The village where coffins with living people are carried out in procession

"When you get into the coffin, the first thing you think is that you could actually be dead. I, three months ago, could have been there."

But Jorge Contiño survived to tell his story. A victim of alcoholism, his extreme deterioration landed him in the hospital.

"My liver was exhausted and I weighed 32kg, even though I'm 1.83m tall," he tells BBC News Mundo, the BBC's Spanish-language service.

Contiño lives in As Neves, a village with just under 4,000 inhabitants in Galicia (northwest Spain).

He saw death very closely, until he made a promise: if he managed to leave the hospital alive, he would participate in the procession of Santa Marta de Ribarteme, known by many as the "pilgrimage of the coffins".

This curious and ancient religious tradition is celebrated every July 29th in that small town, located in the southern Galician province of Pontevedra, on the border with Portugal. In it, living men and women are carried in procession inside coffins.

They are the "offered" — people who were on the verge of death or had people close to them in that situation and who offer themselves to the saint, to thank her for her intervention.

Martha of Bethany, or Saint Martha in biblical tradition, was the sister of Lazarus. She intervened with Jesus Christ to restore her brother's life four days after his death.

Devotion to the saint is strongly linked to the local tradition. Its residents believe she is the ideal intercessor to whom to pray in life's critical moments, when only faith maintains hope.

"I don't know if it was the doctors or if it was her [the saint], but since I participated [in the procession], I have never drunk alcohol again," says Cotiño.

Two years have passed. Today, Cotiño is in charge of organizing the pilgrimage.

The event's origins date back to medieval times. Written references to it date back to at least 1700.

In recent decades, the procession was suspended for only three years, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"It's one of the most important pilgrimages in Galicia," the mayor of As Neves, José Manuel Alfonso, explained to the BBC.

Religious and pagan festival

Every year, around 5,000 people participate in the procession. Many of them live in the village, but others come from other parts of Galicia and even abroad.

Like many other Spanish festivals, the event combines religious and pagan aspects.

This year, for example, the festival kicked off on Sunday, July 27th, with a soccer match and a barbecue. It continued until the 30th, with nightly parties and attractions for children.

The event was declared a Tourist Attraction three years ago. It's common to eat in the meadows and sample the delicious "octopus à moda da feira," a traditional Galician dish served with potatoes and bell peppers.

"Many people come out of curiosity, to experience this festival that, to them, seems so unusual," explains Alfonso.

The mayor says that, in As Neves, people feel "very proud" when they see people coming from outside for the pilgrimage.

In the village, the festival brings "a very strong feeling, because it is our saint, our procession, something very internal, very identifying, that we have observed since we were children".

The big day of the festival is July 29th, Santa Marta's day.

In the morning, a mass is held at the parish of São José de Ribarteme, which houses the image of the saint. However, the religious service usually takes place in a tent set up next to the church to accommodate more people.

There, the coffins are displayed, patiently awaiting the "offerings," with their satin linings. They belong to the church and are kept in an adjacent building called the Casa da Santa, according to Cotiño.

Devotees who participate in the procession "rent" the coffins, offering a donation to the church. They can also bring their own coffin.

The mayor explains that some people even pay local boys to carry them on their shoulders during the procession. But most are friends, family, or neighbors, who help them fulfill their promise to the saint.

The 'offered'

Jorge Cotiño, for example, even participated in the procession carrying the coffins of loved ones. He says he carried his uncle twice, with great effort.

"The procession takes two hours," he explains. "It moves very slowly and has to change directions often."

"If the day is sunny, which in Galicia is not always a certainty, the July heat [in Spain] also causes damage."

Some "offerings" promise to leave the procession in a closed coffin, bringing them even closer to eternal sleep. Others accompany the image of the saint on their knees, supported by canes or by family members. They protect themselves from friction with the ground with knee pads or improvised devices.

"This year, for example, a person will leave on their knees, under an empty coffin," Cotiño said before the event.

Another "bidder" was expected from London. "He tried last year, but arrived late, so he'll be here this year," according to the organizer.

The procession is led by the image of Saint Martha, carried on the shoulders of bearers, followed by the "offered" and other pilgrims.

They escort the saint in silence, holding candles, and a band of music marks her passage.

The "offerings" bring "singing pilgrims" as messengers of their prayers. They accompany the procession, chanting supplications for the saint to intervene on their behalf.

"Virgin Saint Martha, queen of glory, everyone who offers themselves leaves with victory" ; "Virgin Saint Martha, star of the north, who gave life to those who were on the verge of death" , say some of the songs.

The tradition of these singers has been around for centuries. They participate in the procession in trios, consisting of two women and one man.

The singers leave arm in arm, singing in the alalá style, one of the most primitive forms of Galician folklore.

Their songs constitute an authentic literary repertoire, similar to that which marked medieval minstrels, according to the Association of Patrons of the Pilgrimage of Santa Marta de Ribarteme.

José Manuel Alfonso recounts that, in the past, the image was protected by agents of the Spanish Civil Guard. This measure was necessary because devotees made donations in notes and coins, which were hung on belts carried by the saint.

"She could take up to 2 million pesetas [about US$150,000, or R$820,000, in today's money]", recalls the mayor.

These public offerings stopped being made in the late 1980s. Nowadays, people place their donations in a box.

They also offer objects of devotion, in the form of wax figures, or animals such as sheep, chickens, and even calves and foals. These are auctioned off to benefit the church that same afternoon, according to Alfonso.

The procession of Santa Marta de Ribarteme is an experience that leaves no one indifferent—neither visitors nor the saint's devotees.

Jorge Cotiño has not yet forgotten the feeling of fulfilling his promise, the proximity of death, the impression caused by entering what, for many, is their last home on this Earth.

"When you leave, you're just blown away," he describes. "It's an unreal feeling, very difficult to explain."