Today it is Dies Nefastus Publicus – the day reserved for religious holidays. They are almost like Dies NEFASTI, but administrative activities must not be performed during them. It is not recommended to perform any kind of physical labor. So, if you want to hang out with your fellow-Romans – don’t talk about serious matters – just gather together and praise a God or a Goddess to whom this specific day is dedicated. Oh! And don’t forget to give your slaves a day-off!
It is the day before the Ides of March. It is the A nundial day- the 4th day before Nundinae – the market day of this year.
Mamuralia or Sacrum Mamurio (“Rite for Mamurius”) is a festival to Mamurius Veturius, who according to tradition was the craftsman who made the ritual shields (ancilia) that hung in the temple of Mars. According to legend, Mamurius was commissioned by Numa, second king of Rome, to make eleven shields identical to the sacred ancile that fell from the heavens as a pledge of Rome’s destiny to rule the world. The ancile was one of the sacred guarantors of the Roman state (pignora imperii), and the replicas were intended to conceal the identity of the original and so prevent its theft; it was thus a kind of “public secret.” The shields were under the care of Mars’ priests the Salii, whoused them in their rituals. As payment, Mamurius requested that his name be preserved and remembered in the songsung by the Salii, the Carmen Saliare, as they executed movements with the shields and performed their armed dance. Fragments of this archaic hymn survive, including the invocation of Mamurius.
