It is an age-old phenomenon that has evolved over time, preserving ancestral elements, immortalising local traditions and characters, and recreating historical events and episodes. All of this can be seen through the protagonists who today continue to focus the attention of the main Galician entroidos and the staging they carry out. This combination of tradition, history, respect for one’s own culture, deep-rootedness and capacity for attraction is what has led to nine of these entroidos being considered celebrations of tourist interest today. 

A tour of these celebrations allows us to identify their differences, but also to find some common aspects. The main one is the irreverent eagerness of most of the celebrations and the role reversal that is staged in many of them. However, although the entroido is a time of fun, festivity, satire and even mockery of established power, in some of these celebrations figures of great authority emerge against whom there is no room for opposition. This is the case, for example, of the Pantallas, the “masks” (an element that by extension serves to define the whole character) that star in the events in Xinzo de Limia. In this town, which boasts the longest entroido in Europe and also one of the oldest and declared a Festival of International Tourist Interest, the Pantalla represents for a few days the maximum expression of authority and no one dares to disrespect it during its journey through the streets of Xinzo. Its roots go back to the castrexa period, as could happen with the Cigarróns de Verín, although in this case there are those who link them with characters not so distant in time. A legend, probably related to the custom of the Cigarróns of asking for money from people they met in the street or demanding an invitation in a bar, related this figure to an old tax collector of the Counts of Monterrei.

A similar explanation has been adopted to try to unravel the origin of the Peliqueiro, the central figure of the festival in Laza, a town that constitutes the third vertex of the magical triangle of the entroido in Ourense. One of the hypotheses about its origin explains that this masked figure would be the response of the Counts of Monterrei against the vassals who refused to pay taxes, although there are also those who maintain that its origins go back to the castrexos or Roman festivities. The Peliqueiro also has parallels with the Pantallas, as both share the fact of becoming the embodiment of three powers: the religious (symbolised in the mitre of the character from Laza and in the mask of the one from Xinzo), the social (as figure who organises the events of the entroido) and the judicial, as with the whip and the swollen bladders, respectively, they bring order and impart punishments.

The exercise of an authority seasoned with mischief and an origins in which there are also references to a rebellion against the lordly power is also present in the entroido of Maceda and in the staging of the central character of its festivities: the Felo. Although there are also those who relate it to older societies and to old fertility, initiation and hunting rites, which would explain the traditional decoration of their mitres with birds and other animals from the nearby mountains of San Mamede.

The origins of the Mázcaras de Manzaneda, recognisable by their colourful costumes and colourful dances, are even more diffuse, and despite what might appear from their name, they wear their faces uncovered. In Viana do Bolo, the most important character of the festivities is the Boteiro. He is responsible for opening and marking the way for the villagers who march in festive procession through the town or through the surrounding villages, forming the Folión, a name also used to refer to similar groups in several of the previous municipalities.

Already outside the boundaries of the province of Ourense, two other entroidos of tourist interest boast traditional characters. In both cases it is less complicated to trace their origins. The Madamas and the Galáns put the dance and the colourful note to the celebration in the parishes of Santo Adrán and Santa Cristina de Cobres, in the Pontevedra municipality of Vilaboa. There is written evidence of this tradition at the beginning of the 18th century, but it is believed that the origin of the costumes worn by men and women and the dances with which they go around both parishes has its origins in guild customs of the 15th or 16th centuries. Even more recent are the Xenerais da Ulla, the singular contribution that the eight municipalities of the so-called natural region of the river Ulla (A Estrada, Boqueixón, Santiago de Compostela, Silleda, Teo, Touro, Vedra and Vila de Cruces) make to the Galician entroido. The nineteenth-century uniforms that dress by the members of the two festive armies that participate in this performance refer directly to the warlike confrontations that took place two centuries ago (the War of Independence, the Solís Uprising or the Carlist Wars), although in this case the words and the verses replace weapons to engage in an amusing dialectic combat.

The visual impact that they cause in those who contemplate them does not leave behind the historical value of these stones.They are considered an important and sacred place of worship, whose origins date back to Roman times. Despite this, their form of creation and arrangement is not entirely clear. Some experts attribute its birth to a natural process led by molten magma that solidified when it came to the surface. However, because of its placement and orientation, other researchers firmly believe that it is an artificial formation of man. Carlos Sánchez-Montaña, an architect and specialist in ancient history, is sure that the placement of the stones is not natural, because their location is very well studied to symbolize the marriage between the sun and the Earth. In spite of that, its origin remains a mystery.                                                                

Legends

The location of the rocks is the result of various theories, such as their use as a pagan sanctuary or as a calendar (they could be used to predict important dates in the agricultural cycle). The last interpretation led to many investigations that highlight the orientation of the monument towards the sunset during the summer solstice and towards its sunrise during the winter solstice. Nevertheless, not only its morphology and placement are present: the magic that surrounds the area led to fables that are now part of local history.

One of the best known legends about the Sorrows of Rhodes – recorded by the writer Manuel Marina in his poems – refers to the interior of the two spheres, because it is said that one of its stones is full of gold and that the person who managed to break it would become rich. However, the other would be full of tar and, in case of breaking it by mistake, it would spill and devastate the whole area. For this reason, the two rocks are still in a perfect state of conservation: the desire to live has been able to achieve the ambition of getting the gold.

Related to the previous one, another legend refers to the hypothetical breakage of a single primeval formation that would have led to the formation of the two rocks. At the time of its fall, the original stone would have split in half, spilling all the tar that was inside. The catastrophe petrified all the residents of the area, which would explain the current existence of numerous large stones in the area: they are the bodies of the inhabitants of the place that, due to the passage of time and erosion, adopted the usual shape of those rocks.

On the other hand, the inhabitants of the parish of Gaioso have their own belief about the origin of the Penas de Rodas. Their fable explains that they were created by a goblin or by the devil, who placed them on allí́ to make fun of the men who, without result, would try to move them.                                                                    

The pilgrimage

The views from the top of Penas de Rodas and its situation in the middle of a pine forest invite to leisure and rest. To make the visit more comfortable for walkers, a recreational area has been built near the area of the megalithic site, with tables, benches and fountains. In addition, in this same conditioned space and the esplanade in front of the stones, every Sunday before August 12 a busy pilgrimage is held to welcome a large number of visitors. The music, dances, popular games and crafts help every year to revive the legend that surrounds the monument.

Penas de Rodas is one of those places that must be seen from up close, because only in this way is it possible to capture all the majesty and magic of the place. Many visitors come on June 21, but any time is good to enjoy this place full of mysteries and legends.

Noah, Noela and Noia

The name itself refers us to that diffuse territory since, according to tradition, it connects with the history of the biblical patriarch Noah. Thus, the town of Noia would have been baptized with that name by Galo Gafeto in homage to his wife Noela, granddaughter of Jafet, one of Noah’s sons. The story of these legendary origins has reached our days through the shield of the municipality, in which you can see an image of Noah’s boat and the dove with the olive branch that according to the biblical narration announced the proximity of land .

The cursed tower

The church of San Martiño, located in the central square of Tapal, is the protagonist of a tragic story that serves to explain the unfinished aspect of its facade, with a single tower that breaks the symmetry. Legend has it that the master stonemason responsible for the work died when he fell from the top while building the second tower and that a curse would fall on who tried to finish the work. In fact, a similar fate had in 1973 the film director Claudio Guerín Hill while filming his second film, The Bell of Hell. The filmmaker had ordered to complete the structure with a decoration in cardboard and during the last day of filming he fell from the top dying due to the impact. Juan Antonio Bardem was in charge of finalizing the direction of a film already raised to the cult category.

The Quintana dos Mortos snake

La Quintana dos Mortos, the funerary space located next to the church of Santa María A Nova, is one of the most unique cemeteries in the country and as such it was declared a National Artistic Monument almost half a century ago. In addition, it has its own legend, according to which a huge snake lived in the place and devoured everyone who came there. A gentleman, after entrusting himself to the Virgin, killed the snake with his sword, just as the image carved on the shield that presides over the entrance to the enclosure reminds us. Another snake is the main character of a story whose location is a cave located on the San Xusto River. According to legend, this specimen was so large that when it approached nearby villages looking for sheep to devour, its tail remained in the cave.

The Mermaid of Punta Paralada

In Punta Paralada or Pedra da Fada, one of the corners that the Tambre river draws before reaching the sea, it is not only possible to enjoy a beautiful view of the Noia estuary, but also to recreate yourself trying to locate another legendary creature. It is said that in the area, also close to the Cova do Encanto, lived a mermaid.

The lost chapel of San Bartolomeu

There are several legends that speak of villages submerged underwater in Noia. The most widespread story explains that in front of the village of A Barquiña, on the islet of San Bartolomeu, there was a chapel whose bells can still be seen when the tide drops a lot.

The Well of Pombas

Various stories converge in the waters of the Traba River. One speaks of the fact that the stones of the channel form a well with a staircase where a fairy lives that can be seen the night of San Juan, but others refer to the existence of a hidden treasure and even a tunnel that would communicate the place with the Tapal square.

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That is why today we will enter in those stories that, real or not (who knows?), transcend through the years, passing from generation to generation.

Have you ever heard of the Santa Compaña? It is perhaps the best known of the legends and the most terrifying has awakened among children and adults over time. It would be a procession of souls in penalty headed by a living person (the first one they met that night) and whose purpose is to visit, after midnight, those people they want to put on notice of a future death.

This is, perhaps, the most fearsome legend, but there are of all kinds…

They say that in the area of ​​O Morrazo, on Mount Paralaia, there is a cave full of treasures and secret passages that fall directly into the sea, and that only in the night of San Juan can be accessed to try to rescue the gold hidden inside, since only at midnight on June 24 will come the “mouras” who live there to wash and comb their hair, leaving the access free.

It is precisely the night of San Juan that has more magic around. For this reason, there are numerous rituals that are repeated every year in all parts of Galicia in order to call good luck or end with the spells of the “meigas”. One of the best known is that of jumping nine times over a bonfire; only in this way will we attract good luck and make our wishes come true, in addition to removing the “males de ollo”, since the fire will give us protection. Another tradition is to collect aromatic plants of different kinds, leave them in water under the moon all night and, in the morning, wash with that water.

But let’s keep the legends…

In Monforte de Lemos, in the Monastery of San Vicente del Pino, the legend of the crown of fire is famous. This legend speaks of the existence of an underground passage between the palace where the Earl of Lemos and the church of San Vicente lived. They say that during the absence of the Earl, the abbot of the monastery used this passage to go to his meetings with the daughter of the earl, with whom he kept a secret romance. One day the Earl finds out and decides to invite the abbot to his palace for a meal and, in the course of this, by surprise, one of his servants places a red crown of iron on his head, causing him to die instantly.

And do you know how the rivers were born in these lands? The legend says that God, on the seventh day of his creation, sat down to rest on the summit of Mount Santa Tecla, in A Guarda. When he was sitting there, he slipped into his seat, because everything was filled with mud because of the heavy rains, and to try to keep his balance, he rested his right hand on the mud. It was thus that, when withdrawing his hand, he left five large crevices that were quickly occupied by the sea, giving rise to the estuaries of Vigo, Pontevedra, Arousa, Muros and Noia, and Corcubión.

These are just a few, but the truth is that Galicia is full of stories and legends.

Which do you know?