Banho 29

The Bath of Your Life

One of the Algarve´s unique summer traditions is the Banho 29 celebration. Make sure you don´t miss this spectacle which has been passed down through the generations.

The 29 of August is a night of crazy hedonism, with partying, music, fireworks and regional food culminating in hundreds of people racing into the sea at midnight. What makes this spectacle even more entertaining is the traditional bathing costumes that are adorned by revellers in this summer madness.


The method in the madness

The popular explanation for this late summer ritual is that this was the day when village folk would come down from hills to bathe in the sea. Folklore said that a swim in the ocean on this day is worth 29 baths and that it warded off the devil who walked the earth on that day. Superstition dictated that only at night is it possible to take the holy bath to purify and excommunicate evil. It was also believed that the salt water would cure diseases. 

Passed down from parents to children, the tradition of ‘holy baths’ evolved into bathers from the countryside, joining the local population and no doubt reuniting with cousins and friends. On the beach, bonfires were lit, chorizo  roasted, and lunch eaten while people sang and danced to the sound of music with lively revelry into the night.

It was also a day when the population came together. In Sines, it was recorded that there was a spirit of celebration with a village dance, a fair and a meeting point where business transactions were made. In Vila Real de Santo António at the end of the bathing ritual, the celebration ended with a picnic.

Most municipalities have now banned the lighting of fires on the beach and instead provide a wealth of entertainment and historical re-enactments to allow the locals and tourists to revel in this ancient tradition.


 The animals came down two by two!

In the past, the party invite was always extended to animals. In the early 20th century, according to tradition, the people took their animals along to the beach as well, believing the salt water would deworm and flea the beasts for the whole year. Mainly sheep and goats were taken by their shepherds to the seaside and then forced to climb a rock and throw themselves into the water. We can only imagine the scenes as the noise of the villagers as they plunged into the cooling foam of the waves became mingled with the frightened screams of sheep and goats.



The origins of Banho 29

It is unsurprising that as it is also called the ‘holy bath’, historians have attempted to uncover a link between the modern celebration and liturgy. This is made even more obvious, but the fact that on the 29th of August, the Catholic Church commemorates the beheading of Saint John the Baptist, who announced the coming of Jesus Christ, whom he later baptised in the waters of the Jordan River in Palestine). The symbolism of purification that people look for on 29 August  when they dived into the waters of the sea has been associated with the waters of the river where Christ was baptised.

A week of festivities in honour of São João da Degola (John the beheaded) takes place in Vila Santo Antonio each year, with a vast entertainment program that includes concerts, dances and fireworks leading up to the ‘holy bath’.
 
However, many argue that the ritual pre-dates the Christian event originating in the pagan rituals or end-of-summer rites. Going back a few centuries, the tradition of people bathing in festive seasons was associated with obtaining purity, redeeming sin, and repelling evil. The ritual gave a superstitious population the opportunity to renounce evil and strengthen their ‘spiritual health’.

It could also be related to the cult of Diana, the Roman goddess of the mountains, forests and wild animals (in Greece, Artemis), who used to bathe in the waters of springs and rivers, and whose temples were built next to lakes, streams and marshes.

There are also reports that in ancient times the Banho 29 was taken before sunrise, always on an empty stomach. The custom, it seems, was inherited from the Arabs, who took a prophylactic and purifying sea bath on this same date. This has led some to argue that it is a Moorish tradition inherited from the time of the Muslim occupation of the Algarve.

Whatever the origins, it became an annual event in the Algarve. After a cycle of harvests or agricultural work, the population rested from hard work and moved to the coast, accompanied by their cattle, where they gathered for family and community life, bringing their packs and returning at sunset to their homes.

Since there is no custom of bathing together with other people at this time (incidentally, frowned upon socially and by the Catholic Church), we can only surmise that this date, at the end of the summer period, was related to the socioeconomic activities of the rural population who were looking for a period of leisure time at the end of the summer and to recover before the autumn cycle that was to come.



Let´s get this party started!

Nowadays in Aljezur, Banho 29 is celebrated as a municipal holiday, and traditional bathing takes place at Praia de Monte Clérigo.  

The municipalities of Lagos and Luz quite literally go to town with the celebrations! In addition to the nightly bath, there will be historical re-enactments, food and drink stalls, and lots of musical entertainment. The festivities take place at Cais da Solaria in Lagos and on the sea front in Praia da Luz, where there will be three different stages for live performances. Entry is free and the party begins at 6 pm.

A highlight during the event in Lagos is the swimsuit competition, which imitates the costumes worn in the past to partake in this ritual.

In Sotavento, the festivities at Praia da Manta Rota, in the municipality of Vila Real de Santo António, stand out, organised as part of the festivities of São João de Degola, (St John the Baptist), which culminate in the so-called ‘holy bath’ which continue until the 31st of August.
The high point of the celebrations takes place on the 29th with the Banho Santo, in the middle of the beach at Manta Rota. The gathering of participants and the parade begin at 10 am, in Largo São João da Degola, at the entrance to the beach.

To keep the tradition alive, the historical recreation of the event attracts hundreds of curious people to Manta Rota to see how things used to happen in olden times. There is also an open-air procession and mass in honour of São João Batista from 6.30 pm. Evening concerts are followed by a fireworks display at midnight on the waterfront.

Dancing in the moonlight

If you wish to immerse yourself in the culture, traditions, food and music of the Algarve, then head to the Banho 29 this August to dance in the light of the moon. And if you feel like a midnight swim, who knows, you may banish a few evil spirits of your own.