Botafumeiro (Santiago de Compostela)

{Christmas Day, 2018}
The Botafumeiro (Galician for "smoke expeller") is a famous metal censer suspended from chains found in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. The Botafumeiro is suspended from a pulley mechanism in the dome on the roof of the church. The current pulley mechanism was installed in 1604. The current Botafumeiro was created by the gold and silversmith José Losada in 1851 and is one of the largest censers in the world, weighing over 170lbs.
One tradition has it that the use of a swinging censer in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral began in the 11th century. Arriving pilgrims were tired and unwashed and the Botafumeiro was used to purify the air in the church, which was heavy due to the crowds of pilgrims who spent the night in the cathedral on special occasions. It was also believed that incense smoke had a prophylactic effect at the time of plagues and epidemics. Incense burning is also an important part of the liturgy, being an "oration to God", or form of prayer.
I had rented the Fujifilm X-T3 for this trip and used it to film this sequence. I had my shutter set improperly for the 50HZ lighting in Europe (a mistake I made often during my trip) so there's some light flicker but overall you get a sense of what a special occasion the swinging of the Botafumeiro is.
https://southfloridafilmmaker.com

Видео Botafumeiro (Santiago de Compostela) канала Dan Perez