Miguel Martínez Sempere. Official Chronicler of Fiestas de Mariola.
Sin duda some Mariola, It is one of the oldest villages in the slope of the Moors and Christians in the former Kingdom of Valencia, Today Valencia. However this, Some historians have always treated superficially, with assumptions based on erroneous testimony without consulting a true documentation to testify.
There are numerous witness evidence to show its age and its link always the same pattern, we will try to capture with the fewest words possible. In some villages they adapted their festivities in honor of the patron saint other than, well received benefits, for differing slopes devotionals.
San Jorge is Banyeres pattern since nearly eight centuries, when the 13 October 1243, Jaime I granted the lordship of the castle and town Jofre de Loaysa, Na guardian of the infant and his wife Violant Jacometa.
With the advent of the new Christian settlers, Jaime King ordered to build a temple in the castle grounds, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St. George, saint by the monarch had a special devotion, what he recorded in the newly conquered Kingdom of Valencia. Our parish is one of the 34 first to be founded in the United. In synods convened in Valencia by Bishop Fray Andrés de Albalat year 1252 and others, and Figure assistant pastor Banyeres. (1)
During the sixteenth century Banyeres received several visits of the Archbishop and Viceroy of Valencia Juan de Ribera, who grants special benefits to the hermitage dedicated to Saint George Charmer, as the parish also located within the walls of the castle.
Banyeres was provided with weapons against the threat of invasion by the Turks Levante Spanish, mid-sixteenth century, creating the somatenes denominated in Valencian language means “we are catering”; weapons throughout history were used as is known by the soldiery, who accompanied San Jorge in their processions.
Within this historical context, no actual clashes, possibly pining what the Iberian Peninsula could be to continue the coexistence of cultures and religions, born our current Moors and Christians in brotherly and festive spirit, tributándose the patron saint testimony of devotion and thanksgiving.
They were designed and structured by the common people, and distributing the groups sides according to the activity to which it belonged within the various associations arising from agriculture, trade and industry born thanks to the richness of the waters of the Vinalopó: textiles, the paper, the trade, the farmers etc. The latter have belonged over the years comparsa components of Christians.
If we base our party with the three pillars: historical, religious and playful, to study each, in this case the religious, necessarily we have to relate it to the remaining two.
As has already been demonstrated devotion to St. George as unique and primitive pattern, we ask the following reflection: As for history, It is not our case that devotion to San Jorge is due to the exploitation and domination of the laity (nobility) or ecclesiastical (clergy) on subjects (farmers); Banyeres in the corresponding tithe taxed, could not qualify their farmers “famélicos”, (2) since the land was always a smallholding and cultured as family supplement, Besides enjoying the factory salary of character, it testified saying Cavanilles: "Reyno yield to none of the application to work, joining this virtue of the economy, why people have banished the misery…"Our parties are born of the people and for the people, as there is evidence that both the ancient temple as the current, They were built with the physical and economic collaboration of the whole neighborhood, for what the Church Factory was established, Paper Mill that with the collaboration of the population the corresponding revenue were achieved.
The Moors and Christians in Banyeres, They were and are carried out by ordinary people, the heart of a people humble and firm in their beliefs; so you can qualify them popular.
And following in the historical and religious aspect, accounts of the Feast of St. George of the year are known 1747 They are amounting to six pounds, as it stated in Madrid, in the National Historical Archive; in 1780 It is received the reliquary of St. George by triggers Moors and Christians, issued and authenticated in Rome by Bishop Marcuci, asistente the Pontifical Solio; in 1786 again it granted the right to make arcabucería guerrillas within the population, which it had been suppressed by the Pragmatic of Carlos III; in 1792 The botanist Jose Cavanilles, He describes in his notebook notes prior to the publication of his "Notes on the Reyno de Valencia", as to move the 23 April from Onil and Biar to go through Banyeres: "They made the Banyeres on that day the feast of St. George, who continued the next day with a roar of tyros and attacks; representing the capture of the castle by the Moors and represesa made after the Christians " (3).
They could share many more facts and dates, but we stayed with the ratification of the Relics of St. George and the testimony of Cavanilles, who describes the parties with the same current structure. What better notaries that the Vatican and the Botanic Cavanilles?
Therefore it is completely wrong the theory that our parties and embassies texts are the result of the War of Independence (1808). (4).
Following religion without abandoning historical and recreational aspects, We give some touches to the story with the texts of embassies and dispossession or relationship San Jose. Embassies that are recited in the same frame as the historic castle possibly take place in those years when we visited Cavanilles, later moving to settle a wooden castle, until in 1969 the scene where the actual events took place recovered. (Banyeres is the first village that held in its original castle and today there are several people who fortunately are doing).
Recently they have recovered two manuscripts of texts written for Banyeres embassies, one of 1853 and other 1869. In both he appears as main figure San Jorge, with the curiosity of the text 1853 it adopted Bocairent year 1860 eight years later, (5) replacing the figure of San Jorge by Santiago. Bocairent still represents the same text without variation, while a second text Banyeres adapted in 1869 and the current in the late nineteenth century (edited 1890 by Pastor printing Alcoy). (6). Bocairent text that is shown to be the same Banyeres de 1853, parses Adolf Salvà i Ballester in the "Bosqueig" with the following words: "In the first half, or be involved in the embassy delinquent sentinel Christian, Ambassador Christian and Moor, and the people ". "The Quartet quarters are metric, Essent and to 237 v. Christian involved in sentinel and Ambassador Christian and Moorish ambassador, with the same metric, i 290v.” (7)
These texts by the dispossession discussed below attest to the faith of Banyeres in San Jorge and birth and conservation in its celebrations of Moors and Christians.
Dispossession is a religious reflection off the defeat of Muslim troops, that the ambassador is always under the culture and customs of Islam, by accepting the doctrine of Christians: Ambassador wonders what is this holy prophet?, Jesus Christ according to their beliefs is not God but if his envoy (Quran verses 3rd chapter 50 al 58); reflection still torn between doubts until the voice of an angel tells God's law is good, the angels also recognizes the Quran (chapter 35 verse 1); and convinced the ambassador hailed the Virgin Mary as our Lady and Mother, the Qur'an in chapter 3, verses 40 al 45, says Mary “Maria Ho! Dios te glad tidings of a Word, emanating from the, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary;” already convinced ends by saying come and holy water, because I want to wash my dirty head Jose; Joseph is the husband of Mary and therefore the householder, Let us not forget that the culture of Islam gives center stage to the man, who was asked to wash his dirty head referring to the ablutions forcing their religion, so that it is more than justified the presence of San Jose in the conversion, Banyeres which is also known forever as Despojo or relationship San Jose.
It is out of place to state that Joseph was “Joseph Bonaparte” for that of the War of Independence, (8) It is shown as has been done in Banyeres, Cavanilles describes our parties and sixteen years before that war, to which some people relate our festivals.
So we say that our parties have been treated superficially by some scholars, for lack of documentation, although supposedly good will, and we cite as an example Adolf SalvÃ, who in his Treatise on the Bosqueg so valued by all, He says we celebrate the festival of Moors and Christians in honor of St. Mary Magdalene in July, (9) ignoring the fact that the fair is also of great antiquity in honor of the co-patron of Banyeres; adding in the same work Banyeres copied Despojo Bocairent, when it is shown that it is celebrated in Banyeres long before, and it says Pastor Juan Bautista Valdés, the following words of his father, the poet author of the current Banyeres embassies: “Despite my extensive research I could find more than embassies 1st and 2nd days and even signs of “Dispossession” which it is represented in this population, and that the poet considered should remain “unmolested” instead, in its pristine form and content for its traditional value.” (10).
And I concluded by recalling that in addition to the Masses, procession and transfer of San Jorge, Banyeres de Mariola has a single act declared of local interest and in the process to be declared BIC, which it is the cemetery, in that through the powder, music and the Eucharist, festeros, musicians and countrymen, communicate with whom we bequeathed faith in St. George in the thirteenth century, maintained and attested with current Moors and Christians.
FOOTNOTES PAGE:
(1) MARTINEZ Antonio Belda and other. “Parish Church of Mariola” . Good Source Cultural Association, Local Studies Center. 2004 p. 23.
(2) DOMENE VERDU Jose Fernando. “Chronicle Parties 1995, bulletin No. 267 Four Day Out” Central Board of Moors and Christians Fiestas Villena” 1995 p. 2
(3) Miguel MARTINEZ SEMPERE. “The Moors and Christians from its beginnings”. Miguel Martínez Sempere, Banyeres de Mariola. 2014. Cover with parchment explanations inside.
(4) DOMENE VERDU Jose Fernando. “Embassies and Ambassadors”. UNDEF 1998 p. 35. and Miguel Angel HERNANDEZ GONZALEZ. “The Moors and Christians. (Interview with E. Llobregat Conesa: “The historical spirit that the festival reveals today does not exceed two hundred years”…, Bulletin interview UNDEF 1985” 1996 p.15.
(5) Vano SILVESTRE Francisco. “Bocairente Holidays to San Blas Bishop and Martyr” Ilmo. Bocairent Town Hall and other. 1982 p. 78.
(6) SEMPERE MARTÍNEZ Miguel. “The Moors and Christians from its beginnings” Miguel Martínez Sempere, Banyeres de Mariola. 2014 p. 207.
(7) SAVE AND Adolf BALLESTER. “Bosqueig and Bibliographic History of the Moors and Christians” Studies Institute Alicantinos. 1958.
(8) DOMENE VERDU Jose Fernando. “Embassies and Ambassadors” UNDEF 1998 p. 35.
(9) Sage and Adolf BALLESTER. “Bosqueig and Bibliographic History of the Moors and Christians”. Studies Institute Alicantinos. 1958.
(10) DOMENE VERDU Jose Fernando. “Embassies and Ambassadors”. UNDEF p.63 (Letter D personnel. Juan Bautista Martínez Pastor Miguel Sempere) (The original is in the family file Martínez Sempere)