Fareleiro Sunday: the flour battle that opens the Xinzo Entroido

Fareleiro Sunday is the day on which the traditional cycle of the Xinzo de Limia Entroido begins. According to the Town Council, the traditional cycle starts long before the big days with the Fareleiro, Oleiro and Corredoiro Sundays and even extends to Piñata Sunday ^[1]. Fareleiro is the first of them and, in a town where the Entroido lasts five weeks, it serves as the starting gun for families and children.

What it involves

Kilos of bran and flour are "the perfect ammunition" for a bloodless battle that leaves the Praza Maior, the nearby streets and everyone brave enough to take part dyed an unmistakable white ^[2]. The comarca’s 2007 website said that more than 2000 kilos of flour can be used and that the streets end up painted white ^[3]. The Town Council presents Fareleiro as a tradition aimed especially at the little ones, although in the end everyone enjoys the day ^[2].

An origin in the milling

To find its antecedents you have to go back decades, when young men and women played at throwing bran at each other on the way to the milling, that is, taking the grain to the mill and collecting the flour ^[2]. The same 2007 website recalled another reading of the festival: in the past it was a very sexist day, because only the men fled from the women, and the name comes from the fun battle in which flour is thrown at one another ^[3]. That reading is that of the person writing at the time, not an official explanation, and today the Town Council stresses the family and children’s character of the day ^[2].

After the fun

The 2008 report on the same website recorded what is left when the party ends: the streets of Xinzo full of bran, the footprints of children and young people, and the promise to return next year to leave a bigger "snowfall of flour", but less cold than the winter kind ^[4].

Tips for visiting

The Town Council asks that you do not come just any way: it is best to wear the oldest clothes in your wardrobe, because bran and flour spare no one ^[2].

Frequently asked questions

What is Fareleiro Sunday?

The bran and flour battle in the Praza Maior that opens the traditional cycle of the Xinzo Entroido ^[1][2].

Why is it called Fareleiro?

Because of the bran (farelo) and flour thrown; its antecedents lie in the game of throwing bran on the way to the milling ^[2].

What clothes should I wear?

The oldest, because flour dyes everything it touches white ^[2].

Links

• The Xinzo Entroido cycle, day by day
• Oleiro Sunday and the Game of the Pots
• Entroido of Xinzo
• Praza Maior, Ladeira and Toural
• Xinzo de Limia

Sources

1. Entroido de Xinzo, un sentimento (Concello de Xinzo). http://xinzo.gal/entroido/
2. Fareleiro (Concello de Xinzo). http://xinzo.gal/entroido/info/fareleiro/
3. Fareleiro 2007 (xinzodelimia.eu). http://www.xinzodelimia.eu:80/fareleiro_2007.htm
4. Fareleiro 2008 (xinzodelimia.eu). http://www.xinzodelimia.eu:80/fareleiro_2008.htm