MADEIRA FOLKTALES AND LEGENDS
title
Madeira Folktales and Legends coordination, presentation and text
José Viale Moutinho translation
Mário Figueira edited by
nova delphi illustrations
Taken from the rare book A History of Madeira, with a series of twenty-seven coloured engravings, illustrative of the costumes, manners, and occupations of the inhabitants of the Island, edição de R. Ackermann, London; 1821. (Graciously lent by the Funchal Municipal Library) isbn
978-989-8407-96-2 legal deposit
351541/12 printer
Papelmunde published by
(Trademark of Euthalia Editora, Lda.) Rua da Carreira, 115/117, 9000-042 Funchal, Madeira www.novadelphi.com
MADEIRA FOLKTALES AND LEGENDS as told by
JOSÉ VIALE MOUTINHO
Popular literature is that literature which circulates among the common people, whether of their own creation, or borrowed from others. But who are the common people? They are that part of the population that has always been the underprivileged. Manuel Viegas Guerreiro Popular Traditional Oral Literature Paris, 1986
contents
13 Once Upon a Time…
madeira island 17 19 21 24 26 28 30 32 34 37 41
CALHETA The Tale of the Fig Tree The Tale of the Man, the Witch, and the Pitcher The Cat’s Just Deserts The Mystery of the Mysterious Guitar! The Wager A Bag of Gold The Angry Light-footed Servant The Girl Who Didn’t Like to Do Anything The Snow Lady The Legend of Saint Amaro
43 45 50 52 54 56 58 60
CÂMARA DE LOBOS The Tower of Knives Who Does the Devil Help? The Tale of the Hunchbacks The Legend of Cabo Girão The Legend of the Bicho Cidrão The Legend of the Saintly Servant The Treasure of Furneira
63 FUNCHAL 65 Fool’s Luck 67 The Bisbis and the Porridge
68 70 72 75 76 78 80 81 83 86
The Bisbis’ Little Fountain The Legend of Saint Sebastião or King Sebastião? The Legend of the Capela das Almas Pobres The Legend of the Monte Flooding The Legend of the Terreiro da Luta The Legend of St. Sylvester’s Night The Legend of the Sweet Potato The Legend of Corujeira de Dentro The Legend of Nossa Senhora do Monte Legend of the Christ of the Convento de São Francisco
87 89 91 93 95 97 102 104 106 108 109 110
MACHICO The Girl with the Long Braids The Tale of the Gossips The Execution Site The Brightest in the World The Youngest Brother’s Stick The Mouse’s Deal The Machim Legend of the Discovery of the Island of Madeira The Legend of the Furna do Negro The Legend of the Senhor dos Milagres The Furnas do Cavalum The Legend of Dom Sebastião’s Sword
113 115 118 120 121
PONTA DO SOL The Man Who Put Devils in a Bag The Legend of the Holy Bell The Pirate The Legend of the Levada do Moinho
123 125 128 131 133 136
PORTO MONIZ The Boy Who Would Not Be Poor The Bold Chick The Witch Inside the Pitcher Lady Wealth and Lady Luck The Inland Sea and the Witch
139 RIBEIRA BRAVA 141 The Legend of St. Benedict’s Staff 143 The Legend of Our Lady’s Illness 145 147 148 151 153 156 159 161 163 165 166
SÃO VICENTE Playing the Devil The Tale of the Twenty Lashes Riding the Devil The Queen’s Tale The Tale of Rotten Joe The Shoemaker’s Guitar The Legend of the Capela do Calhau The Legend of Our Lady and the Sowers The Legend of the Senhor Bom Jesus of Ponta Delgada The Legend of Saint Vincent
169 171 174 176 179 182
SANTA CRUZ The Tale of the Jealous Man The Cat Was a Princess! An Intelligent Girl The Legend of Santo da Serra The Legend of the Enseada dos Reis Magos
185 The Legend of the Saintly Cooper 186 The Legend of the Blackberries 188 Saint Peter and the Pirates 191 193 197 201 204 206 208 209 211 212 214 216 218
SANTANA A Boy’s Travels The Twins’ Tale The White Dove Between Mother and Mother-in-law The Legend of the Devil’s Tree The Legend of the Haunted Tree The Legend of the Enchanted Island The Legend of the Fish The Legend of São Roque do Faial The Legend of the Rattling Lupines The Legend of the Votive Fava Beans The Legend of the Miserly Old Woman’s Aqueduct
porto santo island 221 223 225 228 230 232 234 235 237
PORTO SANTO The Tale of the Tasks The Queen’s Evil Deeds The Legend of Columbus The Legend of Arguin The Legend of Pico Branco The Legend of the Pico do Calhau da Malhada The Legend of Pico da Juliana The Legend of King Dom Sebastião
238 The Legend of Fonte da Areia 239 The Legend of the Capela da Graça
selvagens islands 241 SELVAGENS 243 Captain Kidd’s Treasure
once upon a time…
For the very first time, the most beautiful legends and folktales of the Madeira Archipelago have been brought together in one volume. The archipelago comprises its namesake island, together with the islands of Porto Santo, the neighbouring Desertas, and the remote Selvagens. The latter are so far flung that their mythography is reduced to the legend of a pirate’s treasure — as frequently pursued as not procured! Still, ever so often, there are those confident enough to set off discreetly in their boat for those islands, with equipment ranging from the very practical shovel to the most sophisticated apparatus. However, as far as we know, those attempts have always been unsuccessful — unless some lucky fellow has chosen to keep mum. The term tale, in and of itself, is defined by the Dictionnaire Robert as “a relating of facts, of imaginary events, intended to amuse”. However, it had a dual meaning during the Renascence: that of make-believe and that of reality. In the strictest sense of the term, folktale or traditional story is that which is spoken and transmitted orally. In that sense, the folktale, as with folk poetry, began as a product of the common people’s creativity. Thus, the folktale belongs to the people and it may not be appropriated by any one person. That said, during the Romantic period — immersed in the splendour of the invention of the printing press — the category of Popular Literature came truly into its own through printed works with known authorship. Nevertheless, the folktales in this collection are, as far as we can tell, of popular origin. Their authorship has long been unknown, to the point of — taking into account the saying, “a tale never loses in the telling” — there being 13
(…)
— madeira island —
calheta
THE TALE OF THE FIG TREE parishes of arco da calheta, paul do mar, and jardim do mar, calheta.
Once upon a time, there was a fig tree which bore especially delicious figs. In fact, they were the most delicious in all of the farmer’s fig grove. Now, the farmer lived in constant fear of having his figs stolen; and, as it so happened, there were some thieves who would sneak in, under cover of night, and plunder as many as they could. So, the farmer decided that he would solve his problem in the following manner: “It’ll be different this year! As soon as my sweet figs begin to appear, I’ll start sleeping on a blanket under the fig tree. That way, anyone coming by will have me and my stick to deal with!” And, sure enough, on the following day the first figs appeared; and, at sunset, the farmer lay himself under the fig tree, prepared to protect it. Well now, the thieves — who loved that fig tree’s fruit as much as its owner did — got wind of the farmer’s plan and came up with a plan of their own. Around midnight, as the farmer dozed off, the thieves appeared, covered in sheets, and began to sing in quivering voices, pretending to be ghosts: Yonder soul, approach this fig tree’s bole. While we alive were Its figs we did prefer. Now that we dead be, Our corpses you can see! 19
The farmer awoke, startled by the singing; when he saw those phantasmagorical figures in the dark, he was so frightened that he ran into his house and hid under the bed. Meanwhile, the thieves, who were just some local boys, couldn’t stop laughing as they feasted on the fruit of that so very special fig tree!
20
THE TALE OF THE MAN, THE WITCH, AND THE PITCHER parishes of arco da calheta, paul do mar, and jardim do mar, calheta.
One day, a famer, on his way to the mountainside to fetch grass, encountered a very old woman sitting on a rock. He asked her, “Ma’am, what are you doing there?” “I was running an errand, when I lost my way.” “And now?” “Now, I don’t know how to get back home.” “Don’t you fret none, I’ll help,” said the man. He then helped the old women onto his cow cart; and, between the two of them, they managed to figure out where she lived. There he left her, mightily pleased. Having returned to his work, the farmer gathered all the grass that he needed, and tied it in bundles on the cow cart. Unfortunately, about halfway from his farm, half of the grass came loose and tumbled onto the road, ruined. Naturally, the man was upset, but he turned back and gathered more grass, placing it on the cart. The trouble is, as he was homebound, the grass once again came loose and was strewn across the dusty road. He knew that the cattle wouldn’t eat it in that state. Persevering, but all the while grumbling over such bad luck, the farmer returned to the same mountain site; and cut grass for a few more hours. Nightfall was already upon him, when he finally came into view of his home; but wouldn’t you know, at that very moment, a cart wheel bumped over a rock, and its grass cargo fell all over the dusty road once again. “This is the Devil’s work,” exclaimed the farmer; and he recalled the woman he had helped, for she could well be a witch. 21
He ran to the old woman’s house, banged on the door, and as soon as she appeared, he said: “You witch! So, I help you and you send the Devil after me, to wrong me?” She feigned innocence, for in truth she was a witch. “Believe me, I don’t know what you’re going on about…” “You were waiting for me on the road, just so that you could torment me…” “Me!? I had but gone to the stream to drink some water, when I got lost!” “Liar! If you should wrong me again, or send the devil to trouble me, I’ll come back here and give you a thrashing!” The witch was frightened by the farmer, who seemed so fierce, and never again bothered him. And he was reminded that, when one comes across another along the road, it’s best to just greet them and move on, rather than stopping for a chat. For it may just turn out to be a very big waste of time… Well now, you may as well know this too, as it relates to the story: if you should find something lying in your way, you shouldn’t claim it as yours nor even touch it; for it may well be a witch’s trap. You see, one afternoon, a man was going to the mountainside — to fetch wood for the fireplace, I suppose — when he saw a clay pitcher lying in the middle of the road. He immediately raised his walking stick and struck the pitcher, smashing it. At that very instant, the man felt a weight upon his back, and skeletal hands which grabbed onto his neck. What could this be?! It was an old woman, who screeched into his ear: “You will take me home, now!” Unable to resist her will, the man promptly set off running and only stopped at the old woman’s door. The 22
woman, who was a witch, got off his back and went in, closing the door noisily behind her. Straightaway, the man took off running, returning to where it all began. He continued to the woods’ entrance where he found the firewood that he sought. Later, back home, he thought to himself that even if he were to come across a pot of gold… He wouldn’t touch it!
23
(…)
— madeira island —
ponta do sol
THE MAN WHO PUT DEVILS IN A BAG parish of madalena do mar, ponta do sol.
There once was a wealthy man — and I mean really wealthy — from Madalena do Mar, who had been to many cities, in the four corners of the world. And, at each city, he would always stay at the best inn he could find. Sometimes there would be only one inn, which naturally made it the best one — while at the same time being so-so or even the worst! But it’s not like he had a choice in the matter. Now, one day, as he was passing through his hometown, which had two inns, he took a room at the finer one — naturally. As it was already night, he dined well and drank even better, and then slipped in between the bed sheets. That night, however, a band of restless little devils came by and decided to play a prank on him. And do you know what the band did to him? Noise! And more noise! And, as if that wasn’t enough, they even pulled at his eyelashes to keep him from sleeping! Furious, our man yelled, “Enough, you band of rascals!” But they just kept doing worse. “Stop that right now, you goddamned little devils!” And the little devils went right on doing god knows what! “Oh, if you keep on pulling at my eyelashes, I’ll grab you all and stuff you into this bag I have here!” The little devils laughed in chorus, and one spoke up: “You fool, do you think you can scare us? With a bag, really? Well, I dare you to try and put us in a bag; then we’ll see who’s getting his comeuppance…” And they got even louder, pulling again and again at the traveller’s eyelashes. 115
At that point, the man became really mad; he got up abruptly and, grabbing them one by one, he stuffed them in said sack, which he closed very tightly. Though they continued to make a racket inside the bag, its cloth muffled the noise and the man was finally able to sleep in peace. The following morning, when the traveller awoke, he threw the bag across his back and set off. The little devils began to laughingly shout: “Oh, what a pleasant outing this is!” To which the man immediately replied, “This outing is going to be anything but pleasant, you ugly little devils!” After walking for quite a while, he came across a peasant, who was thrashing wheat, and asked him: “Would you please thrash this here bag, too? There’re some little devils in it that are annoying me terribly!” So the man thrashed and thrashed away, killing all the little devils — well, not quite all of them; for one managed to escape with only an injured leg. He escaped through an opening in the bag, barely able to walk, but he didn’t stop until he made it to Hell. Now, one day the man died — as is bound to happen to everyone — and set off to settle accounts with God. Arriving at the pearly gates he asked: “Good St. Peter, sir, might there be a little spot for me, in there?” Heaven’s doorman gruffly retorted, “Not for you, there isn’t. Knowing you, you’ll probably kill some angels and saints, or some innocent soul… Now, go away!” So the man headed for Hell. Knocking at the gate, a limping devil appeared. The man didn’t recognise him, but it was the little devil that had gotten away. The latter, not recognising the man either, asked him: 116
“Who are you?” And he told him. The devil then knew who he had before him and immediately said to him: “I don’t want you here, because you might very well kill all my kin, demons and little devils alike. Off with you, for you’ve already done me enough harm!” And the man thought to himself, “Now, how about that? There’s no way of getting around this! Neither St. Peter wants me in Heaven, nor the Devil wants me in Hell. I’ll just go back home!” And it is said that, to this day, he wanders Madalena do Mar, protecting the banana plantations from all evil. But no one has ever seen him!
117
THE LEGEND OF THE HOLY BELL ponta do sol.
This happened so long ago, when the town of Ponta do Sol was not even a parish yet; and the overland routes were so difficult that the town had to be approached by sea. The locals had, at long last, managed to gather the means to realise their dream of building a church of their own. During its construction, something happened that elated the inhabitants: wouldn’t you know, the ocean waves washed up two very unique items onto the stone beach. One of which was an image of the Virgin of Candelaria — how appropriate for Ponta de Sol38 — and the other, right next to the first, was a bell of good quality bronze, which the locals took an immediate liking to. Naturally, they decided to add a bell tower to the yet incomplete church. It wasn’t long before the church was completed, and duly equipped with the bell. And, from that day on, it marked the most important moments in the locals’ lives: marriages, births, deaths, masses, and hail-Marys; with the bell’s chime echoing the sentiment of that which it announced. Its sound was such that a canon from the Funchal bishopric decided to requisition it for the See cathedral. Although it had accompanied the Virgin of Candelaria in her ocean journey, the bell was powerless against the forces that would claim it for the island’s capital. And so, one night, the bell was hoisted from its tower, and put aboard a boat destined for Funchal. As soon as the boat cast off, a violent storm arose; though the sailors were unscathed, a wave crashed upon the boat and swept 38. Sun Point. (tn)
118
across its deck, dragging the church bell into the sea. Then the waves took care of the rest, dragging the bell onto Ponta de Sol’s stone beach! Or so the legend goes; for now, we’ll turn a deaf ear to historical evidence, which won’t be called on in this legend…
119
(…)
— selvagens islands —
selvagens
CAPTAIN KIDD’S TREASURES selvagens.
This legend feels a lot like someone sweeping the leftovers of some tall tale under the rug, seeing that not much else could be done with it! Anyway, there’s always the chance that some reader, living in Funchal, might go out and hire a boat and crew to go on an adventure, at which others have failed so miserably. It’s a distance of 280 kilometres, as the crow flies, always over water; though we can’t predict the weather conditions. Once there, you’ll be closer to Tenerife — in the Canaries archipelago — than to Madeira. It isn’t difficult to recognise the Selvagens: a smallish island, two even smaller islands, and a multitude of islets scattered across an expanse spanning ten nautical miles from the northeast to the southwest. Farthest north is the larger island, Selvagem Grande or just Selvagem; the other two, to the south, are the Ilhéu Grande — also known as the Selvagem Pequena or Pitão Grande — and the Ilhéu Pequeno or Pitão Pequeno. The former features the Pico72 dos Tornozelos and the Pico da Atalaia, to the east. Flocks of seabirds but not a soul in sight; for the islands are deserted save for rats, lizards, owls, and the aforementioned seabirds. And what is the reader doing out there? Why, he’s searching for the treasure of Captain Kidd, also known as the Fearless One! According to legend, it is the fabulous treasure of the cathedral of Lima, in Peru. In his Ilhas de Zargo, Father Eduardo Pereira recounts how it was taken there by “a Spanish ship outbound from Baltimore, in the United States, which had looted it from three Mexican ships”. The corsair captain’s ship was supposedly 72. Peak. (tn)
243
shipwrecked on one of the many reefs that seem to protect the islands; possibly upon the Palheiros reef, of tenebrous repute. But let us step back in time for a moment. According to the Madeiran historian A. Arthur Sarmento, the Selvagens were visited by both Phoenician and Carthaginian explorers; its two larger islands were then known as Heres and Antolola. As you may know, Heres was a divinity that presided over the division of inheritances; and tradition has it that, since time immemorial, a treasure remains hidden on the island, “which the goddess has reserved for some fortunate mortal”! Now, there are reports of a lone survivor from Captain Kidd’s crew making it to the Canary Islands, where he died soon after. And, it was in his final death throes that he revealed the secret of the Lima treasure to an English seaman. Now, this seaman, once returned to London, went to the Ministry of the Navy and told them what he knew. And thus, the Selvagens — private property, at the time — were turned inside out by people of all nationalities. For example, we know that the captain of the English corvette Rattler, A. Mellersh, visited the Selvagens four times, between 1848 and 1851; he reportedly spent about three thousand pounds sterling in his search for the treasure! Even the English admiralty supported this enterprise, by supplying the explorers with water. The captain would later write to his country’s consul in Funchal, stating in a letter dated November 22, 1851, that “excavations have been carried out on both islands (Pitão Grande and Pitão Pequeno), and I think that there is little chance of finding the treasure, though I truly believe that it is buried somewhere here.” In 1923, the then owner of the Selvagens — while reading an English newspaper at lunch — came across the 244
news that the explorer Ernest Shalkleton was preparing an expedition to the South Pole and planning to stop by the Selvagens, on the return trip, to search for its treasure! Annoyed, he wrote to Shalkleton in England, forbidding him from disembarking on his property. The latter did not respond; but, months later, the explorer — on his way to the South Pole — visited the proprietor and asked for his permission. He proposed that the treasure, should it be found, be divided between the two — to which the Portuguese agreed. However, these plans were frustrated by the death of Shalkleton at the South Pole… As for Captain William Kidd (1645-1701), he was Scottish and his letter of marque — to raid French shipping — had been granted by the king of England. However, frustrated by the lack of quarry, Kidd and his crew soon turned to pirating. With a bounty on his head, Kidd was eventually hanged on the Thames; and his body left to rot on public display, as a warning to other would-be sea bandits. Interestingly enough, there is a cave on the Selvagem named after Captain Kidd; and there are even those who say that the hidden treasure wasn’t just that taken from the Peruvian cathedral, but was actually all of the pirate’s fortune! Meanwhile, many have been to the Selvagens, in search of Captain Kidd’s treasure, but luck doesn’t seem to favour those who believe in legends… Now, what if I were to tell you that there are other versions of this legend that don’t include the infamous William Kidd; and that the sailor who made it to the Canaries was just a castaway from a shipwrecked pirate ship, carrying gold dollars and doubloons. And naturally, if one were to go to the Selvagens, one could hardly expect to find anyone with whom to discuss such matters! Nevertheless, in 1851, Captain Mellersh, of 245
the corvette Rattler, wrote to the English consul in Funchal to inform him that he been to Pitão Pequeno which “appeared to have been all dug up”! But neither the Lima monstrance nor any gold doubloons ever showed up to give any indication of the existence of such treasures.
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This book was typeset in New Baskerville and Grotzec Condensed, and printed by Papelmunde – SMG, Lda, on 80gr Coral Book Ivory 1.5 paper in 2012.