Maragatería

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Maragatería
La Maragatería.svg
Location of the comarca in the province of León
Basic data
Province: Leon
Main place: Astorga
Surface: 710.41 km²
Residents: 13,520 (2019)
Municipalities: 7th

The Maragatería is a comarca ( administrative unit ) in the north-west of the province of León in the autonomous community of Castile and León .

Comarca

The Maragatería is divided into the subcomarcas 'Upper' ( Alta Maragatería ) and 'Lower Maragatería' ( Baja Maragatería ), the comparatively high-altitude total area covers about 710 km². The highest point of the Maragatería is the Teleno in the Montes de León at 2,188 meters .

The administrative seat and main town is Astorga , for the Alta Maragatería it is Santa Colomba de Somoza , for the Baja Maragatería it is Santiago Millas . Astorga is also the bishop's seat for the Maragatería, another religious center is located in Luyego de Somoza with the miraculous image of the Virgen de los Remedios , the patron saint of the Maragatos .

Maragatería would be translated as land of the Maragatos . Until the 16th century, however, the name Somoza was in use for this area and is still found today as part of many village names.

Municipalities ( municipios )

Municipio population surface Population density Height above d. M.
Astorga 11,633 46.78 248.67 869
Brazuelo 311 98.13 3.17 965
Lucillo 408 164.91 2.47 1216
Luyego 740 132.31 5.59 1066
Santa Colomba de Somoza 518 179.10 2.89 989
Santiago Millas 331 39.69 8.34 933
Val de San Lorenzo 545 49.49 11.01 880
Maragatería 14,486 pop . 710.41 km² 20.39 inhabitants / km²

history

In 17 BC After the subjugation of the Celtiberian Asturians , the Maragatería came to the Roman Empire . As a result, gold was mined on the flanks of Monte Teleno and Astorga was developed into the most important administrative center in western Spain. A strong garrison was set up there to protect the gold transports, which also led from Las Médulas via Astorga.

With the decline of gold mining, the economic structure changed back to agriculture. Because of the stony soils and the unfavorable climate in the Montes de León, the Maragatos kept looking for other sources of income. These opened up after the discovery of America, because on the one hand they settled in the Spanish colonies in an area that belongs partly to Argentina and partly to Uruguay . Their descendants still call themselves Maragatos today. On the other hand, goods traffic between the Galician ports and Madrid increased, and goods from the colonies had to be transported inland and to the capital. The Maragatos became successful carters, valued for their punctuality and reliability. With the construction of the railway, the haulage industry lost its importance again.

Through colonial goods such as sugar and cocoa, Astorga developed into a center for the manufacture of confectionery, around which various suppliers - from manufacturers of advertising and packaging to mechanical engineering - soon grouped. In the course of industrialization, many of these businesses had to close, but Astorga is still known today for its sweet specialties.

Origin and customs of the Maragatos

Astorga town hall with Maragato figures

The Maragatos people were the subject of ethnological speculation from the 19th century onwards due to their strange clothing and customs. These initially dealt with the origin of the Maragatos and tried to fathom it preferably through the popular name. Several variants were discussed - the Berber tribe remaining in the country , descendants of the evil Asturian king Mauregatus , former Moorish slaves ( mauri capti ), the last Celtiberians or a mixed people of Moors and Goths . The name probably comes from mercatores (merchant), because the names Maragatos and Maragatería have only been used for people and land since the 16th century and the area was originally called Somoza and the above-mentioned long-distance freight transport developed at this time.

Castrillo de los Polvazares

This branch influenced the appearance of maragatischen villages: well-paved roads, farms have been designed with ample space for carts, driveways, which according to some of the car Type of farm owner (wagon) or square (open two-wheeled carts), stone benches that the seating easier. These formations are excellent to visit in the restored village of Castrillo de los Polvazares .

Maragatos from Astorga around 1879

The traditional men's clothing consisted of a broad-brimmed hat, white shirt, waistcoat, jacket, bloomers and high boots, and was also tuned to the vehicle industry: hat and jacket as protection against the weather, high boots for muddy tracks, Harem Pants, the well with Have boots worn. The women wore white skirts and blouses, a red or black embroidered bodice , a red apron, mantilla and a headscarf according to their civil status: white for single people, red for married people. It takes a lot of effort to make this costume, it is only worn on special holidays today. One of these is the Boda Maragata , which takes place annually in Astorga and where a traditional Maragat wedding is celebrated. A pair of figures in this costume strikes the hour on the town hall clock in Astorga.

A custom that was perceived as alien was giving birth together - the man is said to have screamed together with his wife and to have taken their place in childbirth after the birth. The background was the belief that women are particularly weak and vulnerable in childbed and that they are vulnerable to attack by evil spirits. So the man protected his wife by tricking the spirits into believing that he was the weakened woman who had recently given birth.

As in other parts of Spain, the Maragat music tradition and practice makes use of the instruments drum, flute and castanets .

Personalities

Santiago Alonso Cordero (1791-1865) from Santiago Millas , known as Maragato Cordero , enjoyed great admiration not only because of his fight against Napoleonic troops , but because he was a member of the Cortes in Madrid , to which he had belonged since 1836, regardless of the current fashion appeared in traditional costume.

Tastings

The Cocido Maragato is a heavy and elaborate stew that is cooked from several types of meat and sausage and chickpeas . Broth, meat and chickpeas are then served separately.

Other specialties can be found in Astorga:

  • Hojaldres - a puff pastry
  • Mantequadas - a clarified butter biscuit

literature

  • Laureano Manuel Rubio Pérez: Arrieros maragatos: Poder, negocio, linaje y familia (siglos XVI-XIX) . Fundación Hullera Vasco-Leonesa 1995, ISBN 978-84-87920-05-9 .
  • Laureano Manuel Rubio Pérez: La burguesía maragata . Universidad de León 1995, ISBN 978-84-7719-486-6 .
  • Laureano Manuel Rubio Pérez: Los maragatos: origen, mitos y realidades . León 2003, ISBN 978-84-607-7629-1 .
  • Pablo Alonso González: Etnoarqueología y gestión del patrimonio cultural. Maragatería y Val de San Lorenzo . Universidad de León 2009, ISBN 978-84-9773-486-8 .

Web links