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ลำดับตอนที่ #105 : Spains-cursed-village-of-witches
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160418-spains-cursed-village-of-witches
How
does a tiny Spanish village of just 62 souls come to be excommunicated in its
entirety and cursed with a spell so strong that only the Pope can lift it?
To
find out more about this bizarre
story of witchcraft,
superstition,
revenge, envy and power, I headed to the village of Trasmoz, nested in the foothills
of the snow-covered Moncayo mountain range in Aragon. Trasmoz has centuries of
witchcraft history, and I’d arranged to meet Lola Ruiz Diaz, a local modern-day
witch, to learn the truth. As I waited for her in the freezing-cold hall of the
half-ruined 12th-century Trasmoz Castle, perched on a hilltop above the village, I shivered in anticipation.
Ruiz,
custodian of the
castle, greeted me with a broad smile. She had grey hair, green eyes, chic
clothes and a laptop under her arm – a far cry from the crystal balls, black
candles and Tarot cards I’d been envisaging. The only things that seemed remotely witch-like
about her outfit were her earrings – dangling small gold owls with little
feathers attached – and the gold amulets around her neck.
“The
whole saga of
witchcraft in Trasmoz starts here, at this castle,” she explained. “During the
13th Century, the castle occupants dedicated their time to forging fake coins. And
to keep the people of Trasmoz from investigating all that scraping and hammering,
they spread a rumour that witches and sorcerers were rattling chains and forging cauldrons to boil magic potions at night. It worked, and Trasmoz
was forever associated with witchcraft.”
Ruiz
explained that at this time Trasmoz was a thriving community and powerful fiefdom, full of iron and
silver mines and vast
wood and water reserves.
It was also lay territory,
which meant it didn’t belong to the surrounding Catholic dominion of the
Church, and by royal decree
didn’t have to pay dues or taxes to the nearby monastery of Veruela – a fact that angered the
Church. So when rumours of Trasmoz as a haven for witchcraft started to spread
beyond the village boundaries, the abbot of Veruela seized his opportunity to punish the
population, requesting that the archbishop of Tarazona, the biggest nearby town, excommunicate
the entire village. This meant that they weren’t allowed to go to confession or
take the holy sacraments
at the Catholic church.
The
wealthy community of Trasmoz, a mix of Jews, Christians and Arabs, didn’t repent – which
would have been the only way to remove the excommunication. The disputes with Veruela
continued for many years, finally coming to a head when the monastery started diverting water from the
village instead of paying for it. In response, Pedro Manuel Ximenez de Urrea,
the Lord of Trasmoz, took up arms against the monastery. But before an outright
war could erupt,
the matter was taken up by King Ferdinand II, who decided that Trasmoz’s
actions were justified.
The
Church never forgave the defeat, and – with the explicit permission of Pope
Julius II – cast a curse over the village in 1511 by chanting psalm 108 of the Book of Psalms –
the most powerful tool the Church possesses to pronounce a curse. They alleged that Pedro Manuel
and the people of Trasmoz had been blinded by witchcraft, and since the curse
was sanctioned by the
Pope, only a Pope has the power to lift it. None have done so to this day.
The
years that followed were not easy for Trasmoz. The castle burned to the ground
in 1520 and remained in ruins for centuries. After the Jews were expelled from
Spain in the 15th Century, Trasmoz fell into decline, from about 10,000 inhabitants to a
population of just 62, only half of which live here permanently. The village
today has no shops, no school and only one bar. Many houses are in disrepair
and the streets are mostly empty.
Back
in the castle, Ruiz led me down the steep steps of the tower, which has been
restored to house a tiny witchcraft museum and a collection of black magic paraphernalia such as brooms, black crucifixes and
cauldrons. Crossing the courtyard, we came to a platform dominated by a wrought-iron sculpture of
a woman. “This is La Tia Casca, the last witch to be killed in Trasmoz, in
1860,” Ruiz said. “A deadly epidemic
had broken out and neither cure nor explanation was found. So they blamed La
Tia Casca, as she was thought to be strange and secretive. They rounded her up and threw her into
a deep well, on top of which we are actually standing.”
La
Tia Casca may have been the last witch to be killed in Trasmoz, but the
tradition of witchcraft seems to be alive and well in the Spanish village.
Every June, during the Feria de
Brujeria festival, a market sells lotions and potions made from
the healing and hallucinogenic
herbs and plants that grow in the surrounding Moncayo mountains. Actors
re-enact historical scenes, such as the rounding up and torture of presumed
witches. And one lucky person gets named as the Witch of the Year. Ruiz, who
lives permanently in Trasmoz, is the latest.
“What
do you have to do to qualify as Witch of the Year?” I asked.
“Obviously,
you have to have a knowledge of herbal medicine,” Ruiz replied, “but, most
importantly, you have to be involved in the history and promotion of all things
connected with Trasmoz. To be a witch today is a badge of honour.“
“Can
you cast a spell?” I finally blurted out .
For
the first time, Ruiz’s easy smile disappeared. Seconds later, it was back.
“Casting a spell? No, but I make a special liquid from sage and rosemary that you splash around
you. People tell me it lifts depression, and that their streak of misfortune
comes to an end as soon as they started using the liquid. Of course,“ she
added, ”you have to believe in it, otherwise it won’t work.”
It
was getting late, and the sun had begun to set, casting the ragged ruins and restored
tower of Trasmoz into relief as the light disappeared behind the peaks of the
Moncayo mountains. With that view – and a tiny bottle of Diaz’s herbal concoction in my hand –
it was easy to fall under the village’s magical spell. Perhaps there really was
witchcraft here.
I‘d
brought with me a few grains of rice and a little sachet of salt – both
time-honoured remedies to ward
off evil spirits . As I turned my back on the village, I threw them over my
shoulder. Just in case.
bizarre
(adj.)
witchcraft
(n.)
the activity of performing magic to help or harm other people
superstition
(n.) belief that is not based on human reason or scientificknowledge, but is connected with old ideas about magic, etc.:
nested (n.)
a comfortable home:One
day the
children grow up
and leave the nest.
a place where
something unpleasant or unwanted has developed:
a set of things that are similar but different
in size and have been
designed to fit inside each other:
perched (v.)
to sit on
or near the edge of something
to be in a high position or in a position near the edge of
something, or to put something in this position:
shivered (v.)
When people or animals shiver, they shake slightlybecause they feel cold, ill, or frightened:
anticipation
(n,)
a feeling of excitement about something that
is going to happen in the near future:
in preparation for something happening:
custodian (n.)
a person with responsibility for protecting or taking care of something or keeping something in good condition
envisage
(v.)
to imagine or expect that something is a likely or desirablepossibility in the future:
amulets (n.)
an object worn because it is believed to protect against evil,
disease, or unhappiness
saga (n.)
a long story about past events over a long period of time:
forge (v.)
to make an illegal copy of something in order to deceive:
to suddenly and quickly moveforward:
scrape (v.)
to remove an unwanted covering or a top layer from something, especially using a sharp edge or something rough:
to succeed in getting or achievingsomething, but with difficulty or by a very small amount:
sorcerers (n.)
in stories,
a man who has magical powers and
who uses them to harm other
people
rattle (n.)
a sound similar to a series of quickly repeatedknocks
(v.)
to worry someone
or make someone nervous:The creaking upstairs was starting to
rattle
to (cause something
to) make a noise like a seriesof
knocks:
cauldrons (n.)
a large, round container for cooking in, usually supported over a fire, and used especially in the past
thriving
(Adj.)
very healthy or successful:
fiefdom (n.)
an area of
land,
especially one that is rented and
paid for
by work
› an area or
type of
activity that is controlled by someon
decree (n.)
an official statement that something
must happen:
monastery (n.)
a building in which monks live and worship
seized (v.)
to take something quickly and keep or
hold it:
archbishop (n.)
a bishop of the highest rank who is in charge of churches and other bishops in a particular large area:
sacraments (n.)
n important religious ceremony in the ChristianChurch, such as baptism or communion
the holy bread and
wine eaten at
Holy Communion (= a religious ceremony)
repent (v.)
to be very sorry for something bad you have done in the
past and wish that you had not done
it:
disputes (n.)
an argument or disagreement, especially an official one between,
for example, workers and employers or two countries with a common border:
Divert (v.)
to use something for a different purpose:
o take someone's attention away from something:
o take someone's attention away from something:
erupt (v.)
to start suddenly and violently:
justified.
(Adj.)
having a good reason for something:
Chant (v.)
to repeat or
sing a
word or phrase continuously:
to sing a
religious prayer or
song to
a simple tune:
psalm (n.)
a holy poem or song, especially one of the 150 collectedtogether in the Bible
alleged (Adj.)
said or thought by some people to be the stated bad or illegal thing, although you have no proof:
sanction (n)
an official order, such as the stopping of trade, that is taken
against a country in order to make it obey international law:
a strong action taken in order to make people obey a law or rule, or a punishment given when they do not
obey:
approval or permission, especially formal or legal:
decline (v.)
to gradually become less, worse,
or lower:
paraphernalia (n.) all the objects needed for or connected with a particularactivity:
brooms
(n.)
a brush with a long handle, used for cleaning the floor
crucifixes (n.)
a model or picture representing Jesus Christ on a cross:
cauldrons (n.)
a large, round container for cooking in, usually supported over a fire, and used especially in the past
wrought
(Adj,)
made or done in a careful or decorative way:
epidemic (n.)
the appearance of a particular disease in a largenumber of
people at the same time:
a particular problem that seriouslyaffects many
people at the same time:
secretive. (Adj.)
People who are secretive hide their feelings, thoughts, intentions, and actions from other people:
hallucinogenic
(n.)
an experience in which you see, hear, feel, or smellsomething that does
not exist, usually because
you are ill or have taken a drug:
sage (Adj.)
wise, especially as a result of great experience:
concoction (n.)
the result or process of concocting something
concoct (v.)
to invent an excuse, explanation, or story in order to deceive someone:
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