Introduction

Blog of the research of the case of Manuel Blanco Romasanta, known as “Sacamanteigas”, first lycanthrope registered in the files of the European justice.

Sunday, May 24

Rebordechao, the contact with the vicinity


For the same road, where I went to the Hermitage, I continue to the forehead, and little later I meet Rebordechao.
The village receives me with a fountain that throws cold water, even with the high temperature of the environment. Sat next to this one I observe while as Rebordechao's daily life, before I enter in scene the vicinity is already revolutionized as had passed in Regueiro.

Rebordechao is one these villages frozen in the time and overstocked by the oblivion, being the biggest of that I visited even of it has neither a road of ignition nor the minimal services of whichmust arrange a community of these dimensions. The time is very slow here. The inhabitants of Rebordechao walk little by little, without hurry, as if the world had not turned, unconcerned of the threat of the Sun of finishing with the day.
The sustenance of life here is not bases in the currency, but performs vital importance the climatology, since they feed of that they sow or of the animals that produce, without them to be absent of nothing, as Tomás assures Base It, a major man, who left the memory to the return of the emigration to France. Probably because of it they measure the times according to the works of the estate that go of station on station, from the sowing of the potato to the harvest, from the childbirth of the cow to the carrion of the apples; and not of as in as. This does that they speak threading slowly the verbal ones, that every step that they give resembles that the heavy feet drag and even that the time to eat is one of most prolonged of the day.

In this village, since in the previous ones calls powerfully the attention for lack of upbringing and youth that augurs an apocalyptic future for the proper village.

The relation with the animals is daily, and the relation that they have with them is almost of dependence, or better, of symbiosis. These relations are perfectly nested, and the one that they support with the cows’ places in the summit of the pyramid, and in the base of this one, the animals that somewhere call of company.

This we can see in the deal that dispenses to the dogs or to the cats that sustain in order that they do his work: looking and hunting mice respectively because of it is that there do not receive any sample of caress on the part of the owners they put name. Nevertheless the cows have name, and some up to surname, the owners always are dependent on them and are connoisseurs of the details of the genealogical history of the tree.
The rivers go down limpid and crystalline so much that the neighbors drink from the river Arnoia stooping to its side as if they had been dogs.

The narrow streets call to the disorientation. There abound also in this village the corridor and galleries that are hanging of a side to other one of the streets communicating the houses, demonstrating the cold winters in which the neighbors go across of the village without having to go out tread on snow.

I crushed Rebordechao's tranquility with my presence and more the peddler, with the claxon of his car, in which he brings fresh food to sell. Suddenly I have a flash-back and my mind travels one century and a half behind to see the interaction between the seller Romasanta and the people who bought. The fact that today the simple presence of the seller supposes a great riot, it confirms that Romasanta was well-known for all the populations for the one that was passing.

The deal of the dealing is not in plane of equality. The seller has amiability in excess, so much that boiling the condescension and the villagers speak to him with certain inferiority, accepting the quantity for that he asks of good degree, conscious of that if not return, probably they could not return to eat fish. Now I understand the privileges which Romasanta had, the valued he was, and the confidence that they were depositing in him.

When already if I have close to me a good percentage of the inhabitants of Rebordechao, the questions happen for both bands and with every response that I give they are forming my profile.
Once overcome the distrust that I provoke in those of Rebordechao, I begin to speaking with them about the history that occupies us. They tell that the wolves are in the habit of advancing in the cattle often, than two months ago entered the wolves for cattle.
Of the “O Home do Unto” (Man of the Grease), is like there called him, It is told that he was escaping with the young women for the Cordillera, and that there was killing them.

Bieito Louro, is of the local most major, says that he(she) still has little and that to the part of his cows, he wants to leave him to his descent, which is in Switzerland, histories as this one:

“Foi unha moza de aquí a que descubriu o engano do Romasanta. Ela éralle ben avispada, pero conseguina levar cara á Serra. "O do Unto" estaba a cocer un pote alá arriba (sinalando cara á maxestuosa Serra de San Mamede). Él deixoulle dito que de ningún xeito levantara a tapa da ola, pero a moza aproveitou un descoido do do Unto e levantou o testo. Entón veulle a morte ós ollos cando viu que na auga que fervía a cachón flotaba a man dunha muller, e co mesmo guindouse monte abaixo que parecía lume...”

"She was a young woman of here the one that discovered the deception of the Romasanta. She was clever, but he managed to take her towards to Serra. “That of the Grease” was cooking a boat there (pointing towards the great San Mamede Mountain). He mentioned that no way had raised the lid of the pot!, but the young woman took advantage of a carelessness of that of the Grease and raised the cover. Then came the death to the eyes when she saw that in the water was boiling it was floating a hand of a woman, and with the same one mount threw itself below that was looking like a fire... "

Two women who were walking chasing a cat in the search of its babies, while one of them was weaving with their hands a sock with the wool of her sheeps, they speak about the history with certain objection.

“Aquí non se sabe nada diso, iso é un invento da televisión. Claro que nos dicían de pequenas “Coidado que ven o do Unto” pero iso era coma quen di o “home do saco” ou así, só era para acougalas crianzas, para que foramos a durmir e non estiveramos nas brincadeiras todo o día”

“Here nobody knows anything of it; it is an invention of the television. Clear that they were saying to us of small "Taken care that they see that of the Grease" but it was as whom the "bogey-man" says or this way, only it was to calm upbringing, in order that we had been to sleeping and had not been in the games the whole day"

After passing hours in Rebordechao, turned back to Ourense, leaving behind this subworld that there hides the history of lycanthropy more interesting of which if it could write.


Rebordechao on the map

See Rebordechao in a bigger map

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