The handkerchiefs wrapped around their faces are soaked, having soaked up three hours of sweat. None of them remembers having experienced a day as hot as today. It's 9 a.m. sharp when, at the entrance to the village of San Salvatore, 500 barefoot women arrive on foot: their families, but also many tourists and Monsignor Giuseppe Sanna, welcome them. They are tired, exhausted. Some can barely walk, some are crying. Some are begging for water. But all are happy to have made it, this time too. They arrived in the village of San Salvatore after walking eight kilometers along the dirt paths of the Sinis Mountains to carry Santu Srabadoeddu from the church of Santa Maria in Cabras to the ancient village.
For them, it's a duty, a way to stay calm all year round. This is what they say, after hours of toil, prayers, songs, tears, and intense heat . They set out at dawn wearing the town's traditional costume. The small statue will remain on display in the little church on Monday, September 7th, when Santu Srabadoeddu returns to Cabras. The women will retrace their steps, and only then will the vow be fulfilled.
"With the arrival of Santu Srabadoeddu in San Salvatore, one of the most important events of the year for Cabras comes to life. The eleven days of celebration involve the entire community and represent a moment of great participation, combining the value of tradition with the civic life of the town. Our commitment is to accompany these days with care and responsibility, promoting an event that is deeply rooted in the local area and continues to attract participants and visitors," says Cabras Mayor Andrea Abis. "For us, this journey begins long before the departure," says Maria Francesca Spanu, President of the Santu Srabadoeddu Association. "There's the preparation of the clothes, the headscarf placed on the head, the prayers we've always known. This year, we've had so many young women with us, and this is perhaps the aspect that moves us most: knowing that what we've received from our families doesn't stop with us, but continues through those who today walk alongside their mothers and grandmothers for the first time."
The celebrations began today in the small houses of the thieves. The next thrills will be experienced next Saturday morning. Running along the same paths of the Sinis will be the barefooted people, 900 in total, carrying the statue of the Saint on their shoulders.