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Topic: Monsters in Spanish Legends (Read 8813 times) |
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Tomoe
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #140 on: 03/11/12 at 11:46:42 » |
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Very well, here we go…
So, these are my translations from the «Dicionario dos seres Míticos Galegos». Please take note that this book is huge, and as such, any monsters that I have already covered in previous translations I will not redo. I will also not translate mythical characters, or name specific monsters. I will also skip any content on any entry that refers to information of other countries.
A
Abelurio, Abeluiro
A creature similar to a Trasno. This is a family of trasnos now extinct of which we only know the name. The only sure thing is that these were restless and noisy trasnos, very much given to playing and completely domesticated. This word is also used to describe young naughty and restless boys.
Aborteiro (Abortionist)
A Devil specialized in entering pregnant women’s’ bodies and make them miscarry. He turns into an extremely small thing, like an insect, almost invisible, and wait until the woman sneezes (I think…) so as to get inside her body and kill the fetus. The best prevention against this is to baptize the child before birth, over the mother’s womb.
Abutardo
A nocturnal Tardo
Afogada (drowned, fem.)
This is an extremely beautiful girl, thin, pale, blond, with long hair full of seaweed, sensual, beautiful inviting breasts, who appears in the foam of the sea during storms, of near cliffs or caves, showing only her head above the waves or walking over the waves in the distance. This is not a mermaid, for she has a complete human body. She is the communicator of disasters, when one is seen it means there will be a shipwreck. She may also warn against a bad fishing day or a dangerous ocean. In this sense is a beneficial figure, warning of disaster. She does not speak however, merely emitting shrieks similar to seagulls.
Ananos (dwarfs)
Small beings, very hard workers with long white beards. Long ago they lived above the earth and were faithful servants to men, but in some unknown date, they went underground occupying themselves with keeping, transporting and increasing the earth’s treasures by mining. They usually reject contact with humans and if someone if to disturb them they drive them away with magical means. They are magicians of great power. Sometimes they take on the shape of an owl and announce the death of humans. They live under castros, mamoas and ruins. On special occasions they will emerge from below the earth and take up conversation with solitary passing humans.
Ánima soa (lonely soul)
An invisible soul to whom one may pray before going to bed so as to wake up at a specific time. These seem to be lost and forgotten souls who only enter a house when called upon to wake them up by the following prayer: «Oh soul! The loneliest and most abandoned of purgatory! I feel your pain, I feel compassion by hearing your moaning and suffering abandoned in this hard penitence, and I wish to relieve your suffering and longing by offering you all the good and decent works I may do in my life, and all the pains I have passed, pass and will pass in this life so as your faults may be played to God and he will give you his grace, and I hope that you will do me the great help of requesting that his light clear my judgment so as I may follow his law, loving him above all things, and my fellow man like unto myself, for in that way I may deserve his divine majesty and infinite mercy and salvation. Amen». One should have a medal of the good souls, following with five Our Fathers and one Hail Mary.
It may be that the Ánima soa changes over time, and is merely the most abandoned soul in purgatory. To give them this prayer is in fact an act of charity.
Antaruxado
1) A member of the antaruxada. In some cases this is the name given to a living members of the Compaña.
2) A person following a fate and goes out at night to announce the death of people.
Antaruxo
A seer, ugly tall, with a long and thin face, who roams the night announcing deaths.
Avefría (cold bird)
An invisible bird the anouces death. They have a kind of crown or diadem.
Avelaína
A nocturnal butterfly that is thought that it might be a soul. They fly around bright lights and according to their colors they announce future events. The white ones bring good news, and they are souls thanking the intercedings that released them from purgatory. The black ones bring bad news and they beg for relief.
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Mouryo
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #141 on: 03/11/12 at 15:59:10 » |
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on 03/10/12 at 15:49:56, VilaJunkie wrote:Mouryo:
Would you like everything translated or just the supernatural creatures?
The stuff about the supernatural creatures would be cool.
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VilaJunkie
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #142 on: 03/13/12 at 00:47:19 » |
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on 03/11/12 at 04:44:49, Tomoe wrote:| That’s interesting… I've been trying to find English books that discuss the Book of Saint Cyprian, outside of the occultist publications, but I could only find Owen Davies’ «Grimoires – a History of Magic Books». Does Summers actually say anything about the book, give any kind of analysis, or does he simply mention it? |
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"Owing to a confusion between St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, and St. Cyprian of Antioch the coverted sorcerer, who was martyred fifty years later, a number of mediæval spells have been ascribed to the former. Thus in Denmark and Scandinavia among the witches to-day almost any grimoire is dubbed the Book of Cyprianus."
Montague Summers. A Popular History of Witchcraft. New York: Causeway Books, 1973 [London: 1937]. Ch. II, pg. 77.
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Tomoe
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #143 on: 03/13/12 at 15:18:05 » |
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Hum… he went through the Scandinavian side… not very useful for me, but thanks anyway. If you’re interested in the Scandinavian traditions of St. Cyprian I advise the second volume of Benjamin Thorpe’s “Northern Mythology”.
If you see any other reference to the Ciprianillo in there please let me know.
Regarding these latest monsters (I haven’t gotten any new ones today), as I read more and more of these entries it all starts to fit together, especially if you keep in mind the information I already posted in the Portuguese monster topic regarding Northern Portuguese folklore (which is basically the same folklore as Galicia). All these monsters and specters revolve around the same concepts, particularly death. But far from being grim, they all reveal a constant preoccupation with the afterlife and the tragedy of not achieving rest upon death, particularly expressed by the lost souls (almas penadas, in Portugal) and the notion of purgatory. The Christian element here comes as a touching sympathy for the dead and the pining souls that constantly need relieve and prayers from the living.
Having recently read a short analysis of ancestral cults and cults of the dead in ancient cultures, and the influence the Church had in practically eradicating them by associating them to evil sorcery and Devil work, I have to say I find great comfort in seeing how a such a cult has survived by developing such a beautiful syncretic use of Christian morals.
And speaking syncretism, one can clearly see how French Kardecism would very well fit into this system, with all its notions of spirit elevation and communication, and latter give rise to remarkable cults such as Umbanda and Quimbanda in Brazil. The Portuguese influence on Afro-Brazilian religions is many times overlooked, in favor of an Afrocentric one, but the mark is obviously there. One must not forget that a large part of the Portuguese immigration to Brazil in the XVII and XVII centuries was exactly from the North, and these ideas were vividly carried with them.
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| « Last Edit: 03/14/12 at 09:54:44 by Tomoe » |
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VilaJunkie
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #144 on: 03/13/12 at 23:02:40 » |
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Oh wow, you really put a lot of heart--pardon the sappy expression--into that post. I really like how you wrote all of it.  I agree with the idea of Spanish mythology as focusing on and venerating death as an almost holy aspect of the human condition. Fittingly, la Semana Santa ("Holy Week") with its procesiones in the city streets is coming up. I wonder if the ancient Celt-Iberian concept of the serene, not-so-distant Otherworld had a huge influence on modern Spanish traditions. Even the Hadas/Xanas and Duendes seem rather pathetic or "lost", not outright evil like many other European fairy types. However, the Devil himself crops up in a lot of Spanish myths.
Back to St. Cyprian: Unless his grimoire is mentioned in other works, Summers has nothing else to say about it. Maybe search the vampire books? I dunno what the public-domain statutes are in the EU, but you might be able to look up more of Summers' books than me.
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Tomoe
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #145 on: 03/14/12 at 08:32:34 » |
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Well… thanks… more than just reading I’ve been doing a lot of writing and I guess that is starting to influence my other activities (I’ve actually had some problems with my supervisor about that… science should not be treated as literature).
And it might be hard to say how deep this notion of the ever present and needy dead runs in Iberia. I have a tendency to believe that culture is indestructible, while civilizations come and go, so I, as a personal note, would say that it probably goes well into Neolithic times. Iberia has one of the heights Megalithic monument densities in Europe, and Portugal in particular has the earliest know stone circle in Europe, so I would say that in this region there has always been an extreme preoccupation with the dead. This was also one of the main points in those Paleolithic Continuity Theory Moura books I read a while back, as Mouras can also be very easily associated with the dead, and their residences are frequently such megalithic funerary sites.
It would seem that most mythical figure in Iberia (and I’m not stating any kind of exclusiveness here, I’m sure this is the case in most places) are born from a disturbance in the natural flow of life and death. Bad deaths that create lost and pining souls (who may become deformed into a variety of Duendes) or evil enchantments that just pull individual out of the natural continuum, turning them into “encantados” (like Mouras). None the less, the general rule and motivation of most supernatural entities is to actually terminate their supernatural state and achieve a proper death. And it is the living’s responsibility and obligation, as Christians, to help relieve their suffering and aid them in achieving their final rest, even if sometimes this may assume anti-Christian aspects. And there is also some quid pro quo in all this: as you pray for the relief of the dead, and consequently free them from their pining state and open the doors of Heaven for them, so is this action by itself an exercise of charity and goodness, opening the gates of Heaven for you upon your own death.
With the trasgos the connection here is even stronger, as these are some times thought of as the spirits of unbaptized children (a bad death). As such they shouldn’t be exorcised, which would throw them into purgatory or into an even darker place, for there is always the chance that one of them might be your relative. Your only alternative is to conform yourself with the situation and put up with them as you would a relative you don’t particularly care for.
And even the Devil is rarely an evil character; I actually made a whole section in my St. Cyprian essay just regarding this point. As the saying goes: “God is good, but the Devil isn’t bad either”. He still has the very marked characteristic of the typical mythological trickster, but going as far as acting as a force of balance and even as a law giver.
I personally find that the defense of the existence of an exterior independent master of all evil, is just a lazy way to excuse our human short comings and flaws. The traditional Iberian Devil is not at all evil, merely cunning, he pushes no one towards their damnation, he just, if asked, supplies the tools for our own downfall. This is particularly evident in the plays of Gil Vicente (1465 – 1536), who took much of his inspiration for the popular conceptions of the supernatural.
In the “Auto da Feira” (Market’s play) the Devil set up a stand in a religious market, next to a Seraphim, who immediately complains about his presence. The Devil’s defense is explemplary:
(It’s my own translation, so please forgive my poetical inaptitude)
My lord, I appeal against that.
Were I such a bad character
who would force anyone
such would be well deserved
but I merely observe each one’s own actions
for I force no one
If any wishes to buy
be he cleric or layman or friar
the evil tricks of life
by their own very will
my lord, what I am to do?
And if a bishop
master in hypocrisy
and with it wishes to hunt
having I so much of it in stock
why should I deny him?
And if a sweet nun
- coming to the market -
to buy an anointment
to make her fly out of the convent
my lord, even if I don’t want to
I must sell her this ware
Even in the Book of Saint Cyprian, in the narrative of the Frenchman Victor Siderol, you can find a very ambiguous description of the Devil, promoting charity, humility, sacrifice and giving lessons on proper morals and true love, actively making the diabolist Siderol into better and honorable person.
And thanks again for the information on Summers’ book. I’ll look into it myself.
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| « Last Edit: 03/14/12 at 09:53:56 by Tomoe » |
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Tomoe
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #146 on: 03/17/12 at 16:42:52 » |
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Avichuchos
An undetermined form that some “encantos” take on in the castors os Melinde. They are believed to be people or birds of a very disturbing aspect. They are most likely bats, ananos or mouros.
Avexón
The name of the Compaña in Ourence. Avexón is probably the same as Avisón, one way of referring to the souls of the Compaña, for they announce death.
Avisóns
One of the names of the Compaña.
B
Balea (Whale)
In Risco and Sabadellee, in Pereira de Aguiar, Ourence, it is said that there is only one whale in the sea, a single one. Every five years it gives birth, and each time she gives birth to a female it is dangerous to all pregnant women. She then comes to land to die and her daughter takes her place.
This whale is in fact the leviathan from the book of Job.
Barco afundido (sunken ship)
In the lake of Carregal, where lays the sunken city of Reirís, there is a sunken ship with a siren or horn that sounds like an ox when fog coverers the lake. Some say this is to warn the sailors of the dangerous sand danks other say that this is in fact to attract them to the depths, where the city lays.
Some say that it is not a ship, but rather an actual ox, the Boi Bruón, others even say it is a serea, the only survivor of Reirís.
Basilisco (basilisk)
This is born from an egg without yoke, laid by a seven year old rooster. It is buried in manure and hatched by a frog. Three weeks latter a yellow monster with frog eyes is born; its head, neck, paws and chest of a rooster and the body of a serpent. Occasionally they will have a small spot on their heads shaped like a crown. Its name means, little king. This is the king of all reptiles. In Galicia it is believed that its breath is so fetid it can break rocks, dry fountains and contaminate the air. It can kill at the distance, with its whistle and with its stare.
The traditional remedy against it is for one to see it before it sees us. The basilisco will lose all it power and die. One may also place a mirror in from of it, for it cannot stand its own image. Other say it cannot stand the smell of a weasel or the singing of a rooster. Weasels frequently challenge them, and usually both are killed in these fights.
Becerra con cans (calf with dogs)
Urco. The calf surrounded by a pack of dogs in one of the forms of that complex of beliefs we call the urco. The urco frequently appears as a dog of various sizes and shapes, but in this particular case the dogs may just be an accessory element, although they are probably not as the urco is sometimes made up of a variety of dogs. Together with these dogs is a calf that moans with three different voices, with the dogs chasing it. This calf has the habit of passing by the same place various times and may be seen and hear mostly on crossroads, and like the Comapaña it goes out at midnight.
Biosbardos
Birds of great beauty that no one can describe. To catch them one most go on a dark night to a narrow path far away from civilization, where it is impossible to hear any chickens, roosters or the voices of humans, take a large bag, open it and evoke them in the following manner:
Biosbardo,
ven ao fardo
que alpabarda
por ti agarda
(I’m usually quite good at figuring out Galician… but this is a bit of a challenge)
Biosbardo,
come to the “fardo” (“burden”?... I suppose they mean the bag)
that the “alpabarda” (?)
await for you
Those who manage to catch them will be very fortunate in life, given that they do not reveal this to anyone. As such many believe that biosbardos do not exist, and that they are merely lies to fool the gullible. But let be reasonable, should you have a biosbardo, would you be such a fool as to reviel it to anyone?
Comparable to the biosbardos are the gambusinos or gamburrinos, from other regions of the state. the Dahue, Dahut and Daru of Piotou is an animal of undefined shape, extremely rare, with extremely valuable fur, that can only be captured in the freezing winter nights, while awaiting the whole night in a place similar to the one we described.
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Tomoe
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #147 on: 03/17/12 at 16:43:46 » |
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Boi de Sandomedio (ox of Sandomedio)
In a mount called Sandomedio, in Taboexa, in Neves, lives a golden ox. The Mouros made this ox to worship him, and left him buried there. The ox has gained life and is now under a bolder under which there is also a “braço de mar” (1). No one can move the bolder to try and see or capture the golden ox; otherwise the sea will flood all the villages nearby.
(1) This concept of “braço de mar”, which I guess can be translated as a “branch of sea”, is one of my favorites in Northern Portuguese and Galician folklore. They directly relate to the biblical account of the great deluge and Noah’s Ark or even to the great sea of chaos from which God created the heaven and the earth. Braços de mar are isolated pieces of raging ocean hidden and trapped under the earth, one of the great dangers of magical treasure finding.
These are also related to the “Mar Coalhado”, the “Curdled Sea”, the actual primordial ocean of Chaos once again hidden deep in the earth, that, should it be disturbed, will flood the whole of the earth. This is sometimes mentioned in certain banishment in the Book of Saint Cyprian, as a place to bind the Devil.
Boi Louro (Blond ox)
This ox, which is curiously black, is enchanted in Pena do Boi Louro or Pena Loira, in Palas de Rei.
Boi Vidal (Vidal ox)
An ox made of stone that lives under the sea. His eyes are a good protection against the evil eye. The eye of Boi vidal appears to be a kind of calcareous formation, of petrified seashell.
Borboleta (butterfly)
These may be souls. The souls that appear as white butterflies have been redeemed from their pining, and the black ones are still pining. In some regions, to the white butterflies, pure souls, you call pombas (doves).
In San Cosme de Cusanca, in Irixo, a woman once offered to the poor a hand full of coins to redeem the pining souls. As she gave them a thick cloud of white butterflies emerged from the grownd, surrounding her. These are thought to have been thankful souls.
Brancaflor (white flower)
The daughter of the Devil. She appears in some folktales, acting as a helper to the hero, serving him with her magnificent magical powers. The Devil has three daughters, Brancaflor is the youngest.
Sometimes she is called Flora and her father may not be the Devil, but rather a bruxo or a mouro.
The character María Castaña is really the same as Brancaflor.
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| « Last Edit: 03/17/12 at 16:48:00 by Tomoe » |
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Tomoe
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #148 on: 03/24/12 at 14:59:04 » |
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Busgoso
A myth of the asturian-galician area, similar to the busgosu, mofasu, peludu, vellosu and calibiernu of Asturias, the Cantabrian musgosu and the Basque baxajuan. He is the guardian of the woods, with goat hooves and horns, compassionate towards lost travelers and cruel with hunters, he also chases women so as to rape them.
Butre (vulture)
One of the birds of death, large and nocturnal that makes the sound of a cat, a bird or a goat. This is sometimes confused with the urco.
C
Cabaleiros (horsemen)
This name is sometimes given to the mouros. These are tall and blond, the true male counterparts of the mouras.
(I found this very interesting, as usually mouros are described in extremely different terms from mouras, leading some to admit that they might be two completely different mythological characters, this, however, appears to settle the doubt. Still… as far as I know these mouros “Cabaleiros” do not exist in Portuguese mythology)
Cabaliño branco (little white horse)
A little white horse of extraordinary beauty and indescribable elegance, that occasionally shows itself on the road of Ponte en Cadena, in Nogueira de Ramuín. This horse is strapped to a wall, gently daring anyone to get on his back. To this day no one has ever taken this offer for this may actually by a daiño burleiro.
Cabalo (horse – obviously this is not a particular mythological creature, it’s just a horse, but this entry does have some information I found relevant, and I’ve decided to do some selective translations from it)
(…)
The diaño burleiro can a paper as a horse or horse rider. If he appears as a horse rider he will always lei to any traveler, in order to get them lost. As a horse his typical behavior is to let someone get on him and start running uncontrollably; getting travelers lost, or transporting them great distances; throwing his rider into a pond; he can also offer to transport people across a river, elongating himself so as any number of people can actually ride it at once and then disappear in mid travel so as to drop his riders on the water.
(…)
Aquatic horses that come out of rivers of fountains are quite common, but these are frequently manifestations of the diaño.
Cabalo da fiaña (horse of fiaña)
The horse of fiaña is black, tall, with glowing red eyes and nostrils like burning pits, and yet, he is mostly harmless. The fiañas were places were one could rent a horse, like today you would a car.
(this entry basely refers to a particular legend about a man renting a horse, as it is very long and largely uninteresting I will not translate it. The gist of it is basically that this man rents a huge black horse that suddenly starts running insanely and as he tries to get off it he finds himself magically attached to its back. The two eventually disappear into the night.)
Cabalo or Egua da luz (horse or mare of light)
Slower than the horse of thought and faster than the horse of the wind. This is the horse selected by the hero of the story of Branceflor.
Cabalo or Egua do pensamento (Horse of Mare of thought)
A week and feeble horse, used by Branceflor’s father when he chases her. This is the fastest horse even though he doesn’t look like it.
Cabalo or Egua do vento (horse of mare of the wind)
Also called the horse of the air. Slower than the horse of light and even more then the horse of thought.
Cabalo pantasma (Ghost horse)
Colored like a flame, or vomiting flames from his mouth. This is a supernatural horse that frequently appears to treasure hunters and lonely travelers. Sometimes he is a huge horse, other times he reveals himself very small but then grows until he reaches the clouds. This is most likely a manifestation of the diaño burleiro.
Cabra (goat, fem.)
This is a creature that announces death, it is not a regular goat, but rather the rapoza das mordazas or the cabra do aire. It may also be a pining soul.
Cabra com pernas de mulher (goat with woman’s legs)
A creature with reverse characteristics of the Dona com pés de Cabra. This is libidinous creature, who chases and seduces young boys.
Cabra do aire (Goat of the air)
A bird of death. An invisible bird who sings the approaching death of who hears her or someone close to him. Its singing resembles the cry of a goat or just something indescribable. It may also act as a tardo, compressing the body of those who sleep.
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Tomoe
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #149 on: 03/24/12 at 15:46:42 » |
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Cabra que fala (talking goat)
This creature goes out into the night in search of lonely travelers. This once happed to a man from Coruña, while he passed by a place called Modia.
The man was terrified and ran to get his rifle to kill the goat, but when he tried to fire the weapon did not work.
He was advised to make some bullets out of some Saint Anthony wax, this he did but when he was about to fire the goat begged him not to do it. After that he never saw it again.
(I personally find this story remarkable… I mean, there really seem to be nothing wrong or evil about this goat, she just likes to talk to travelers… which seems like a perfectly reasonable thing for a goat that can speak to do. It kind of reminds me of Cervantes’ “El coloquio de los perros”, where two dogs suddenly find themselves with the ability to talk and decide not to waste the opportunity and talk all night.)
Cachafello
A winged animal, similar to the biosbardo. To catch it one must say: «cachafello vente ao cesto, que alpabarda por ti agarda» (cachafello come to the basket, that the “alpabarda” (?) waits for you)
Cachán or Cachano
A very lustful devil who has sexual relation with humans during the night.
Cachizo
A kind of lowly demon who causes infirmities like a limp leg.
Cadela peregrina (pilgrim bitch\dog)
Not many people dare talk about this specter. The ones that saw her say that she spits fire from her mouth and eyes. She is a bad omen. If one is unfortunate enough to run into her they should never look her in the eyes.
Some say that she is white, and the most experienced say that the best way for her not to harm us is to treat her curiously and say «Deus te acompañe» (May God accompany you); if you say this she will disappear or even answer «E a ti tamén» (and may He company you too). This is a pining soul. She is similar to the rapoza do morrazo e the cadela de tetas longas. She may also be related to the urco, the can branco and the lobo branco. The color white, contrarily to common conception, is a bad sign.
Cadela de tetas longas (Bitch with long teats)
Like the Cadela peregrine. A large white dog with large teats dragging thought the ground that appears in the night announcing death. (I’m not sure about the translation of this next part) Sometimes she is cut in half and spits smoke from her mouth. She imitates the cries and howls of dog, sheep and ravens, she may also transform into a raved or a ball of twine. If someone kicks her in this form she may multiply into two or three.
Cadeliños
Visions with the form of puppies that may accompany the cadela de tetas longas.
Can Branco (white dog)
(1) A dog that appear at night by the lonely paths and looks upon travelers with great sadness. It is, however, a sign of good fortune
(2) One of the manifestation of the «cando urco». An omen of death.
Can Doente (sick dog)
A rabid dog. If he bites anyone, the person should look at her reflection in the water basin of a fountain, if in the reflection, instead of her head, she sees the head of the dog she has contracted rabies.
Can do mar (dog of the sea)
Urco or can do urco. A great black dog that comes out of the sea in dark nights, howling furiously. It is a omen of death.
Can do urco (dog of the urco)
It is common to confuse the urco with his dog. Given that the large majority of the forms the urco takes are those of dogs of various kinds. Originally the definition of can do urco just refers to a dog from hell.
In any case this is a dog like any other, only that it can take on the form of huge black dog with long horns and ears that howls in the night. Every dog where he passes follows him. It is a omen of death.
The can do urco lives in the Borrón, an otherworldly country, most likely under the sea.
Can Negro (Black dog)
A nocturnal apparition and a sign of ill fortune. Possibly the can do urco.
One must not look into its eyes, for he spills fire from his eyes and nostrils. Very similar to the cadela peregrina, if you say »Deus te acompañe» he will disappear in an explosion of flames.
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VilaJunkie
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #150 on: 03/25/12 at 17:51:26 » |
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Some comments on the translation:
"Cabalo or Egua do pensamento"
This is probably slang, not literal. In Spanish, pensamiento also means "pansy"--a sissy.
"«cachafello vente ao cesto, que alpabarda por ti agarda»"
I used my google fu and found out alpabarda is "a fool, simpleton". I found this too:
Quote:Real Academia Galega (1913-1928): Diccionario gallego-castellano
"Persona de poca acción, resolución o desembarazo: boca aberta, papanatas. El que aunque vea lo que se quiera, se está mirando indolentemente." P. SOBREIRA.
Gazafello,
Vente ao vello,
Que alpabarda
Por ti agarda.
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http://sli.uvigo.es/ddd/ddd_pescuda.php?pescuda=alpabarda&tipo_busca =lema
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #151 on: 03/26/12 at 01:39:26 » |
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Well, I think that the Cabalo do pensamento might have a double meaning then. The three horses make up quite a solid folktale motif, with one being even faster then the other: wind is fast but light is faster and thought is even faster (curiously, in Kardecism, the speed of thought is mentioned as the speed that spirits move).
Probably the meaning of “pensamiento” as “sissy” just comes to further underline why this horse would be the least desirable, even though it is the fastest of the three.
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VilaJunkie
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #152 on: 03/26/12 at 18:39:12 » |
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That makes a lot of sense. In separate folktales, the idea that the speed of thought>light>wind comes up in Scandinavian mythology. In the story about Idunn's kidnapping, Loki (the god of fire) in eagle form just barely out-flies the jotun Thjazzi in eagle form, who I think is considered a wind-giant. And in the story about Utgard-Loki, Loki (in some versions, in others its a minor god) can't keep up with Thought in the foot race.
Another comment on the translation: In the English-speaking Catholic Mass--in the US anyway--«Deus te acompañe» is "May God (or the Lord) be with you"; «E a ti tamén» is "And also with you". I just thought was interesting to see you translate it in a different way.
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #153 on: 03/31/12 at 16:17:10 » |
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Well, I honestly did not know how these would be in an English mass… The exact translation from the Galician of “E a ti tamén” would be “And you too”, but that really didn’t sound good to me, so I decided to make a little more explicit. But technically, your translations would be the correct one.
Canouro
Ethereal being that lives in the fields, woods and waters. He can cause dreams and nightmares, insomnia and delirium, and fatal wounds in children while they are in their parents laps.
It may be related to the tardo and the man peluda, who also cause nightmares. But it most likely a tardo with the form of a dog.
Canto dolorido (sorrowful singing)
The singing of some birds. This is one of the many ways that souls have to manifest themselves.
Caranguexo coa pinza de ouro (Crab with a golden claw)
At the bottom of a well, in the Barbaña River, there is a most curious treasure: a skeleton made of diamonds, pearls and gold. The guardian of this treasure is a crab with a golden claw.
Carro da morte (death cart)
The Carro da Morte always brings a warning. This is a horse cart whose wheels you can hear running over roofs and in front of houses. He comes to collect souls, after his passage someone dies.
Caxancrán
A nocturnal tardo who causes nightmares.
Cazcarrán
The name of the Devil in Ancares. Cazcarra is the name of the cow dong that sticks to the hair of the cow, it means filth. Cazcarrán is the same as Sucio and Zucio, other names of the devil.
Cazoleiro
A household trasno whose sole activity is to bang on casseroles, breaking them. Occasionally he might not break them, being satisfied with making noise so as to frighten people.
Chasco
A cursed bird that can not be eaten because half of its body belongs to the devil. It is said that this bird betrayed the sacred family when they were running from king Herode by indicating their path to some soldiers.
Chupasangues (blood sucker)
The chupasangues is a man who waits in the winter nights from the young boys who are going home from school and stray from their path. He kills them and sucks their blood. A kind of home do saco. The chupasangues is a coco to scare little children.
Cobra con ás (winged snake)
Snakes, as they become a certain age gain wings. When this happens they immediately follow the path of dragon to Babylon uttering the same words (this is actually a reference to the entry on dragons a little further on in the book. I’ll get there soon enough). Those that see them say they follow the course of rivers to the sea, they are also dangerous for the shadow of snakes can curse someone who touches it, and those that have seen them dead say they are made of leather, green and yellow.
(the point about the shadow of snakes being cursed is actually very interesting, as in normal circumstances to step on the shadow of a snake is nearly impossible… it only becomes a danger when they learn how to fly…)
Cobra de sete cabezas (snake with seven heads)
The cobras de sete cabezas are guardians of treasures and kidnapers of women. To kill one you must be able to strike at its middle head with a needle or pin.
Coca
Tarasca. A monstrous animal with the body of a dragon and the tail of a serpent that lives in the sea or in rivers. On its back it has two great wings, similar to a bat. It has four powerful clawed paws, two fiery red eyes and a huge mouth filled with teeth.
She appeared one day, in Redondela. It came out of the raging ocean and in a quick attach devoured two girls, it repeated this attack many times, always taking the prettiest of the village. The people then gathered the 24 strongest and bravest men and these waited for the monster, killing it with their swords in its next appearance.
The name of “coca” comes from crocodile, an animal that was thought to be a snake.
There is another version of the Coca from Redondela. This was actual a girl crying from a broken heart. Due to all her crying she did not notice that her back had sprung wings. As she tried to fly she couldn’t, for she had also grown a snake tail. Her lips then became a horrible reptile mouth and her tear became the river Alvedosa, which dragged her into the sea.
Coco
An undefined being that may have many forms and that is used to scare little children.
Comellón
A glutinous trasno who enter houses at night so as to eat. He is very careful so as not to spill anything. He particularly enjoys cheese and eating in bed.
So… even if I have only been posting an average of one post per week, I’ll just let you know that for the next two weeks I won’t be doing any translations. I’m going on a much needed vacation and the book isn’t travel friendly.v
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VilaJunkie
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #154 on: 04/02/12 at 02:29:46 » |
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Death Cart: This shows up in Ireland as the coach-a-bower, or the Dullahan's coach; in England as phantom coaches; and most similarly in Britanny (France) as the squeaky-wheeled cart driven by the Ankou.
Cazoleiro: Clap-Cans in England are night spirits that bang pots and pans.
Comellón: I'm pretty sure a direct translation is "the Big Eater". The UK and Italy have several classes of fairy/elf that do nothing but steal and eat a family's entire food supply.
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #155 on: 07/01/12 at 10:59:24 » |
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Well guys, I guess I’m mainly making this post to apologize for my absence these past months. I guess the spam bots did get to me a bit and I did feel like waiting until a new forum got put up before I continued with the translations… but it is now obvious that it might take much longer than I expected.
Anyway, in the mean time I haven’t really been lazing around, I have taken up the task, monumental I might add, to translate the Book of Saint Cyprian into English (because I really didn’t see anybody else doing anything about it, even though the international interest in it is substantial). To the best of my knowledge this will be the first translation of the classical Iberian Grimoire into English and in a way it will be a major contribution to the study and understanding of Iberian folklore that I think everybody here will recognize. In the mean time, in case anybody is interested, I’ll have a small piece of writing and a small selected translation from the Book of Saint Cyprian published in the next issue of Hadean Press’ Conjure Codex (not soon though, it should be out in October).
So, I hope to return soon to the Galician translations, but I also hope that everybody understands that they will always be secondary to the grand work at hand.
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #156 on: 07/01/12 at 16:31:39 » |
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Cool! That's awesome that you're making headway into the Book of St. Cyprian project. Even more awesome that some of your writing is getting published. 
I really should be doing translations myself now that I have an intermediate comprehension level of Spanish. It's not quite related to the forum's main interest, but I recently got a picture book of the folktale El Gallo Sabio (sic), "The Wise Rooster". It's about the farm animals present at Jesus' birth. If anyone wants the full text, let me know and I'll type it up.
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #157 on: 07/03/12 at 13:27:05 » |
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Well, this is just me blowing my own horn now, but I have been hitting the keyboard quite hard lately. Besides my usual Portuguese stuff, earlier this year I had another essay published on Scarlet Imprint’s esoteric poetry anthology “Mandragora” (about Fernando Pessoa, not folklore).
I didn’t know the Wise Rooster, I really think we don’t have enough of these old fashion fables anymore, that’s how you learn symbolism as a kid.
And if you type it up I’ll certainly read it, but I understand if you don’t feel like it.
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #158 on: 08/18/12 at 14:21:13 » |
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I just wanted to share something with you folks that is just too awesome to keep to myself. A dark and mighty sorcery from the Book of Saint Cyprian (taken from a section in the book that claims it was taken from a Mouro manuscript):
RECIPE TO FORCE A HUSBAND TO BE FAITHFUL
Take the marrow of the foot of a black dog, one of those breeds without hair, and fill a wood needle case with it. Wrap this needle case in a piece of red velour, perfectly thigh and well sown. After this, unstitch that area of the mattress between the husband and wife, and place the needle case inside the mattress, in such a way, however, that it does not bother anyone during the night.
Having done this, the woman must become very amiable and condescending with her husband, agreeing to everything with all her will. She should seek to laugh and smile when he is sad, promising to help him if, by fatality, his fortunes are adverse, and she should also conform herself when she is suspicious that he has a mistress, going as far as pretending she doesn’t know of anything.
At night, at bed time, and in the morning, while getting out of bed, she should give him, sometimes, some food or drink with plenty of cinnamon and clove, and at other times, some chocolate with a great deal of vanilla, cinnamon and clove.
She should sleep completely nude, as close to her husband’s body as she possibly can, so as to transmit her heat and sweat.
Every time he enters the house, she should give him a gift and say that she thought about him. This affection may be some fruit or sweets he enjoys, a flower and, if she lacks these things, a hug accompanied by a kiss.
If he has a bad temper, and is crude and harsh, she should never contradict him; rather, she should calm him with cuddles. If he is docile, but inconstant, she should always present herself superior to him in every action of life and in all feelings.
This recipe, being all these formalities we expose here observed with attention, is of an incontestable effect.
Let our lady readers try it, and they will see their time put to good use.
My commentary:
The first sorcery of this section is, without a doubt, the most awesome sorcery ever! One does not need to be an experienced magician, witch or sorcerer to immediately understand the ground breaking efficiency of these most occult proceedings described here.
These methods are so effective that I will even go further and suggest that some of the lady sorceresses reading this book try out this great and hidden mystery without that whole dog marrow and needle case business. Or, madness of madness, try undertaking this dark malefica even if you think your beloved is not cheating on you, for you may be surprised.
Indeed the whole procedure is based in dosing your significant other with sweet tasting aphrodisiacs and constantly and ruthlessly bombarding him with love, affection, understanding and sexual suggestion.
Ah! The Mouros were a most magical, remarkable and advanced people.
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| « Last Edit: 08/18/12 at 14:21:48 by Tomoe » |
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VilaJunkie
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Re: Monsters in Spanish Legends
« Reply #159 on: 08/23/12 at 13:51:35 » |
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The English translation is my own. I don't like the one used in the book because, imo, too many lines deviate from the Spanish text.
El Gallo Sabio
The Wise Rooster
Por Mariana Prieto y Ilustraciones de Lee Smith
By Mariana Prieto and Illustrations by Lee Smith
En la América Latina todos los años, en las Navidades, las abuelitas reúnen a sus nietecitos y les cuentan leyendas muy interesantes que también fueron contadas a ellas por sus abuelitas hace mucho tiempo, en España, cuando ellas eran pequeñitas.
Y así se cuenta que una noche cerca de las Navidades, la abuelita Menta sentó a su nietecita Alicia en su falda y le contó la historia de los animales que hablaron. Esto es lo que ella dijo:
In Latin America, every year, during Christmastime, grandmothers get their little grandchildren together and tell them very colorful stories, which were also told to them by their own grandmothers a long time ago, in Spain, when they were small.
And so it is said that one night around Christmastime, Grandmother Mena set her little granddaughter Alicia in her lap and told her the story of when the animals talked. This is the story she told:
--Fue el día antes de las Navidades, o sea, el día de nochebuena.
Todos los animales estaban reunidos en el establo alrededor del niño Jesús.
El pequeño infante estaba durmiendo muy placenteramente en el pesebre que le servía de cuna, y cerca de él, su madre María dormía sobre un montón de heno.
José, su padre, sentado próximo a la cuna del Sagrado Infante, aunque so deseo era estar despierto toda la noche velando por el bebé, también se quedó dormido, porque se sentía muy cansado.
It was Christmas Eve, also known as the time of nochebuena.
All of the animals were gathered together in the stable, surrounding the Christ Child.
The Infant Jesus was sleeping soundly in the manger that served as his crib, and close to him, his mother, Mary, slept upon a pile of hay.
Joseph, his father, sat near to the Blessed Infant's crib, and although his wish was to be awake all night watching over the baby, he too had fallen fast asleep, for he felt so very tired.
(Note: Nochebuena doesn't have an exact translation in English, but the term "Holy Night" from Christmas carols comes close. It refers to the hours after midnight on Christmas Eve, when Jesus was born.)
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