San Juan is celebrated on June 23rd-24th of every year.
San Juan's night is full of bonfires, fireworks, music, dancing, sardines and bread. It's the welcome to summer, and
its celebration takes place during the shortest night of the year. It is time for the witches. It is time for witches’
covens. It is time to get rid of old and useless junk.
The celebration, originally pagan, celebrates the cyclical changes of nature, the change from spring to summer. As such,
the longest day of the year and the associated shortest night are undoubtedly a reason for celebration.
The rite of the bonfire, which is maintained today, involves building towers out of furniture and old junk in order to
burn them at midnight in different parts of the cities. It is about getting rid of what we no longer need, of old junk, in
the context of this ritual which is full of superstitions and magical beliefs.
Man jumping over the bonfire
According to tradition, if people jump three times over a bonfire on San Juan's night, they will be cleansed and purified,
and their problems burned away. Another tradition, especially for women, requires the women of the
house to prepare perfumed water combining the scents of seven plants - among them rosemary, roses and laurel - and to bathe
or wash their faces in the water, again to purify themselves for the new season.
CAMINO DE SANTIAGO
Camino de Santiago
The Way of Saint James
The Camino de Santiago de Compostela, also known in English as The Way of St James, are a collection of old pilgrimage
routes which cover all of Europe. They all have Santiago de Compostela in north west Spain as their final destination.
For more than 1000 years pilgrims have been walking along the Camino de Santiago.
The main route, featured here, is more commonly known as the Camino Frances,. This part of the route traditionally
starts in St Jean Pied de Port and finishes in Santiago 780km later after traveling the breadth of Northern Spain.(In Santiago
you can collect your Compostela) However many people start anywhere and continue past Santiago to the sea at Finisterre. Finisterre
was thought to be the end of the world in medieval times.
Queimada has origins in the Pagan festivals of Galicia. It is a punch made from Galician aguardiente (Orujo Gallego). Alonso del Real mentions the origins of queimada. Mention of queimada
is found in Celtic, Roman, Visigothic, and
Arabic literature. There is also evidence of the queimada tradition in the eleventh or twelfth century, around the time of the construction of Cathedral
of Santiago de Compostela.Traditionally while preparing the punch a spell or incantation is recited,
so that special powers are conferred to the queimada and those drinking it. Then the queimada is set alight, and slowly burns
as more brandy is added.
The finality of the preparation ritual is to distance the bad spirits that, according with the tradition, lie in wait for
men and women to try to curse them. All occasions are good for a queimada: a party, familiar meetings or gatherings of friends.
After dinner, in the darkness of night (one of the best times for it), the people who take part in it gather around the container
where it is prepared, ideally without lights, to cheer up the hearts and to be better friends. One of them ends the process
of making the queimada while reciting the spell holding up the burning liquid in a ladle and pouring it slowly back into the
container.
Ingredients: Aguardiente, fine white sugar, lemon peel and some
coffee grains
Preparation: Pour the aguardiente and
sugar (120 grams for every litre of aguardiente) into an earthenware container, add the lemon peel and coffee grains and stir.
In a ladle set light to a small amount of sugar/aguardiente mixture. Move the ladle closer to the earthenware container very
slowly until the flame jumps from one to the other. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Put some sugar in the same ladle,
place it above the quiemada and move it around until it becomes syrup. Pour the syrup on the flames and then stir the mixture
until the flames acquire a bluish colour.
Conxuro-Spell
Mouchos, coruxas, sapos e bruxas. Demos,
trasnos e dianhos, espritos das nevoadas veigas. Corvos, pintigas e meigas, feitizos das mencinheiras. Pobres canhotas
furadas, fogar dos vermes e alimanhas. Lume das Santas Companhas, mal de ollo, negros meigallos, cheiro dos mortos, tronos
e raios. Oubeo do can, pregon da morte, foucinho do satiro e pe do coello. Pecadora lingua da mala muller casada cun
home vello. Averno de Satan e Belcebu, lume dos cadavres ardentes, corpos mutilados dos indecentes, peidos dos infernales
cus, muxido da mar embravescida. Barriga inutil da muller solteira, falar dos gatos que andan a xaneira, guedella porra
da cabra mal parida. Con este fol levantarei as chamas deste lume que asemella ao do inferno, e fuxiran as bruxas acabalo
das sas escobas, indose bañar na praia das areas gordas. ¡Oide, oide! os ruxidos que dan as que non poden deixar de queimarse
no agoardente, quedando asi purificadas. E cando este brebaxe baixe polas nosas gorxas, quedaremos libres dos males da
nosa ialma e de todo embruxamento. Forzas do ar, terra, mar e lume, a vos fago esta chamada: si e verdade que tendes mais
poder que a humana xente, eiqui e agora, facede cos espritos dos amigos que estan fora, participen con nos desta queimada.
Owls, barn owls, toads and witches. Evil
demons and devils, spirits of the snowy plains. Crows, salamanders and sorceresses, the spells of the quack doctors. Rotten,
hole-ridden canes, worm holes and lairs of vermin. Fire of the souls in torment, the evil eye, black spells, the smell
of the dead, thunder and lightning. Dog's bark, portents of death; satyr's snout and rabbits foot. The sinful tongue
of the harridan wife of an old man. Hell of Satan and Beelzebub, the fire of burning corpses, the mutilated bodies of
the wretched, farts from hellish arses, the roar of the raging sea. Barren womb of the single mother, the miaowing of
cats on heat, mangy and filthy hair of the ill-begotten goat. With this ladle I will raise the flames of this hell-like
fire, and the witches will flee on their broomsticks, to bathe on the fat-pebbled beach. Hear, hear! The howls of those
who burn in the aguardiente and thereby purify themselves. And when this brew runs down our throats, we will be free of all
the sins of our soul and of all witchcraft. Forces of air, earth, sea and fire, I make this call to you: if it be true
that you have more power then man, here and now, make the spirits of the friends who have departed share this quiemada with
us.
HORREO
Horreos
Grain Stores
The first is the unofficial Symbol of Galicia known as the "horreos". These are usually long narrow grain stores (or granaries)
used to protectively hold and ripen all forms of grain and farm produce. Sweet corn was the most common crop to be stored
in them, but they will take just about anything.
The reason "horreos" are so significant is because of their unique and distinctive appearance and the fact that they harmonise
so well within the countryside in which they are built. They range in size from as little as 1 metre to in excess of 10 metres
in length and some are even a double storey in height. The most famous horreo is the "Carnota horreo" which is around 20 metres
long and built entirely of granite (bar the roof). Traditionally they are made of granite, elevated on legs with rodent proof
soffits, and timber or granite side panels. The roof is usually tiled and there is a small cross at one (and possibly) both
ends. Access is gained by either, swing doors at the narrow ends, or the removal of the wooden side panels.
The second small, but distinctive Galician landmark, makes the grain stores look like sky scrapers by comparison. These
features are the "cruceiros", or small stone crosses on long slender shafts. They can be found in a town or city's central
plaza or at some random point on a highway, usually a cross roads.
There are three different types of "Cruceiro", the "Carral", which is regarded as the most important (in terms of symbolism),
the "Melide" which is the oldest and the "Hio" which is visually the most impressive and grand. Unfortunately, despite asking
questions at tourist offices and other knowledgable sources, we have been unable to find a visual means of determining which
is which.
Their exact history of the "cruceiro" is uncertain, but they can be used to mark a significant social or religious area
such as a square, be a memorial to an event or person, or indicate a path or street. Historically, the oldest cruceiros are
said to date back to the fourteenth century and have continued to be built into the 20th century. It is impossible to spend
any time in Galicia without seeing them.
MUSIC & DANCES
Undoubtedly one of the biggest cultural differences between the Galicians and the other inhabitants of Spain is the traditional
music and dancing that feature so extensively in festivals and celebrations. As with everything else, the Galicians have there
own way of doing things and their music, with its strong Celtic connections, is a prime example.
Folklore from Galicia is probably the oldest in Spain. Among the most interesting are six melodies called “Cantigas de Amado”, written by a composer from Vigo named Martin Codax in the XIII
century. These melodies are believed to be the oldest example of love songs in Europe.
Galician popular music, like that of other regions of Spain, often focuses on peasant labor and reflect
the Celtic heritage of this region of northern Spain. Agricultural workers can be heard in the fields singing “Alalás” to break the monotony of their lives. Music from Galicia, whether it focuses on lyrical,
religious or festive themes, is always intense and melancholic.
The most representative musical genre of this region is the “Muñeria”,
a term that ethnically refers to a woman that works in a wind mill. Muñerias are sometimes called
“Gallegadas”. Most of the music from this region mixes intimate poetry and profound
sadness; except for the Muñerias and Alboradas which are delicate expressions of
momentary rejoicing, humor, and malicious, albeit temporary, explosions of happiness. Galician music is intense and
intermix human emotions such as great joy and intense sadness in a single song, often focused on the vicissitudes of peasant
life.
The most popular instruments used in Galician music are:
bagpipes, pandeiros, conches, panderetas (tambourines), castanets, etc.
Gaita Gallega
Galician Bagpipe
The bagpipes, which the Galicians call "gaita galega", can be traced back to the middle ages (as far back as the 13th and
14th centuries), and are a staple instrument in all of the regions fiestas.
Although similar to the bagpipes found in Scotland and Ireland, there are some subtle differences. Firstly, there are two
versions of the "gaita", one with a conventional "mouth" blown bag and the other (now much less common) using a "bellow pump"
type action.
The "drones" (which produce the sound) are also different in type and number to their British and Irish counterparts, as
are the ways in which the pipes are carried and displayed. Typically, Galician "gaitas" have only three drones. Another, quite
obvious visual dissimilarity is in the colour and pattern of the fabric, which reflects the colours of Celtic Galicia.
Pandeiro
The medieval Pandeiro (also called an Adufe)
is a square double skinned frame drum, often with a bell inside. It is pictured in several 13th century illustrations
and the instrument is still played in some Portuguese and Spanish villages, as well as in a number of traditional/popular
folk events in the Iberian Peninsula.
Pandereta
Tamborine like instrument
Castañetas
castanets
Click the play button on the screen to hear and watch a few examples of Folklore Galician music and dance.
The dancers here performed a Muiñeira punteada de Tordoia, a Jota and
a Muiñera de O'Castelo da Rigueira.
Most traditional folkore dances are formed by groups of pairs... One pair is considered the leader of the group and performs
the step first in order for the rest of the group to follow accordingly. There are a variety of ways to dance one single dance,
for example, the video you just watched demonstrated to different Muñeiras. The dance steps vary in accordance to the regions
and traditions past on through the generations of those regions.
