Culture of Póvoa de Varzim
Encyclopedia
The culture of Póvoa de Varzim
, in Portugal
, deriving from the different working classes and with influences arriving from the maritime route from Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea is ancient and culturally unique. The most charismatic of its communities, formerly overwhelmingly dominant, is the fisher community. It is one of Portugal's oldest fishing outposts. As it occurs in other old fisher communities around the world, the Povoan one has distinct cultural traits and a strong local identity.
The expression Ala-Arriba means "(upwards) strength" and it represents the co-operation between the inhabitants and is also seen as the motto of Póvoa de Varzim. The docudrama film Ala-Arriba!, by José Leitão de Barros
, popularized this unique Portuguese fishing community within the country during the 1940s and Povoan maritime culture was used by Salazar regime as a stereotype for all Portuguese. Several fishing communities in Portugal, Brazil and Portuguese-speaking Africa were influenced or started by Povoan fishermen.
Due to endogamy and a caste
system, the fisher community of Póvoa de Varzim kept particular ethnic features. Povoan fishermen, supported by 19th century scientific theories, believed they were a separate race, named "Raça Poveira" (Povoan Race). Anthropological and cultural data indicate the colonization of Nordic fishermen during the period of the coast's resettling. Since the 19th century, the visible ethnic differences when comparing with the surrounding people, led to different theories over the origin of the population: Suebi
, Prussia
ns, Teutons, Normans
and even Phoenicia
ns. In the book The Races of Europe (1939), Povoans were considered to be slightly blonder than average, with wide faces of unknown origin and robust cheeks. In a research published in O Poveiro (1908), using 19th century scientific methodology, the anthropologist Fonseca Cardoso considered that an anthropological element, most noticeably the aquiline nose, was of semitic-Phoenician origin. He considered that Povoans were the result of a mixture of Phoenicians, Teutons, Jews and, mostly, Normans.
Baptista de Lima disagreed with the Phoenician theory stating Povoans are not Phoenicians, as those did not brought their colonization here. Although Punic
visits and extensive trade is proven by the significant archaeological findings of Carthaginian vases in the Castro city of Terroso
. Óscar Fangueiro noticed that the Nordic influence could have happened during the late Middle Ages when Portugal built diplomatic ties with Denmark.
Ramalho Ortigão when he wrote about Póvoa in the book "As Praias de Portugal" (1876), The Beaches of Portugal, stated that the main curiosity of Póvoa was the Povoan fishermen, that was a special "race" in the Portuguese coastline; completely different from the Mediterranean type typical of Ovar
and Olhão
, Povoans are of "Saxon" type: they are "redheaded, clear eyes, wide shoulders, athletic chest, herculean legs and arms, round and strong faces."
The local popular expressions "Poveirinhos pela graça de Deus" (Little Povoans by the grace of God) and "Reino da Póvoa" (Kingdom of Póvoa) trace their origin to a maritime trip by King Luis I of Portugal
when the king's ship, near the coast, saw a lancha poveira boat. The king was surprised with the distinct looks of the boat's crew and asked them if they were Spanish, the king's supposition shocked Povoans and the crew said they weren't Spanish. Then the king asks if they were Portuguese, and the Povoans replied once more they were not, they said they were "(Little) Povoans by the grace of God". Then the king asks from which kingdom they come from, they replied they were from the Kingdom of Póvoa.
The Povoan fishermen only married with peoples that were part of its fisher caste, and only within its community in Póvoa de Varzim or small ancient fishing villages directly related with Póvoa, namely Santo André (currently in the modern civil parishes of Aguçadoura
and Aver-o-Mar) and Fão
(in Esposende). Since the 18th century, the urban expansion of Póvoa de Varzim to the south, created the new fishing communities of Poça da Barca and Caxinas in the municipality of Vila do Conde. As such, the ethnicity was used to justify the annexation of these areas, even during the Estado Novo regime. Currently, the "Raça Poveira" expression is mostly used in football to describe perseverance and courage.
Along with the fishermen, there were also the Galician farmers, these were ancient peoples and typical Northern Portuguese from the Minho region were Póvoa is located. These also contributed to the identity of Póvoa de Varzim with traditions such as Masseira farm fields and the Povoan cart, the Carroça Poveira. But both communities, despite sharing the same land, lived isolated from each other, mostly due to the fishermen rules. Óscar Fangueiro, author of Sete Séculos na Vida dos Poveiros (Seven centuries in the Life of Povoans) contradicted the fisher endogamous theory. In his study he noticed Póvoa had immigration since very early periods and noticed that some farmers were integrated in the fisher community.
Immigration from Galicia to Póvoa de Varzim is ancient. There are notable Povoans with Spanish Galician ancestry. The Povoan surname "Nova" is believed to be derived from Galician "Nóvoa". With the development of fishery and, in more recent periods, beach therapy, Póvoa got even more immigration, to such an extent that the city had regional bonds stretching from Galicia, Minho, Alto Douro, Trás-os-Montes and Beira Alta provinces.
The 20th century brought significant changes due to the popularization of beach tourism with several people from Northern Portugal, chiefly from Guimarães
and Famalicão
, moving to the city. Some Povoan fishing settlements were established in the Portuguese overseas provinces in Africa in the beginning of the 20th century and with the independence of these countries in late 1970s, Póvoa became one of the main Portuguese cities to where the African Portuguese headed, thus this event had particular impact in the city. In the end of the century, there's observable immigration from Eastern Europe, China, Brazil and Angola.
s": The Lanchões (those who possessed boats that were capable of deep-water fishing, thus more prosperous); the Rasqueiros (the fisher "bourgeoisie" that used "rasca" nets to fish ray, lobster and crabs) and the Sardinheiros or Fanaqueiros (those who possessed small boats and could only catch fish of smaller size along the shore) and, isolated from them, the Lavradores (the farmers). There were also the communities, who joined both ways of living, the Sargaceiros (sargassum
seaweed gatherers, used as a fertilizer in farm fields) and the seareiros (who fished small common and unwanted "pilado" crabs to fertilize fields).
As a rule, the communities remained distinct, and mixed marriages between the different communities were forbidden, mostly because of the isolationism of the fishermen who were headed by a group of patriarchs. With the urban development at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century, this caste structure is today only part of the past.
. The similarity of siglas poveiras
and the runic characters show immediate associations.
The traditional casamento poveiro (Povoan marriage), in which the newly-wed couple was covered by a fisherman's net and watered with vinho verde
in order to bring fortune to the marriage, is becoming a forgotten practice. In Póvoa's tradition (that persists to the present day), the heir of the family is the youngest son (as in old Brittany
and Denmark
). The younger son is the heir because it was expected that he would take care of his parents when they became old. Also, unlike the rest of the nation, it is the woman who governs and leads the family – this matriarchy is derived from the fact that the man was usually fishing at sea.
The author stated: "For this reason it is told that the women of the people, in dire straits, walked to the chapel of Saint Joseph, and in there, they stoned the saint, of such devotion to them, saying: "Wake up Saint Joseph, Wake up! You sh... saint Take care of my husband, or my son, Saint Joseph!"
And continued: "What is correct is that not only the women of Bairro de S.José
district, but also the ones from Bairro da Lapa
, that in a moment of overwhelming anxiety, when the angry and raging waves brought to the beach a cadaver in each surf; in those moments, the poor women revel the pain that tormented them and went to the sand grounds and the ocean with a sad outcry and painful praying."
women in loved by Povoan fishermen, shipwrecks, the visits to Saint John's
and lost boats in the middle of the ocean, half true and half legend. The fishermen of the region are known to fish in Newfoundland since 1506.
The Peixe grande or the "Big Fish" was the name that Povoans gave to a gigantic sea creature
. In the holly days and Sundays the fishermen didn't go to work at sea because of a story concerning a Corpus Christi celebration when Póvoa de Varzim got numerous visitors due to that religious festival. Seeing several potential costumers, the fishermen went to work at sea, and their boat got filled with the best fish. The happy fishermen sailed back to Póvoa. Meanwhile, they noticed Peixe grande going after them, and the mestre (captain of the boat) saw it as a divine punishment and the fishermen to defend themselves from the creature, threw the fisheries to the water, and while docking and with no caught fish left, they kissed the sand and never more the Povoan fishermen went to the sea in holly days.
Cape Santo André
(Saint Andrew Cape), a place that shows evidence of Romanization and of probable earlier importance, was known in Classical Latin as Promontorium Avarus and in Ancient Greek as Auaron akron (Αὔαρον ἄκρον), a name of Celt origin. It is of ancient cult in Póvoa, and was common to see groups of fishermen, with a light in the hand, in pilgrimage to the Cape's chapel in the last evening of November. They believed Saint Andre fisher fished, from the depths, the souls of the drowned ones and those who did not visited Santo André in life they would have to go there as a cadaver. Near the cape, there's a rock with dips that the people believe are the footprints of Saint Andrew. It is known that in the great shipwreck of 1892, several bodies were found near the cape.
The witches fate (fado das bruxas) was that, by night, they left their homes and followed the Devil throw the streets. By going throw the streets, the witches caused damages to the inhabitants belongings, they lifted the boat's oars, they opened the farmer's casks and caused other kinds of torments. The magical and protected use of the Sanselimão sigla
, a pentagram, is associated to the witches. The use of the sigla poveira had several purposes, such as protection by saving a witch from her fate. To save her, a steel Sanselimão should be held in hand, another sanselimão should be drawn in the ground in the street were one would, during the night, wait the Devil to go throw the street with the witches behind him. The witch, one's wife, stretched her hand to be pulled by her husband to the area inside the sanselimão drawn in the ground. The other witches would torment the man, swearing and whistling.
The Bezerro maldito or the "Damned Calf" was a damned bull or calf that walked throw the streets of Póvoa, and the people in their homes listened to the sound of its paws while walking throw the street. In Póvoa there was no cattle, these only existed in the surrounding villages. Tia Desterra, a notable local story teller, always listened to these stories while a child, she saw it in a windy Summer evening. She said he was black and white, and when the calf walked throw, there was so much wind that it twisted.
The legend of the Grande Cobra or the "Big Snake" is refereed in 1758, and is related with the devotion of Lady of Varzim (Senhora de Varzim), a 13th century icon that appeared miraculously in the area of Largo das Dores
(old town's square), and the old Matriz church of Póvoa de Varzim, a 11th century Romanesque-Gothic temple located in the same square, an area known to be populated by venomous reptiles, especially the Grande Cobra.
Fonte da Bica fountain, the early water source for the city center, was a place in which the people believed the Devil appeared during Friday nights with the full moon. It was also known to help single girls to get married. North of town, Moura Encantada Fountain, or Castro Fountain is a pre-Roman fountain related to the Moura, a Celtic water deity, witches, and a golden Bullock cart.
, which is the oldest dialect of the Portuguese language and it is spoken in Coastal Northern Portugal from Viana do Castelo
to Porto
and, inland, it reaches Braga
. The region is the birthplace of the Portuguese language. There are two subdialects: Porto-Póvoa and Braga-Viana, each of these subdialects is further divided into Porto, Póvoa, Braga, and Viana. The Póvoa one is the transitional dialect between the speeches of Braga and Porto.
Despite sharing numerous features found in other Northern Portuguese accents, the Povoan accent has particular features and includes influences from the region of Beira, in Central Portugal, that are not found in other Northern Portuguese accents, as in the pronunciation in connected speech as in os olhos which is spoken as [oʒɔʎoʃ] instead of [ozɔʎoʃ]. A distinctive feature of the accent, common in the fisher community, is the extensive use of open vowels where standard Portuguese uses closed or nasal vowels: it occurs in words ending with /a/, as in batata ([batatɛ] instead of [bɐtatɐ]); in the plural form, batatas, it is pronounced as [batatɨʃ] or [batatɛʃ]. Amanhã (tomorrow) is pronunced as [amɛɲa], instead of [ɐ̃mɐɲɐ̃]. Currently, the urban population often pronounce it as [amɐɲa]. "Ão" termination is always pronounced as [aɲ] as in cão ([kaɲ] which can pronounced as [kɔɲ] in other Northern Portuguese accents and as [kɐ̃ũ] in Standard Portuguese.
Similarly to Galician, "ch" is pronounced as [tʃ] instead of [ʃ]. Fizeste (you did) can be pronounced as [fizɛtʃɨʃ], although [fizɛʃtɨʃ] or is today much more common and Falou-lhe([fɐlowʎɨ]), he spoke to him/her, is pronounced as "falou-le" ([falowlɨ]), the same situation occurs with others verbs. Eu fui (I went) can be pronounced as "eu foi"; intestino (intestine) can be pronounced as "indestino" and vomitar (to vomite) can be pronounced as "gomitar".
Povoan vocabulary includes Tarrote (sparrow) instead of pardal; estonar (to peel) instead of descascar; "chopa" or "chó" (girl) instead of rapariga; trumpeteiro or "tropeteiro" (mosquito) instead of mosquito or melga; gano (branch) instead of galho, bouça is referred to a forest with bushes. Dinner or lunch are often referred to as o comer and prezigo refers to the meat or fish in a meal; primaço (a derivation of cousin) is often used in the same situation as "amigo" (friend) is used in other dialects.
Siglas Poveiras
are a form of 'proto-writing system'; these were used as a rudimentary visual communication system, and are a result of Viking settlers that brought the writing system known as bomärken from Scandinavia about one thousand years ago. The siglas are used as a family "Coat of Arms
" or signature to sign belongings.
The siglas were also used to remember things such as marriages, trips, or debts. Thus these were widely used chiefly because many residents did not knew how to use the Latin alphabet, thus these “runes” were widely employed. Merchants used it in their books of credit, and these were read and recognized as we today read and recognize names written in Latin alphabet. These are still used, though much less commonly, by some fishing families.
The inhabitants used to write their sigla in the table of Matriz Church when they got married, as a way to register the event, many ancient siglas can still be found, although many more were lost.
The basic marks were a very restricted number of symbols from which most Siglas derive. These included the arpão, the colhorda, the lanchinha, the pique (including the grade, composed of four crossed piques), and many of these symbols were very similar to those found in Northern Europe, and generally had magical-religious connotations when painted on boats.
Children were given the same family mark with additions, the pique. Thus, the older son would have one pique, the next would have two, and so on. The youngest son would not have any pique, inheriting the same symbol as his father.
s) of the parish of Beiriz. These are distinctive carpets recognized and demanded nationally and internationally. Tapetes de Beiriz decorate the Dutch Royalty Palace and Portuguese public buildings. There are also other handicrafts: the Póvoa’s rendas de bilros, the Mantas de Terroso (Terroso's Blankets) and miniatures of Poveiros boats.
The lancha was a large ship adapted to deep waters and used for hake-fishing. The largest of which had twelve oars and could carry 30 men. Each boat carried carvings, namely a sigla poveira mark
for individual boat identification and magical-religious protection at sea. The Lancha Poveira was considered by Lixa Filgueiras and Raul Brandão to be descendant from the Viking longboats, keeping all the longboat features but without a long stern and bow. The ship is completed by a Mediterranean-style sail for better maneuvering.
Since the 19th century, several relevant writers in the Portuguese language are associated with Póvoa de Varzim. Diana Bar, currently the beach library, was a traditional writers meeting place in early 20th century, and was where José Régio passed his free time writing. Other famous writers closely associated with the city are Almeida Garrett
, Camilo Castelo Branco
, António Nobre
, Agustina Bessa-Luís
, D. António da Costa, Ramalho Ortigão, João Penha, Oliveira Martins, Antero de Figueiredo, Raul Brandão, Teixeira de Pascoaes, Alexandre Pinheiro Torres. Nevertheless, the city is often remembered as the birthplace of Eça de Queiroz, one of the main writers in the Portuguese language
.
In modern times, the city gained international prominence with Correntes d'Escritas, a literary festival
where writers from the Portuguese
and Spanish-speaking world gather in a variety of presentations and an annual award for best new release.
Despite its association with several writers, Póvoa as a stage for literary works is rare. Notable exceptions are Luis Sepúlveda
's The Worst Stories of the Grim Brothers (in Spanish, Los peores cuentos de los hermanos Grim) and António Nobre
who watched Povoan fishermen at sea, sailed with them and wrote poetry about them and their way of living.
(1882–1962) was a notable composer who organized Orfeon Povoense (Povoan Choral Society), notable all over Portugal for his creativity as a music composer, his choral society was considered by the press as the greatest in Portugal. Trocado wrote plays, namelly Vindima, Cantata, adapted works from other authors, and was the author of Póvoa anthem
(Hino da Póvoa de Varzim) in 1916.
The Conjunto Típico Ala-Arriba (1966-1981) was a music group with popular songs based on Povoan themes and wearing Povoan traditional festivity clothing with six commercial records and several presentations in Northern and Southern Portugal. António dos Santos Graça
was responsible for the preservation of this traditional clothing and also responsible for the preservation of Povoan fisher folk music and dances by founding the Rancho Folclórico Poveiro in 1936.
The Camisolas Poveiras are local pullover
s made for celebration and decorative purposes, initially used by the fishermen to protect them from the cold. These have fishery motifs and siglas poveiras
, drawings related to the Nordic
runes. The pullovers have just three colours: white, black and red, with the name embroidered in sigla and more recent examples also carry the name in the Latin alphabet. The pullovers were once a local dress until 1892, when a sea misfortune led the community to stop wearing it. It became popular once again a t the end of the 1970s. Today, there are some efforts to modernize it on one hand and on the other there are endeavours to preserve the long-established practices.
often, tricanas were "land" girls usually employed in sewing jobs, daughters of shoemakers, carpenters and several other crafts. They adapted their knowledge to their own dressing style. Bairro da Matriz
quarter was famed for its charming and attractive tricanas. "Fisher" girls, employed in sewing jobs or bobbin lace
, were also tricanas.
Fisher women had traditional costumes similar to the tricana girls, but visible poorer, with longer skirt, lower quality materials, darker colors and without the elegance of the typical walking style of the tricana poveira. the pinnacle of the tricana style occurred between the 1920s and the 1960s, creating a strong impact in the communities and amongst outsiders visiting the city.
Tricana costumes were fashion amongst the middle class teenagers until the appearance of ready-to-wear clothing in the 1970s. Nowadays, tricana girls only appear in urban folklore groups, parades, and, only kept as a strong tradition, to this day, during Rusgas de São Pedro (Saint Peter Parades), part of the city festivities in June 28 and 29.
, cabbage
, turnip broccoli
, potato
, onion
, tomato
, and a wide variety of fish. The fish used to create the traditional dishes are divided in two categories, the "poor" fish (sardine
, ray
, mackerel
, whiskered sole, and others) and the "wealthy" fish (such as snook
, whiting, and alfonsino
).
The most famous local dish is Pescada à Poveira (Poveira Whiting), whose main ingredients are, with the fish that gives the name to the dish, potatoes, eggs
and a boiled onion and tomato sauce (molho fervido); this dish can be consumed in the ordinary way or, before introducing the sauce, lightly crushing and mixing the ingredients with the fork and knife. This dish also often includes collard greens or turnip broccoli which are not crushed. Other fishery dishes include the Arroz de Sardinha (sardine rice), Caldeirada de Peixe (fish caldeirada), Lulas Recheadas à Poveiro (Poveiro stuffed squids), Arroz de Marisco (seafood
rice) and Lagosta Suada (steamed lobster
). Mussel
s, limpet
s, cockles
and rock snail
s are cooked in the shell and served as a snack. Iscas, pataniscas and bolinhos de Bacalhau
are boiled cod snacks and also popular.
The typical soups are broth
s (Caldos), one of which is Caldo de Castanhas Piladas (pounded chestnut broth); the nationwide Caldo Verde
(green broth) is served on special occasions, such as in Saint Peter's Day.
Other dishes include Feijoada
Poveira, made with white beans, chouriça and other meats and served with dry rice (arroz seco); and Francesinha
Poveira made in long bread that first appeared in 1962 as fast food for holidaymakers.
Local sweets include barquinhos (cockle-boats), sardinhas (sardines), amor poveiro (or poveirinhos) and beijinho
s (little kisses).
Póvoa de Varzim
Póvoa de Varzim is a Portuguese city in the Norte Region and sub-region of Greater Porto, with a 2011 estimated population of 63,364. According to the 2001 census, there were 63,470 inhabitants with 42,396 living in the city proper. The urban area expanded, southwards, to Vila do Conde, and there...
, in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, deriving from the different working classes and with influences arriving from the maritime route from Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea is ancient and culturally unique. The most charismatic of its communities, formerly overwhelmingly dominant, is the fisher community. It is one of Portugal's oldest fishing outposts. As it occurs in other old fisher communities around the world, the Povoan one has distinct cultural traits and a strong local identity.
The expression Ala-Arriba means "(upwards) strength" and it represents the co-operation between the inhabitants and is also seen as the motto of Póvoa de Varzim. The docudrama film Ala-Arriba!, by José Leitão de Barros
José Leitão de Barros
José Leitão de Barros was a Portuguese film director and playwright.Among his most famous films are Maria do Mar , the second docufiction after ...
, popularized this unique Portuguese fishing community within the country during the 1940s and Povoan maritime culture was used by Salazar regime as a stereotype for all Portuguese. Several fishing communities in Portugal, Brazil and Portuguese-speaking Africa were influenced or started by Povoan fishermen.
Identity and ethnicity
Póvoa de Varzim is an ethno-cultural entity. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the communities of Póvoa de Varzim were marked by endogamy, exclusiveness and local identity features with several centuries.Due to endogamy and a caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
system, the fisher community of Póvoa de Varzim kept particular ethnic features. Povoan fishermen, supported by 19th century scientific theories, believed they were a separate race, named "Raça Poveira" (Povoan Race). Anthropological and cultural data indicate the colonization of Nordic fishermen during the period of the coast's resettling. Since the 19th century, the visible ethnic differences when comparing with the surrounding people, led to different theories over the origin of the population: Suebi
Suebi
The Suebi or Suevi were a group of Germanic peoples who were first mentioned by Julius Caesar in connection with Ariovistus' campaign, c...
, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
ns, Teutons, Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
and even Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
ns. In the book The Races of Europe (1939), Povoans were considered to be slightly blonder than average, with wide faces of unknown origin and robust cheeks. In a research published in O Poveiro (1908), using 19th century scientific methodology, the anthropologist Fonseca Cardoso considered that an anthropological element, most noticeably the aquiline nose, was of semitic-Phoenician origin. He considered that Povoans were the result of a mixture of Phoenicians, Teutons, Jews and, mostly, Normans.
Baptista de Lima disagreed with the Phoenician theory stating Povoans are not Phoenicians, as those did not brought their colonization here. Although Punic
Punics
The Punics were a group of western Semitic-speaking peoples from Carthage in North Africa who traced their origins to a group of Phoenician and Cypriot settlers, but also to North African Berbers . Punics were probably a mix of Berbers and Phoenicians in terms of culture and ancestry...
visits and extensive trade is proven by the significant archaeological findings of Carthaginian vases in the Castro city of Terroso
Cividade de Terroso
Cividade de Terroso was an important city of the Castro culture in North-western Iberian Peninsula, located in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal.The city, known in the Middle Ages as Civitas Teroso, was built at the top of Cividade Hill, in the parish of Terroso, in Póvoa de Varzim, less than 5 km...
. Óscar Fangueiro noticed that the Nordic influence could have happened during the late Middle Ages when Portugal built diplomatic ties with Denmark.
Ramalho Ortigão when he wrote about Póvoa in the book "As Praias de Portugal" (1876), The Beaches of Portugal, stated that the main curiosity of Póvoa was the Povoan fishermen, that was a special "race" in the Portuguese coastline; completely different from the Mediterranean type typical of Ovar
Ovar
Ovar Municipality is a municipality in Aveiro District, Baixo Vouga Subregion in Portugal. It has a total area of 147.4 km² and a total population of 56,296 inhabitants, and 42,582 electors . The city of Ovar itself has a population of 16,849....
and Olhão
Olhão
Olhão , or Olhão da Restauração, is a city and a municipality in the Algarve region, in Southern Portugal. It is located near Faro, which is the district's capital and the capital of the Algarve. It is mostly a fishing port city...
, Povoans are of "Saxon" type: they are "redheaded, clear eyes, wide shoulders, athletic chest, herculean legs and arms, round and strong faces."
The local popular expressions "Poveirinhos pela graça de Deus" (Little Povoans by the grace of God) and "Reino da Póvoa" (Kingdom of Póvoa) trace their origin to a maritime trip by King Luis I of Portugal
Luís I of Portugal
|-...
when the king's ship, near the coast, saw a lancha poveira boat. The king was surprised with the distinct looks of the boat's crew and asked them if they were Spanish, the king's supposition shocked Povoans and the crew said they weren't Spanish. Then the king asks if they were Portuguese, and the Povoans replied once more they were not, they said they were "(Little) Povoans by the grace of God". Then the king asks from which kingdom they come from, they replied they were from the Kingdom of Póvoa.
The Povoan fishermen only married with peoples that were part of its fisher caste, and only within its community in Póvoa de Varzim or small ancient fishing villages directly related with Póvoa, namely Santo André (currently in the modern civil parishes of Aguçadoura
Aguçadoura
Aguçadoura is a Portuguese parish, located in municipality of Póvoa de Varzim. In the census of 2001, it had a population of 4,530 inhabitants and a total area of 3.47 km²....
and Aver-o-Mar) and Fão
Fão
Fão is a town in Esposende Municipality in Portugal....
(in Esposende). Since the 18th century, the urban expansion of Póvoa de Varzim to the south, created the new fishing communities of Poça da Barca and Caxinas in the municipality of Vila do Conde. As such, the ethnicity was used to justify the annexation of these areas, even during the Estado Novo regime. Currently, the "Raça Poveira" expression is mostly used in football to describe perseverance and courage.
Along with the fishermen, there were also the Galician farmers, these were ancient peoples and typical Northern Portuguese from the Minho region were Póvoa is located. These also contributed to the identity of Póvoa de Varzim with traditions such as Masseira farm fields and the Povoan cart, the Carroça Poveira. But both communities, despite sharing the same land, lived isolated from each other, mostly due to the fishermen rules. Óscar Fangueiro, author of Sete Séculos na Vida dos Poveiros (Seven centuries in the Life of Povoans) contradicted the fisher endogamous theory. In his study he noticed Póvoa had immigration since very early periods and noticed that some farmers were integrated in the fisher community.
Immigration from Galicia to Póvoa de Varzim is ancient. There are notable Povoans with Spanish Galician ancestry. The Povoan surname "Nova" is believed to be derived from Galician "Nóvoa". With the development of fishery and, in more recent periods, beach therapy, Póvoa got even more immigration, to such an extent that the city had regional bonds stretching from Galicia, Minho, Alto Douro, Trás-os-Montes and Beira Alta provinces.
The 20th century brought significant changes due to the popularization of beach tourism with several people from Northern Portugal, chiefly from Guimarães
Guimarães
Guimarães Municipality is located in northwestern Portugal in the province of Minho and in the Braga District. It contains the city of Guimarães.The present Mayor is António Magalhães Silva, elected by the Socialist Party.-Parishes:-Economy:...
and Famalicão
Vila Nova de Famalicão
Vila Nova de Famalicão is a municipality in the district of Braga, in the north of Portugal. It is composed of 49 parishes.The municipality has a population of 131,690 inhabitants and a total area of 201.7....
, moving to the city. Some Povoan fishing settlements were established in the Portuguese overseas provinces in Africa in the beginning of the 20th century and with the independence of these countries in late 1970s, Póvoa became one of the main Portuguese cities to where the African Portuguese headed, thus this event had particular impact in the city. In the end of the century, there's observable immigration from Eastern Europe, China, Brazil and Angola.
Structure
Formerly the population was divided into different "casteCaste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
s": The Lanchões (those who possessed boats that were capable of deep-water fishing, thus more prosperous); the Rasqueiros (the fisher "bourgeoisie" that used "rasca" nets to fish ray, lobster and crabs) and the Sardinheiros or Fanaqueiros (those who possessed small boats and could only catch fish of smaller size along the shore) and, isolated from them, the Lavradores (the farmers). There were also the communities, who joined both ways of living, the Sargaceiros (sargassum
Sargassum
Sargassum is a genus of brown macroalga in the order Fucales. Numerous species are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world, where they generally inhabit shallow water and coral reefs. However, the genus may be best known for its planktonic species...
seaweed gatherers, used as a fertilizer in farm fields) and the seareiros (who fished small common and unwanted "pilado" crabs to fertilize fields).
Values
Octávio Filgueiras noticed that "Appeared in Galicia boats and fishermen arriving from the north, after the critical period of the Viking and Norman raids" and "one of the most important features is the cultural unity of these fisher communities that used primitive ships". Filgueiras noticed that the use of family marks was one of the most distinctive traits of that cultural unity. This use occurred in Povoan and Danish fishermen but also in the Baltic, in the area of DantzigGdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
. The similarity of siglas poveiras
Siglas poveiras
The siglas poveiras is a proto-writing system that has been used by the local community of Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal for many generations. The siglas were primarily used as a signature for family coat-of-arms in order to mark family belongings...
and the runic characters show immediate associations.
The traditional casamento poveiro (Povoan marriage), in which the newly-wed couple was covered by a fisherman's net and watered with vinho verde
Vinho Verde
Vinho Verde is a Portuguese wine from the Minho region in the far north of the country. The name literally means "Green Wine" , referring to its youthful freshness that leads to a very slight green color on the edges of the wine. The region is characterized by its many small growers, which...
in order to bring fortune to the marriage, is becoming a forgotten practice. In Póvoa's tradition (that persists to the present day), the heir of the family is the youngest son (as in old Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
). The younger son is the heir because it was expected that he would take care of his parents when they became old. Also, unlike the rest of the nation, it is the woman who governs and leads the family – this matriarchy is derived from the fact that the man was usually fishing at sea.
Saints stoning
In the 19th century, a Povoan religious practice chocked the overwhelming catholic country. In a 1868 magazine it is told that: "It is said, for a long time in Minho [Region], that the fishermen of Póvoa de Varzim were so superstitious, that the women when there were storms, and wanting to beg to their favorite saint or saints to free their husbands boats from the gorging ocean, they said absurd and extravagant blasphemies, like a savage people could do in front of the most ridiculous idols."The author stated: "For this reason it is told that the women of the people, in dire straits, walked to the chapel of Saint Joseph, and in there, they stoned the saint, of such devotion to them, saying: "Wake up Saint Joseph, Wake up! You sh... saint Take care of my husband, or my son, Saint Joseph!"
And continued: "What is correct is that not only the women of Bairro de S.José
Bairro Norte
Bairro Norte is a quarter and district of the Portuguese city of Póvoa de Varzim. it is the most densely populated district of the city, it is also a beach resort. In the 19th century it was known as Bairro de S...
district, but also the ones from Bairro da Lapa
Bairro Sul
Bairro Sul, literally the South Neighborhood, also known as Lapa, is the fishery district of the city of Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal. It is one of the six traditional neirghborhoods of Póvoa de Varzim and one of the eleven parts in which the city is subdivided. The quarter is situated south of...
, that in a moment of overwhelming anxiety, when the angry and raging waves brought to the beach a cadaver in each surf; in those moments, the poor women revel the pain that tormented them and went to the sand grounds and the ocean with a sad outcry and painful praying."
Sea legends
The fishermen, who traveled to Newfoundland fishing cod, told stories of EskimoEskimo
Eskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
women in loved by Povoan fishermen, shipwrecks, the visits to Saint John's
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
and lost boats in the middle of the ocean, half true and half legend. The fishermen of the region are known to fish in Newfoundland since 1506.
The Peixe grande or the "Big Fish" was the name that Povoans gave to a gigantic sea creature
Sea monster
Sea monsters are sea-dwelling mythical or legendary creatures, often believed to be of immense size.Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or multi-armed beasts. They can be slimy or scaly and are often pictured threatening ships or spouting jets of water...
. In the holly days and Sundays the fishermen didn't go to work at sea because of a story concerning a Corpus Christi celebration when Póvoa de Varzim got numerous visitors due to that religious festival. Seeing several potential costumers, the fishermen went to work at sea, and their boat got filled with the best fish. The happy fishermen sailed back to Póvoa. Meanwhile, they noticed Peixe grande going after them, and the mestre (captain of the boat) saw it as a divine punishment and the fishermen to defend themselves from the creature, threw the fisheries to the water, and while docking and with no caught fish left, they kissed the sand and never more the Povoan fishermen went to the sea in holly days.
Cape Santo André
Cape Santo André
Cape Santo André is a cape located in the Northern coast of continental Portugal, in Santo André, municipality of Póvoa de Varzim....
(Saint Andrew Cape), a place that shows evidence of Romanization and of probable earlier importance, was known in Classical Latin as Promontorium Avarus and in Ancient Greek as Auaron akron (Αὔαρον ἄκρον), a name of Celt origin. It is of ancient cult in Póvoa, and was common to see groups of fishermen, with a light in the hand, in pilgrimage to the Cape's chapel in the last evening of November. They believed Saint Andre fisher fished, from the depths, the souls of the drowned ones and those who did not visited Santo André in life they would have to go there as a cadaver. Near the cape, there's a rock with dips that the people believe are the footprints of Saint Andrew. It is known that in the great shipwreck of 1892, several bodies were found near the cape.
Supernatural beings in town
The most common stories are the ones related to the Povoan witch (bruxa), some were evil, named Bruxas do Diabo (Devil witches) and others who weren't responsible for their condition. Witches lived amongst the population, especially in the streets of Ramalhão and Norte, and was possible that a witch's husband was not aware that his wife was a witch.The witches fate (fado das bruxas) was that, by night, they left their homes and followed the Devil throw the streets. By going throw the streets, the witches caused damages to the inhabitants belongings, they lifted the boat's oars, they opened the farmer's casks and caused other kinds of torments. The magical and protected use of the Sanselimão sigla
Siglas poveiras
The siglas poveiras is a proto-writing system that has been used by the local community of Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal for many generations. The siglas were primarily used as a signature for family coat-of-arms in order to mark family belongings...
, a pentagram, is associated to the witches. The use of the sigla poveira had several purposes, such as protection by saving a witch from her fate. To save her, a steel Sanselimão should be held in hand, another sanselimão should be drawn in the ground in the street were one would, during the night, wait the Devil to go throw the street with the witches behind him. The witch, one's wife, stretched her hand to be pulled by her husband to the area inside the sanselimão drawn in the ground. The other witches would torment the man, swearing and whistling.
The Bezerro maldito or the "Damned Calf" was a damned bull or calf that walked throw the streets of Póvoa, and the people in their homes listened to the sound of its paws while walking throw the street. In Póvoa there was no cattle, these only existed in the surrounding villages. Tia Desterra, a notable local story teller, always listened to these stories while a child, she saw it in a windy Summer evening. She said he was black and white, and when the calf walked throw, there was so much wind that it twisted.
The legend of the Grande Cobra or the "Big Snake" is refereed in 1758, and is related with the devotion of Lady of Varzim (Senhora de Varzim), a 13th century icon that appeared miraculously in the area of Largo das Dores
Largo das Dores
thumb|Dores Square plate.thumb|Dores Square.Largo das Dores or Dores Square is a square in Póvoa de Varzim city center in Portugal. Part of the old town of Póvoa de Varzim, this area is listed by City Hall as heritage site...
(old town's square), and the old Matriz church of Póvoa de Varzim, a 11th century Romanesque-Gothic temple located in the same square, an area known to be populated by venomous reptiles, especially the Grande Cobra.
Fonte da Bica fountain, the early water source for the city center, was a place in which the people believed the Devil appeared during Friday nights with the full moon. It was also known to help single girls to get married. North of town, Moura Encantada Fountain, or Castro Fountain is a pre-Roman fountain related to the Moura, a Celtic water deity, witches, and a golden Bullock cart.
Accent
The Povoan accent known as Falar poveiro (Povoan speech), Sotaque poveiro (Povoan accent) or simply Poveiro, occasionally erroneously called caxineiro, is part of the Portuguese dialect known by linguists as Interâmnico and, popularly, as Nortenho or Northern PortugueseNorthern Portuguese
Northern Portuguese is the oldest dialect of the Portuguese language It is spoken in coastal northern Portugal from Viana do Castelo to Porto and stretching inland as far as Braga. The region is considered the birthplace of the Portuguese language...
, which is the oldest dialect of the Portuguese language and it is spoken in Coastal Northern Portugal from Viana do Castelo
Viana do Castelo
Viana do Castelo is a municipality and seat of the Viana do Castelo District in the Norte Region of Portugal. The city proper has 36,148 inhabitants and the municipality has a total population of 91,238 inhabitants over a total area of 318.6 km².It is located at the mouth of the Lima...
to Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
and, inland, it reaches Braga
Braga
Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...
. The region is the birthplace of the Portuguese language. There are two subdialects: Porto-Póvoa and Braga-Viana, each of these subdialects is further divided into Porto, Póvoa, Braga, and Viana. The Póvoa one is the transitional dialect between the speeches of Braga and Porto.
Despite sharing numerous features found in other Northern Portuguese accents, the Povoan accent has particular features and includes influences from the region of Beira, in Central Portugal, that are not found in other Northern Portuguese accents, as in the pronunciation in connected speech as in os olhos which is spoken as [oʒɔʎoʃ] instead of [ozɔʎoʃ]. A distinctive feature of the accent, common in the fisher community, is the extensive use of open vowels where standard Portuguese uses closed or nasal vowels: it occurs in words ending with /a/, as in batata ([batatɛ] instead of [bɐtatɐ]); in the plural form, batatas, it is pronounced as [batatɨʃ] or [batatɛʃ]. Amanhã (tomorrow) is pronunced as [amɛɲa], instead of [ɐ̃mɐɲɐ̃]. Currently, the urban population often pronounce it as [amɐɲa]. "Ão" termination is always pronounced as [aɲ] as in cão ([kaɲ] which can pronounced as [kɔɲ] in other Northern Portuguese accents and as [kɐ̃ũ] in Standard Portuguese.
Similarly to Galician, "ch" is pronounced as [tʃ] instead of [ʃ]. Fizeste (you did) can be pronounced as [fizɛtʃɨʃ], although [fizɛʃtɨʃ] or is today much more common and Falou-lhe([fɐlowʎɨ]), he spoke to him/her, is pronounced as "falou-le" ([falowlɨ]), the same situation occurs with others verbs. Eu fui (I went) can be pronounced as "eu foi"; intestino (intestine) can be pronounced as "indestino" and vomitar (to vomite) can be pronounced as "gomitar".
Povoan vocabulary includes Tarrote (sparrow) instead of pardal; estonar (to peel) instead of descascar; "chopa" or "chó" (girl) instead of rapariga; trumpeteiro or "tropeteiro" (mosquito) instead of mosquito or melga; gano (branch) instead of galho, bouça is referred to a forest with bushes. Dinner or lunch are often referred to as o comer and prezigo refers to the meat or fish in a meal; primaço (a derivation of cousin) is often used in the same situation as "amigo" (friend) is used in other dialects.
Traditional writing system
Siglas poveiras
The siglas poveiras is a proto-writing system that has been used by the local community of Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal for many generations. The siglas were primarily used as a signature for family coat-of-arms in order to mark family belongings...
are a form of 'proto-writing system'; these were used as a rudimentary visual communication system, and are a result of Viking settlers that brought the writing system known as bomärken from Scandinavia about one thousand years ago. The siglas are used as a family "Coat of Arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
" or signature to sign belongings.
The siglas were also used to remember things such as marriages, trips, or debts. Thus these were widely used chiefly because many residents did not knew how to use the Latin alphabet, thus these “runes” were widely employed. Merchants used it in their books of credit, and these were read and recognized as we today read and recognize names written in Latin alphabet. These are still used, though much less commonly, by some fishing families.
The inhabitants used to write their sigla in the table of Matriz Church when they got married, as a way to register the event, many ancient siglas can still be found, although many more were lost.
The basic marks were a very restricted number of symbols from which most Siglas derive. These included the arpão, the colhorda, the lanchinha, the pique (including the grade, composed of four crossed piques), and many of these symbols were very similar to those found in Northern Europe, and generally had magical-religious connotations when painted on boats.
Children were given the same family mark with additions, the pique. Thus, the older son would have one pique, the next would have two, and so on. The youngest son would not have any pique, inheriting the same symbol as his father.
Arts and handicrafts
Typical handicrafts include the Tapetes de Beiriz (Beiriz carpetCarpet
A carpet is a textile floor covering consisting of an upper layer of "pile" attached to a backing. The pile is generally either made from wool or a manmade fibre such as polypropylene,nylon or polyester and usually consists of twisted tufts which are often heat-treated to maintain their...
s) of the parish of Beiriz. These are distinctive carpets recognized and demanded nationally and internationally. Tapetes de Beiriz decorate the Dutch Royalty Palace and Portuguese public buildings. There are also other handicrafts: the Póvoa’s rendas de bilros, the Mantas de Terroso (Terroso's Blankets) and miniatures of Poveiros boats.
Povoan boats
The Povoan Boat is a specific genre of boat characterized by a wide flat-bottom and a deep helm. There were diverse boats with different sizes, uses and shapes. Including catraia pequena, catraia grande, caíco and the most notable of which, the Lancha Poveira.The lancha was a large ship adapted to deep waters and used for hake-fishing. The largest of which had twelve oars and could carry 30 men. Each boat carried carvings, namely a sigla poveira mark
Siglas poveiras
The siglas poveiras is a proto-writing system that has been used by the local community of Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal for many generations. The siglas were primarily used as a signature for family coat-of-arms in order to mark family belongings...
for individual boat identification and magical-religious protection at sea. The Lancha Poveira was considered by Lixa Filgueiras and Raul Brandão to be descendant from the Viking longboats, keeping all the longboat features but without a long stern and bow. The ship is completed by a Mediterranean-style sail for better maneuvering.
Literature
Almeida Garrett
João Baptista da Silva Leitão de Almeida Garrett, Viscount of Almeida Garrett was a Portuguese poet, playwright, novelist and politician. He is considered to be the introducer of the Romanticism in Portugal, with the epic poem Camões, based on the life of Luís de Camões...
, Camilo Castelo Branco
Camilo Castelo Branco
Camilo Ferreira Botelho Castelo-Branco,1st Viscount de Correia Botelho , was a prolific Portuguese writer of the 19th century, having authored over 260 books . His writing is, overall, considered original in that it combines the dramatic and sentimental spirit of Romanticism with a highly personal...
, António Nobre
António Nobre
António Pereira Nobre was a Portuguese poet. He died of tuberculosis in Foz do Douro, Porto, in 1900, after trying to recover in a number of places. His masterpiece Só , was the only book he published.-Northern Portugal:Nobre was a member of a wealthy family...
, Agustina Bessa-Luís
Agustina Bessa-Luís
Agustina Bessa-Luís, GOSE is a Portuguese writer.From 1986 and 1987, she was Director of the daily O Primeiro de Janeiro . From 1990 to 1993, she was director of the Teatro Nacional D...
, D. António da Costa, Ramalho Ortigão, João Penha, Oliveira Martins, Antero de Figueiredo, Raul Brandão, Teixeira de Pascoaes, Alexandre Pinheiro Torres. Nevertheless, the city is often remembered as the birthplace of Eça de Queiroz, one of the main writers in the Portuguese language
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
.
In modern times, the city gained international prominence with Correntes d'Escritas, a literary festival
Literary festival
A literary festival, also known as a book festival or writers' festival, is a regular gathering of writers and readers, typically on an annual basis in a particular city...
where writers from the Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
and Spanish-speaking world gather in a variety of presentations and an annual award for best new release.
Despite its association with several writers, Póvoa as a stage for literary works is rare. Notable exceptions are Luis Sepúlveda
Luis Sepúlveda
Luis Sepúlveda is a Chilean writer, film director, journalist and political activist.- Life :Luis Sepùlveda was born in Ovalle, Limarí Province...
's The Worst Stories of the Grim Brothers (in Spanish, Los peores cuentos de los hermanos Grim) and António Nobre
António Nobre
António Pereira Nobre was a Portuguese poet. He died of tuberculosis in Foz do Douro, Porto, in 1900, after trying to recover in a number of places. His masterpiece Só , was the only book he published.-Northern Portugal:Nobre was a member of a wealthy family...
who watched Povoan fishermen at sea, sailed with them and wrote poetry about them and their way of living.
Music
Josué TrocadoJosué Francisco Trocado
Dr. Josué Francisco Trocado, KCSG was a Portuguese composer.-Background:He was the son of Francisco Luís Trocado, Jr...
(1882–1962) was a notable composer who organized Orfeon Povoense (Povoan Choral Society), notable all over Portugal for his creativity as a music composer, his choral society was considered by the press as the greatest in Portugal. Trocado wrote plays, namelly Vindima, Cantata, adapted works from other authors, and was the author of Póvoa anthem
Hino da Póvoa
Hino da Póvoa or Hino da Póvoa de Varzim is an anthem written by Povoan composer Josué Trocado for the city of Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal.-History:...
(Hino da Póvoa de Varzim) in 1916.
The Conjunto Típico Ala-Arriba (1966-1981) was a music group with popular songs based on Povoan themes and wearing Povoan traditional festivity clothing with six commercial records and several presentations in Northern and Southern Portugal. António dos Santos Graça
António dos Santos Graça
António dos Santos Graça was a Portuguese ethnologist, journalist and politician notable for the study and preservation of Poveiro culture, history, and folklore...
was responsible for the preservation of this traditional clothing and also responsible for the preservation of Povoan fisher folk music and dances by founding the Rancho Folclórico Poveiro in 1936.
Traditional clothing
Sweater
A sweater, jumper, pullover, sweatshirt, jersey or guernsey is a garment intended to cover the torso and arms. It is often worn over a shirt, blouse, T-shirt, or other top, but may also be worn alone as a top...
s made for celebration and decorative purposes, initially used by the fishermen to protect them from the cold. These have fishery motifs and siglas poveiras
Siglas poveiras
The siglas poveiras is a proto-writing system that has been used by the local community of Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal for many generations. The siglas were primarily used as a signature for family coat-of-arms in order to mark family belongings...
, drawings related to the Nordic
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
runes. The pullovers have just three colours: white, black and red, with the name embroidered in sigla and more recent examples also carry the name in the Latin alphabet. The pullovers were once a local dress until 1892, when a sea misfortune led the community to stop wearing it. It became popular once again a t the end of the 1970s. Today, there are some efforts to modernize it on one hand and on the other there are endeavours to preserve the long-established practices.
Tricana Poveira
Tricana Poveira were common girls that used foppish costumes. The girls dressed a shawl, an apron, a skirt, a handkerchief and glossy high-heeled slippers. It was said they were the Povoan beauty icons. With their peculiar walking way and dressing style they were girls from the common people with the mannerisms of a queen.often, tricanas were "land" girls usually employed in sewing jobs, daughters of shoemakers, carpenters and several other crafts. They adapted their knowledge to their own dressing style. Bairro da Matriz
Bairro da Matriz
Bairro da Matriz is the historical neighourhood of the Portuguese city of Póvoa de Varzim and part of the Matriz/Mariadeira district....
quarter was famed for its charming and attractive tricanas. "Fisher" girls, employed in sewing jobs or bobbin lace
Bobbin lace
Bobbin lace is a lace textile made by braiding and twisting lengths of thread, which are wound on bobbins to manage them. As the work progresses, the weaving is held in place with pins set in a lace pillow, the placement of the pins usually determined by a pattern or pricking pinned on the...
, were also tricanas.
Fisher women had traditional costumes similar to the tricana girls, but visible poorer, with longer skirt, lower quality materials, darker colors and without the elegance of the typical walking style of the tricana poveira. the pinnacle of the tricana style occurred between the 1920s and the 1960s, creating a strong impact in the communities and amongst outsiders visiting the city.
Tricana costumes were fashion amongst the middle class teenagers until the appearance of ready-to-wear clothing in the 1970s. Nowadays, tricana girls only appear in urban folklore groups, parades, and, only kept as a strong tradition, to this day, during Rusgas de São Pedro (Saint Peter Parades), part of the city festivities in June 28 and 29.
Cuisine
The local gastronomy results from the fusing of the Minho and fishing cookery. The most traditional ingredients of the local cuisine are locally-grown vegetables, such as collard greensCollard greens
Collard greens are various loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea , the same species as cabbage and broccoli. The plant is grown for its large, dark-colored, edible leaves and as a garden ornamental, mainly in Brazil, Portugal, the southern United States, many parts of Africa, Montenegro,...
, cabbage
Cabbage
Cabbage is a popular cultivar of the species Brassica oleracea Linne of the Family Brassicaceae and is a leafy green vegetable...
, turnip broccoli
Turnip
The turnip or white turnip is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, bulbous taproot. Small, tender varieties are grown for human consumption, while larger varieties are grown as feed for livestock...
, potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
, onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
, tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
, and a wide variety of fish. The fish used to create the traditional dishes are divided in two categories, the "poor" fish (sardine
Sardine
Sardines, or pilchards, are several types of small, oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. Sardines are named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, around which they were once abundant....
, ray
Batoidea
Batoidea is a superorder of cartilaginous fish commonly known as rays and skates, containing more than 500 described species in thirteen families...
, mackerel
Mackerel
Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They may be found in all tropical and temperate seas. Most live offshore in the oceanic environment but a few, like the Spanish mackerel , enter bays and can be...
, whiskered sole, and others) and the "wealthy" fish (such as snook
Common snook
The common snook is a species of marine fish in the family Centropomidae of the order Perciformes. This species is native to the coastal waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, from southern Florida and Texas...
, whiting, and alfonsino
Alfonsino
The alfonsino or alfonsin, Beryx decadactylus, is a deepwater fish of the family Berycidae that inhabits temperate and tropical ocean waters nearly worldwide, with the exception of the eastern Pacific. More generally, the name is also used to denote any member of the family Berycidae.Alfonsinos...
).
The most famous local dish is Pescada à Poveira (Poveira Whiting), whose main ingredients are, with the fish that gives the name to the dish, potatoes, eggs
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
and a boiled onion and tomato sauce (molho fervido); this dish can be consumed in the ordinary way or, before introducing the sauce, lightly crushing and mixing the ingredients with the fork and knife. This dish also often includes collard greens or turnip broccoli which are not crushed. Other fishery dishes include the Arroz de Sardinha (sardine rice), Caldeirada de Peixe (fish caldeirada), Lulas Recheadas à Poveiro (Poveiro stuffed squids), Arroz de Marisco (seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
rice) and Lagosta Suada (steamed lobster
Lobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
). Mussel
Mussel
The common name mussel is used for members of several families of clams or bivalvia mollusca, from saltwater and freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other edible clams, which are often more or less rounded or oval.The...
s, limpet
Limpet
Limpet is a common name for a number of different kinds of saltwater and freshwater snails ; it is applied to those snails that have a simple shell which is more or less conical in shape, and either is not spirally coiled, or appears not to be coiled in the adult snails.The name limpet is most...
s, cockles
Cockle (bivalve)
Cockle is the common name for a group of small, edible, saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae.Various species of cockles live in sandy sheltered beaches throughout the world....
and rock snail
Muricidae
Muricidae, common name murex snails or rock snails, is a large and varied taxonomic family of small to large predatory sea snails. With approximately 1,600 living species the Muricidae represent almost 10% of the Neogastropoda. Additionally, 1,200 fossil species have been recognised...
s are cooked in the shell and served as a snack. Iscas, pataniscas and bolinhos de Bacalhau
Bacalhau
Bacalhau is the Portuguese word for codfish and—in a culinary context—dried and salted codfish. Fresh cod is referred to as bacalhau fresco .-Use:...
are boiled cod snacks and also popular.
The typical soups are broth
Broth
Broth is a liquid food preparation, typically consisting of either water or an already flavored stock, in which bones, meat, fish, cereal grains, or vegetables have been simmered. Broth is used as a basis for other edible liquids such as soup, gravy, or sauce. It can be eaten alone or with garnish...
s (Caldos), one of which is Caldo de Castanhas Piladas (pounded chestnut broth); the nationwide Caldo Verde
Caldo verde
Caldo verde is a popular soup in Portuguese cuisine.The basic ingredients for caldo verde are potatoes, onions and kale . Common additional ingredients are garlic, salt, and olive oil. Some recipes add meat...
(green broth) is served on special occasions, such as in Saint Peter's Day.
Other dishes include Feijoada
Feijoada
Feijoada is a stew of beans with beef and pork, which is a typical from Brazilian Cuisine, is also typical in Angola, Mozambique, Goa, India and other former Portuguese colonies. In Brazil, feijoada is considered by many as the national dish...
Poveira, made with white beans, chouriça and other meats and served with dry rice (arroz seco); and Francesinha
Francesinha
Francesinha is a Portuguese sandwich originally from Porto, made with bread, wet-cured ham, linguiça, fresh sausage like chipolata, steak or roast meat and covered with molten cheese and a hot thick tomato and beer sauce served with french fries.- History :It is said that the Francesinha was an...
Poveira made in long bread that first appeared in 1962 as fast food for holidaymakers.
Local sweets include barquinhos (cockle-boats), sardinhas (sardines), amor poveiro (or poveirinhos) and beijinho
Beijinho
Beijinho , also known as branquinho , is a typical Brazilian birthday party candy. It is prepared and served just like brigadeiro, but instead of cocoa powder it uses grated coconut. When rolled it can be covered with granulated sugar or grated coconut. Traditionally a single clove is stuck in the...
s (little kisses).