A shepherd's gourd (also shepherd's jug} (Spanish: botijo de pastor) is a container for carrying and holding water, which has a gourd-like body, like the ordinary botijo. It has a widened neck that, allows a rope to be tied to hold it to allow it to be carried or tied to another object. Originally it consisted of a small gourd whose interior was emptied and cured, to serve as a vessel for liquids. The shape was later copied by potters in the various shapes of vessels, such as botijillas or canteens. [1] [2] Together with the pilgrim's scallop, it is part of the iconography of the pilgrim in general and of the Way of Saint James. [3] [4]
Other variants of the name are the "shepherd's jug" or "pumpkin jug" (Spanish:botija de calabaza) and the calabazo or pilgrim's barrel (Spanish:barril de peregrino). This is how Caro Bellido defnes it in his Spanish lexical dictionary, citing in turn Menéndez Pidal who defined gourd as an old Castilian term used to designate a "vessel in the shape of a gourd." [1] Jesús Lizcano, in his studies dedicated to the pottery from La Mancha, estimates that when used to carry wine or water, they had a capacity of two liters. [5]
With the name of "Lagenaria siceraria" (a tropical species, relative of the cucurbits) is designated in botany to the pilgrim gourd, considered by the botanist Vernon Hilton Heywood one of the "most primitive plants cultivated by man." [6] Already in 1968, the botanist Herbert George Baker noted that he had found specimens dated between 3500 and 3300 BC in Egyptian tombs, and also in Peruvian burials, around 3000 BC. of C., and in troglodyte cultures of Mexico with an antiquity of 7000 years a. C., Herbert himself left news of the experiments carried out by Whitaker & Carter, showing that the pumpkin could float in seawater for two years without its seeds losing their ability to germinate. In this way, thus being able to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean. [3] However, other scholars propose that the journey of pumpkins and their seeds was through the Pacific Ocean, before the discovery of America. [3]
Use of a gourd as a jug or canteen can been traced through different cultures both in the Europe and the Americas. Gourd size varies (between 10 and 60 cm), the weight inconsistent, and its shapes varied, made this variety of gourds the chosen vessel for the primitive tourists, the pilgrims. [7]
There is abundant representation of the shepherd's gourd in the iconography of shepherds, pilgrims and farmers (especially the reapers at a rest break). It is also present in sculptures, bas-reliefs and friezes of European art since the 11th century.
Spanish cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices from Spain. Olive oil is heavily used in Spanish cuisine. It forms the base of many vegetable sauces. Herbs most commonly used include parsley, oregano, rosemary and thyme. The use of garlic has been noted as "common to all Spanish cooking." The most used meats in Spanish cuisine include chicken, pork, lamb and veal. Fish and seafood are also consumed on a regular basis.
Cucurbita is a genus of herbaceous vegetables in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae native to the Andes and Mesoamerica. Five species are grown worldwide for their edible vegetable, variously known as squash, pumpkin, or gourd, depending on species, variety, and local parlance, and for their seeds. Other kinds of gourd, also called bottle-gourds, are native to Africa and belong to the genus Lagenaria, which is in the same family and subfamily as Cucurbita, but in a different tribe. These other gourds are used as utensils or vessels, and their young fruits are eaten much like those of the Cucurbita species.
James the Great, also known as James, son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the Greater, Saint James the Elder, or Saint Jacob, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, the first apostle to be martyred according to the New Testament. Saint James is the patron saint of Spain and, according to tradition, his remains are held in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.
Maya ceramics are ceramics produced in the Pre-Columbian Maya culture of Mesoamerica. The vessels used different colors, sizes, and had varied purposes. Vessels for the elite could be painted with very detailed scenes, while utilitarian vessels were undecorated or much simpler. Elite pottery, usually in the form of straight-sided beakers called "vases", used for drinking, was placed in burials, giving a number of survivals in good condition. Individual examples include the Princeton Vase and the Fenton Vase.
The Camino de Santiago, known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition holds that the remains of the apostle are buried.
Calabash, also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean and Tasmania bean, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed as a vegetable, or harvested mature to be dried and used as a utensil, container, or a musical instrument. When it is fresh, the fruit has a light green smooth skin and white flesh.
The Coco or Coca is a mythical ghost-like monster, equivalent to the bogeyman, found in many Hispanophone and Lusophone countries. It can also be considered an Iberian version of a bugbear as it is a commonly used figure of speech representing an irrational or exaggerated fear. The Cucuy is a male being while Cuca is a female version of the mythical monster. The "monster" will come to the house of disobedient children and make them "disappear".
Native American pottery is an art form with at least a 7500-year history in the Americas. Pottery is fired ceramics with clay as a component. Ceramics are used for utilitarian cooking vessels, serving and storage vessels, pipes, funerary urns, censers, musical instruments, ceremonial items, masks, toys, sculptures, and a myriad of other art forms.
Indigenous cuisine of the Americas includes all cuisines and food practices of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Contemporary Native peoples retain a varied culture of traditional foods, along with the addition of some post-contact foods that have become customary and even iconic of present-day Indigenous American social gatherings. Foods like cornbread, turkey, cranberry, blueberry, hominy and mush have been adopted into the cuisine of the broader United States population from Native American cultures.
The Cross of Saint James, also known as the Santiago cross, cruz espada, or Saint James' Cross, is a heraldic badge that is cruciform in design. The cross, shaped as a cross fitchy, combines with either a cross fleury or a cross moline. Its most common version is a red cross resembling a sword, with the hilt and the arm in the shape of a fleur-de-lis.
Lebrija is a city and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Andalusia, most specifically in the Province of Sevilla. It straddles the left bank of the Guadalquivir river, and the eastern edge of the marshes known as Las Marismas.
Mate or maté also known as chimarrão or cimarrón, is a traditional South American caffeine-rich infused drink. It is made by soaking dried leaves of the Yerba mate Ilex paraguariensis, in hot water and is served with a metal straw in a container typically made from a calabash gourd, but also in some areas made from a cattle horn (guampa).
Peruvian art has its origin in the Andean civilizations. These civilizations rose in the territory of modern Peru before the arrival of the Spanish.
Crescentia cujete, commonly known as the calabash tree, is a species of flowering plant native to the Americas, that is grown in Africa, Central America, South America, the West Indies and extreme southern Florida. It is the national tree of St. Lucia. It is a dicotyledonous plant with simple leaves, which are alternate or in fascicles (clusters) on short shoots. It is naturalized in India. The tree shares its common name with that of the vine calabash, or bottle gourd.
Ceramics in Mexico date back thousands of years before the Pre-Columbian period, when ceramic arts and pottery crafts developed with the first advanced civilizations and cultures of Mesoamerica. With one exception, pre-Hispanic wares were not glazed, but rather burnished and painted with colored fine clay slips. The potter's wheel was unknown as well; pieces were shaped by molding, coiling and other methods,
Ceramics of Jalisco, Mexico has a history that extends far back in the pre Hispanic period, but modern production is the result of techniques introduced by the Spanish during the colonial period and the introduction of high-fire production in the 1950s and 1960s by Jorge Wilmot and Ken Edwards. Today various types of traditional ceramics such as bruñido, canelo and petatillo are still made, along with high fire types like stoneware, with traditional and nontraditional decorative motifs. The two main ceramics centers are Tlaquepaque and Tonalá, with a wide variety of products such as cookware, plates, bowls, piggy banks and many types of figures.
Hidalgo (state) handcrafts and folk art are mostly made for local consumption rather than for collectors, although there have been efforts to promote this work to a wider market. Most are utilitarian and generally simply decorated, if decorated at all. The most important handcraft traditions are pottery, especially in the municipality of Huejutla and textiles, which can be found in diverse parts of the state. Most artisans are indigenous, with the Otomi populations of the Mezquital Valley being the most dominant. Other important handcrafts include basketry, metal and wood working.
World Youth Day 2019 was the 16th World Youth Day, an international event organized by the Catholic Church and focused on faith and youth. Taking place 22–27 January in Panama City, Panama, it was the first of its kind celebrated in Central America.
Carmina Useros Cortés was a Spanish writer, ceramist, painter, and cultural manager. A researcher of the gastronomic, artisan, and cultural traditions of Albacete, she was one of the first women gastronomes in Spain.
The church of the Pilgrim Virgin is a scallop-shaped chapel located in the city of Pontevedra, in Spain, along the route of the Portuguese Way of St. James.
Generalmente Santiago como peregrino, se representa con bastón, alforja, una calabaza como cantimplora, sombrero y concha.