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ETHNOGRAPHIC HERITAGE

The different constructions of the popular world in the City council of Dumbría are located, as a rule, around the streets, thus conforming long population centers followed by winding ways that run by these earth.
 
This is what this section is about, the study of cruises, mills, fountains, pigeons, barns, eles all of them in dumbriesas lands.
 
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Cruceiro Dumbria.jpg

CRUISES AND CROSSES

The cruise is one of the most strongly rooted elements in Galician land and culture. It is closely linked to the Galician rural landscape. It is also characteristic of other regions of the world with strong Catholic roots, such as Ireland, France, Germany and Britain.
 
The main functions of the cruises are: the sanctuary of paths, the protector of accidents, the conductor of pilgrims, the rest for walkers, the announcer of the proximity to shrines and the commemoration of historical events, among others.
 
In the municipality of Dumbría there are many cruises and crossings. The following are presented by parishes those that are preserved today:
 
  • Parish of Berdeogas (3): Cruceiro da Grixa, Cruceiro da Pedriña and Cruceiro de Cándido.
 
  • Parish of Buxantes (6): Cruceiro Marco do Couto, Cruceiro da Fonte Santa, Cruceiro da Figueiroa, Cruceiro do Campo de Buxantes, Cruceiro da Porta da Igrexa and Cruceiro do Cemiterio.
 
  • Parish of Dumbría (4): Cruceiro da Grixa, Cruceiro das Herbas, Cruz de Cheo and Cruz de Laureano.
 
  • Ézaro Parish (3): Cruceiro de Santa Uxía, Cruceiro da Igrexa do Ézaro and Cruz de Pao.
 
  • Parroquia de Olveira (4): Cruceiro da Grixa, Cruceiro de Vilar, Cruz do Logoso and Cruz Vao de Ripas.
 
  • Parish of Olveiroa (2): Cross of the place of Olveiroa and Cross of the Pontella.
 
  • Salgueiros Parish (5): Cross of the place of Salgueiros and the four crosses around the church.
 
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Pombal Berdeogas

DOVECOTE

The dovecote in Galicia is not as numerous a construction as the barn due to the poor yield that was extracted.
The dove was regarded more as an animal to be admired than as food and its manure was scarce. In addition, an excessive number of pigeons could be counterproductive to sowing the field.
 
The construction of large stone pigeons with roofs was associated with a symbol of social status and was reserved for large upper class estates and for Galician palaces. The saying goes: "Pigeon house, chapel and cypress, pazo is."
 
In the City Council of Dumbría stands out the dovecote located in the place of Berdeogas, next to the parish church, the castro, the barn and the oak grove Devesa da Lúa.
 
It is a beautiful dovecote sample, made with taped masonry pieces that make it stand out in a special way. It has a gabled roof, with country tile for the roof. It is horseshoe-shaped, which gives it a distinct appearance; its plant is circular and its body cylindrical.
 
A single door serves as access to it and, for the entrance of the pigeons, small holes were placed near the roof. In addition, an eaves protrude around the perimeter, serving as a pigeon lodge.
 
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Horreo Berdeogas.jpg

BARN

For many years, the hórreos and the cruceiros were the two emblematic constructions of Galicia due to their large number of specimens. The barn arises to preserve the cereals from enemies: moisture, mice, and other insects.
 
Depending on the climate, the predominant materials in the region, the volume of the harvest and the economic "status", the barns were built in a certain way.
 
On the Costa da Morte, the common barn is known as Fisterra. It is a barn made of stone, rectangular in shape, narrow, high, long, suspended on stone poles and with a door on the side.
 
Although it sounds strange, according to historical references, the existence of the barn predates the arrival of corn in Galicia. Meanwhile, its expansion is closely linked to the cultivation of this cereal.
 
Most of the land ownership belonged to the monasteries and the nobility. The farmers who worked them had to pay a tax, the so-called forum.
 
In the City Council of Dumbría there are about 794 barns, highlighting for its length and uniqueness that of the Rectorate of Berdeogas (24m), with 15 feet on the north side and 16 on the south, something unique the fact of having odd feet. On the contrary, the smallest is that of Santa Lucía, in the place of Lucín (Olveira), with three pairs of feet and a length of only 2.5m.
 
Barns of the City Council of Dumbría by parishes: Berdeogas - 143, Buxantes - 172, Dumbría - 148, O Ézaro - 73, Olveira - 143, Olveiroa - 38 and Salgueiros - 77.
 
 
BERDEOGAS BARN
 
There are many and varied barns that can be seen in every village in Galicia, but a unique barn like the one in Berdeogas is difficult to see.
 
For starters, we are not talking about a barn with a usual size, as it is quite large, nothing more and nothing less than 24 meters long. But the feature that makes it unique is, without a doubt, at its feet.
 
Given that the "normal" is that the barns have even feet; that is, equal number of feet on one side as on the other, this barn does not meet this condition. In fact, it has 15 feet on the north face and 16 on the south.
 
A mystery or why two odd feet…
 
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Muiño Dumbria.jpg

Photo: Santi Garrido

MILLS

The hydraulic mill was the most perfect and quoted machine in rural Galicia for its functionality and economy, creating customs and folklore in its environment that would be passed down from generation to generation.
 
Although some mills were for private use, most were local or communal. Its distribution was by "pieces", days, nights or a certain number of hours that corresponded to a schedule set in advance and transmitted, in most cases, verbally from parents to children.
 
In addition to its functionality for grinding, the mill was a neighborhood meeting point where news, songs and dances were reviewed. This is where the "muiñeira" is born.
 
In the cadastre of the Marqués de la Ensenada, a total of 82 mills were inventoried in 1761 in the municipality of Dumbría. It is thought that the oldest is the one located in A Carballa (Buxantes), whose construction must have been at the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th.
 
Inventory of mills of the City Council of Dumbría by parishes: Berdeogas - 28, Buxantes - 46, Dumbría - 40, O Ézaro - 30, Olveira - 34, Olveiroa - 9 and Salgueiros - 15.
 
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Fonte Dumbria .jpg

SOURCES

The Celts had the belief that water was an element endowed with divine power with magical virtues and the power to heal. It was like a bond between the spirit of the person and earthly life.
 
Both the springs and the fountains were considered something magical and sacred where inside it housed the supernatural spirit that had to be cared for with delicacy and religiosity.
Through rituals, this supernatural force was manifested in the healing of diseases and ills of love, among others, resulting in the general well-being of the person. In these cases faith prevails over reason.
 
The miraculous waters of the Fonte Santa das Neves, in Buxantes, stand out, in which our ancestors used the water from this spring so that the animals could give enough milk to breastfeed their young.
 
Another miraculous source in the City Council of Dumbría is that of the Fountain of Santa Lucía de Olveira, where pilgrims soak a cloth in its waters and then pass it through the eyes of the person offered in order to cure eye-related diseases. Legend has it that the evil is transferred to the cloth and that when it dries, the eyes of the offered are healed.
 
In addition to the miraculous springs, in the lands of Dumbries there are many springs in which one can quench one's thirst.
 
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