Ambarvalia was a
Roman agricultural fertility rite
held on
29 May in honor of
Ceres and
Dea Dia.
At these festivals they
sacrificed a bull, a sow, and a sheep, which, before the sacrifice, were led in procession thrice around the fields; whence the feast is supposed to have taken its name, ''ambiō'', "I go around," and ''arvum'', field. This sacrifice was called a ''
suovetaurilia'' in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
. These feasts were of two kinds, public and private. The private were solemnized by the masters of families, accompanied by their children and servants, in the villages and farms out of Rome. The public were celebrated in the boundaries of the city, and in which twelve ''
fratres arvales'' walked at the head of a procession of the citizens, who had lands and vineyards at Rome. During the procession, prayers would be made to the goddess.
The ''
ambervale carmen'' was a
prayer preferred on this occasion.
The name "Ambarvalia" appears to be predominantly an urban designation. Roman farmers' almanacs ''(
menologia rustica)'' describe this only as ''segetes lustrantur'' ("crops are purified").
, in his notes on
Festus, maintains the ambarvalia to be the same as
amburbium. Numerous other communities of the Italian peninsula enacted similar rites with different names.
Notes
References
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External links
*
Ancient Roman festivals
May observances
Processions in ancient Rome
Festivals of Demeter
Ceres (mythology)
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