Salt carpets in Adeje – art, religion, commitment and community

Adeje Town Hall is preparing for the celebration of Corpus Christi, an annual event bringing together different association and neighbourhood groups who will work to make elaborate salt carpets along the main street of the town.  This year an increased number of groups and individuals have registered to take part compared to last year.

 

The event has become much more than a religious occasion in Adeje and beyond and is celebrated as a day for social harmony, for people coming together in a joint venture.  The council has underlined the importance of preserving local traditions and encouraging participation in cultural events among the local populace.  This year the carpets will be created on June 10th, during the afternoon and evening, with a religious procession the following day, after mass.  

 

Salt carpets are ‘ephemeral art’, or non-permanent art  Those who will create these special carpets will often work into the night making sure every saline detail is correct, and by Sunday evening they are gone.  The carpet making requires planning and co-ordination too among participants and organisers. 

 

The Feast of Corpus Christi, celebrating the presence of the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharistic host, is also known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, and takes place eight weeks after Maundy Thursday.  It was declared a feast day by Pope Urban IV in 1264.  This year, on Sunday June 11th, there will be mass in the Santa Úrsula church at 11am followed by a sacred procession over the carpets, with local authorities and the Adeje patron band accompanying the Sacrament.