Galicians

Galicians

ETHNONYMS: Galego, Gallego

Orientation

Identification. The people of Galicia in Spain (o pobo galego in Galician) inhabit the northwestern corner of the Iberian Peninsula, directly north of Portugal. They speak Castilian Spanish and Galician, the latter a Romance language that is parent to modern Portuguese. They are predominantly Roman Catholic. The name "Galicia" is derived from the name for the people in the region when the Romans arrived in the second century b.c.e., the gallatae, but there is disagreement about the ethnic source of the people, with many celebrating a Celtic origin.

Location. Galicia lies between 42° and 44° N and 7° and 9° W. The 29,434 square kilometers in the region take the form of a rough square bounded by the Bay of Biscay (Sea of Cantabria) to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the River Miño separating Galicia from Portugal to the south, and the mountain ranges of León and Asturias to the east. The coasts of Galicia are indented with drowned estuaries (rías ). About 80 percent of the region lies above 300 meters, with the highest ranges (some with peaks over 1,800 meters) forming an effective eastern barrier between Galicia and the rest of Spain.

Galicia has a mild climate, averaging between 7.2° and 18.9° C through the year. Frequent rain, drizzle (calabobos ), and heavy mists (brétemas ) contribute to the 76 to 203 centimeters of rain that falls over an average of 150 days per year.

Galicia's isolation has led to the region's being one of the few in Europe where the original postglacial mammalian fauna remain virtually intact. Of the 500-600 wolves left in Iberia today, for example, most are in Galicia.

Demography. In 1980 the population of Galicia was estimated at approximately 3 million inhabitants (about 424 per square kilometer), with a growth rate of less than 1 percent per year. The urban areas account for about 30 percent of the total population. Galicia is the sixth most populated of the fourteen regions of Spain, with about 7.5 percent of the country's inhabitants.

Linguistic Affiliation. Nearly every Galician uses Castilian Spanish, but about 80 percent of the population also speaks Galician (galego ), which, along with Castilian, is taught in the grade schools and studied in the university. The use of Galician has rapidly expanded since the region became autonomous. Historically, Galician was one of the principal and mutually comprehensible Hispano-Romance dialects spoken in the northern third of the Iberian Peninsula. When the Christian reconquest of Spain began (by the tenth century), speakers of each of these dialects gradually moved south. The central Castilian-dominated swath gradually grew broader, cutting off the southward expansion of the dialects of Leonese, Navarro-Aragonese, and Catalan, with a substantial strip in the west populated by speakers of Galician. In the twelfth and thirteenth century, Portugal began to take shape and finally was separated from Galicia at the River Miño, leaving the two languages to develop independently.

History and Cultural Relations

The Iberians migrated to Spain in the third millennium b.c.e., probably from the eastern Mediterranean, likely encountering the Basques in the peninsula. They lived in small tribal groups, isolated from one another by geography, and each with a distinct regional and political identity. When the Celts crossed the Pyrenees into Spain (sixth century b.c.e.), their cultural influence, which included gender equality, ultimately triumphed. Augustus romanized the Iberians in 19 b.c.e., cutting up the peninsula into a series of provinces. Galicia as a kingdom was founded by the Germanic Suevi in 409 after the Visigoths drove them into the peninsula. The Visigoths defeated the Suevi in 585. Early in the eighth century armies from North Africa began their invasion of Spain, initiating the Moorish epoch, which lasted until 1492 when Ferdinand and Isabella triumphed over Boabdil at Granada. Early in this period, the shrine of Saint James was established at Santiago de Compostela (813), with Saint James subsequently becoming the symbolic commander and Spain's patron saint in the reconquest struggle after the battle of Clavijo (844). Pilgrims flocked to the shrine from throughout Europe, bringing the region into contact with the Christendom of France and Italy for the first time. In the fifteenth century Ferdinand and Isabella unified Spain, and Galicia began to be considered an underprivileged, conservative province, remote from the Castilian center to the south; even the fact that Francisco Franco was born in Galicia and returned for frequent visits did notably little to change this attitude. A strong sense of autonomy now pervades the region, however, and Galicia is developing considerable self-esteem through its language, industry, and rising tourist business.

Settlements

Outside the major cities, most of Galicia's population is spread in some 29,000 hamlets and tiny settlements called aldeas with an average population of 80 people. The cultural focus of each village is the church, which draws upon perhaps a dozen family groups that work together and are often related. In the mountain villages, a small oval house with a thatched roof (choza or palloza gallega ) can still be seen occasionally. In the aldeas, the houses are generally single-family dwellings made up of slabs of gray granite hewn from Galician bedrock. The animals frequently live on the ground floor or in an adjoining enclosure. Almost all village houses have their own hórreo, a rodent-proof granary (built on stilts) for storing maize and potatoes. In the cities, the older buildings are constructed of granite, while the new multistoried apartment houses are typically constructed of poured concrete or bricks faced with stone or concrete.

Economy

Subsistence and Commercial Activities. Old shipbuilding, tanning, and sawmill industries have declined, leaving fishing and agricultural crops to dominate the Galician economy. The small farms (minifundios ) produce maize, potatoes, turnips, cabbages, small green peppers, apples, pears, and grapes. Although tractors are common, plowing on some farms is still done with a single blade or pointed prod pulled by oxen; heavy wooden-wheeled carts (carros chiriones, "screeching carts") are still seen. Harvesting is frequently by hand. A textile industry has produced income in the region, as have petrochemical and automobile factories. Tungsten, tin, zinc, and antimony are mined. Tourism is also growing, with the beaches of the various estuaries on the Atlantic coast (the Rías Atlas and Rías Bajas) being particularly attractive.

Emigration is the traditional way of alleviating land pressure and keeping the region's problems within manageable proportions; these days, however, greater prosperity is causing fewer than an estimated 10,000 per year to leave for Latin America and Europe, compared with the 230,000 who emigrated to Latin America between 1911 and 1915. In Buenos Aires, so many Galicians have immigrated that all people who have immigrated from Spain in the last century are called gallegos. There are Galician communities in all the big towns of Spain, France, Germany, and Switzerland. The Galicians' capacity for hard work is matched only by their ability to save. The strategy is to save as quickly as possible for a rapid return to Galicia. Some of the savings brought back by migrants go into land, but much more is invested in houses and in food and drink businesses.

Trade. Small stores, café-bars, street vendors, and open-air markets are found throughout Galicia. Homegrown produce or other homemade products are brought (usually by women and not infrequently on their heads) to the markets to sell or to supply other merchants.

Division of Labor. In 1980, 46 percent of the region's labor force (1,175,400 persons) was engaged in agriculture, 16.3 percent in industry, 8 percent in construction, and 27.1 percent in services; 2.6 percent of the available labor force was unemployed.

In Galicia, more than 75 percent of the women work for pay, generally sharing the same jobs as the men. Both women and men work the farms, tend the animals, sell fish, run cafébars and markets, and serve as heads of households. The traditional home tasks are also assigned to women, but men will tend babies and do housework.

Land Tenure. Nearly everyone owns land in Galicia, but it is precious little; most plots are from 1 to 2.5 hectares. There are few examples of large landholding such as in the south. "Galicians never use handkerchiefs; they till them" is a frequent assertion, reflecting the scarcity and dimensions of the landholdings.

Kinship, Marriage, and Family

Kin Groups and Descent. Galician descent is generally patrilineal, with children taking their father's family name and appending their mother's. The wife, however, does not add her husband's name to her own, retaining her own name throughout her life. She may choose to use her husband's name after his death so that she is known as "[her name], widow of [husband's name]."

Kinship Terminology. The Galician kinship system is much like that found in the United States. Cousins are distinguished from brothers and sisters, but all cousins are placed in the same category. Aunts and uncles are distinguished from parents and labeled separately according to gender. No other relatives are referred to by the same terms used for members of the nuclear family.

Marriage and Family. Galician marriages are monogamous, and there is considerable freedom in the choice of marriage partners, although social pressures function to keep the economic classes fairly rigid. The nuclear family is usual. Only 10 percent of households could be termed extended or joint. As long as both elderly parents are alive, they tend to stay in their homes. After a spouse dies, the widower may move to the home of a married child, but widows who are accustomed to the daily tasks of running a household generally try to reside alone rather than rely on their children. Also, among adults in Galicia with older children, it is rare to find a couple without most of their children residing either permanently or temporarily away from the village.

Inheritance. The surviving spouse is the automatic heir to the deceased spouse's property, and all children regardless of gender, age, or place of residence divide the property of both parents equally. Because longevity is a feature of Galician society, late inheritance of property forces most children, even those with wealthy parents, to be on their own for long periods. Young women may remain at home to care for their aged parents in return for some advantage when the property is divided.

Sociopolitical Organization

After forty years under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco (1936-1975), Spain is now a parliamentary monarchy with a king as the head of state and a president as head of the government.

Political Organization. Galicia is an autonomous region of Spain and is governed by the Xunta de Galicia (the Galician Assembly). The region is divided into four provinces (La Coruña, Lugo, Orense, and Pontevedra), each with its own governing body. There are further administrative divisions for the municipalities and the hamlets. In 1992, Spain will be admitted to full partnership in the European Community (EC).

Religion and Expressive Culture

Religious Beliefs and Practices. Roman Catholicism is overwhelmingly the central religious force in Galician society, although men tend to be less obviously religious than women. Catholic churches, cathedrals, monasteries, and various types of shrines, including distinctive high stone crosses (cruceiros ), dot the landscape. Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses are actively proselytizing in the region, but they are gaining only a smattering of converts.

The beliefs of most Galicians are infused with a vigorous strain of supernaturalism. Ceremonies connected with these beliefs are frequently celebrated simultaneously with traditional Catholic ceremonies. Fig-symbol amulets, scapulars, and objects to ward off the evil eye, for example, are often sold close to the church where a religious rite is being celebrated. Various types of people are commonly believed to have supernatural powers: meigas (who provide love and curing potions), barajeras (who cast out evil and foretell the future), and brujas (who are believed to cause harm). A common saying is Eu non creo nas bruxas, ¡pero habel-as hainas!, or "I don't believe in brujas, but they exist!"

A considerable number of sites in Galicia have profound religious significance. For example, the Galicians, other Spaniards, and a vast number of Europeans consider Santiago de Compostela, in the La Coruña Province, to be one of the great spiritual centers of the world, ranking equally with Jerusalem and Rome. Early in the Christian reconquest, the bones of Saint James were believed to be uncovered in the area (in 813). Saint James (Santiago) subsequently was ensconced as the rallying figure in the ultimately successful wars against the Moors. A vast number of faith-promoting Saint James stories permeate the beliefs of Galicia, and the symbols of Saint James (cockle shells and the distinctive cross of Saint James) are ubiquitous.

Ceremonies. Saint's day celebrations, popular religious excursions (romerías ), night festivals on the eve of a religious festival (verbenas ), and the whole traditional calendar of Catholic observances provide rhythm to the lives of Galicians. A considerable number of nonreligious observances are threaded through the calendar of observances—for example, the "Disembarking of the Vikings" at Catoira, which vigorously reenacts the attack of a marauding Viking fleet in the tenth century.

Throughout Galicia a great number of varying charms, incantations, rites, and sympathetic actions are performed at each step in the life cycle.

Medicine. In case of illness, the usual Galician pattern is to consult a medical doctor first. If the illness does not subside, then the person doubts that the illness is medical and may consult a healer (curandero or curandera ) who can cure with herbs or other nonmedical remedies.

Arts and Crafts. Galicia is famous for its folk dance groups, which are accompanied by the skirl of Galician bagpipes (gaitas ). Various vocal and instrumental groups (some even cranking medieval hurdy-gurdies) sing and play popular Galician music. Thriving groups of artisans produce works in silver and gold, ceramics, fine porcelain, jet (azabache ), lace, wood, and stone.

Galician literature today maintains characteristics developed during the Middle Ages; it is largely a literature of lyrical poetry. Notable Galician writers include Rosalía de Castro, who expressed the deep nostalgia (morriña ) of nineteenth-century emigrants; Manuel Curros Enríquez, whose poems exalt the regionalist spirit of Galicia; and Valle-Inclán, noted for his elegant poetic prose.

Regional Foods. Galician restaurateurs command considerable respect in Spain. The estuaries produce shellfish of all kinds, from the famous cockleshells of Saint James to lobsters, mussels, shrimps, oysters, clams, and crabs. Caldo gallego is a broth of turnips, cabbage or greens, and white beans. At most bars and at all sorts of outdoor celebrations, there are roast sardines, octopus, squid, little green peppers (the famous pimientos de Padrón ), and chunos (doughnutlike tubes of fried pastry). Many of the cheeses are traditionally in the shape of breasts (called tetillas ). A strong liquor called aguardiente or orujo is served burned (queimada ) with lemon peel and sugar.

Bibliography

Buechler, Hans, and J.-M. Buechler (1981). Carmen: The Autobiography of a Spanish Galician Woman. Cambridge, Mass.: Schenkman.

Fraguas, Antonio (1988). Romarías e Santuarios. Vigo: Galaxia.

Lisón Tolosana, Carmelo (1971). Antropología cultural de Galicia. Madrid: Akal/Universitaria.

Marino Ferro, Xosé Ramón (1985). Cultura popular. Santiago de Compostela: Museo do Pobo Galego.

EUGENE VALENTINE AND KRISTIN B. VALENTINE