Sacred Sierra
Page 36
According to classical myth, the colour of the berry – a deep blood red or purple – is a result of the deaths of the ill-fated lovers Pyramus and Thisbe, whose tragic tale was first told by Ovid, before appearing in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Agreeing to meet by night under a mulberry tree outside the town, Pyramus discovers Thisbe’s bloodstained shawl and, mistakenly thinking his beloved is dead, plunges his sword into his heart. Thisbe, on realising what has happened, then does likewise and the blood of the two stains the fruits of the nearby tree, which until that moment had been white.
The story of how the silk worm – and hence the silk industry – first reached Spain reads more like a thriller. Yahya al-Ghazal – John the Gazelle – was a poet and astrologer living in Cordoba in the ninth century. The emir, Abd al-Rahman II, sent him as an ambassador to the court of Constantinople – then, along with Baghdad, the most important city in the world. The Byzantines had been trying to get hold of silk-making knowhow for centuries, being effectively cut off from the Silk Road by their rivals in Persia. By around the sixth century, however, they had managed to get hold of some silk worms – bombyx mori – probably from the hands of some Indian monks. They jealously guarded the secret, creating an effective monopoly of silk production in the Mediterranean. When al-Ghazal travelled to Constantinople in 840, he was sent with the aim of gleaning as much information as he could from the Byzantine court, and one of his objectives was discovering the secret of silk production. His hosts gladly showed him their mulberry trees and silk worms once he arrived, but made extra efforts to ensure none of the precious grubs were stolen. Al-Ghazal was too clever for them, however, and managed to smuggle some of the worms out with him, hidden inside a book, along with some mulberry leaves to feed them for his journey home. Once he got back to Cordoba a silk industry was established, and as a result for many centuries Spain was one of the world’s most important producers of the material, eclipsing the Byzantines. Al-Ghazal, whose poetry is known for its simplicity and almost modern style in an age of mostly formal, formulaic verse, was also responsible for the valuable extraction of fig-tree seeds for propagation.
Ibn al-Awam says that silk worms can feed on mulberry leaves from the second year after planting; the tree, he insists, needs plentiful water.
The fruit is said to be effective against throat and mouth inflammations, particularly when mixed with honey to make a syrup: two parts honey to one of mulberry juice.
NETTLE TREE
(Celtis australis; Llidoner Val.; Almez Cast.)
A common tree in the area, suited to the dry conditions and capable of growing as easily on mountain terraces as in gorges or river banks. Sometimes referred to as the Lote tree, it is similar in looks to the much depleted elm, and often grows in the same areas as the few remaining specimens of that tree. The fruits of the tree – llidons – turn black when ripe and look like a small cherry. They are very sweet and much sought after. Ibn al-Awam says the wood is useful for making saddles and carriages.
Green, unripe llidons are valued in traditional medicine as an astringent and are used to reduce diarrhoea as well as heavy bleeding.
Dioscorides and other Greek writers referred to the celtis australis as the Lotus or Lote tree, associated with the ‘lotus-eaters’, or lotophagi of the Odyssey, who live on an island off the North African coast and eat a delicious, drug-like fruit. This has led some to conclude that the ‘Lote-tree’ mentioned in the Qur’an during Muhammad’s night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and thence to heaven, is in fact the celtis australis. The tree in the text marks a boundary point of the seventh heaven beyond which no one can advance in their search for God. However, the Arabic word used in the Qur’an to describe the tree is sidra, which is the term for the Ziziphus – another contender for the mythical tree of the lotus-eaters – while the Arabic for celtis australis is al-maysh, reflected in the Castilian name for the tree, almez. The celtis australis may or may not be the tree of the classical tradition, but it seems unlikely to be the particular tree envisaged in the Qur’an.
Due to its strength, nettle-tree wood was traditionally used locally for making walking sticks and three- or five-pronged farmers rakes. One of the last masters of this ancient craft lived until very recently in the village of Aín, in the Sierra de Espadán.
OLIVE
(Olea europea; Olivera Val.; Olivo Cast.)
Ibn al-Awam quotes Abu al-Khayr as saying that olive trees dislike damp soil, much as their oil separates from water. Olive trees have been around in Castellón province for thousands of years, and some of the ones still standing date back to Roman times. Regularly pollarded and pruned, they have grown short and fat over the centuries, their stumpy, twisted forms found scattered over the lower hillsides, between the coast and the higher mountain ranges. Many have become celebrated. One, near the town of Atzeneta, has become so big and hollow that someone has built a door into it, so visitors can properly step inside and out.
The oil from the area is among the best in Spain, but as it’s mostly made for personal consumption, it’s very rare to find it on sale. Oil for export is left to the Andalusians of Jaén province much further south, who produce more than anyone else in the world.
Olive trees are sacred to the Virgin, a natural follow-on from their classical association with Athena. Smaller religious statues, such as figures of the Madonna, were usually carved in olive wood, while one of Mary’s many official attributes is oliva speciosa – ‘fair olive tree’. Perhaps for this reason many of the Madonnas miraculously discovered in the years after the conquest of the area from the Moors were found in or near olive trees.
Reflecting the wide range of medicinal uses of both the plant and its oil, a local saying runs:
La Verge Maria
quan pel món anava
amb oli de cresol
tot ho curava.
When the Virgin Mary
Walked the Earth
She cured all illnesses
With the oil from her lamp.
The healing properties of olive oil are widely known, and it can be used to cure almost anything from constipation to earache. The oil is known to have strong analgesic properties.
PINE
(Pinus; Pí Val.; Pino Cast.)
The most common pine tree in the area is the halapensis – the Aleppo pine, or pí blanc. The sylvestris and nigra – the Scots and Austrian pines – are found at higher altitudes, on the upper slopes of Penyagolosa, while the pinea – the stone pine, which produces pine nuts – is also commonly found. Pines have been used extensively in recent years in reforestation programmes, to the annoyance of some conservationists, who claim that the oak and holm oak are more suited to the landscape: pine trees grow more quickly, but burn easily, thus creating optimum conditions for yet more forest fires. Much of the countryside between Penyagolosa and the sea has yet to recover properly from a massive forest fire that swept through the area in the early 1990s. Nonetheless, pine-clad valleys and mountains can still be found, particularly around the River Villahermosa, where the heady smell of pine resin fills the summer air.
The pine was linked to Pan, ‘the god of the wood’, dancing and playing his pipes under the trees: he tried to seduce a wood nymph, Pitys, but she avoided his advances by turning herself into a pine tree. Pines were also sacred to Cybele, the ‘Great Mother’ goddess of the Phrygians.
Pine needles have traditionally been used in combination with rosemary and thyme to make a herbal tea said to be beneficial for bronchial problems. The mixture should be boiled only briefly and then left to cool, and should be taken twice a day. Pines are also said to cure warts: find a young tree and peel off its bark; when the tree dries up and dies the wart will disappear.
A legend tells of how a pine tree sheltered Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus during the Flight to Egypt. Having nowhere to stay, they stopped en route under the branches of a bean trefoil. But selfishly the bean trefoil decided to pull up its branches and so the family had to move on, until a generous
pine tree extended itself over them that they might rest safely for the night. Since that time the fruit and leaves of the trefoil have given off a vile smell, similar to rotting beans: some still refer to it as the Mediterranean stinkbush.
Locally, pine resin mixed with fresh beeswax is used to treat burns and lightly infected wounds.
STRAWBERRY TREE
(Arbutus unedo; Alborç Val.; Madroño Cast.)
Mention of the name ‘strawberry tree’ tends to invoke one of two responses: 1) ‘You know strawberries don’t grow on trees, don’t you?’; or 2) ‘I didn’t know strawberries grew on trees!’ The name in English comes from the bright red strawberry-sized fruits the tree produces, creating one of the most colourful sights of the year. The fruits, which go from yellow to orange to red as they ripen, are edible, but owing to their high tannin levels are not easily digested. They can, however, be turned into jam. Very ripe fruits often contain high levels of alcohol.
The leaves are used medicinally for their astringent, diuretic and antiseptic qualities. Some local herbalists say strawberry tree roots cut up and boiled can help against migraine and memory loss.
The town of Albuixec takes its name from an older version of the Valencian name for the tree, alborç. According to the legend, in September 1268 a priest from Valencia cathedral sent out a farm worker to plough some land in the area. But every time the poor labourer passed a nearby strawberry tree with his plough, the oxen pulling it would stop and kneel. After this had happened for a third time, he went to the tree to investigate, and there, in a hollow, he found a statue of the Virgin Mary, which had been hidden hundreds of years before. The Madonna is known as La Moreneta, for the dark-brown colour of her skin.
YEW
(Taxus baccata; Teix Val.; Tejo Cast.)
The yew is a fast disappearing tree in Spain, rarely planted or replaced. Place names attest to it once being very common – Fuente del Tejo, Sierra Tejada etc. – but being a slow grower and with a lingering popular association with the Underworld, it has become an ever rarer sight. As in some European countries, it is found in churchyards in northern parts of the country, where the Celtic influence was strongest; on the Mediterranean and most other parts the cypress is the tree of graveyards and resurrection. Locally, the most impressive yews can be found at the Sant Joan de Penyagolosa hermitage, where they line the route leading away towards the Carbó Valley.
Yew wood was traditionally used for making longbows, and Spanish yew was particularly prized for this, being considered straighter and stronger than other varieties. It was also common in ancient times for the poison from yew berries to be smeared on arrow points. The tree was sacred to Hecate, the triple goddess of sorcery, birth and death.
A Spanish expression for ‘to flirt’ or ‘to declare one’s love or attraction to someone’ is echar los tejos, or tirar los tejos, literally ‘to throw yews’. It comes from an ancient practice where young men and women would try to woo potential marriage partners by casting either yew branches or yew berries in their direction.
The yew trees I planted by the path leading down to the olive groves are still there, slowly taking root and producing new shoots. I sometimes ask myself if the spot is too exposed for them – they like a certain amount of shade, but a large pine tree to one side and a holm oak to the other should be enough to see them through. The ibex have nibbled on their branches a little, as they have on the cypress nearby, but they appear to have quickly moved on to sweeter plants. And so I water them during the hotter season, cleaning away the weeds that threaten to choke them in the spring, willing them on to survive and grow. I wonder if they will still be there a thousand years from now.
Note on Language
The area of Spain described in this book is linguistically complex, being essentially bilingual, with speakers of both Castilian Spanish and Valencian. Nonetheless, there are important variants within Valencian from valley to valley. Depending on context, names and key words, are usually given in the local Valencian dialect, but in some instances it has been more appropriate to use ‘standard’ Valencian, while in others the Castilian word or phrase is given.
I have tried to remain as neutral as possible with regard to the relationship between Valencian and Catalan.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Many people have helped us over the past few years on the slopes of Penyagolosa, but our life at the farm, and the writing of this book, would be unthinkable without the involvement of three in particular: John Gordon, John Wildash and my father, John Webster. I am forever grateful to them. Many thanks also to Terry, Kevin, Dangerous Dave, Justin and my brother Chris for pitching in. Tanya, my sister, and my mother, Karole, were also incredibly supportive.
María José Soriano and José Crespo were extremely kind and hospitable throughout the period. Montse Arribas was a great source of information and inspiration, as were Rosa and Eduardo. Silvia kept us supplied with the local gossip, while María José gave us great gardening encouragement. Enrique, Toni, Gonzalo, Fidel and Jesús were also very helpful along the way, as were José at Molina in Xátiva and Jordi Martín.
Thanks also to Vincente and Tania, Vicentín and Cristina, and Marta and Alex.
My Spanish editor and friend Enrique Murillo was kind enough to correct some of my spelling of Valencian/Catalan words.
Thanks to my agent Natasha Fairweather for laying the groundwork for this book. Also to Alison Samuel at Chatto & Windus for believing in it from the start. And to Jenny Uglow: I don’t think a writer could ask for a better editor. Many thanks also to Laetitia Bermejo for her wonderful drawings, and to Reginald Piggott, who managed to draw exactly the map I had in mind.
There is no full English translation of Ibn al-Awam’s Kitab al-Falaha. However, a small selection taken from the book was translated by Philip Lord and published by The Black Swan Press of Wantage, Oxfordshire in 1979 under the title A Moorish Calendar. Although I haven’t quoted from it directly, it proved to be an invaluable aide in a number of instances when faced with some of the more impenetrable passages of Banqueri’s Spanish rendition, and I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to both the translator and the publisher.
INDEX
The page references in this index correspond to the printed edition from which this ebook was created. To find a specific word or phrase from the index, please use the search feature of your ebook reader.
Locations are in Spain unless stated otherwise.
Aín (village), 338
Albuixec (town), 340
Alcalatén (region), 6
alcohol distillation, 280–5
Alhambra Palace (Granada), 2
Alt Millars (region), 6
archaeology and geology, 81–2, 152–9, 162, 321
Archangel (Saint) Michael, feast of, 36–40
Argelita (village), 293
Atzeneta (town), 338
Avenc (legendary chasm), 269–70, 304
Banqueri, José, 31
Barcelona, 4
bees and bee-keeping, 46–52, 146–9, 218–20
Belibaste, Guilhem (aka Pere Pentiner), 198–202
Benassal (town), 143, 144
Benedict XIII, Antipope (Pedro de Luna), 253, 254, 256–9, 293
Benedict XIII, Pope, 259
Book of Agriculture, The (Kitab al-Falaha; Ibn al-Awam), 30–2
acorn bread, 331
bee-keeping, 218–19
fertilisation, 101, 178, 328
laurel trees, 334
monthly advice, 18, 46, 74, 99, 122, 146, 172, 192, 217, 251, 275, 300
mulberry trees, 337
olive trees, 338
pruning, 330
tree planting, 83, 176–7, 179
bullfighting, 4, 36–40
Camino Real de Aragon (ancient road), 176
carajillo (alcoholic coffee), 207–8
Carbó Valley, 341
Carcassonne (France), 200, 202
Castellón (province), 5, 65, 124, 129–30
see also commercial development
Cathars, 198–202
Catí (village), 268
Cavanilles, Antonio José: Observaciones … de Valencia, 287
‘Charcoal-burner’s Daughter, The’ (story), 95–8
Christian and pagan festivals, 265–6
climate and weather, 30, 31, 46, 122, 256, 276
winds, 131–3, 165, 181, 219, 310
see also rainfall and water supplies
Columbrete Islands, 131–2, 244
commercial development, 65–7,
79, 82, 138, 151, 223
cooking, 149–50, 172–3, 221–3,
264, 266, 333
co-operatives, agricultural, 28, 29, 104–7
Dama de Baza (Iberian artwork), 159
Dama de Elche (Iberian artwork), 159
‘Devil and the Carob Tree, The’ (story), 119–21
Dioscorides (Greek writer), 337
dolçainer (wind instrument), 136
drinking culture, 4, 24
dry-stone walls, 99–100
East Iberian Mountains, 5–6
Eco, Umberto, 197
El Cid (film), 257
El Día del Pilar (Spanish national day), 53–4
forest fires, 186–7, 266, 310–18, 324, 339
Fournier, Jacques, 199, 200, 202
Garnier, Bartolomé, 199
‘Golden Bull, The’ (story), 215–16
Granada, 292
Graves, Robert: The White Goddess, 332