Ethnographic and cultural heritage study about the … · Ethnographic and cultural heritage study about the wolf. Lands of Wolves Ethnographic and cultural heritage study about the

Lands ofwolves

Ethnographic and cultural heritage study about the wolf

“In the silence of the mountains, slowly flowingamong the trees, the wolf´s path crosseswith the man´s path...”

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Transnational cooperationproject: wolf wild life & farmers

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Lands of WolvesEthnographic and culturalheritage study about the wolf

CREDITS

Design and layout:XIMENA Galicia S.L.U. (www.gimenaingenieria.com)

Cover design: Senmais solucións gráficas, S.L.

Photocomposition and Printing: PUBLILAR S.L.

Legal Deposit:LU 337-2010

© Text: Ximena Galicia S.L.U., the texts coming from different sources have a reference on foot.

© Photographs: Ximena Galicia S.L.U., the photographs coming from different sources have a reference on foot.

© Ilustrations: Miguel Somoza

Work team Ximena Galicia S.L.U.:

Eva Mª Salvador Fernández

Chiara Porcu

All rights reserved. The reproduction, storage and total or partial transmission of this book are prohibited without the editors' previous and written

authorization.

Printed in Spain

THE IBERIAN WOLF IN SPAIN 5

THE ETHNOGRAPHIC HERITAGE 6

GALICIA 67

ASTURIAS 10

CASTILLA Y LEÓN 32

3SPECIAL THANKS

INTRODUCTION 4

Index

INFRASTRUCTURES 97

Iberian wolf howling. Photo courtesy of Carlos Sanz

Special Thanks

Carrying out this study was never easy nor incidentless, especially when it affects so closely to the life of a population, influencing their memories, fears,

joys and hard life in the mountains. Anything of this would had been possible without the help, support, generosity, kindness and joy of all those whom,

along this adventure around Asturias, Castilla y León and Galicia, we have had the fortune of meeting. Many of them, because of modesty or shyness, do

not want to be named, but they are present in each page, and we want to thank all of them for being a fundamental part of this project. Thanks to Juan de

Vilar, who with his tales and his passion took us backwards in time, when there were still adventurous loberos who travelled around the villages; to Jorge

de Cortes; to Orlando of SOS Courel; to the Noceda inhabitants who, in front of a very good cup of homemade coffee told us their adventures with the wolf

in O Courel; to José from Mercurín and Pedro from Quiroga; to the Bustofrío and O Comeal inhabitants; to Jesús from Vilarello, who accompanied us for a

whole afternoon with fun tales and stories helping us in the search of the foxo of the wolf; to Caseiro from O Poso and to his grandson; to the Murias de Rao

inhabitants; and to those of Piornedo, invaluable sources of information, stories and tales of the Ancares Gallegos; to Gonzalo from Ibias, for his

interesting stories about the functioning of the calecho of Villardecendias, the heraldry and the believes about the curative power of the wolf!; to Mino

from Degaña, for taking us to the south of Asturias with its people and places where we lived authentic adventures searching for the calechus; to the

Degaña inhabitants and to Manuel and Amparo from Valláu, who during one afternoon delighted us with tales and stories about wolves and sang for us a

moving song; to María from Roxo de Ibias, to José de Mingo from Mual; to Larry, of the Oficina del Parque Picos de Europa in Posada de Valdeón, who, in an

hour, made us to live the thrills of a battue thanks to his passionate words; to Tino of the company Dos Aves in “Cordovilla de Aguilar”, who took us to

discover the wonders of the mountains in Palencia, although it was snowing and foggy, an ideal weather to encounter a wolf, sadly we only found some

footprints!; to Javier Blanco from Puebla de Sanabria, who transmitted us his great passion for the wolf and who was a thankful source of different kinds of

information; to Felipe Lubián from Lubián, who told us the story of the cortello of the village, delighted us with some tales and took us to meet the kind Luis

and Josefina with whom we spent a fun short time talking of adventures and tales about wolves; to the inhabitant of Sarracín de Aliste, who showed us the

corral and shared with us a memory about her father; to the Barjacoba inhabitants; to Constantino from Vilar de Calvos; to Eugenio from Rebordela; to

José from Lamas de Campos; to Otilio Fernández from A Burela with his daughters Marisol and Fina, who made us feel like family and helped us to discover

the foxos in A Fonsagrada; to José María from O Cebreiro for sharing with us his passion for O Cebreiro; to Carlos Sanz, for his support as an expert in the

Iberian wolf and for his lovely pictures; to Miguel Somoza, for his beautiful illustrations. We want to express thanks for the precious help of Juan Pablo

Torrente, for kindly offering himself to review the draft and for having provided useful and interesting information about the Asturian traps and about the

couso in Negueira de Muñiz.

Finally, we want say thanks to the members and persons in charge of the GAL in Asturias, Castilla y León and Galicia for their support and help.

3INTRODUCTION

Introduction

This study is part of the inter-regional and transnational cooperation project WOLF: Wild Life & Farmers, which aims to provide the basis for the

realization of a right control of the wolf in all the participant territories, in order to achieve a social, economic and environmental agreement

meaning no risk for the animal species and human beings. The geographic application of this project cover several groups of local action (Grupos

de Acción Local GAL) in Spain and other regions in the European Union. These are:

GAL CORANE (Portugal)

GAL LEADER VÁXLUST (Suecia)

GAL TORNEDALEN (Suecia)

GAL SOUTH-JÁRVAMAA (Estonia)

ZONA SURORIENTAL (Polonia)

CÁRPATOS - TRANSILVANIA (Rumania)

In Spain, the GAL participating in the project are:

:

GAL ALTO NARCEA MUNIELLOS

:

GAL ADATA

GAL ADERISA

GAL ADISAC LA VOZ

GAL ADRI PALOMARES

GAL ADRI VALLADOLID NORTE

GAL MACOVALL 2000

GAL MONTAÑA DE RIAÑO

GAL ACD MONTAÑA PALENTINA

:

GDR ADR ANCARES COUREL

GDR MONTES E VALES

Asturias

Castilla y León

Galicia

INTRODUCTION4

The iberian Wolf in Spain

Gifted with a great strength and resistance and with an impressive ability to adapt to different environments, the wolf conquered the tundra,

mountains, valleys, woods, forests, moors, deserts and steppes of the north hemisphere, extending its primitive territories for the main part of

Eurasia and North America. Despite the implacable hunt it has suffered for centuries, which has caused its extinction in many of its old territories,

the wolf still maintains an ample distribution.

Nowadays, it is estimated that in our peninsula there are 250-300 reproductive groups of Canis lupus signatus, with a total population oscillating

between 1500 and 2500 specimens (with important seasonal and year to year fluctuations). In any case, it is the biggest wolf population in

Western Europe. The main part of the Iberian wolves can be found in the northwest quadrant, especially in Castilla y León, Galicia and Asturias.

There is also a small population distributed among Cantabria, the País Vasco and La Rioja; occasionally some wandering specimens are detected in

Navarra, Aragón and Madrid. In Extremadura and Castilla – La Mancha the wolf is almost extinct, although lately some evidences of its presence

are appearing in the north of Cáceres, the north of Guadalajara and the south of Ciudad Real. The most southern wolves in our peninsula are in

critical danger of extinction, with a reduced and segmented population in Sierra Morena, among the provinces of Jaén, Sevilla and Córdoba (40-60

specimens), with a high level of inbreeding and consanguinity.

Map of the current distribution of the Iberian wolf in Spain, according to the elaboration of the data provided by the Ministry of Environment.

5THE IBERIAN WOLF IN SPAIN

The Ethnographic heritage

The present study intends to be a recompilation of the material and immaterial ethnographic heritage existing about the Iberian wolf, focusing the

research particularly in the territories of the local action groups involved in the project and in their adjoining proximities.

The research has been possible thanks to an initial recompilation of available bibliographic sources accompanied by an intense fieldwork. The

latter has consisted, on the one hand, in the identification of the main inherited material elements (in most cases structures for hunting and for the

protection of the livestock) in order to locate them, figure out their current state of preservation and obtain the available information when it was

possible. On the other hand, we have carried out some personal interviews with the local population, compiling anecdotes, tales and proverbs

related with the wolf either directly with the animal or with the structures related with its presence in the territory. Another part of the research

work has consisted in the search of toponymic elements, signals of the constant presence of this animal and its significant role in the history of

these communities; and references to the wolf in the heraldry related to the territory under investigation.

(*) Boza D. Moisés, El trampeo y demás artes de caza tradicionales en la península ibérica. Ed. Hispano Europea

The material ethnographic heritage: the structures and hunting tools

Since antiquity, the relation between humans and wolves has been, at least, difficult. The wolf has always being a terrible adversary, hated,

feared, but also admired and respected for its astuteness and bravery. The fight for the control of the woods has determined that humans have

developed hunting strategies more and more complex and effective. The most rudimentary techniques consisted in the positioning of snares and

traps in the area. Among the snares, it is interesting to mention the parrillas, used efficiently particularly by the shepherds in Asturias and León in (*)order to protect their flocks from the frequent attacks of the wolves.

The second type of portable traps used for hunting wolves were the cepos zorreros. This is an iron object elaborated in a forge, in which the joints

are usually made with strong rivets. (…) This trap has a long spring in the shape of a metal band

commonly known as rabo, acting on the jaws. These are usually jagged and not excessively high,

because the intention is to hold the animal without killing it. The jags have a characteristic drop shape

that, in numerous models, are beautifully elaborated. The “moon” or “tile” where the paw of the

animal will stand swings over a central shaft which maintain it united to the body of the trap. The

(*)triggering mechanism is situated in one of the margins of the arch, where the jaws are affixed.

Traps for hunting wolves

6 THE ETHNOGRAPHIC HERITAGE

(*) Alvares F. et al., 2000, Os fojos dos lobos na península ibérica. Sua inventariaÇão, caracterizaÇão e conservaÇão. Galemis 12 (nº especial)(**)Pérez López David, 2010, Os foxos do lobo. A caza do lobo na cultura popular. Editorial Canela(***)

Boza D. Moisés, 2008, El trampeo y demás artes de caza tradicionales en la península ibérica. Ed. Hispano Europea

Passive traps

Among these traps, the simplest ones are those known as foxos or cousos in (**)Galicia, pozu or pozo lobal in Asturias and couso in León . They are based on

the realization of a hole dug in the ground with sufficient depth and narrowness

for the wolf to fall in it without being able to escape. It was covered with

branches and leaves in order to conceal its existence. Sometimes, the ditch

wall's edge was covered with irregular masonry. They were usually placed in

the natural paths of the wolves and sometimes, in order to hurt the wolf, some (**)wooden stakes were put in the bottom of the pitch . For attracting the wolves

a bait was used, in different ways, sometimes in a pole fixed in the ground, or in

an horizontal wooden board placed into the void in a way that, when the wolf

tried to take the bait, the board swang and they both fell (Couso in Vilar,

Galicia).

Another model of more evolved passive traps are those known as foxos de

cabrita, or casa do lobo in Galicia; calecho, curro or couso in Asturias; corral or (**)couso in León; cortillo or curral in Zamora . They are based on stone

enclosures without mortar, many times in a hillside, in circular shape, slightly

oval or even rectangular, with big stone slabs in the top of the walls placed

towards the interior to avoid that the captured wolf could escape. They were

usually built taking advantage of terrain elevations in a way that in the centre

of the trap there was a mound, where a sheep, lamb or goat was usually tied

(with a preference for the goat, according to the collected testimonies, since

the goat, unlike the sheep, continued to bellow) serving as a decoy for the

wolves.

The most fascinating hunting strategies are those consisting of structures that can be notably big in size. In general, these traps can be classified in

two types: those requiring a direct participation of the human in their use (organizing and carrying on battues and hunting parties in order to push

the wolf into the trap), and those in which the wolf is expected to enter the trap attracted by a bait. For cataloguing the traps along this study, we (*)refer to the cataloguing made in Alvares et al.

Examples of passive traps

7THE ETHNOGRAPHIC HERITAGE

In order to trick the perception of the wolf, trees, brooms and other bushes were planted in the interior of the enclosure; and the entrance was

facilitated in the upper part of the hillside (in case it was attached to it) or in other point of the construction thanks to big stones and other

elements. Most of the time, when the wolf entered the ditch and realized that could not get out, it did not eat the prey and remained in a corner

beside the wall. A ladder was used for entering or leaving the pitch or, according to the oral tradition collected in some places, sometimes there was

a small door with iron bars or with an interwoven wooden structure. These traps were placed in the natural path of the wolves. An example of this

kind of trap in good preservation state can be found in the Cortello dos lobos in Lubián (Zamora), restored in the eighties.

Active traps

The active traps needed the direct participation of men. They are known as foxos, pozos and lobeiras in Galicia, hoyo, calechus, calellos and

(*)chuercos in Asturias; chorco or chuerco in Castilla y León . This type of traps were built usually in places far from population settlements and could

reach important dimensions (hundreds of metres some of them).

The main characteristic is the presence of two lateral walls, or sebes, which include generally the two slopes of a watercourse and that become

closer as they moved toward the pitch, which constitutes the trap, that

can be reached, in some cases (Foxo de Cortes in Galicia) by a final

corridor with variable length. The final corridor, or the walls in its

absence, end in the pitch: a cylindrical stone construction similar to

the bait traps described previously. The pitch used to be up to 4 m

deep and between 3 and 5 m in diameter; it was placed in an area of

the hillside lower than that of the lateral walls, in a way that the upper

part served as a contention wall, with the entrance at ground level,

while the lower part stood above the ground. Here, the end of the

battue had place, with the wolf pushed into the funnel made by the

walls, without other exit than that offered by the small opening

entering the pitch, in the upper part. To take the animal out once it had

fallen in the trap, one could enter the pitch through a small door in the

lower part closed with iron bars or with a stone.

(*) Information collected from Pérez López David, 2010, Os foxos do lobo. A caza do lobo na cultura popular. Editorial Canela

Example of active trap. Illustration by Miguel Somoza

8 THE ETHNOGRAPHIC HERITAGE

(*) Information collected from Elías Pastor Luis Vicente, Novoa Portela Feliciano, 2003, Un camino de ida y vuelta, la trashumancia en España. Lunwerg Editores and Rodríguez Pascual Manuel, 2001, La

trashumancia. Cultura, cañadas y viajes. Edilesa

Immaterial ethnographic heritage

The testimony of the presence of the wolf in an area and of its important role in the daily life of the local population is demonstrated by the

existence of place names marking specific locations, but also by the tales, stories, sayings and legends in which it plays a main role. On these

pages, we have collected the testimonies of people that confronted the wolves day after day in an arduous and complicated fight.

Material ethnographic heritage: Structures for protection

The origin of the conflict between wolves and humans comes from the need of the latter to

increase their own space in order to gain terrains for cultivation, farming and for taking

advantage of the resources offered by the forests, particularly the wood, which conveys

the reduction of space available for the wolves. The “competition” for food gave place

inevitably to a clear confrontation, since the search of food by the wolf and its predator

nature, leads him to attack the livestock. For this reason, over the centuries, humans

have developed several defensive strategies: selection and utilization of dogs

(particularly Spanish mastiffs) trained to guide the livestock, take care of it and protect it

from the attacks of wild animals; often equipped with carrancas or carlancas, articulated

collars with sharp spikes in the exterior that cover their whole neck; the building of

infrastructures for the protection of the livestock (corrals, corralas, chiviteros, etc.) and

the shepherds (cabins, chozos, etc.). In the present study, the most representative

structures for protection of each area has been collected, including those used by the

transhumant shepherds, were it long distance transhumance or a extremo, or (*)trasteminance (journey that has place between near or bordering municipalities) . In

this collection, we have also included the alzadas, seasonal villages to which the

population moved during summer months in order to take advantage of high mountain

pastures. The livestock was usually kept in the house, but sometimes, corrals were built in

the interior of the village.

Rural scene in Ancares (Navia de Suarna)

9THE ETHNOGRAPHIC HERITAGE

Carlancas for the mastiffs. Photo taken in the Riaño Museum.

Ibias

Cangas del Narcea

Degaña

PRINCIPADO DE ASTURIAS

GALICIA

CASTILLAY LEÓN


PRINCIPADO DE ASTURIAS

Asturias

The Principality of Asturias is an antique land rich in emotions where history, tradition, culture and legends fuse together with nature to take the

visitor in a time travel to the age when humans belonged intrinsically to this place.

In its southwestern part, on the hill ranges that separate the municipalities of Cangas del Narcea, Degaña and Ibias, it is the Parque Natural de la

Fuentes del Narcea, Degaña e Ibias (Natural Park of Fuentes del Narcea, Degaña e Ibias), declared a Biosphere Reserve by UN E S C O , w i t h t h e

Reserva Natural Integral de Muniellos in it, with its ancient glacial cirques, the biggest oakwood in Spain, beeches, ash trees, birch trees… drawing

a landscape with unique fauna like bears, wolves, capercaillies or bobcats.

Landscape of the Asturian mountains

ASTURIAS12

The hunting structures found in

this area of Asturias are known as

caleyu/calechu or cousu. They are

trampas de cabrita (traps of goat)

and nowadays, only the traces of

some of them can be admired

since the most part have

disappeared or are in ruins making

it very difficult to find them with

complete precision.

The Alto Narcea Muniellos territory, with its great variety of landscapes, its mountains, its dense and prosperous woods, and its fresh and living

nature, is the ideal environment to satisfy the wolf's needs. These have always been lands of wolves and there are many stories and tales about

them. The testimony of a long cohabitation and struggle between humans and wolves in these lands can be found in the traces of numerous

structures, traps and strategies used for capturing this inhabitant of the woods.

Wolf hunting

General map of the situation of the traps

found in the territory under study in

Asturias


ASTURIAS

LEÓN

Villardecendias

El Corralín

Trabáu

El Rebo&&al

Degaña

Pena Ventana

Alguerdo

Val.láu

Sierra del Pando

ASTURIAS 13

Geographical location

Place: Pena VentanaParish: LarnaMunicipality: Cangas del NarceaProvincie: AsturiasTrap type: de Cabrita

Coordinates: 43º 4' 48,78'' N 6º 38' 5,22'' W

Calechu de Pena Ventana

Directions:

To get to the calechu of Pena Ventana (also known with the name Calechu de Oubachu), take the road AS-15 that connects La Rodriga with the

Puerto de Zarréu (Degaña) and take the exit for Sierra de Castanéu and Arbolente. Follow the road to Arbolente where it becomes a forest trail.

Follow the trail to a meadow where there is an old cabin for shepherds. From here you cannot continue by car, you have to follow a path on the left

which goes up to the summit, where it connects with other forest trail, follow that until you pass the summit, the calechu is on the other slope to the

left of the trail.

Location of the calechu in Pena Ventana

ASTURIAS14

16

The word calechu could come from the Latin word CALICULUM which

means “artificial ditch in the ground which constitutes an obstacle for the

horses” (OLD) in relation with the Asturian term caleyu “ditch prepared

for hunting wild animals”. This could have influenced the words

*CALLICULUM, *CALLICULAM to justify their phonic modification. The

caleyos that appear in the toponymy are, without doubt, routes or paths,

but sometimes their names have something to do with having been used

as ditches prepared for capturing wild animals; these trenches probably (*)led to some of the pitches concealed in the terrain for this purpose.

The calechu of Pena Ventana is also known with the names of calechu of

Obachu and calechu of Mual, since it was also used by the people from

these places.

Above, lake in the summit of Pena Ventana. Below, detail of the wall of the calechu in Pena Ventana

(*) Xose Lluis García Arias, Toponimia Asturiana Editorial Prensa Asturiana(**) Approximate measurements taken from aerial photography

The calechu of Pena Ventana represents a peculiar trap among those found in Asturias, since it (**) has a rectangular ground plan, which is approximately 45 x 35 m preserved almost integrally

in length although in height it is partially ruined. Nowadays, the walls are about 1,20 m and 1,50

m high in the exterior and 1,70 m and 1,80 m in the interior, and approximately 1 m wide.

According to the testimony of José de Mingo, from Mual, the trap is very old, and “was motivated

by the abundance of wolves in the area, which decimated the cattle, the horses, sheep and goats

that some decades ago grazed in these settings; and it was used by all the villages in the area

with livestock: Oubachu, La Veiga'l Tachu, Larna and Arbolente among others. In order to

facilitate the access to the wolf, the upper wall of the calechu was outwardly almost at ground

level, but inside it was tall and had also some covering that made exit impossible. In the centre of

the calechu, there was a small mound where a goat or a lamb was tied, as a decoy, although

generally the wolf did not eat it because when it realized that was trapped its main concern was

to escape.”

ASTURIAS 15

Directions

To get to the calechu of El Rebol.lal, take the road AS-211 towards El Rebol.lal/Degaña until the km 42,6, taking an exit on a trail on the right that

goes up to the top La Granda, following the trail to arrive a small meadow where there is a water tank. Next, continue along a trail marked as route

PR 109-04 “Calzada Romana”, going down along the slope for approximately 160 m. When arriving to a sharp curve to the left, turn off to the right;

the calechu is a few tens of metres from the trail, where there is currently a rocky ground.


Place: El Rebol.lalParish: DegañaMunicipality: DegañaProvince: AsturiasTrap type: de Cabrita


Calechu de El Rebol.lal

View of the calechu of El Rebol.lal

ASTURIAS16

Detail of the wall of the calechu of El Rebol.lal

The calechu of El Rebol.lal was built around the fifties, being a relatively modern trap. One of its peculiarities is that it has no access from the

exterior to take the animal out once it has been captured.

The calechu is preserved in good conditions, has an oval ground plan with the main axis of 7,5 m and the minor axis 5,5 m. The part towards the

mountain is 2,20 m high, while the part towards the valley is 2,80 m, the walls are 75 cm wide.

Nowadays, there is no evidence that any wolf had been captured there. Testimonies tell that it was tested placing goats as baits in its interior but

maybe it was not hidden enough to make the astute wolf to fall in the trap.

ASTURIAS 17

CousoVillardecendias Village


Place: VillardecendiasParish: TaladridMunicipality: IbiasProvince: AsturiasTrap type: de Cabrita


Situation of the couso of Villardecendias in relation to the village. Photo taken from the road that connects the AS 212 with Alguerdo

Couso de Villardecendias

Directions

To get to Villardecendias, take the AS-212 to the km 35 and there follow the road to Villardecendias and Alguerdo. Once you have passed the first

houses in Villardecendias, turn off to a road on the right, which goes up to the end of the village, and continue along a trail that goes to a meadow.

Here you need to leave the car and turn off on a trail on the left. This trail goes along the edge of a meadow, passes next to a deposit that collects

the water of a small brook and under a magnificent chestnut with a small wooden bench. The couso is about 80 m from the deposit, to the left of the

trail, among the dense vegetation of the forest.

ASTURIAS18

In the small village of Villardecendias, almost hidden in the middle of a valley among the high mountains characteristic of the southwest of

Asturias, one can found the traces of an ancient infrastructure built for capturing wolves. This is the couso of Villardecendias, known in this area (*)with the name of Cortín dos lobos, a trap of the goat type, with circular ground plan with approximately 25 m in diameter used 90 years ago for

the last time.(*) Diameter calculated from the measurement of the perimeter

Detail of the perimeter wall of the couso de Villardecendias

ASTURIAS 19

Detail of the wall of the couso. In the forefront,

Gonzalo Suárez de Villardecendias. In the small

picture, detail of the slabs standing out to the

inside

There are still some slab stones in the top of the stonewall standing out to the inside, whose function was to impede the wolf jumping and getting

out of the enclosure.

“In Villar it is called 'Cortín dos lobos' but this specifically belonged to the parish of Taladrid according to my father” says Gonzalo Suárez, from

Villardecendias. “In the centre there is a mound where a goat was tied to trick the wolf, which entered easily inside the cortín, since the wall on the

upper part (uphill) in the interior was so high, the wolf could not get out and remained trapped (on the exterior it was at floor level to facilitate the

entrance).

A goat or a lamb was used as a decoy and it was never eaten because, when the wolf felt that was trapped was only worried about getting out and

forgot the initial idea of eating the animal.”

According to Gonzalo's testimony, the trap was built in a path where wolves often passed and that still nowadays continues to being used by the

animal.

“One morning, a woman of the village came here,” continues saying Gonzalo, “she opened the door of the cortín to see if there was any wolf inside.

And then, a wolf that had fallen in the trap during the night could escape. That was the last time that the trap was used.”

(*)According to the description given by Boza D. Mosés, 2008, El trampeo y demás artes de caza tradicionales en la península ibérica. Ed. Hispano Europeaionales en la península ibérica. Ed. Hispano Europea

“My grandfather suffered epileptic attacks and, at that time, it was

thought that the wolf had curative powers. Therefore, one day they

captured a wolf cub here in the cortín, and they gave the heart to my

gandfather who had to eat it and the attacks stopped. They said that

it was typical and that the heart should be pulled out when the wolf

was still alive…”

ASTURIAS20

Traps and Hunting in Popular Memory

(*) Testimony by Julio from Degaña

(**) Pérez López David, 2010, Os foxos do lobo. A caza do lobo na cultura popular. Editorial Canela

The lands of Asturias keep the memories of the ancestral competition between humans

and wolves as shown by the existence of many traps for capturing this animal. In most

cases, time has practically erased their traces or the testimony of their location. In the

territories of the GAL Alto Narcea Muniellos, which include the municipalities of Cangas

de Narcea, Degaña e Ibias, there are bibliographical references and testimonies of

many hunting structures, of which now there is no trace, as for example the Calechu of

Piedrafita that, according to Julio's testimony, from Degaña, it is located to close

distance of the Degaña village, or the Teso Calechu (Coordinates 42° 56' 15.9'' N, 6° 33'

44,79'' W) or the Calechu de Vilal (Cangas del Narcea).

The lower picture is an image of the last wolf captured “legally” in Mual. According to

José de Mingo, from Mual, it was taken in the year 1964; after several “mozos” of the

village organized a battue in which they killed the wolf with a gunshot in an area called

La Collada, through which now passes the Mual forest route. “In those years, there were

still in the village some sheep or goat flocks that were attacked by the wolves, and for

that reason there was 'license to kill' ” says José, “the wolves that were killed in the

mountain were taken to the village and its captors went from door to door showing it

and asking for money because they have removed a vermin from the mountains.”

Other trap known in the area is the Calechu of El Corralín (Degaña) whose lands, as

those previously commented, were included in the territory of the Parque Natural de las

Fuentes del Narcea, Degaña e Ibias and where one can visit the ruins of an ancient gold

exploitation, dating back to Roman times. In this part of Asturias, mining wrote several

chapters of the villages' history and economy, hence the saying “El Corralín cuenca de

oro, tira una piedra y aparece un tesoro” (“El Corralín, gold basin, throw a stone and a

treasure appears”). Formerly, the village was on the east slope of the Regueiro Calechu,

Detail of the part of the wall remaining in the calechu of Trabáu

The last wolf captured in Mual, year 1964. Photograph courtesy of Jose de Mingo (Mual).

ASTURIAS 21

which brings the fresh waters of these mountains to the Ibias river, and lately it was moved

to the other side of the small brook, close to Bao, a small village uninhabited since 1969,

although the patron saint celebration, San Miguel, still takes place there during the

Saturday before or after 29th September, when the woods and narrow streets are full of

laughs, songs, dances and colours. According to the testimony by Berlamino Chacón, from

Zarréu, the calechu was at a short distance from the ancient village.

Finally, in the municipality of Cangas del Narcea, in the village of Val.láu, there are still

memories of other trap for wolves. It is a calechu already documented in 1799, in an official

report, in which the calechu is mentioned (previously known as callejo) with the purpose of

signalling its functionality since, according to the text, an average of 5 or 6 wolves are

captured in it each year. In a successive letter from 1896, the calechu is also mentioned

when the capture of a wolf in the calechu de Val.láu is narrated.

Amparo Pardo Rodríguez, from Valláu, describes the trap as follows: “The calechu was a

meadow prepared for hunting wolves. It was closed very high, in order to not let the wolf

escaping. There was a trench, in a way that they jumped inside. A lamb or a sheep was left

inside to attract the wolves, and then to kill them it was a real mess. In those times there

were no shotguns, of course.”

Old village of El Corralín (Degaña)

Official report, 1799 (courtesy of Manuel from Val.láu).

Val.láu landscape (Cangas de Narcea)

ASTURIAS22

The inhabitants of these lands of Asturias still conserve in their memory the times when

the struggle with the wolf was something habitual.

“In the Taladrid and Tomaleo parishes, they still remember the battues taking place in

the Llanelo mountains looking for wolf cubs litters” relates María del Roxo, “In one of

them, about 1950, all the young men of the adjoining villages had participated; some of

them with shotguns and the rest making noise with any kind of cans and objects to

make the wolves get out of their hiding places. After great efforts, they had found two

wolf cubs and were able to take them out of their lair. One of them was raised for some

months at home, I do not know the purpose, and a priest that was living in the house

brought it to Oviedo. The other cub had, probably, a worst end. In that time, it was said

that eating the beating heart of a wolf could cure the gout. I do not know the scientific

basis for this, but maybe, just with the shock or the repugnance of having to eat that,

one forgets all the evils. The receptor of the viscera, from Tormaleo, is still today alive

and healthy, as I have heard.”

“El camino del lobo”. Photo courtesy of María del Roxo

Daily life scenes in Asturias. Photos courtesy of Tino Vuelta (Trescastru)

ASTURIAS 23

In the territories included in the GAL Alto Narcea Muniellos, when spring arrives, many of the villages located in the interior valleys, take the

livestock to more fresh pastures in higher altitudes, known as brañas or mayadas (majadas). These were summer villages where people slept and

kept the livestock out of the existing dangers. The shepherds, to organize the protection of the livestock, used the vecería (alternance) system;

according to which the inhabitants took turns to carry the animals to the brañas daily. This was complemented with the use of dogs trained for the

guidance and protection of the flocks. It was usually in spring and autumn when the wolf was a greater danger, which compelled the shepherds to

remain with the animals all day long. In summer, the livestock spent the night alone in the mountain and, more or less once a week the shepherds

went there to check its condition. At the end of the autumn, it was taken down to be kept in the village.

In the map can be seen the location of some of

the existing brañas in the municipalities of

Cangas del Narcea, Degaña and Ibias.

On page 97, one can check the list of some of

them, selected for this study according to the

following criterions: geographical balance,

dimensions and historical importance, structure

adapted to the defence and caring of the (*)livestock (enclosures, rings, etc.

In the map, the brañas included in the list has

been marked with the circular symbol of corrals,

other existing brañas has been marked with a

yellow spot.

).

Livestock Protection


ASTURIAS

LUGO

LEÓN

CANGAS DEL NARCEA

IBIAS

DEGAÑA

Location of the brañas

(*) Sources: “Plan de Ordenación del concejo de Cangas del Narcea” and data base of GDR Alto Narcea Muniellos.

Folgueiras

La Siella

Leituelos

Teixedal

Saldepuesto

Naviegu

L.larón

La L.linde

L.lindouta

Antolín

Rebusón Fonduveigas

Xuanina

Los Cardos

Villameirín

Lago

La Viña

ASTURIAS24

Palacio

Filtrosa

Pedrosos

Valvaler

Oubachu

Saladín

Brañas of Obachu

The brañas were also used when the livestock was moved to attend to fairs; for example, to go from Ibias to Cangas del Narcea, only existed paths

for carts, used by the shepherds to go from the brañas in Ibias, Valvaler and others to Cangas. They spent the night in the brañas of Saladín and

braña Nova. On the second journey they stopped in the villages, usually Veigadhorru and Monesteriu, passing the last stretch by more passable

paths until arriving to Cangas.

In Oubachu one can see an example of the numerous brañas existing within the area under study, near the Connio mountain pass (in the Special

Restricted Use Area of the Parque Natural de las Fuentes del Narcea, Degaña e Ibias); leaving behind San Antolín de Ibias, following the AS-211

towards Cangas del Narcea, 600 metres away after the mountain pass, there is a bar known as “El Refugio”, next to it an unpaved road goes down

to the braña, consisting of about ten buildings in good preservation state, even some of them in rehabilitation state.

ASTURIAS 25

The Wolf in Cultural Heritage

Since long ago, the wolf has chosen the wild and rough Asturian mountains and dense forests as a preferential residence. Hence, the wolf, or

L.lobu, or L.lovu as it is known in this area, has been the protagonist of stories, legends and adventures populating the children dreams, nurturing

confusing memories of tales listened in the heat and light of the flames in the long winter nights. In popular culture, the wolf has a thousand faces,

usually typical of human nature rather than that of the animal; therefore, next to the cruel, sagacious and feared created image to scare children,

one can found the clumsy, dopey and naïve wolf, capable of making laugh the most scared of the young spectators. Among the numerous existing

tales and stories, here we propose some of them collected from different sources:

THE OLD WOLF

Once upon a time, in this place there was a very famous wolf. The night arrived and next to the cabins he found a donkey and told him that he was

very hungry and he has no choice but to eat him. The donkey said that ok, that he was old and full of wounds, that it was better to die than going

up and down loaded with the milk recipients of his owner, who was big and fat and he almost haven't strength to carry her and that the only reason

he continued forward was because he has no other remedy. And finished telling the wolf: So, eat me once for all. But, look, with this paw I stepped

on a buckthorn and it hurts a lot. With those beautiful teeth you have you could take the thorns out and later you can kill me as you wish.

And look what a numb the wolf was that he didn't think anything else and

began to try to take out the thorns. But when he opened the mouth, the

donkey, who has the paw up, kicked the wolf in the teeth, molars and

fangs not leaving any of them in that mouth. Without teeth, molars and

fangs, the wolf could not eat more animals and died of starvation.

Illustration by Miguel Somoza

ASTURIAS26

STICK GOES, STICK COMES...

Many years ago, my grandfather told me a tale saying this: … - tells

Amparo Rodríguez from Val.láu (Cangas del Narcea)-… When my

father was young he has in Vil.lar de Rogueiru a friend who was a

stammerer and couldn't speak well. They always went together to the

dance. The Mute of Villar – as he was called – was very brave and one

Saturday night they decided to go to the dance in Trescastru. The Mute

went down to San Romanu and when the night came, they went to the

dance. When they were going to Trescastru from the other side of the

river some sounds came and the Mute said:

—Mozu! Trouts!

They arrive to the village, danced and when it seemed convenient to

them they took the road back home. Since they passed Veigamiedro

began to hear how some catches broke and clothes didn't stick to their

bodies.

Then the Mute said:

—Mozu! No trouts! Wolf! Wolf!

They arrived to San Romanu and his mate told the Mute to stay to sleep there with him. The Mute didn't want, he wanted to go to Vil.lar. He left, but

when the wolves realized that he was alone they began to become closer. He, when he could, took a good stick from a bush, and stick goes, stick

comes. When he could see Vil.lar, the wolves were scrabbling, throwing the soil to his face and pissed. Then, the Mute put his fingers in his mouth

and whistled: in his house he had a wonderful mastiff and in Romu's house there was a brother, and when they heard the whistle, they jumped and

came. The dogs attacked the wolves and passing after Oul.ladas, they didn't come back till two days after. On Sunday morning, the Mute didn't get

up. The mother went to call him and he said that he was ill, that he couldn't get out. The father wanted to go to mass and told the mother:

—Hey, you! Bring him some soup and you'll see how he gets up. He is tired because of the dance.

The mother went there with the soup, but the Mute couldn't get up.

Since the boy didn't get out, the father went to feed the cows and prepared the mule to go to mass. When arriving to the entrance, in a corner, he

saw the stick full of hairs and blood of the wolves. He came back and called the mother:

—Chacha! Look! This is what happens to the boy, let him sleep.

The man prepared himself and took the mule to go to mass. When he came out, people began to say that in the calechu of Val.láu a wolf had been

captured. The Mute's father decided to go there to see how they were going to kill the wolf. Many people were going there. He asked to some

neighbour who was coming back to Vil.lar to inform his wife, and asked not to say anything to the boy. As always, there are people with a long

tongue, and a woman told the Mute. He, when heard it, put on new clothes, prepared a good stick and went to Val.láu.

Amparo Pardo, from (Cangas de Narcea)Va l.láu

ASTURIAS 27

Manuel from Valláu (Cangas del Narcea) playing a grass thread

Courting…

“When I was courting my wife” says Manuel “there was a day when it was snowing and snowing, I got out of my house half hidden to see her,

because at that time, you were not allowed to go out together. When I was at the end of the village, there already was this snow” continues

signalling an approximate height of 50 cm, “I had my coat wrapped up like this, and the shotgun hooked with the barrels down, when descending

by a shortcut, one that connects the road with a curve, I found a man from Llindota

seething.

—But, what happens, Pepe? – I asked.

- What happens? Down there were three wolves coming close to me – he answered.

—What are you saying?

—Come back with me, since you have de shotgun, come back with me.

I went to the first house to go with him and he told me:

- Do not go down again because maybe they are still there.

But I continued and when I was descending by the road I was smiling and thinking:

How scared was Pepe! But, suddenly, I felt strange and I heard in the road “plas! plas!”

So I looked and I raised the shotgun (loaded with two cartridges), but I couldn't see

anything and I continued descending and arrived to some meadows and some oaks in

a curve when I heard behind me “plas!” and in front of me “plas!”, and a wolf appeared

just in front of me, then I raised again the shotgun and “tras!” and instead of one shot,

being nervous I shot two. I stood still and I didn't even think of opening the shotgun to

take out the cartridges and put other two. Pepe was right! I thought.

La Veiga was full of people, from everywhere, even from Cangas! They had brought the biggest dogs and the wolf tore them to pieces, there was

no way to kill it. The Mute arrived and sat to have a rest for a little time, took out his handkerchief to clean his sweat, and when he felt calm, stood

up, folded the jacked, hung it on the wall, jumped and got inside. People began to shout:

—A man! A man entered!

The father, who hadn't seen him to arrive, could imagine it and said to himself: Damn! My boy!

The wolf saw him entering and its hairs raised, it showed its teeth and went towards him. The Mute was going slowly and when it seemed

convenient to him, he raised the stick and… zas! In the middle of the head. The wolf remained with its paws up. And then, the Mute looking at it

said:

—You, yesterday, man-man to me. I, today, take that - take that to you!

ASTURIAS28

Julio from Degaña

About wolves…

“One day my grandfather was coming back from Zarréu” says Julio, our guide to the

place where the Teso Calechu de Degaña trap was, “he was bringing an ax and other

tools. Suddenly, while he was in his way he became frightened, since there are people

who can feel the wolf, then he took the ax and heard a noise. There were two wolves

following him, and followed him to the entrance of the village”.

“In the past, when a wolf was captured in the calechu” continues telling Julio “it was

treated as a criminal, they took out its fur and brought it village to village asking for

something and people gave them eggs, bread, whatever they had…”

… and wolf remedies

Along history, mythological characteristics and curative powers has been attributed to

this intelligent, sagacious and strong animal. We have already talked about the belief that eating the heart of a wolf can cure epileptic attacks and

gout. According to the testimony of María del Roxo, from Ibias, also the fang of a wolf had similar powers. “My family has since long ago a wolf

fang, whose supposed benefits we have enjoyed for years, maybe centuries, not only my ancestors, but a good proportion of the neighbours of the

Concejo de Ibias. This fang, supposedly and according to tradition “from a male wolf and extracted when the animal is still alive”, has a ring with a

chain, and it is not only recognised by its therapeutic power but also by the fortune and benefits that it provides to our home. In my environment, it

was used above all for the mastitis and other mammary illnesses (for both, women and cows) although its most extended use was related with the

cure of skin illnesses: “cuxillos”, “dixipelas”, “meadas de sapo”, strange swellings, snakebites, scorpion and wasp bites. It was also used to “cut”

the medicines or remedies for other illnesses.” says María. Ramón from Cangas, tells in his book “La medicina popular en Ibias” that the cure with

the wolf fang was made passing the end of the tooth by the affected area, drawing five crosses while enumerating the possible causes of the evil.

Once the spell has finished, some used to spread some hot ashes over the area, or a burnt bread crust previously soaked in saliva or ashes. On the

following page, a version of the spell according to María del Roxo is proposed.

I continued walking a little more and since there was snow I could see some blood puddles and the traces continued in a meadow and I told myself

“I do not go down by the meadow”, so I took out the cartridges, put other two and came back to the road. I heard the howls Awooo! Awooo!, and

then I got into my house. This happened a Thursday and that Sunday, when I went to mass, at the entrance of the church, a man from Riegla

arrived and said: “The other day you thumped the wolves and this morning a female wolf has been found in a meadow. Look how she endured.

They found the wolf you shot”. At that time, if it was a female you were given 2000 pesetas by the council and 1000 if it was a male.”

ASTURIAS 29

Wolf fang belonging to María del Roxo's family, from Ibias

Se eres coxillo,

Sale por este colmillo.

Se eres dixipela,

Vaite pá terra.

Se eres de sapo ou sapagueira,

Sálete pá eira.

Se eres de culobra ou alacrán,

Sáleme por este pan.

Se eres de donicela,

Sáleme tamén pá terra.

Ia se foras doutra cousa,

Vaite pa encima dúa lousa.

Colmillo, colmillín,

Déixame axina sanín.

Faime de que quede novo,

Como te tía aquel lobo.

Hórreo and chapel in Zarréu (Degaña).

“Once a man was returning home on a horse” narrates a neighbour in Zarréu. “He

was walking by a forest and he would arrive soon to the village since he was not far

away. Suddenly, the horse got nervous and he felt how all his hairs raised. At that

moment, two wolves appeared and followed him, but being near the village he

whistled to call two big dogs he had at home. The two dogs attended to his call and

while they were fighting with the wolves, he could escape and arrive home. Next

morning, he came back to the place where he had seen the wolves and there he

found the two dogs dead.”

ASTURIAS30

Toponyms and Heraldry

Toponymy is a field that can reveal a lot about the life and the day-to-day of a place. Humans, because of their nature, relates the name of a place

with some of its characteristics to been able of identifying it clearly. In this way, toponymy is a reliable source of the presence of wolves in the past.

In Asturias, the etymology linked to the wolf derives from the Latin word Lupus, whose root can be found in the Asturian term llobu, and in its

diminutives, Latin or Asturian: llobatu, llobecu, llobercu, llobetu, all of them referring to the wolf offspring. From the adjective lupsicsinum derives

the Asturian l.lobeznu, from which l.lobisniegu “full of wolves” and the toponym l.lubisneras. Toponyms like Villalobos, in Bustelo (Ibias) derive

from the adjective lupalem. The toponymy linked to the wolf also makes reference to the traps built for capturing it, known as chorcu o xuercu, or

calechu or callejo; this is the case of El Tesu'l Calechu, near the village of Degaña, and the Regueiru de Calechu El Corralín, in both places can be

found the presence of ancient traps used for capturing the wolf(*). Among the other toponyms found we can mention El Corral de l.lobos and Altu los

l.lobos in Cangas del Narcea and Monte dos Lobos in Ibias.

(*)García Arias Xose Luis, Toponimia Asturiana, Editorial Prensa Asturiana

Álvarez family heraldry

With its origins in Villardecendias (Ibias), the arms of the Álvarez lineage are:

Divided coat of arms: 1st in gold field, a vert oak and a sable wolf with gules tongue passing next to the trunk. 2nd chequy

with 18 pieces, nine in gules and nine in silver.

In the village of Taladrid (Ibias), the relation of the wolf with the population is reflected in its appearance in the heraldry of several families. Thus,

in the exterior walls of some of the houses, one can find coats of arms with the image of the wolf. It incarnates the symbol of a constant heart,

which suffer the calamities of war and siege, with generous spirit, even in the middle of provocations; but when the battle time arrives, it fights

fiercely without given quarter to the enemy.

Heraldy in houses in Taladrid. Photos courtesy of Gonzalo Suárez

ASTURIAS 31

León

Asturias

Palencia

Galicia

Zamora

Valladolid

Cantabria

Salamanca Ávila

Segovia

Burgos

GAL MONTAÑA DE RIAÑO GAL ACD

MONTAÑA PALENTINA

GAL ADISACLA VOZ

GAL MACOVALL 2000

GAL ADATA

GAL ADRI VALLADOLID

NORTE

GAL ADRIPALOMARES

GAL ADERISA

Portugal

Castilla y León

(*) Toda la información sobre la trashumancia, sus orígenes, reglamentación, características y evolución se ha recopilado a partir de los textos de Rodríguez Pascual Manuel, 2001, La trashumancia. Cultura,

cañadas y viajes. Edilesa; y Elías Pastor Luis Vicente, Novoa Portela Feliciano, 2003, Un camino de ida y vuelta, la trashumancia en España. Lunwerg Editores.(**) Leyes y ordenanzas del Honrado Consejo de La Mesta, Edición facsimil de la de la Siruela, 1512, Universidad de León, Catedra de San Isidoro. León 1991.

Castilla y León is a land of numerous facets and charms. Here you can find the most diverse landscapes with shapes and colours passing from

blue, white and green in the northern mountains, with their summits, their valleys and abrupt ravines, to the yellow and brown of the southern

plains. Land of ancient livestock traditions, Castilla y León represents one of the most flourishing cradles for transhumance in Spain, whose first (*)legal references of regulation date back to the 6th -7th centuries with the Visigothic Fuero Juzgo , although it is not till later when a real

organization of transhumance is achieved. From the end of the 12th century, to its height in 1273, the King Alfonso X recognises the Honrado

Consejo de la Mesta, in which the stockbreeders of Castilla are grouped. All the livestock under the jurisdiction of the Mesta formed the Cabaña

Real, which was divided in Partidas or Cuadrillas according to their geographical origin. In 1474, during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, the

transhumant wool livestock reached 3 millions of

heads. The Consejo was in charge of managing

and legislating above all what had to do with

stockbreeding, regulating the tax system, coding

laws and shepherding benefits, and facilitating the

access to pastures. In the laws and ordinances of (**)the Mesta there are also references to hunting ,

since it is established that “who killed the biggest

wolf, will have a prize of two hundred and seventy

five maravedies awarded by the Concejo, and

three hundred and seventy five maravedies for a

litter of four or more wolves”.

Contemporaneously to the developing of the

Mesta, transhumant routes were created and

marked, known as cañadas (cattle routes), long

and short routes to carry the livestock from the

mountains to lower lands. Among the big routes

we should note the cañadas reales (royal cattle

routes): Cañada Real Zamorana or de la Plata,

Cañada

Typical clothing and tools of the transhumant shepherd. Pictures taken in the Shepherd Museum in Prioro.

CASTILLA Y LEÓN34

Cañada Real Leonesa Oriental, Cañada Real Soriana Occidental and Cañada Real Segoviana.

Along these routes, some structures for the shelter of the livestock and shepherds were built, above all in the mountain passes, whose acquisition

in the municipalities became a very desirable action for the councils, so much that it is told than in 1875, the council of Prioro paid 12.310 pesetas

for the Puerto La Muella.

Picos de Europa landscape in León

35CASTILLA Y LEÓN

In the territory of Castilla y León one can find the traps with the oldest official regulation (Chorco de Valdeón), whose functioning was regulated for

the first time as an ordinance of the Posada de Valdeón council in 1610. In the territory of the GALs in Castilla y León, we have compiled

information about the existence of six trap structures to capture wolves, three of them belong to the convergence type and are found in the north

of the region and three belong to the goat type, all of them found in the province of Zamora. Five of them are in an excellent or very good state of

preservation, either for having been recently restored or for not having suffered particularly the natural (or inducted) erosion produced by time.

Wolf hunting

Location of the trap infrastructures in the GAL

territories of Palencia and León

Posada de Valdeón

Prioro

Pomar de Valdivia



León

Palencia

Asturias

Cantabria

CASTILLA Y LEÓN36


Place: Monte CoronaMunicipality: Posada de ValdeónProvince: LeónTrap type: Convergence

Coordinates: 4 3 º 1 1 ' 3 , 4 5 ' ' N

4º 54' 9,11'' W

Chorco de Valdeón

Chorco de Valdeón

Directions:

To get to the chorco from Riaño, take the road N-625 towards the Pontón mountain pass, before arriving to the pass, take the road LE-244 to the

right, to the Panderruedas pass and Posada de Valdeón. Pass the village and continue leaving behind Los Llanos and Cordiñanes. Shortly after,

there is the Tombo viewpoint; continue by the road to Caín and the Chorco (signposted) is on the left of the road, at more or less 1,5 km from the

viewpoint.

37CASTILLA Y LEÓN

(*) Boza D. Moisés, 2008, El trampeo y demás artes de caza tradicionales en la península ibérica. Ed. Hispano Europea.

Larry from Posada de Valderón showing the entrance for the wolf

CASTILLA Y LEÓN38

The chorco of Valdeón is in the Parque

Nacional de los Picos de Europa (National

Park of Picos de Europa), between the

villages of Posada de Valdeón and Caín,

starting (or finishing) point of the Ruta del

Cares, which passing through the

mountains crosses the Picos de Europa

connecting this hillside with the Poncebos

one. The chorco is in a slope fitted among

high mountains and abrupt precipices, in

an area densely inhabited by wolves since

ancient times.

The lateral walls of this trap consist of two

wooden fences converging towards the

pitch. With dimensions of 50 m long and 2

m high. Close to the pitch the height of the

walls is 1,90 m. The last 1,80 m of the

funnel are covered with a roof of wooden

stakes, 1,90 m high. The entrance for the

wolf is 40 cm wide and 45 cm high taking the animal straight to the pitch. These measurements are not

fortuitous since they had been studied for letting pass the biggest wolves without allowing any animal to be

able to jump. The pitch has a depth of approximately 3,30 m, its walls are 70 cm wide and in its lower side,

almost to the road level, it has an iron door 70 cm wide and 1,10 m high, used to take out the wolf once it

had been captured. In the final section of the funnel, there are three structures like small cabins open on

the side towards the pitch, known as chuzos. Here the choceros were hidden, hunters with the mission of (*)impeding the wolf to move back guaranteeing it entered the pitch.

Here, in these places, the coexistence between wolves and humans was transformed in the total

integration of one in the other's life. “There is whole age range, people of 65 years and older, who were

constantly watching for the wolf during a big part of their life”, says Larry of the Parque Picos de Europa

Detail of the exterior part of the lateral wall towards the well.

(*) Rodríguez Pascual Manuel, 2001, La trashumancia. Cultura, cañadas y viajes. Edilesa.

View of the inside of the chorco of Valdeón. It is possible to see the three chuzos found in the interior of the funnel.

39CASTILLA Y LEÓN

office in Posada de Valdeón. “Everything was based on if the dog was good to take care of the livestock, if it was worth more than all the livestock

together. Wolves were always in alert, and stockbreeders were always concerned about the wolves… A very important part of the lives of many

people was spent around the wolves, above all people who had small livestock. Here there were no big flocks, just 20 sheep and a dozen of goats,

familiar exploitations… Everything in Posada de Valdeón has something to do with the wolf.”

The chorco of Valdeón is the only trap, among those compiled, with official written documentation dating back to the 17th century. An ordinance of

1960 by the municipality of Posada de Valdeón titled “Hunting ordinances reforms according to the ancient ordinances in the year 1912”, gathers

together 72 articles regulating the functioning of the chorco of Valdeón (El Pozo or Chorco de Corona, as here is named) and 6 additional articles

integrated in a reform done in 1776. The ordinance regulates in detail the relationship between humans and wolves in the Valdeón valley, defining

very strictly the role and traditions to be adopted by each one of the inhabitants of the valley in relation to the wolf and particularly to the battues

organized since antiquity to capture it. The hunting parties involved all the able men of the villages in the valley of Valdeón, from 16 to 65 years old.

To organize the battue it was not necessary that there were a lobada (term used by the shepherds and inhabitants of these villages when one or (*)more wolves hurt or kill some animal and its dead body appears ), it was enough to discover traces of the passage of a wolf. When one of these

events had place, they tolled the bell of

Posada de Valdeón with the specific toll

“To the wolf” in order to inform the whole

valley to get ready for the battue. “Here it

is a very open space” tells Larry “and

many people is needed. Each village had

a hunter in charge, and the person in

charge of the whole battue was the

Montero Mayor, who was the mayor of

Posada de Valdeón, provided that he was

native of the village, if not, it was the

councillor native of Posada de Valdeón,

who was the only one who could go on a

horse. In this way, a kind of rotation was

established.”

Interior of the chorco of Valdón, detail of the entrance of the wolf to the pitch

CASTILLA Y LEÓN40

When the bell tolled, everybody got ready. The battue was perfectly organized in a way that sometimes, according to the testimony of the people

from the place, when they heard the cornet warning that there was a wolf in the chorco, some of them were still in their way. “There was an official

collar elected by the council, which they put to the wolf tied with two chains” continues Larry. “Sometimes, when a wolf was captured, they put it

the collar and two men from the village took the wolf (one chain each one) and went to the other villages to show it; people insulted and spat at it,

especially when there were lobadas. It was like a vengeance for having killed the livestock”. Once the wolf was killed, the fur and the head were

sold at auction, and the money was used by the council to repair the choco, pay the rewards and pay other expenses related to wolf hunting. The

auctions were public and open to everybody, although the inhabitants of the valley had a preference in a way that, between two equal offers, if

one of them was from a foreign, the winner was the local inhabitant. Who bought the fur usually went village to village asking for and receiving

foods and goods of all kinds. Specially, if that season wolves had caused a lot of damages, the collect could last one month and a half. Several

anecdotes are related

with the chorco of

Valdeón and with the

regulations of wolf

hunting: “In Feligresía

de Arriba, the last man

who had got married

was in charge of

guarding one of the

points by which the

wolf could escape, in a

very bad location

among the mountains

(in the Cabidos, article

29 of the Ordenanza

del Consejo, 1610).

Once there was a boy

from Soto de Valdeón

and another one who

were going to get

married on the same

day and then there was

a discussion about who

Interior of the chorco of Valdón, detail of the entrance of the wolf to the pitch.

41CASTILLA Y LEÓN

about who was going to get married before but the girlfriend of the other one was a priest's good friend and got to get married first. The boy from

Soto had to guard the place for 7 years since nobody got married after him. Finally, when there was a couple who decided to get married, in the

last moment they argued, and it was this boy who tried to reconcile them.”

As Larry narrates, the intimate connection between the wolves and the inhabitants of the valley of Valdeón can be intuited in any of these places,

among the high and rough mountains of

Picos de Europa.

“Here in Valdeón, there is like a kind of

evolutionary convergence between the

wolves and the people. Twelve or thirteen

years ago, some people of ICONA came to

film a documentary and asked the council's

permission to film a scene with a wolf

inside the chorco. The council agreed but

set some conditions. One of them was that

there had to be a man from the village with

a weapon, who was in charge of

supervising and shooting in case the wolf

got out of the enclosure. So, they brought

two wolves raised in captivity, a male and a

female, small and quiet. When they

arrived, they were medicated for the trip.

There was also a trainer and they let the

animals out to have some air. The people

from the village were in the surroundings

watching what was happening, at about 20 m away. They placed the cameras, prepared everything and when they started filming, there was a

moment when the male wolf raised its head and looked at the public (who has been looking quietly all the time), in that moment the people who

were there (also people older than 75 years), when they saw the face of the wolf gave a step back to look for a stone and the wolf also stepped

back, showing its teeth!. I thought: “I have just seen the genetic manifestation of years fighting with each other!”


Place: Collado del corral de los lobosMunicipality: PrioroProvince: LeónTrap type: Convergence


Corral de los lobos in

Prioro

Corral de los lobos

Directions

To get to the village of Prioro from Riaño take the N-625 towards Boca de Huérgano, here take the road LE-241 on the right towards Guardo. Turn

off in the first crossing to the right (LE-232) towards the mountain pass of El Pando and Prioro. To arrive to the chorco, follow a signposted hiking

route (PR LE-35 Corral de los Lobos route) which starts in the square where the church is.

CASTILLA Y LEÓN42

El Corral de los lobos of Prioro is between the villages of Prioro and Tejerina, the southern part of the National Park Picos de Europa, on a natural

path (the Collado del Corral de los Lobos) very frequented by wolves. The corral is found at the end of the circular route PR LE-35 “Ruta del Corral

de los Lobos” with a length of 7,8 km (starting near the church of Prioro), just in the top of the pass, in the slope to Tejerina.(*)The lateral walls are two wooden fences 57 m long the eastern one and 38 m the western one and 2,30 m high. The last 2,70 m of the funnel are

covered with a roof made of wooden stakes. The entrance for the wolf is 50 cm wide and 50 cm high taking the animal right to the pitch. The wall of

the pitch is 70 cm wide and in the lower part has an iron door through which the wolf put its head out when captured. The pitch has 4,30 m in

diameter and is 3,40 m deep. In the final section of the funnel there is a chuzo.

(*) measurements taken from aerial photography

Detail of the entrance hole to the pitch. The final section of the funnel and part of the chuzo can be seen

Detail of the lower part of the chuzo

43CASTILLA Y LEÓN


Place: Peña CorberaMunicipality: Pomar de ValdiviaProvince: PalenciaTrap type: de Convergencia


Pozo de los lobos

Directions

To get to the trap from Pomar de Valdivia, take the road PP-6222 towards Revilla del Pomar, after the village follow the signs indicating the

viewpoint Vacabado (right where the road ends). From the viewpoint, take a signposted path to the trap, path Pozo de los Lobos SL-P4 to the SE.

Pozo de los lobos in Valcabado

CASTILLA Y LEÓN44

The Pozo de los lobos of Valcabado is in the Páramo de Lora of

Valdivia, characterized by a big calcareous high plateau with

astonishing landscapes, shaped with numerous cavities and

subterranean galleries, where humans have left traces

throughout time, modifying the land, creating pastures to feed

the livestock and building different infrastructures like traps for

capturing one of their main enemies: the wolf.

The pitch is found in a beautiful terrace with a view to the

splendorous valley. It is a convergence trap, recently partially

restored. Nowadays one can observe the ruins of the lateral

stone walls, about 1 m wide and 180 m long (the eastern wall) (*)and 100 m long (the western wall) ; the western wall ends in

the ledges of the precipice of La Lora, whose abrupt slope

closed the pass of the wolf and the wall in a natural way. It

reached the end of the forest. Nowadays, the last 4 m of the

pitch have been restored, with walls 70 cm wide and 1,80 m

high. The hole by which the wolf entered the pitch is a square,

85 cm each side. The pitch has a circular ground plan with 7 m

in diameter, and interior depth of 3 m and it stands out of the

ground between 70 cm and 1 m with a wall 76 cm wide.

In the eastern lateral wall, about 72 m from the pitch, there was

a small cabin probably with the same function as the chuzos in

Riaño.

The functioning of the trap was similar to that of the chorco of

Valdeón, based on pushing the wolf to the funnel until it

inevitably fell in the trap.

(*) Approximate measurements taken from aerial photography

Detail of the aperture through which the wolf entered the pitch, seen from the interior of the funnel

Detail of the actual state of the eastern lateral wall

45CASTILLA Y LEÓN

Location of the trap structures in the GAL areas of intervention in the provinces of Zamora and Valladolid

Barjacoba

Lubián

San Juan de la Cuesta

GAL ADISAC LA VOZGAL MACOVALL 2000

GAL ADATA

GAL VALLADOLID NORTE

GAL ADRI PALOMARES

GAL ADERISA

CASTILLA Y LEÓN46


Place: LubiánMunicipality: LubiánProvince: ZamoraTrap type: de Cabrita


Cortello dos lobos in Lubián

Cortello dos lobos

Directions

To get to the Cortello dos Lobos of Lubián, take the Rías Bajas A-52 highway from Benavente (Zamora) to Porriño (Pontevedra) and take the exit

106 (in the direction Benavente-Pontevedra) or 107 (on the opposite direction) to Hermisende/Lubián. In the village, follow the signs to the

townhall. From that square there is a signposted path to the trap..

47CASTILLA Y LEÓN

(*) Boza D. Moisés, 2008, El trampeo y demás artes de caza tradicionales en la península ibérica. Ed. Hispano Europea(**)

Pérez López David, 2010, Os foxos do lobo. A caza do lobo na cultura popular. Editorial Canela(***)

Valverde Gómez J.A, Teruelo Vizcaíno S., 2002, Los lobos de Morla, Ed. Al-Andalus Ediciones

The Cortello dos Lobos of Lubián is probably the most known trap in the province of Zamora. It is on a small slope dominating the village of Lubián, (*)close to it, in a path frequented by wolves between Portugal and Castilla y León. According to the bibliographic documentation consulted , the

building of the cortello dates back to the period when the village was repopulated after the expulsion of the Moriscos from the Douro valley. It is a

trap of the goat type, built with dry stone walls. During the summer, the inhabitants of Lubián had to repair the walls because they kept falling

down, to be able to use the trap during the winter. The cortello was used until de seventies. In 1992 they decided to restore it since the walls were

collapsing in more points and thanks to a grant from the European Union the structure as can be seen today was built.

Currently the cortello has a slightly oval ground plan, with 33 m in diameter and 30 m in its minor axis. The walls are over 3 m high in the upper part

and 1,50 m in the lower part; the wall is about 1 m wide. The upper part of the wall is topped with stones inclining to the interior in order to facilitate

de entrance of the wolf and avoid at the same time that it could jump to the exterior. This gives the walls a concave shape on the inside. In the

eastern part, there is a small iron door,

1,40 m by 80 cm, through which

someone entered to prepare the bait

and, if that were the case, take out the

wolf. In the past the door was made of

wood but it was rebuilt in iron in the (**)sixties . The ground of the cortello

was dug before building the walls and

the soil was used to make a central

mound, leaving around the interior

part of the walls a trench with 1 m (***)depth minimum .

Detail of the inside of the cortello. One can observe the slabs topping the upper part of the walls inclined to avoid that the wolf could escape.

CASTILLA Y LEÓN48

(*) Rodríguez Pascual Manuel, 2001, La trashumancia. Cultura, cañadas y viajes. Edilesa

When traces of the wolves were found, or there was a lobada, a hearing decided to put in operation the trap. Then, a shift system was organised,

the “veceira”, starting by the first house of the village and continuing in order. Each day a neighbour of the village went up to the cortello and

brought the bait, generally a goat. “To the cortello we always brought a goat because it does not stop bellowing like the sheep or the donkey”, tells

Luis Montesinos, from Lubián. Every morning the man or woman who went up to the cortello, before opening the door to leave the bait, had to go

up by the upper side to check if there was any wolf inside, to avoid that when he or she opened the door, the wolf could escape. If during the night a

wolf had fallen into the trap, he or she shouted the alarm “¡O lobo no cortello!”. When this was heard in the village, someone tolled the bell of the

church with a special toll and everybody went to the cortello to watch the captured animal. "It was particularly a big party for the boys” says Felipe

Lubián. “They went up to the cortello and the bravest jumped inside with a wooden prop, here named 'espalladeira'. I remember that in an

occasion, there was a female wolf, it was there with the tail between the paws, next to the wall and showing the teeth. Two boys entered, one of

them getting closer from the front and the other from the back, they put a birch stick in its mouth. Birch is very soft, so when the wolf bit it, its

teeth remained stuck and it could not open

the mouth. Then they put it a muzzle with

a sort of ribbon and tied a rope to its neck

to take it into the village. At night they

took it to other village where there was a

corral and they left it there to go to sleep.

When the next morning the boys came

back they found it dead… Someone says

that it was because of stress.”

In the cortello of Lubian, numerous wolves

were captured “as long as there had not

been any fire or someone had decided to

clean the brush on the slope” tells Felipe

Lubián, “in that case the wolf always

realized that the cortello was a trap and

did not fall inside, according to what old

people narrate.

Exterior of the cortello, detail of the door

49CASTILLA Y LEÓN

In that case, they went to Galicia and brought a seed of a leguminous plant

that grows very fast and that is not found around here. They sowed it inside

and in the surroundings of the trap.”

The important trace wolves have left in Lubián is demonstrated in a local

festivity each summer, the closest Friday to 15th August, known as “A noite

no cortello”. “During the festivity, some people perform the role of the wolf

and fall into the cortello” continues narrating Felipe Lubián. “There are

always a lot of people, more than 200 people!, we light a fire and eat the

goat. During the night, people, old people above all, tell stories about wolves

and, of course, there is a mix of reality and fantasy in those stories…”

“Once it was my mother who has to go to the cortello to take the goat” tells

Josefina Lubián, from Lubián. “She went there with a niece and firstly they

went up to check if there was a wolf and they found one inside and the goat

dead, so they started to shout “¡O lobo no cortello! ¡O lobo no cortello! And

everybody was going there with the “palladeiras”, for them it was a party!

The wolf tried to jump by the upper side, by the lower side, the boys were

about to enter through the door when the wolf gained momentum and

jumped with the paws on the wall, and for a moment it was like… I fall down, I

don`t fall down… and finally with its nails it could jump by the upper part of

the pitch where the wall was shorter and could escape! After that, it was

decided that, on the next occasion, the person should not shout the alert nor

toll the bell but keep silence and get close to the cortello quietly for not

scaring the wolf. In other occasion, six wolves fell inside the cortello but on

the morning a boy went, opened the door without checking inside before and

all of them escaped!”

View from the inside of the cortello, detail of the wall and the door

Felipe Lubián Lubián

CASTILLA Y LEÓN50


Place: San Juan de la CuestaMunicipality: Robleda-CervantesProvince: ZamoraTrap type: de Cabrita


Trap of San Juan de la Costa

Cortello de San Juan de la Costa

Directions

To get to the trap of San Juan de la Cuesta, follow the Rías Bajas A-52 highway, from Benavente to Porriño (Pontevedra) and take the exit to Puebla

de Sanabria. In the roundabout, take the road ZA-104 towards the Sanabria lake and Robleda-Cervantes. Pass the village and take on the left the

road towards San Juan de la Cuesta. Continue by the main road of the village to the upper part and follow the signs to the repeater. The cortello is

about 300 m away from the repeater, where there is a sharp curve to the right and where a fire-break ends and the road starts.

The trap of San Juan de la Cuesta is nowadays in a very bad state of preservation, the main part of its walls are almost in ruins and covered by (*)vegetation. Anyway, with aerial photography it is possible to recognize the circular ground plan of about 23 m in diameter .

According to Javier Franco's testimony, from Puebla de Sanabria, this is a goat type trap, built in a path frequently used by wolves.

(*) measurements taken from aerial photography

51CASTILLA Y LEÓN

Curro de Barjacoba

Directions

To get to the Curro de Barjacoba, take the Rías Bajas A-52 highway from Benavente (Zamora) to Porriño (Pontevedra) and take the exit to the road

N-525 and Pías. Continue on the national road until a turnoff on the right with the sign Barjacoba and the Curro. Once in the village, follow the signs

to the curro by a well-maintained and easily accessible road.

General view of the Curro de Barjacoba

The Curro de Barjacoba is in a natural path in the southwestern slope of the Sierra de la Cabreira. It is a trap of the goat type in a perfect state of

preservation. It is formed by a wall with oval ground plan of about 24 m the main axis and 16 m the minor axis. The walls are between 2,30 m and 3

m high in the inside and 2,50 m in the outside. This difference is caused by the presence of a trench bordering internally the wall; the medium

width is 1,10 m. The upper part is topped with stones standing out about 30 to 60 cm and which give the structure a concavity to the interior, to

CASTILLA Y LEÓN52


Place: BarjacobaMunicipality: PíasProvince: ZamoraTrap type: de Cabrita


to complicate the exit to the wolf once it has been captured. In the

wall, on the western part, there is a small door 1 m high and 40 cm

wide, used to insert the bait and take out the captured wolf. The

functioning of the curro was similar to that one in Lubián,

organizing a shift system to bring the bait.

To get to the curro, one passes by a well maintained path going up

by the Ladeira do Lagoalla, bordering the Barjacoba river which

flows among the mountains of the Sierra. Along the route, about

1,3 km long, there are information signs describing the landscape,

places of interest, elements, peculiarities and curiosities about the

life of the local shepherds, expressing the important presence that

the wolf have always had in these lands. Each family had its own

livestock that was taken to graze in the hills, together with other

families' livestock, by a shift system (vecería) in which the whole

village participated. Generally, each day there were two shepherds

walking with the livestock, one at the head and the other at the

back, accompanied by some dogs (perros loberos) equipped with

carrancas (to protect them) and specifically trained for taking care

of the livestock and defend it from the wolves. Nowadays, these

hills are still a preferential passage for the wolves in their

pilgrimage between Portugal and these areas in Castilla y León.

Therefore, it is not strange that their vicissitudes collide with those

of the shepherds that still have livestock on these hills.

Stockbreeding plays still an important role in the economy of these

villages and it is not rare to find still flocks and herds of alistano

sanabresas cows grazing here. The cortello was in use until the

sixties, according to a resident, and the last time it was used threes

wolves that had being following a dog were captured.

Interior or the curro with the slabs topping the structure

Alistano sanabresa cow in the proximities of the curro of Barjacoba

53CASTILLA Y LEÓN

Landscape in the province of Zamora


Castilla y León is a land with an ancient stockbreeding tradition and since always, with its great variety of environments, has been an ideal habitat

for the Iberian wolf, and here there is one of its biggest populations in the peninsula. With these records, it is not strange that nowadays the traps

built for capturing wolves are still in a perfect state of preservation, and that the memory of many people still preserve many structures built with

that purpose. Thanks to Javier Franco's help, environmental technician in the council of Puebla de Sanabria, passionate and expert in everything

related to the wolf, we have been able to document some more traps which time has blurred. “On the shore of the Sanabria lake, between the road

to San Martín de Castañeda and the lake, there was another trap for wolves,” he relates “just inside the territory of the National Natural Park of

Lago de Sanabria, and for this reason it would be good to rebuilt it. It was a trap of the casamata type, where the bait, dead or alive, was set in a

cage with open bars next to the pitch”. In the

proximities of Dornillas there was other trap of

another kind that, according to J. Franco, was of

trampilla basculante (swinging trap door): the

cage with the bait was set over the trench and to

get to it, for both sides, the wolf had to pass

through a swinging trap door and its weight made

it to fall inside the trench. And, as Javier relates,

there is another trap in the proximities of Truchas,

on the León side.

The mayor of Lubián, Felipe Lubián, says that

according to the testimony of older people, in the

past there was a convergent trap in the Follo da

Meda, whose name refers to that trap.

CASTILLA Y LEÓN54


The main transhumant routes of Spain pass through Castilla y León, like the Ruta de la Viziana or de la Plata, the Ruta Burgalesa, the Ruta Leonesa (*)Occidental and the Ruta Leonesa Oriental and the Ruta Soriana Occidental . In this land, nature also presents a thousand of facets, from the high

summits of the Picos de Europa to the vast plains of the Meseta and the sinuous landscapes shaped by the meanders of the Douro river, sculpting

ideal habitats for a multitude of animals, with the wolf among them. Here the wolf has one of the most numerous populations in the Peninsula. In

these fertile and welcoming lands, stockbreeding represents since antiquity one of the most important economic and profitable activities. This is

the land of the appreciated churras and merinas (breeds of sheep), giving the nickname “Churreros” to the shepherds of this area. In this place,

transhumance is an ancient art, which needs to be preserved and protected, memory of a popular and itinerant culture that nowadays is being lost.

The dominant and fascinating figure of the transhumant shepherd can be admired in the Shepherd Museum of Prioro, in the interpretation centre

of the shepherding life in Ferreras de Arriba, or in Barjacoba thanks to the explanatory signs found on the route to the curro, relating the

shepherding life in lands of wolves.

The lifestock protection has been in antiquity and nowadays a priority. Through the years, diverse strategies has been adopted from the selection

of dogs for taking care, accompany and defend the livestock against the attacks of the wild animals (the wolf particularly), to the building of

structures to enclose the livestock at night or to give refuge to the shepherds: corrals, chiviteros (corrals for goats), chozos, cabins, etc.

On the following maps you can see the location of some of these structures for protection in the territory of Castilla y León.

(*)Elías Pastor Luis Vicente, Novoa Portela Feliciano, 2003, Un camino de ida y vuelta, la trashumancia en España. Lunwerg Editores

55CASTILLA Y LEÓN

From left to right: corrals in Abejera (Riofrío de Aliste); corral in Monte Soto (Aguilar de Campoo)

Location of the structures for the protection of the

livestock representatives of the territories of the GAL in

the provinces of León and Palencia.

Cantabria

Asturias

PalenciaLeón

Posada de Valdeón



Puebla de Lillo

Boñaro

Reyero

Riaño

Boca de HuérganoBurón

La Pernía

Cervera de Pisuerga

GAL ADISAC LA VOZ

GAL MACOVALL 2000

GAL ADATA

GAL VALLADOLID NORTE

GAL ADRI PALOMARES

GAL ADERISA

León

Portugal

Valladolid

Salamanca

Zamora

Ferreras de Arriba

Riofrío de Aliste

Torregamones

Brime de Urz

Location of the structures for the protection of the

livestock representatives of the territories of the Gal in

the provinces of Zamora and Valladolid.

CASTILLA Y LEÓN56

Aguilar de Campoo

The mountain in Riaño has been for many years an attractive destination for the

transhumance of the Merino sheep coming from the southern regions of the peninsula. (*)Here, the development of the rental systems of the pastures and the building of support

infrastructures for the shepherds and flocks had a great impact, as it was said in the

introductory paragraph about Castilla y León. Next to these more important structures,

local shepherds also built their own corrals and cabins, known with the name of chozos, that

still can be admired in the disperse meadows among the big mountains on this side of the

Picos de Europa, like those in the surroundings of Portilla de la Reina, next to the Puerto de

Pandetrave.(**) The Ruta Leonesa Oriental passes through the Palencia mountains taking the Merino

sheep from the Extremadura fields to almost the border between León and Asturias. A

cordel (shepherding path) coming from Cervera de Pisuerga and Aguilar de Campoo

connects with this route, leaving the mountain spotted with numerous chozos and corrals

where the shepherds could shelter and protect the livestock along the hard trip.

According to the collected testimonies, in the last decade this traditional way of

transhumance is being lost, replacing the paths with roads, and the walking with trucks,

less poetic but faster and safer.

On the left, flock in the mountains of Celada de Roblecedo. On the right, a dog with its puppy, taking care of the livestock.

(*)Rodríguez Pascual Manuel, 2001, La trashumancia. Cultura, cañadas y viajes. Edilesa

(**)Elías Pastor Luis Vicente, Novoa Portela Feliciano, 2003, Un camino de ida y vuelta, la trashumancia en España. Lunwerg Editores

57CASTILLA Y LEÓN

From the top: a ram, flocks looked after a shepherd with his dogs.

From the top: Ruins of an old corral in Portilla de la Reina

(Boca de Huérgano); detail of the ruins of the corral wall

(Celada de Roblecedo); corral in Peña Abismo (La Pernía).

On the left, restored chozo in Portilla de la Reina. On the right, detail of the corral in Monte Soto (Aguilar de

Campoo).

CASTILLA Y LEÓN58

A typical example of a corral with a cabin, used by

shepherds in these mountains, is found in the Monte

Soto, in Aguilar de Campoo.

“This is an ancient enclosure with shepherding origin”,

tells Tino, a local who has made of these mountains his

passion and job. “It was restored some years ago,

preserving the original structure and nowadays it is

still used by the local shepherds. It is a circular corral with a chozo, and its peculiarity is that

the cabin is inside the enclosure. Its function was, then and now, to protect the livestock

from the attacks of the wolves, which has always lived in these lands. The walls are quite tall

and were usually topped with oak branches, very abundant here, to avoid access to wild

animals. The livestock and the mastiffs were kept inside the enclosure and the shepherds

used the cabin. Even so, sometimes the wolves attacked and when they got inside the

enclosure, there always were lobadas. But the attacks were very sporadic because wolves

has always lived here and people are used to it and know how to defend themselves.”

Tino, from Aguilar de Campoo

Among the best preserved corrals compiled in the southern area of Castilla y León, those in the province of Zamora stand out. They are usually

buildings with circular ground plan, with some exception in the Abejera area, notably big, built with dry stone. The entrance door is very wide and

the upper part of the wall is topped with branches and straw making it concave to the interior and leaving the central part of the structure

uncovered, fixed with wooden beams. One can admire very well preserved corrals in several places in Zamora. In Ferreas de Arriba, some of these

structures has been reconditioned making an interpretation centre of the shepherding life where shepherd's life is told through informative

boards, with their customs and stories, as well as stories, sayings, tales about the daily struggle against wolves and verses that were usually

recited in Christmas.

The municipality of Aliste is near Ferreras de Arriba and is proud of its ancient pastoral tradition. Here, the testimony of the eternal struggle

between the stockbreeder and the wolf can be observed thanks to the numerous corrals existing in the municipal territory, and that can be admired

following the hiking routes passing through these lands. In the surroundings of Sarracín de Aliste, in a common section of the tracks PR-ZA 02

“Ruta de los Molinos” and PR-ZA 04 “Ruta de las Madroñeras” it is possible to see the corrals of La Mayada, most of which are in ruins due to the

pass of time. The most numerous group of corrals in the Aliste territory can be found along the “Ruta de los Corrales” which starts in the village of

Abejera and ends in the Riofrío de Aliste – Abejera crossroad, crossing for 10 km the Sierra de la Culebra. Most of these corrals found along the

route are in a bad state of preservation although some of the them are recently being restored. There are 5 groups of corralas: Las Carvas, Las

Furnia, Las Mayadicas, Las Devesinas and Las Tozalfreno. The biggest one, with 23 structures, is the Mayadicas group, with some of them still in a

good state of preservation, whose particularity is having a square ground plan, instead of circular. Its distribution is also curious since they are built

in a straight line in the middle of a big meadow on the foot of the Sierra de Sesnandéz.

From left to right: Exterior view of a corral; interior view of a corral; interior of the Shepherding life museum in Ferreras de Arriba

59CASTILLA Y LEÓN

To the south, there is another type of pastoral construction built for protecting the livestock,

goats in this case, from the attacks of wolves. They are small structures known as chiviteros,

with circular ground plan, made of dry stone, covered with a roof made of branches and with a

small door to let the animals in. The best preserved and known chiviteros, are those found in

the municipality of Torregamones, inside the Natural Park of Arribes del Duero, where one can

arrive following a signposted tour (the Ruta de los Chiviteros) which starts in the church's

square in the village and passes through the Camino de Arrieros, connecting Torregamones

with Villardiegua de la Ribera.

On the left, corral in Brime de Urz (photograph courtesy of GAL MACOVALL2000); on the right: chiviteros in Torregamones (photographs courtesy of GAL ADERISA)

From the top: Mayadicas corralsOn the right: goats in the hills of Sanabria. On the left: flock in transhumance. (photographs courtesy of Javier Franco (Puebla de Sanabria).

CASTILLA Y LEÓN60

The Wolf in Cultural Heritage

(*) From the romance “La loba parda”, in Elías Pastor Luis Vicente, Novoa Portela Feliciano, 2003, Un camino de ida y vuelta, la trashumancia en España. Lunwerg Editores

The wolf, that constant and important presence in shepherds' daily life, plays an important role in songs, sayings, tales and stories, in which reality

mixes with popular fantasy, to offer a kaleidoscopic image of it: terrifying, reckless, sagacious, but also clumsy, easily scared and ingenuous. A tale

very spread among the transhumant shepherds is known as “La loba parda” (the dun female wolf), which was usually sung with different melodies

and is as follows:

The wolf, or “pardo” (dun), as is known in the Riaño mountains, is also the protagonist of sayings like “Escoba florida, loba parida” (broom with

flowers, female wolf with puppies) that were taught to the children for them to learn when the female wolves give birth.; “El invierno no lo comió

nunca el lobo” (the wolf never ate the winter); “Lobo Bueno, lobo muerto” (good wolf, dead wolf); “Comes como un lobo” (you eat like a wolf);

“Malos lobos te coman” (I hope bad wolves eat you)… and “Parece que traes el aire del lobo” (It looks like to bring the wolf's air)

The wolf is also related with some different flora names, since, for example, among the several strategies used for capturing it, there was a custom

of putting a bait poisoned with plants growing in the woods. Subsequently these plants were known with a name related with the wolf, for example

“Matalobos”, “Haba de lobos” and “Uvas del lobo” (Aconitum napellus, Aconitum vulparia); “Calzas de lobo” (Digitalis parviflora); “Pedo de lobo”

(Lycoperdon bovista).

Iberian wolves. Photograph courtesy of Carlos

Estando yo en la mi choza -No temo a tus siete perros

pintando la mi cayada, ni a tu perra tropellana

las cabrillas altas iban que tengo mis finos dientes

la luna, madre, bajada. como puntas de navaja.

Es que venían siete lobos Dios dos vueltas a la rede

por una oscura cañada y no pude sacar nada

-No vengáis aquí lobitos, y a la tercera que dio

no vengáis aquí lobada, sacó una cordera blanca,

que tengo a mis siete perros hija de una oveja negra,

y a mi perra tropellana. nieta de una oveja parda.

(*)(...)

61CASTILLA Y LEÓN

Here we propose tales and stories about encounters with wolves, collected in the territory of Castilla y León.

Lobadas....

“I remember some thing that happened to my father. One day he was having a

walk with the sheep and there was a water pipe, it was winter and he wore one of

those capes known as chiva. The dogs were with him. My father was giving bread

to the dogs and a wolf was hidden waiting for the best sheep, known as cancina

(more than one year old). The dogs were against the wind, and that is why they

didn't notice. And so it happened. The wolf took the sheep putting it on its back and

went away. The dogs went for it and at the end, the wolf drop the sheep which

came back to the flock.”

(Inhabitant of Sarracín de Aliste)

“Once, my brother and I were sleeping in the shadow. There were two goats in the

hazel wood. I was watching them but a wolf came and it was watching us. In a

moment it jumped, bit the goat on the neck and since it was not able to take the

goat, the goat were going running while the wolf drove it with its mouth. I followed

them and finally the wolf dropt the goat but the goat instead of coming to the flock

continued to run behind the wolf, thinking that it was another goat but the wolf run

faster and escaped. At the end, I came home. To treat the goat, I used a cloth with

oil and smoked it spreading it on the wound to prevent its infection.”

(Luis Montesinos, from Lubián).

“Usually wolves work together. One fools the dogs and the rest go behind. Once,

there was a very big dog, a dappled dog, and there was a Portuguese shepherd

and that dog was very difficult to treat. That day five wolves came and the dog

faced all of them. First two of them run away, and the dog followed them and then

the rest went from behind and killed the dog.” (Luis Montesinos, from Lubián).

Luis Montesinos, from Lubián

CASTILLA Y LEÓN62

View of the hills in the Cortello de los Lobos in Lubián

Races…

“The wolves discovered how to take the sheep out of the corral they were in.

They run around the corral, faster each time, until the sheep got crazy with

fear and started to pile in, ones over the others to jump and try to escape and

it is then when the wolf takes them.” (Tino, Aguilar de Campoo)

Illustrations by Miguel Somoza

Emergencies…

“My grandmother told me that she made a trip on a bus of the Guerra

company towards Verín, Puebla de Sanabria. It has snowed and they

arrived to the village of Requeixo where they speak Spanish. The bus was

stopped, I don't know what happened, and in some places the snow was

half a meter high. Next to a wall it was clean and there was a snowdrift. A

man from here, from this village got out of the bus, needed to go to the

bathroom, went there between the wall and the snow. He took off his coat

and put it in front of him. When he was doing his business, he saw a wolf

followed by a dog. The wolf jumped the wall and when it jumped, it passed

over him and stack its paws in the snowdrift and remained stuck there.

Then the man stood up with the pants down and throw the coat over the

wolf for it not to escape. In that position, holding the wolf and people

laughing in the bus, he said: Vide Carallo! Don't make fun of me and come

here! And or you put my pants up or you take the beast out of my

hands!!.”

(Felipe Lubián, from Lubián)

63CASTILLA Y LEÓN

Prayers for the dead…

“When someone lost the livestock on the mountain, there were very devout people who prayed to San Antonio, a “Padre Nuestro” and an “Ave

María” and then the wolf stopped and didn't eat any sheep. But this prayer only worked when the wolf couldn't see the sheep, if it saw them, the

prayer didn't work.”

Josefina Lubián, from Lubián

… and other prayers

“When I was a child, people always said to me “If a wolf comes out to meet you,

first you have to say a prayer to San Antonio Bendito and if this doesn't work you

can also insult it as if you are not scared, and say: “¡Ey cara de carallo!”. And

when I saw a wolf, I got so nervous than I said: “¡¡Eh San Antonio Bendito cara de

carallo!!”

(Josefina Lubián, from Lubián)

“Si buscas milagros, mira; Cuéntenlo los socorridos El mar sosiega su ira,

muerte y error desterrados, díganlo los paduanos. Es libre el encarcelado,

miseria y demonio huidos, miembros y bienes perdidos

leprosos y enfermos sanos. El mar sosiega su ira, recobran mozos y ancianos.

es libre el encarcelado,

El mar sosiega su ira, miembros y bienes perdidos Ruega a Cristo por nosotros,

es libre el encarcelado, recobran mozos y ancianos. Antonio divino y santo,

miembros y bienes perdidos para que dignos así

recobran mozos y ancianos. Gloria al Padre, de tus promesas seamos.

gloria al Hijo, Amén.”

El peligro se retira gloria al Espíritu Santo.

los pobres van remediados.

Illustration by Miguel Somoza

CASTILLA Y LEÓN64

Toponymy and Heraldry

In Sanabria region, between the borders of Castilla y León and Galicia, is the village of

Lubián, famous for its cortello dos lobos that until a few years ago was an effective trap for

capturing the wolves living in these lands. As a confirmation of the continuous presence of

the wolf in the life of the people, in Lubián there is even a fountain with three wolf heads

from which water flows, together with the coat of arms of the village.

In the whole Castilla y León territory studied, there are numerous toponyms related to the

wolf, like Lobeznos, Venta Lobera… in Puebla de Sanabria; Villalobos, Tozoloslobos in

Otero de Bodas; Pozo de los lobos in Pomar de Valdivia; Fuente Lobo in Barruelo de

Santullán; La Lobera in Salinas de Pisuerga; Vega de Villalobos in Tierra de Campos;

Fuente del lobo in Gatón de Campos; etc.

Detail of the Three Wolves fountain in Lubián

The lineage of the Osorio or Ossorio family represents one of the oldest lineages in Spanish nobility. Some of the

personages who wrote the history of the country belonged to it. Its origins dates back to the times of the King

Pelayo. The acquisition of the coat of arms of the family (in gold, with two passing wolves in gules) comes from

the famous battle of Clavijo, fought by the King Ramiro I, that took place in the year 844 in the surroundings of

Clavijo (La Rioja). The battle was started out because the King exempted the Christians from the annual tribute

of a hundred maids required by Abderrhamán, Emir of Cordoba. According to the legend, during the battle, the

King made an appeal to the apostle Santiago asking for help and it is here when the saint appears and fights the

Moors. Back then, the King's second lieutenant was Don Luís Osorio, lord of Villalobos, who carried a flag of

Clavijo in the battle, known as La seña or Enseña. The bravery of the lieutenant was so great that, to thank him,

the King offered him his new shield with two bloodstained wolves over a gold field sayind: “You have fought like a

wolf!”.

The original arm of coats changed through time due to new events in the family life or to new acquisitions for

politics or marriage bonds. An example of this habitual practice is represented by the Osorio family from Puebla

de Sanabria, whose arm of coats is three times repeated in the main square of the village: it can be observed in

the façade of the family's house, in the façade and interior of the San Cayetano chapel, built in the 18th century in

memory of Lucas García Osorio. Next to the coat of arms the words “Noto Deo” (I know God) appear.

(*)

Coat of arms found in the chapel of San Cayetano, Puebla de Sanabria

Osorio family's original coat of arms

(*) Garcia Carraffa Alberto y Arturo, 1919, Enciclopedia heráldica y genealógica hispanoamericana. Madrid, Imprenta de Antonio Marzo

65CASTILLA Y LEÓN

Coat of arms of Peque

Shield parted per fess. 1st in silver field, sable wolf with gules tongue passing, accompanied by two uprooted vert oaks. 2nd in azure field, silver

wave with azure trout. Closed royal crown in the crest.

Coat of arms of Quintanilla del Molar

Shield parted per fess. 1st in silver field, two millstones in gules and azure, with a country house over them, also in gules and azure. 2nd in gold

field, two wolves in gules in pale and passing. Closed royal crown in the crest.

Coat of arms of Villalobos

Entire shield with two passing wolves in gold field. Closed royal crown in the crest. The origin of the escutcheon comes from the Osorio family, lords

of Villalobos.

Coat of arms of Ferreras de Abajo

Shield parted per fess, the upper part per pale. 1st in silver, with sable wolf passing. 2nd in gold, crossed mallet and hammer in sable. 3rd in silver,

three vert mountains over waves in silver and azure. Closed royal crown in the crest.

From left to right: coat of arms of Ferreras de Abajo, coat of arms of Peque, coat of arms of Quintanilla del Molar, coat of arms of Villalobos.

CASTILLA Y LEÓN66

Riotorto

A Pontenova

Meira

Ribeira de Piquín

A FonsagradaNegueira de Muñiz

Pol

Baleira

Baralla

Becerreá

Navia de Suarna

Cervantes

As Nogais

Pedrafita do Cebreiro

Folgoso do Courel

LUGO

PRINCIPADODE ASTURIAS

CASTILLAY LEÓN


GALICIA

GDR MONTES E VALES

Galicia

Galicia is a land of contrasts, beauty and mystery. Like an island, in Galicia all the possible continental environments are represented: the coast

designed by the unstoppable strength of the ocean, the fertile plains, and the high and charming mountains; permanent and daily presences in

the life of many Galician people.

In the eastern part of the Comunidad Autónoma, one can find the highest Galician summits that, raising abruptly over the surrounding landscape,

mark the border with Castilla y León, Asturias and the rest of the peninsula. Here, among the “soutos” of chestnuts which tinge the landscape with

warm autumnal colours, the oak woods, and the numerous rivers silencing the sound of the woods, one can still breath the presence of the wolf: in

people's tales, in the hunting infrastructures, in those for the protection of the livestock, in the toponymy…

According to the memories and the testimony of the existing cultural heritage, the wolf has always been an important figure in the life of people in

these mountains, either as an accompanying presence during the trips from one village to another, or as a fortuitous encounter on the roads, or as

a confrontation to obtain food, with the attack to a cow, a sheep or a goat, often part of a scarce familiar resource.

Os Ancares landscape

69GALICIA

In Galicia, like in the rest of the peninsula, several strategies were used for capturing the wolf. The simplest ones consisted in the use of baits or

even snares. The most elaborated were based on the construction of traps with variable size, depending mainly on the morphology of the chosen

place. In the territory studied the main hunting infrastructures found were simple traps, of the goat and convergence types, and generally located

near population centres.

In the map, the main hunting infrastructures listed in the Galician territories participating in this project.

Wofl hunting

General map of the location of the traps found in the territory studied in Galicia.

GALICIA70

Vilar

Cortes

Vilarello

Balouta

O Poso

San Xurxo de Piquín

LUGO

LEÓN

ASTURIAS

GDR MONTES E VALES

GDR ANCARES COUREL

O Cebreiro

Carballido

San Xurxo de PiquínSan Xurxo de Piquín

Lamas de Campos

Vilar de Ernes

Foxo

Village of Vilar


Place: VilarParish: VilamorMunicipality: Folgoso de CourelProvince: LugoTrap type: Simple


Location of the foxo of

Vilar in relation with the

village. Photo taken from

the road DP 13-05 in the

section Vilar-Vidallón..

Foxo de Vilar

Directions

To get to Vilar do Courel, pass Folgoso do Courel, coming from the road LU-651 from Ferrería and take the first road to the right DP 47-01 towards

Baldomír or Vilamor. Before getting to Baldomír there is a crossing to the left, where there is a sign to A Campa on the road DP 13-05. Take this road

and continue to Vilar signposted on the right.

71GALICIA

Up: Souto in Vilar. In the square, Juan Sánchez.

Down: Current state of the simple foxo of Vilar. The semi-circular contour of the

stone wall is marked in red. In the photograph one can observe how the dense

vegetation covers practically any trace of the foxo.

In the small village of Vilar, immerse in a beautiful “souto” of chestnuts,

there is still an ancient trap built for capturing wolves. The village of Vilar

belongs to the parish of Vilamor, council of Folgoso do Courel, in the middle

of the Sierra do Courel. This village is in the hiking route GR-8 “Ruta do Río

Lor”, specifically in the section between Traspando and Froxán. From the

“Fuente de Saúde” which welcomes the visitants at the entrance of the

village, one has to take the GR-8 hiking route “Ruta do Río Lor” towards

east. The path is an ancient path for carts, as can be observed in the deep

ruts excavated by the wheels in the stones, that nowadays is easily

accessible. One has to follow the route for some hundreds of meters and

then turn off to a small path entering a dense “souto” characterized by the

presence of very beautiful old chestnuts.

This small path, almost totally erased nowadays by the passage of time, is

a testimony of an old route used by the shepherds with their livestock,

descending by the northern slope of the mountain with great difficulty due

to the steep incline.

Part of the foxo is constituted by a tall wall built with natural rocks, and

around it there is a semi-circular wall of the foxo. In the upper stones there

was a wooden board with an end into the void where the bait was placed,

usually a piece of meat. When the wolf passed and got close to the meat, its

own weight shook the board and the animal fell into the foxo.

“From that rock up there one could see if there was a wolf in the foxo”

relates Juan from Vilar, our guide to the foxo, indicating an isolated rock

placed in a position from which one could control perfectly the foxo, “and

when there was a wolf inside, the population was informed about the

capture.”

GALICIA72

Baits used for capturing wolves displayed in the museum of Vilar. In the circle, board at the entrance of the museum.

(*) Wooden tool with more or less rectangular shape and iron teeth in one of its ends over which the flax passed to be separated from the tow (the less desirable fibres). Definition according to the dictionary of

the Real Academia Gallega.(**)Type of ax with a big blade. Definition according to the dictionary of the Real Academia Gallega.

In the village, Juan created a small museum of aparellos and trebellos in which there are some antique tools used in the daily life of the local

population. Among the old pots, “restrelos”*, “trillas para palla”** and antique violins one can observe two models of baits used for capturing

wolves, in a good state of preservation.

The owner of the museum, Juan Sánchez, is one of the few inhabitants that still lives in Vilar and he is a great source of numerous tales and stories

of the area. He goes with the tourist and visitors to see the ruins of O Castro Grande, ancient military village not far away, and the rests of the foxo.

Juan represents the historical memory of

these lands, through lively tales and his

memories, these woods come to life and get

populated with men, women and children

playing. Like this, ancient jobs revive, like

that of the wolf hunter. According to Juan's

tales, when the wolf was a permanent and

important presence in this place, it was

frequent that some of them fell into a trap.

When this happened, after killing it, its fur

was taken out and the hunters went from

village to village with it and people gave

them goods or money in appreciation.

73GALICIA

Foxo de Cortes


Place: CortesParish: SecedaMunicipality: Folgoso de CourelProvince: LugoTrap type: de Convergencia

Coordinates: 42º 37'10,15'' N 7º 15' 0,88' 'W

Vil lage of Cortes,

municipality of Folgoso

de O Courel

Directions

To get to Cortes one can pass through A Cruz do Inicio and take the road LU-642 towards A Ferrería. It passes the villages of O Hospital, Ferrería, A

Raxoá and A Cruz do Campo. After this latter village and the following turnoff towards Parada, take the road to Cortes on the left. A little before

arriving to the first houses take a path to the left, passable with a 4x4. The foxo is found approximately 300 metres away, in the upper part of the

slope.

GALICIA74

The foxo of Cortes is close to the village of Cortes, parish of Seceda,

municipality of Folgoso do Courel, right in the border with the

parish of Santallana belonging to the municipality of Samos. It is a

convergence foxo with its walls and final corridor still in a good

state of preservation. The pitch, in which the wolf was captured,

was destroyed due to the construction of a forest trail and no trace

of it remains. The final corridor is approximately in the middle of (*)the slope, 245 metres long and 3 metres wide. The lateral walls

(*)begin in the western end of the corridor: one goes up 170 metres

to the abrupt rocks constituting the summit of the hill and the other (*)goes down approximately 160 to the river Lóuzara. One

particularity of this trap is that the lateral walls are built one part

with dry stone and other part with slabs stuck vertically in the

ground. “In the past, the trail did not exist.” says Jorge, from

Cortes, pointing at trail in the hill, “during the battues the wolf was

pushed towards the corridor. In the upper part, the wall reached

the rocks where it couldn't escape because it's a very sheer area,

while in the valley the trap reached the river so it had no choice but

entering the corridor and from there it fell right in the foxo.”

(*)Measurements taken from aerial photography

Foxo de Cortes. Nowadays, the foxo is almost totally covered by a dense vegetation;

even so, it is possible to see the stones constituting the lateral walls, marked in red.

Aside, Jorge from Cortes.

From left to right: detail of the slabs constituting part of the lower lateral wall (in the red circle). Detail of the stonewall of the final corridor.

75GALICIA

Corral do lobo


Place: Redondo del CerroParish: BaloutaMunicipality: CandínProvince: LeónTrap type: de Cabrita


View of the foxo of Balouta

Directions

To get to the Corral do Lobo of Balouta, one can go from Degrada towards Donís by the road CP 14-01. Pass the villages of Donías, Piornedo and

Suárbol and go straight until you pass the crossroads to Ponferrada to the right. After the crossroads, in the first curve to the right, there is a trail to

the left. Follow the trail for 300 m, the foxo is on the right.

GALICIA76

The Corral dos Lobos in Balouta was used not only by the inhabitants of that parish but also by the villages in the surroundings, which had the

livestock in that area. Among them, that of Rao (Navia de Suarna). According to the testimonies and the consulted bibliography, this is a goat type

trap.

Nowadays, from the old structure, partially covered with soil and vegetation, one can observe the circular shape of the walls, 1 m wide, marked

with the few stones remaining in the basis. According to what the inhabitants relate, the walls of the corral were between 2 m and 2,5 m high and

next to the interior part of the wall there was a trench in the shape of a ring. This was a variant of the typical goat type pitch.

In the centre, there was a mound where the bait was placed (usually a goat) tied to a stick. When the wolf arrived, attracted by the bleating of the

animal, had the illusion that its bait was at the same level as it and jumped falling into the pitch. Once inside it could not capture the bait since this

was too high, neither could it jump over the walls since they were also too high.

“When a wolf fell in the corral, the people of the village was called and went up here armed with venabre or chuzo ” relates a resident, “or with a

shotgun and it was killed. Then the fur was taken out, filled with straw and it was showed from village to village and people gave what they had:

sausages, eggs…”

(*)

(*) wooden handle with a very long iron tack in its end.

“In the past there were a lot of

wolves” continues relating “There

were herds of more than 8 wolves.

But now there are not so many.

Wolves always come from Pena

Rubia, during the season of grape

harvest, passing through the

cordillera. They always come here

with the snowfalls.”

View of the corral wall

GALICIA 77

Foxo do Camín GrandeGeographical location

Place: Camín GrandeParish: San Xurxo de PiquínMunicipality: Ribeira de PiquínProvince: LugoTrap type: de Convergencia


DDetail of the northern lateral wall in the foxo do Camín Grande

Directions

To get to the Foxo do Camín Grande, take the road CP 54-02 from Ribeira de Piquín towards Carballido. After the village of Vilar de Calvos, take the

first trail to the left towards the mountain of Río de Sabuga and go up to the summit. The wall of the foxo is about 2 km away from the main road.

GALICIA78

According to Constante, from Vilar de Calvos, and Otilio Fernández, from A Burela, this was a convergence trap, with two lateral walls beginning in

the proximities of the Camín Grande, the old road connecting Asturias with Lugo. “When a wolf was seen,” they tell “people got organized, they

went together and combed the hills to push it towards the walls and at the end of the walls there was a pitch. The wolf arrived there, fell inside and

then it didn't know how to get out.”

“In the upper part, the walls were at a distance of 300 m one from the other” tells another neighbour “and they were getting closer like a funnel

towards the pitch. There the walls were at a distance of 3 m.”

Nowadays it is possible to find a part of the lateral walls. It must be noticed that the northern wall is in a better state although a dense vegetation

covers much of it.

Detail of the lateral walls of t h e f o x o d o Camín Grande

GALICIA 79

Foxo das Reigadas


Place: Carballal das ReigadasParish: CarballidoMunicipality: A FonsagradaProvince: LugoTrap type: Simple


Directions

To get to the Foxo das Reigadas, take the road CP 54-02 from Ribeira de Piquín to Carballido. After the village of Vilar de Calvos, take the first road

to the left (CP 48-11), follow the first trail on the right and continue for 1,6 km until you find a firebreak to the left. Follow it for 300 m and go down

the oak wood to the right until you find a brook.

Foxo das Reigadas. T h e r e m a i n i n g contour of the pitch marked in red.

GALICIA80

According to Eugenio from A Rebordela, our guide and source of information,

the trap was built on the riverbed of an old brook, taking advantage of a small

waterfall. It was approximately 7 m in diameter. The water flow was guaranteed

by the presence on the lower side of a door with iron bars.

“When wolves were seen or traces detected” relates Eugenio, “all the people

from the surrounding villages got together and they combed the hills, pushing

the wolf into the pitch. At those times, there were many people in the villages. In

each house there were at least 11 people. That is the reason the walls were not

needed, with the people it was enough for enclosing the wolf until it fell into the

pitch.”

Nowadays, only part of the walls remains, covered with moss and vegetation

growing abundantly in the banks of the brook. In the proximities of the

waterfall, the walls are 2,9 m high and approximately 70 cm wide. Eugenio from A Rebordela

Detail of the pitch wall

GALICIA 81

Foxo dos Pedregais


Place: Os PedregaisParish: Lamas de CamposMunicipality: A FonsagradaProvince: LugoTrap type: Simple


Directions

To get to the Foxo dos Pedregais, take the road LU-530 towards Asturias. After the village of A Fonsagrada continue to the Barbeitos crossroads

and take the LU-703. At a distance of approximately 3 km, turn off to the forest trail found to the right and follow it until Rego Narani. To get to the

foxo one has to pass through private properties.

Foxo dos Pedregais. The location of the ruins of the pitch is marked in red.

The trap, built in the proximities of Rego Narani, is currently totally abandoned. According to the testimony of José Pérez from Lamas de Campos,

the pitch consists of a hole dug in the ground, with 6 m in diameter, with a small stonewall standing out from the ground level from which now only

some ruins covered by vegetation remain, as can be observed in the photograph. Over time, the pitch has been filled with soil and water and now it

is 60 cm deep. In the part next to the brook, there is a small opening, 1 m wide, a remainder probably of the entrance door to the pitch. According

to José's account, the fur of a lamb or a dying lamb was used to attract the wolf and the pitch was usually filled with water thanks to a now

disappeared channelling.

Jose Pérez, from Lamas de Campos

GALICIA82

Couso de O CebreiroGeographical location

Place: O CebreiroParish: O CebreiroMunicipality: Pedrafita do CebreiroProvince: LugoTrap type: Simple


Directions

To get to O Cebrerio, take the A-6 Madrid – A Coruña highway. Take the exit 431 to Pedrafita do Cebreiro and follow the LU-634 in direction O

Cebreiro. Once there, take the “Cernada” path and at 200 m turn off descending the hill until finding the couso.

O Cebreiro

(*) Poem celebrating O Cebreiro, courtesy of José María Nuñez

Non te queixes ti, Cebreiro.

Ti tes o que ningun tem.

Nas cimas ES o primeiro

I a três rios vês nacer.

Do poeta estas nos versos,

Dos peregrinos na Fe.

Tes a maxia i o milagre(*)¿que mais se pode querer?

GALICIA 83

Couso de O Cebreiro

The village of O Cebreiro is known as one of the most

representative stages of the French Camino de Santiago,

since from here one enters Galicia and the last stages of the

pilgrim route. Among ancient sculptures, legends and its

characteristic architecture, one can still breath the air of the

ancient times, when the cold, the snow and the howling of

the wolves accompanied the pilgrim in his route, to finally get

rest and salvation in the church of Santa María (of the 9th

century and protagonist of several legends) and in the inns

with its welcoming “lareiras”.

Not far away from the Cueva de A Raposa, a very famous

place in this region, it is the couso of O Cebreiro, an example

of the inventiveness of the residents in their struggle against

the wolf. It is a simple foxo, consisting of stream bed with the

shape of a funnel, around 30 m in diameter in its widest part;

and the end of which there is a pitch dug in the ground which

was kept hidden with foliage and ferns. According to the

testimony of José María from O Cebreiro, when the wolf

attacked the livestock, usually some sheep, the dead animal

was rubbed on the hills, in the proximities of the foxo, in order

to attract the wolf with the trace. Next, the bait was tied to a

post placed in the foxo, hanging from a cord, in a way that

when the wolf jumped to catch the bait, when it fell down,

with its weight the foliage broke and it inevitably fell into the

foxo. Sometimes, if the wolf came at great speed the slope

made it to fall into the pitch. The current dimensions of the

foxo are 6 m in diameter and a variable depth of 5,5 m in the

upper part and 2,2 m in the area with less slope.

José María from O Cebreiro, next to the Couso

GALICIA84


O Courel landscape

Many times, the morphology of the terrain was used for hunting the wolf, so that the population did not need to build structures in places where

this task could be particularly difficult, and this is the case of several traps found in O Courel.

The O Courel hills are known by the high quality of their slate, which encouraged the development of a mining industry in the whole area. The slate

modelling the physiognomy of the landscapes is found in a superficial stratus, more or less thick, under which there is a limestone formation. In

the calcareous stratus, due to the erosive effect of the groundwater, in the past some internal cavities were formed reaching to notable

dimensions. Due to time and the action of erosive agents, the ceiling of these caves collapses and falls down and caves tens of metres deep come

to light. A typical example of these karstic depressions can be found in Bustofrío (Samos). Looking northwest from the village, to the slope

marking the border with the municipality of Folgoso de Courel, one can intuit among the tees and scrubs covering the hill, the shape of the Cueva

de Acevedo. The cave, according to the inhabitants of the region, was used in the past for capturing wolves.

85GALICIA

In the municipality of Baleira, between A Braña and Castelo, there was a singular type of simple trap, known as “Armada das cordas” . The

particularity of this trap is that the pitch built for capturing the animal was covered with some ropes forming a mesh, fixed to some iron bars stuck

in the ground and covered with branches. These ropes avoided the exit of the animal once it had fallen into the pitch.

In the Monte Vilarello, in the parish of Donís, in the municipality of Cervantes, one can found the Foxo de Vilarello. It is a simple foxo consisting of a

hole dug in the ground, quite old, and that has been used until the thirties. According to the testimony of Jesús, from Vilarello, a bait was placed

and they waited for the wolf to fall into the trap. Nowadays, although the terrain and the vegetation has reduced the foxo's depth, this is used by

the cows to give birth.

Not far from here, in the village of O Poso, in the parish of O Pando, municipality of Cervantes, there was other trap for capturing wolves. According

to a testimony of an inhabitant of the village, it was a simple foxo consisting of a deep circular hole covered with branches. As a bait, a piece of

meat hanging from a cord was used. When the wolf tried to catch the meat, it jumped and fell into the foxo remaining trapped. Unfortunately, the

trap was destroyed when a forestal trail was constructed and it only remains in popular memory.

(*)

Daily life scenes in O Cebreiro

There were more modern strategies for hunting wolves, depending on the morphological and cultural characteristics and on the local traditions

regarding the wolf. For example, in the municipality of Cervantes, in the village of O Comeal, parish of Vilarello, in the border with the province of

León, according to the testimony of the local population, next to the village there was a “cachopo”, consisting of a hole in the ground, 1 m in

diameter and tall enough to hide two men. The hole was usually covered with branches forming a structure with a sort of small window allowing the

men waiting in its interior to see and shoot. “We waited for it in the cachopo, there in the field, up there” relates an inhabitant of O Comeal, pointing

at a field not far away, “We built a subterranean cachopo, put a dead animal, a dead sheep or a piece of meat, or a cloth soaked with blood when

pigs were killed, this was also good. And the wolf came to take it and we shot with the shotgun and sometimes it left wounded. Not many were

GALICIA86

(*) Pérez López David, 2010, Os foxos do Lobo. A caza do lobo na cultura popular. Ed. Canela

captured because they were very clever but some of them fell.” Nowadays, there is no trace of the trap which was used in the sixties for the last

time.

With the same characteristics, there was another trap in the Alto del

Mustallar, a habitual passage and hunting area for the wolves. Here,

according to the testimony of an inhabitant of Piornedo, there was a

hole dug in the ground where a hunter waited. The structure was also

used for hunting other animals like roe deers or chamoises.

Alto del Mustallar, Piornedo. In the forefront the remainders of an infrastructure used

by the shepherds who went with their livestock to these high pastures.

Further north, in the municipality of Negueira de Muñíz, there is

another trap for wolves. This is the Couso de Vilar of Eres, a trap of the

goat type in which one can observe, among the abundant vegetation, (*)the remainders of a circular basis with 42 m in diameter.

(*) Information provided by the historian Juan Pablo Torrente Sánchez-Guisande

The Couso de Vilar of Ernes, the remainders of the circular basis marked in red.

Photograph courtesy of Juan Pablo Torrente.

87GALICIA

Since the beginning of stockbreeding, the competence with wolves and other wild animals forced humans to adopt preventive measures for the

protection of the livestock and its shepherds. Generally, the different defensive strategies cover from the election of mastiffs and other breeds

dogs apt for the protection of flocks and livestock, to the construction of infrastructures where the livestock could be kept at night (known as

corrales, corralas or curros) and small cabins serving for the night-time rest of the shepherds. The corrals had usually a circular shape and variable

dimensions, depending on the type of use they were destined to. The cabins were small, with square ground plan, and were in a place from which

the shepherd could check the livestock and the possible arrival of wild animals. In the following map, the corrals identified in this study area are

marked.


The faunal richness of the area, indicated by the presence of roe deers,

chamoises and wild boars among others, convert this part of Galicia in a

preferential place for wolves, where its population has recovered in the last

years. But the abundance and high quality of the pastures also convert these

hills in an ideal location for livestock farming, which leads again to the eternal

conflict of interests between this species and the development of livestock

farming.

General view of the location of the corrals identified in this study, in the territories of GDR ADR

Ancares-Courel and GDR Montes e Vales

LUGO

LEÓN

ASTURIAS

GDR MONTES E VALES


GALICIA88

A typical example of a corral with cabin can be found in the way up to the Alto del Mustallar, in Piornedo, parish of Donís, municipality of Cervantes.

These are some structures known as Corrales da Mallada built by the inhabitants of Piornedo who brought their livestock to the near pastures. “The

corrals where used until the sixties,” comments an inhabitant from Piornedo. “In the past, all the village people got their livestock together and

brought it to the pasture up there in the Mustallar. The calves were usually kept in the corrals while the cows and oxen remained outside. In the

cabin of La Mallada the shepherds slept, so the livestock never was alone at night. When the wolf arrived, the shepherds came out and shooed it

away shouting or throwing stones, since there were not weapons at that time. The inhabitants of the village took turns, depending on the number

of animals they had, so each person only had to guard the livestock for one or two night maximum each week. This shift system was known as

“veceira”.

The cabin is on the left of the path to the summit of Mustallar, in a small height dominating a slightly flat stretch. The structure, partially in ruins, is

4,90 m wide and 5,40 m long and the remainders of the walls are, in the highest section, approximately 1,90 m high. The door is located facing

towards the path, while from the laterals one can watch the corrals and the hills (possible ways by which the wolf could arrive) and one can still

recognize the openings of small windows. At a distance of approximately 60 metres from the cabin, there are the remainders of three corrals very

close from each other. The structures have an oval shape, with a 4,30 m main axis and a 3,50 minor axis, and the walls are about 50 cm wide.

On the left, detail of one of the corrals in La Mallada. In the background the cabin for the shepherds. Above, frontal view of the same cabin.

89GALICIA

Not very far from the Mallada corrals, turning off a little to the

right from the path going up to the Mustallar summit, one can

find the remainders of more circular structures. These are the

Curros de los Extremeños, circular corrals that were built by

the shepherds from Extremadura, who, practicing the

transhumance, brought their livestock to these hills during the

summer months. Nowadays one can still observe the ruins of

three corrals, two of them still conserving the whole ground

plan marked by the stones of the basis. The first one has an

approximately circular shape and its dimensions are notably

bigger than the others since it has 30 metres in diameter.

Close to it, there are the remainders of other smaller circular

structure, placed in a slightly more elevated position. And the

third, with only part of its wall remaining, can be intuited with

an approximately circular shape and dimensions similar to

those of the first one.

The summits of these hills also host another corral, the Corral

dos Lagos, under the peak with the same name, from which

the stones marking the basis still remain. The corral had a (*)circular shape and approximately 30 metres in diameter.

Corral de los Extremaños, Piornedo

(*) (*) Measure taken from the analysis of aerial photography.

View of the Mallada corrals, Piornedo

Crossing the border marked by the summits, in the territory of

Suárbol, there is another corral serving in the past to protect

the livestock from the attacks of the wild animals. Here there

was also a cabin where the shepherds sheltered in at night,

now almost completely in ruins and covered by vegetation.

The corral still has the stones of its basis, but the rest of the

walls have been replaced by a metallic net. This corral is still

used nowadays.

GALICIA90

(*)Caamaño Suárez Manuel, 2003, Galicia. A construcción da arquitectura popular. Patrimonio etnográfico de Galicia, Ed. Hércules

(**)According to “Plan Xeral do Ordenación Municipal do Concello de Cervantes”

Another place in which we can find corrals for livestock protection is the alzadas, whose

origin seems to be previous to 1611, date in which the first mention to this structure in

an official document (Catastro da Ensenada, in which it is referred to with the names

agra, braña or campa) is dated. The alzadas are habitable structures forming seasonal

villages, located in the high mountain plains (between 900 and 1200 m above sea

level) usually covered with snow during the winter and at a distance of 4 and 10 km

from the primary village. They were used in the summer months, usually from May to

September, when the pastures are scarce in lower heights but are abundant higher. (*) The constructions are located in a space with no order in particular. Most of the

alzadas in the Galician Ancares were used until the sixties and are currently in a bad

state of preservation. It is still possible to observe an example of this characteristic

architecture in the Galician mountains in the region of Pandozarco, at 1000 m above

the sea level. Here there are the alzadas used by the people from Murias do Rao (parish

of Rao, Navia de Suarna). According to the information provided by an inhabitant of the

village, in Murias each family had its own house with stonewalls and a roof made of (**)straw. Unfortunately, before the eighties, a fire destroyed almost all the houses only

one remained. Nowadays, the people from the village have been repairing little by little

the remainders of the alzadas, however, the original style has been abandoned and the

straw has been replaced by the slate. A fountain has also being built to provide relief to

the hikers passing over there, since several hiking routes pass through these alzadas,

as for example the “Ruta por la Garganta del Rao”.

In the territory of the municipality of Navia de Suarna one can observe other examples

of alzadas when taking the “Ruta de las Alzadas”. The route starts in the village of

Murias do Camín, arrives to Moia, Coruxedo and the area of Tesón and finishes in the

village of Coro. Along the route, one can observe the alzadas of Bismor, Estomeiro,

Liñares, Vispeiro, Redonde, Xestoso and Vilarmondín.

Alzadas of Pandozarco

0 10 20 m

(****) Ground plan of the alzadas in Pandozarco

(***)Touristic routes promoted by the website http://www.ancares.info

(****)Ground plan elaborated thanks to drawing present in Caamaño Suárez Manuel, 2003, Galicia, A construcción da arquitectura popular. Patrimonio etnográfico de Galicia, Ed. Hércules

Cattle in Os Ancares

91GALICIA

The wolf in cultural heritage

The wolf, besides being feared and hated, has always been a mythical and fascinating character to humans. Worthy protagonist of tales and

legends, becoming part of the cultural heritage of many populations. Among the main representatives of the Galician culture, the poet and writer

Uxío Novoneyra must be noted. Native from the mountains of O Courel, the beautiful and lively description of this inhabitant of the woods is

reflected in his words.

Cousos do lobo!*

Caborcos do xabarín!

Eidos solos onde ninguén foi non ha d’ir!

O lobo! Os ollos o lombo do lobo!

Baixa o lobo polo ollo do bosco

movendo nas flairas dos teixos

ruxindo na folla dos carreiros

en busca da vagoada

maís sola e maís medosa...

Rastrexa, párase e venta finca a pouta,

ergue a testa e oula cara o ceo

con toda a sombra da noite na boca...

(*) Novoneyra Uxío, 1985, Os Eidos. Vigo. Ed. Xerais

The wolf plays a central role also in the popular tales related by the older people in the

villages. The old stories about trips stand out particularly, told by grandfathers or

grandmothers and travellers who looked for shelter in the long winter nights. All the

tales have something in common: the impression of having the wolf like a shadow, the

oppressing sensation of the wolf following every step of the passers-by, the feeling that

arose the hairs and transmitted an almost unbearable fear, more than encountering it

in your path or seeing it among the shadows in the wood, since the perception of

danger, more than danger itself, is what most scares humans. Immerse among the

mountains of Folgoso do Courel there is the small village of Noceda de O Courel. Here,

among dense trees, brooks descending fast through their tortuous paths and snow

covering the highest summits, it is not difficult to imagine a wolf moving nimbly and

silently in the shadows and going up the rocks howling to the moon. “In the past, here

there were many wolves,” tells a woman from Noceda. “There was a man from Texeira

who came to court a woman. One day he came to see her and his mother-in-law said to

him: Don't go! Stay here because there are many wolves and they could eat you! But

the man felt very strong and went away. Up there there was a cabin and when the man

arrived to it, he saw a wolf following him. The man continued walking and when they

arrived to a brook, the wolf got into the water and after it was shaking itself dry. Then

the man got frightened and came back to the village deciding to stay over and leave the

next morning”.

Wood in O Courel

GALICIA92

Shepherd in Os Ancares

In the past, when there were no means of transportation and the trips from one village to another

were made on foot or on a horse and it took many hours, it was habitual that travellers were overtaken

by the night. The night hours were the most favourable for meeting wolves and an ideal setting for

tales, in which the wolf appears like a fierce and wild animal, but also extremely cautious and clever. “I

remember that when I was a child, around the sixties, all the people in the village met at night to have

dinner in a palloza (cabin).” Tells an inhabitant of Piornedo. “Each day in the palloza of a neighbour,

mainly in winter. Back then, television didn't exist and old people narrated tales and stories to frighten

us. In many of them the wolf was the protagonist. I particularly remember a story that I was told”

continues the man from Piornedo. “Once a neighbour was coming back from the village of Navia de

Suarna, and suddenly he encountered two wolves. He had a very big knife and a blanket for protecting

himself from cold. He wrapped the blanket in his left arm and offered it to the wolves, while with his

right arm held the knife firmly. Then when the wolves saw him walking determined to attack them

they moved aside and let him leave. I think that the animals have an instinct and if they perceive fear

they get bravest and attack.”

One of the tales used to frighten the children is probably one of those collected in the book “Lobos,

lobas y lobishomes” by Xosé Ramón Mariño Ferro, popular tales and stories about wolves in Galicia. It

is the legend of the werewolf of Doras, a parish in the municipality of Cervantes, of which we proposed

here a summarized version.

Ages ago, in the village of Cervantes, lived a man who easily got angry for any reason and who had a

son who liked women and go partying a lot. He was one of those who are of the opinion “everything in

due time”. One day they argued because the son wanted to go to a romería in Piedrafita, and the

father wanted him to go to dig on the mountain. But the son answered: “In holidays I do not work, it is

a sin. The work can be done any other day, but the festivity, once the day has passed, the romería has

passed”. The argument continued, since none of them wanted to yield, until the father got angry and

shout: “Go to the party and as you go behind the girls, let's hope you go behind the female wolves!”

He should have never said it! One night the boy, after tossing and turning in bed, decided to get up,

put on his clothes and got out of the house. A strange strength pushed him to go up to the hills. When

he arrived to a mire, he threw himself to the ground on the wet grass. When he tried to stand up

discovered that he couldn't: He had become a “lobishome” (werewolf)!

In the village, people talked a lot about the disappearance of the son and also about the arrival of a

very big and bloodthirsty wolf which spread terror in the hills. The father immediately related the facts realizing that the wolf was his son,

transformed due to the curse. So he went to ask for help and advice to a neighbour, who was known for her wisdom. She confirmed that the wolf

Dusk in Piornedo, Cervantes

93GALICIA

was his son and told him that the curse could only be broken if he made him bleed without killing him. The father decided to try it, taking the risk of

being killed by his own son, since the son, transformed into a beast, had lost human discernment and couldn't recognize him. One night, the father

went out to look for his son and went to the hills, bringing a lamb as a bait. At midnight, noticing that the lamb got nervous, he intuited that the

wolf was arriving. When the animal appeared, the man stack the knife in its side wounding it. The wolf turned towards him showing its teeth. But

the man left the weapon drop and hugged the animal, shouting: Son! Son! Asking for forgiveness while sobbing. Then the fur of the wolf started to

break and take off the body of the son. Like this, the boy was free of the father's curse.

The wolf is also the protagonist in several comical tales in which it is represented as a silly simpleton easily tricked by its preys, like in the two tales

by Jesús from Villarello.

“Rastrexar” and “dentexar”

“In that time, dogs knew how to track but they didn't know how to bite and the wolf knew it. Then,

one day a dog and a wolf met and the wolf said: “If you teach me how to track I will teach you how to

bite” and the dog answered: “Then teach me how to bite, to see how it is done”. Then the wolf

started to teach it and after it said: “Now, teach me how to track” and the dog answered “If I teach

you how to track you come to my den looking for me! And with these words the dog left running!”

Jesús, from Vilarello

Knowing how to manage

One day a goat kid was in a field and a wolf arrived and caught it. As in the past animals

talked, not like now, the wolf said to the goat: “Well, what do you want before dying?” And

the goat answered “I would only wish you to play the bagpipe to whose sound I will dance”

The wolf, very excited, takes the bagpipe and starts to play: triquilitá, triquilitá! And the

goat started to dance. Then, there was a farm near where there were three or four

mastiffs. When the mastiffs heard the bagpipe, they started to run to the wolf and when

the wolf saw them it threw the bagpipe away, left the goat and run up to the hill. The

mastiffs are very heavy and they get tired soon and then the wolf, when arriving to the

middle of the wood, turned back, thought and said: “This is what happens when one gets

into other's business, I had to have been a slaughterer and not a bag-piper!”

Ilustration by Miguel Somoza

GALICIA94

The “bag-piper” and the wolf

“When I was young, I went from village to village playing the bagpipe” says Otilio Fernández,

from A Burela (Fonsagrada), “I liked it a lot and as in that time there were no many cars I went

walking along the paths. One day, I was going to a village for a party. I had a knife on the

chest and a bagpipe on the side and suddenly I encountered a wolf! I was very scared! And I

am not ashamed of saying it. I started to play the bagpipe! And then the wolf got frightened

and escaped. Since then, when I went along a path I always played the bagpipe a little, just in

case there was any wolf in those lands.”

Otilio and Marisol Fernández and the lamb “Cuqui”

Pedro “Malasartes”

“When I was a child, my grandfather always narrated me a very funny tale” remembers Marisol in the sunny courtyard of the house where she

lives with her father and sister in A Burela.

“It is the story of Pedro Malasartes. Pedro was a basket maker. One night he was working at home and had some irons in the fire to use in the wood

of the baskets. Then, someone knocked the door and Pedro asked “Who is this?” It was a wolf which said “Pedro, this is the wolf, if you could give

me shelter tonight… because it is raining, snowing and it is very cold…” and Pedro answered: “Ok, but before you have to bring me a lamb”. The

wolf went away to take a lamb, then it came back and said “where do I leave it?”, “There, in the courtyard, and after you can enter” answered

Pedro. After a while someone knocks the door again. It was a fox which said “Pedro, this is the fox, open the door because it is raining, snowing and

it is very cold” and Pedro answered “Ok, but before you have to bring me a hen”. The fox brought it and Pedro let it in. Then, someone knocked the

door again and a bear said “Pedro, open the door, it is raining, snowing and it is very

cold”, “Ok, but before you have to bring me a honey hive” and it brought the hive and

Pedro let the bear in. The wolf, the fox and the bear went to sleep when Pedro took a

mace and beat the head of the bear with it and the bear escaped running, then Pedro

took the iron for making baskets and inserted it into the wolf's bottom and the wolf

escaped running, and after that, Pedro took the fox by its tail and sweep the kitchen

with it and threw it out with a kick. The three animals run as much as they could until

they stopped to rest and said: “Ay, who comes back to see what is Pedro doing?” and

the fox said “I go”. It went and Pedro was opening with his hands the cells of the

money hive the bear had brought him and the fox thought: “He is praying with the

hands crossed that he is going to follow us even under the ground!” and this is what it

told to the others. The wolf was seated and suddenly a stick stuck itself in its bottom,

jumped thinking it had been Pedro and said “Let's go now because he is already here!”

Ilustration by Miguel Somoza

95GALICIA

(*)Toponyms, coats of arms and heraldry

In the Galician mountains the presence of the wolf in the life of humans is reflected in many aspects of the daily life; not only in relation to the

infrastructures related to the animal (both for hunting and for the protection of the livestock), but also with the immaterial heritage characteristic

of popular culture including tales, legends, literature, and also toponymy, iconography (coats of arms, heraldry,…) and popular sayings like the

one listened in Fonsagrada: “A Fonsagrada nunca bajan los lobos, siempre suben” (Wolves never go down to Fonsagrada, they always go up.”

Some of the many examples of toponymy existing in these lands are Monte do Lobo en Baleira; A Fonte do Lobo and Pomar do Lobo en Becerrá;

Aira dos Lobos in Pedrafita do Cebreiro; Eira dos Lobos in As Nogais, Penas do Lobo and Teso do Lobo in Cervantes; Fora Lobas in Navia de Suarna;

the Pena de los Lobeznos in A Fonsagrada; and Pozo do Lobo in Pol.

Coat of arms of A Fonsagrada

In vert, a tower in gold flanked by two gold wolf heads with gules tongues and accompanied in chief by a scallop in silver

and, two waves in silver in the base. Closed royal crown in the crest.

In the 14th century, the territories of Fonsagrada fell under the domination of the Trastámara counts, from the lineage of

the Osorios from Villalobos, passing after to the counts of Altamira.

(*) The information in these pages has been collected from the following texts: Crespo Pozo José Santiago, 1957, Blasones y linajes de Galicia. Editorial Santiago de Compostela: Bibliófilos Gallegos; Decreto

55/2005, del 18 de Marzo, D.O.G. nº62, 1 de enero 2005; and the information provided by the councils.

Coat of arms of Navia de Suarna

In gules, a bridge with lancet arch in gold, held by barry-wavy in silver and azure. Fortress composed of three towers, the

central one higher, connected by crenelated walls, everything in silver. First quarter, sable wolf head with gules tongue

(MOSCOSO). Second quarter, two gules passing wolves in gold field, one over the other (OSORIO). Closed royal crown in

the crest.

Many Galician lineages has the wolf in their coat of arms, starting with the Osorio family, whose possessions included most of the territories in the

Ancares. Among all, it is interesting to mention the coat of arms of the López family: “In vert field, a sable wolf walking among brambles” while a

variant presents “in gold field, two sable wolves passing, in pale, with six gules roundels, three in chief and three in the right flank”. Among the

lineage branches settled in the territory of this study, we can mention the López Saavedra from Pol; López de Somoza from Becerreá; López de

Torinde from Cervantes and López Bay from Fonsagrada.

GALICIA96

Infrastructures

Here a list is proposed with some of the main infrastructures for hunting and for the protection of the livestock existing in the territories involved in

this study, classified by each Comunidad Autónoma. The name, type, state of preservation and location are indicated for each name.

ASTURIAS

HUNTING INFRASCTRUCTURES

Calechu de Pena Ventana. Goat type trap. Good state of preservation. Oubachu (Cangas del Narcea)

Calechu de la Sierra del Pando. Goat type trap. Partially preserved. Folgueraiú (Cangas del Narcea)

Calechu de Val.láu. Goat type trap. Almost completely disappeared. Val.láu (Cangas del Narcea)

Calechu Trabáu. Goat type trap. Almost completely disappeared. Trabáu (Degaña)

Teso Calechu. Goat type trap. Disappeared. Degaña

Calechu El Rebol.lal. . Goat type trap. Good state of preservation. El Rebol.lal (Degaña)

Calechu de El Corralín. Goat type trap. Disappeared. El Corralín (Degaña)

Calechu de Villardecendias. Goat type trap. Almost completely disappeared. Villardecendias (Ibias)

PROTECTION STRUCTURES

Brañas de Oubachu. Oubachu (Cangas del Narcea)

Brañas del Teixedal. Fontes de Corveiru (Cangas del Narcea)

Brañas de la Filtrosa. Gillón (Cangas del Narcea)

Brañas de Saldepuesto. Gillón

Braña Antolín. El Puertu

Braña de Larón. L.larón

Braña de Naviegu. Naviegu

Brañas de Palacio. Naviegu

Braña de L.lindouta. San Xulianu

Braña de La L.linde. San Pedru d`Arbas

Brañas de la Viña. Veigal.lagar

Braña la Siella. Veigal.lagar

Braña de Saladín. Veigal.lagar (Cangas del Narcea)

Braña Fondeveigas. Fonduveigas (Degaña)

(Cangas del Narcea)

(Cangas del Narcea)

(Cangas del Narcea)

(Cangas del Narcea)

(Cangas del Narcea)

(Cangas del Narcea)

(Cangas del Narcea)

(Cangas del Narcea)

97INFRAESTRUCTURAS

Braña de los Cardos. El Rebol.l.al (Degaña)

Braña Xuanina. Trabáu (Degaña)

Braña de Leituelos. San Antolín (Ibias)

Braña del Lago. San Clemente (Ibias)

Braña de Folgueiras. Seroiro (Ibias)

Braña de Valvaler. Seroiro (Ibias)

Braña de Pedrosos. Seroiro (Ibias)

Braña de Villarmeirín. Taladrid (Ibias)

HUNTING INFRASTRUCTURES

Chorco de Valdeón. Convergence type trap. Recently restored. Monte Corona (Posada de Valdeón)

Corral de los lobos. Convergence type trap. Recently restored. Collado del corral de los lobos (Prioro)

Pozo de los lobos de Valcabado. Convergence type trap. Recently restored. Páramo de la Lora (Pomar de Valdivia)

Cortello de Lubián. Goat type trap. Recently restored. Lubián.

Trampa de San Juan de la Cuesta. Goat type trap. Almost completely dissapeared. San Juan de la Cuesta (Robleda-Cervantes)

Curro de Barjacoba. Goat type trap. Good state of preservation. Barjacoba

PROTECTION INFRASTRUCTURES

Corrala Portilla. Portilla de la Reina (Boca de Huérgano)

Chozo del Morro del Cerazo. Morro del Cerazo (Boca del Huérgano)Cabañas del Rebusón. Zarréu (Degaña)Horcadas (Riaño)

Chozo Viejo. Tresmonte (Reyero)

Chozo viejo. La Revuelta (Boñaro)

Chozo de Isoba. Lago de Isoba (Puebla de Lillo)

Chozos y corralas del Tronisco. Collado del Tronisco (Puebla del Lillo)

Chozo y corrala del Monte Randeo. Monte Randeo (Burón)

Chozo y corral de Ias. Las Moledizas (Posada de Valdeón)

Corrala y cabaña Celada de Robledo. Celada de Robledo (Cervera de Pisuerga)

Corrala de Peña Abismo. Peña Abismo (La Pernía)

Corral de Lores. Lores (La Pernía)

Corral de Lebanza. Lebanza (La Pernía)

Corral de Montes Soto. Aguilar de Campoo

Corralas de Urrieta La Saz. Urrieta La Saz (Ferreras de Arriba)

Corralas de la Abejera. Abejra/Sesnandéz (Riofrío de Aliste)

Corrala de Sarracín de Aliste. Sarracín de Aliste (Riofrío de Aliste)

Corralas de Monte Zamora. Monte Zamora (Brime de Urz)

CASTILLA Y LEÓN

INFRAESTRUCTURAS98

Corrala de los Tesos. Los Tesos (Brime de Urz)

Corrala de Los Aladiernos. Ladera de Los Aladiernos (Brime de Urz)

Chiviteros. Torregamones

HUNTING INFRASTRUCTURES

Foxo de Vilar. Simple type trap. Almost completely dissapeared. Vilar (Folgoso de Courel)

Foxo de Cortes. Convergent walls trap. Partially disappeared. Cortes (Folgoso de Courel)

Foxo de Vilarello. Simple type trap. Almost completely dissapeared. Vilarello (Cervantes)

Foxo de O Poso. Simple type trap. Dissapeared. O Poso (Cervantes)

Corral do lobo. Goat type trap. Partially disappeared. Balouta (Candín)

Foxo de Camino Grande. Convergent walls trap. Partially disappeared. San Xurxo de Piquín (Ribeira de Piquín)

Foxo de Reigadas. Simple type trap. Almost completely dissapeared. Carballido (A Fonsagrada)

Foxo de Los Pedregales. Simple type trap. Almost completely dissapeared. Lamas de Campos (A Fonsagrada)

Couso de Vilar de Ernes. Goat type trap. Partially dissapeared. Vilar de Ernes (Negueira de Muñiz)

Couso de O Cebreiro. Simple type trap. Good state of preservation. O Cebreiro (Pedrafita de Cebreiro)

PROTECTION INFRASTRUCTURES

Corral da Mallada. Piornedo (Cervantes)

Cabaña de pastores da Mallada. Piornedo (Cervantes)

Corral do Extremeños. Piornedo (Cervantes)

Corral dos Lagos. Piornedo (Cervantes)

Corral dos Campos. Piornedo (Cervantes)

Corral de Suárbol. Suárbol (Navia de Suarna)

Cabaña de pastores de Suárbol. Suárbol (Navia de Suarna)

Alzadas de Pandozarco. Pandozarco (Navia de Suarna)

Alzada de Liñares. Moia (Navia de Suarna)

Alzada de Vispeiro. Moia (Navia de Suarna)

Alzadas de Bismor. Murias (Navia de Suarna)

Alzadas de Estomeiro. Tesón (Navia de Suarna)

Alzadas de Redondo. Tesón (Navia de Suarna)

Alzadas de Xestoso. Tesón (Navia de Suarna)

Alzadas de Vilarmondín. Tesón (Navia de Suarna)

GALICIA

99INFRAESTRUCTURAS

Documents

Ethnographic and cultural heritage study about the … · Ethnographic and cultural heritage study about the wolf. Lands of Wolves Ethnographic and cultural heritage study about the