. The fact that no one really has any idea who Thomas of Farfa Abbey is does probably help to explain why the false assumption about the Apostle has been made. This lack of knowledge, furthermore, is not aided by there being any obvious reason as to why Sineu should ever have named its fair after him.

Typically, and even for fairs rather than fiestas, one can anticipate them chucking in a mass somewhere for a relevant saint. Not in Sineu, where the Thomas celebrations only make space for Santa Llúcia, Saint Lucy. As to the day of the fair itself - this coming Sunday - not a sausage in mass terms in the official programme. The celebration for Santa Llúcia is at Sineu's imposing Santa Maria parish church, in which there are chapels for Santa Catalina and Sant Martí. Thomas? Not as far as one can make out.

So, for reasons that aren't readily explained, Thomas of Farfa Abbey has been having a fair named after him since 2003. It's always on the second Sunday of December, and the name - as much as anything else - would seem to have been a means of giving some saintly kudos to what is essentially a fair all about sausages. For the Sineu fair is the Mostra de Matances, the show of products made from slaughtered pigs, with charcuterie - sobrassada especially - the star of the show.

The fair was revived in 2003, there having previously been a fair shortly before Christmas. This was a revival of the tradition of staging a fair so that, pretty obviously, purchases could be made for the festive season. However, it was far more to do with a reactivation and promotion of a different tradition - that of the "matança", the wintertime slaughter of the fattened pig. Sobrassada, in particular if it has the added preservative qualities of the local tap de cortí paprika variety, can last for months, and this - traditionally - was the general idea. The "matances" could sustain families over the winter.

Each year, town halls issue regulations regarding this slaughter. It isn't widely practised, but there are strict rules to be followed by those who have been fattening pigs for the purpose of the slaughter. A veterinary examination is essential. The slaughter should now be at an abattoir, not in someone's backyard. Several years ago, with doubts being raised about food safety and hygiene, the pig that is at the centre of the matances show had to be killed at the abattoir. It was then taken to the Fossar square, where the show entailed the demonstration of cutting it up and making products.

Further doubts were, however, raised. Two years ago, the town hall - still fearful of the possibility of food poisoning - ruled that there could be no "manipulation" of meat in the square. The emphasis has thus been switched more to local gastronomy rather than the act of preparing it, although there is what the town hall refers to as a "paedagogical" aspect - showing practices associated with the slaughter.

Would Thomas of Farfa Abbey have approved of all this? As for Doubting Thomas, any doubts about hygiene wouldn't have been any of his business; it's not his fair.

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