Festa dos Tabuleiros

The Festa dos Tabuleiros (Festival of the Trays) takes place every four years in July in the Portuguese city of Tomar, about 80 miles north of Lisbon.  This festival is an ancient tradition, celebrating ancient Portuguese millenarian rituals dating to the 13th century.  We decided to make a weekend trip north to see this rare event for ourselves.  Our first stop was a brief visit to the Batalha Monastery and an overnight stay in Fatima.

Batalha Monastery & Fatima

The monastery was built to commemorate the Portuguese victory over the Castilians in the battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. It took over a century to build, starting in 1386 and ending around 1517.  The joint tomb of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster (the only English queen in Portuguese history) stands in the Founder's Chapel.  

The Portuguese city of Fatima is famous due to the account of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary reported by three little shepherds from May 13 to October 13, 1917.  Due to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, the city has become one of the most important international destinations of religious tourism, receiving about six million people per year.  Pope Francis will visit Fatima in August of this year to celebrate World Youth Day.  

Festa Fever in Tomar

The population of Tomar is only about 20,000 people, just a little bigger than Tavira.  The Festa do Tabuleiros attracts almost a million visitors over its duration, this year from July 1-10.  It is a monumental task for the local townspeople, and they truly go all out.  We visited Tomar in October of 2021 (just after Debra's Portuguese residency appointment in nearby Santarem), and we found it to be a lovely town.  But for the Festa, it was a city transformed, and every street was decorated with paper flowers and decorations.

Cortejo do Mordomo

Over the main days of the Festa, there are a series of parades.  The first one we saw was the Cortejo do Mordomo (Butler's Parade) which included mostly men, some on horseback, and also several pairs of oxen, symbolic of the bountiful harvest which was to come.  

​Cortejos Parciais dos Tabuleiros

The next day was the Cortejos Parciais dos Tabuleiros (Parades of the Partial Trays).  This was a smaller version of the full-fledged parade that would happen on Sunday.  Because the crowds were much smaller, we were able to get quite close to the marchers to see how it was done. 

The local population parades in pairs with the women carrying tabuleiros on their heads. It amazed us that the marchers had to walk well over a mile!  The tabuleiro is made of 30 stacked pieces of bread, decorated with flowers. At the top of the tabuleiro is a crown which normally contains either a white dove, symbolising the Holy Spirit, or the esfera armilar (armillary sphere), a symbol of the historical Portuguese maritime expansion, and over the sphere, the cross of the Order of Christ. 

​After the parade, the tabuleiros were placed in a nearby park, where people could see them close up.  

Cortejo dos Tabuleiros

On Sunday, the final parade is a grand display of all the tabuleiros.  Because hundreds of thousands of people were expected, we got there early and staked out our viewing spot.  The parade was a sight to behold!

We had a memorable time at the Festa dos Tabuleiros!