cairns

[Tom Priestly]

Mention was made on the list a while back of the small piles of
stones beside the camino, especially obvious (if not overabundant) a
little way past Nájera. Further to this, I have just received some
information from the U of Santiago about what they are called,
namely, in Gallego, 'millardoiro', defined (in Spanish) as
los montones de piedras hechos por los peregrinos cuando se dirigen a
un lugar de culto religioso, = "the heaps of stones made by the
pilgrims when they are on their way to a place of religious belief."
There is apparently no single Castilian Spanish word for them. My
correspondent, Manuel Singala, writes that Castilians have to
circumlocute:
Montículo formado por pequeñas piedras amontonadas poco a poco por
los peregrinos o romeros que se dirigen a un santurario religioso =
'tiny hill made of small stones accumulated little by little by
pilgrims who are on their way to a religious sanctuary'.
As for the origin of 'millardoiro', one suggestion (he writes) is
that it is connected with the Latin root HUMIL- which gives English
the word 'humble'.
There is apparently a place (village?) near Santiago called
Millardoiro, and there is a Galician musical group by the same name
(as I found when I googled the word).
Now another question: why so many millardoiros specifically at
Nájera, so far from Galicia?
Tom Priestly


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Tom Priestly
9215-69 Street
Edmonton AB
Canada T6B 1V8
phone 780-469-2920
fax 780-492-9106
e-mail: tpriestlashaw.ca
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