Asturian-American Migration Forum

braña: pronounced BRAH-nia. A highland pasture in Asturias or Galicia, usually with communal grazing rights and a source of water. A place where cattle was taken by the ‘vaqueiro’ (traditional herdsmen) population during the summer months, usually in the mountainous inlands of West Asturias.

Brañas often had traditional stone and thatched-roof cabins for cattle that eventually led to permanent human settlements. By extension, a braña can also be a highland village formerly inhabited by the ‘vaqueiros’, who were historically discriminated by the settled xaldo population living in the valleys because of their nomadic lifestyle and distinct sub-culture.

Today, brañas can be found in the following Asturian counties: Cuideiru (Cudillero), Valdes (L.luarca), Tineu (Tineo), Somiedu (Somiedo), Teberga (Teverga), Ayande (Allande) and Cangas del Narcea, among others. Many brañas have names that begin with the root ‘Bus-‘ as in Busmente, Bustantigo, Busindre, Buspol, Busvidal.

I can't resist adding Bustefollado, a village in County Villayon that I drove through recently with friends. In English, its colorful name would mean something along the lines of 'the fucked-up highland pasture'. I suspect, however, the '-follado" part of the word implies leafiness (foia or fueya). In reality, it's an idyllic village with a rocky and utterly wild backdrop.

According to Joan Corominas, the word in Asturian and Galician predates the Roman invasion of NW Spain and has Celtic roots. Corominas points to the root ‘brakna’, a humid place. In Irish Gaelic, it evolved into ‘bren’. In Welsh, ‘braen’ means a rotten, humid place. The Celtic and Indoeuropean root ‘mrk’ evolved into ‘bracu’ in Gaulish (soup or wet bread). Others contend the word is derived from the Latin root for summer or summering pasture.

Usage examples:

No Chanu la Sienra hai una gran braña. [In the flat lands of the mountaintop there is a large pasture.]
Cuandu Telvona pariu no altu la braña, ente todas las vaqueiras nun fonon pa partoriala. [When Telvona gave birth on top of the braña, none of the vaqueira women were able to help.]
Xubimos pa brañas d’Is pa ver el fou. [We went up to the highland pastures of Is to see the fire.]
Los brañeiros marchanon p’Aristebano. [The herdsmen are are off to the highland pastures of Aristebano.]

Here is a picture of the brañas de Campel, outside of the village of El Rebol.lu in County Ayande:

Is wrote:braña: pronounced BRAH-nia. A highland pasture in Asturias or Galicia, usually with communal grazing rights and a source of water.

una vez caminé por cuatro semanas por escocia. me encantó tanto que no hay trespassing { entrar sin autorización; propiedad privada } allá. me+-parece que esta tradición ha afectado la gente de algún modo. nunca he encontrado campesinos tan amistosos { por lo menos en europa }.

¿ qué son las reyes, mejor, las costumbres en asturias? podré hacer camping en el campo cuando recorrerlo en búsqueda de un solar para comprar sin enfrentarme con escopetas?

servus ~ peter

p.d.: 4 more weeks

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Trans. Is

I once walked for 4 weeks in Scotland. I loved the fact that there were no trespassing restrictions. I think that tradition has affected the people to a certain extent. I've never run into such friendly farming populations, at least in Europe.

What are the rules or traditions in Asturias regarding trespassing? Will I be able to camp out while I look for a piece of land or will I be facing gun-wielding farmers?

servus ~ peter

p.s.: 4 more weeks

I wonder if the word could also share an origin with the Scottish "brae" meaning a slope or hillside.

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Trans. Is

Yo preguntome si nun tendra tamien el mesmu orixen la palabra escocesa "brae" que quier decir un tarren pindiu o una cueta/llomba.

Respondiendo a tu pregunta Tierradenadie, hay dos tipos de brañas, con cercados, donde el terreno de la braña está dividido entre sus propietarios, y las que noestán cercadas, donde el terreno es comunal.
En las primeras probablemente tengas problemas para acampar ya que son propiedades privadas, pero en las otras no deberías tener problemas ya que al ser una propiedad colectiva es más o menos pública.
Lo único, algo que cae de cajón, si pasas por una braña no alteres sus fisonomía (no tires la piedras ni pintes en los edificios), no dejes basura, cuidado con los fuegos, si tiene alguna pòrtilla acuérdate de dejarla como estaba, ...

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Trans. Is

To answer your question, Tierradenadie, there are two types of brañas: those that are fenced in and the pastures are are divided among the owners and those that are not fenced in, where the land is communally owned.

In the first, you would probably run into problems if you were to camp there as it's private property. But in the others, you shouldn't have any problems because the property is collective and therefore more or less public land.

One thing to keep in mind which is basic is to try not to alter the physical environment of the braña (don't alter the stone arrangements or paint the structures), don't litter, be careful lighting a fire and if there are access gates, be sure to close them when exiting.

Pruvia,

Ypur advice is good not only in Asturias, but anywhere in he world. Respectfulness goes a long way toward establishing good relationships.

To me, one important question would be "how can which know which brañas are privately owned and which are communal property?"

Todas las brañas son de propiedad privada, lo que cambia es que en unas esas propiedad es colectiva, está sin dividir entre todas las familias con derecho a usar la braña, y en otras brañas esa propiedad es colectiva, cada familia de la braña tiene su terreno bien delimitado.
Es fácil distinguirlas ya que las que son de propiedad particular, tienen cercados los prados, y las que son de propiedad colectiva tienen una gran prado sin cercamientos interiores (puede haber un cercado que englobe toda la braña para evitar que el ganado vaya a brañas vecinas).
Estas fotos son de Las Navariegas, la braña de mi madre, de propiedad colectiva:
eslabón 1
eslabón 2
eslabón 3
Estas otras fotos son de El Campeln una braña con cercados, de propiedad particular:
eslabón 4
eslabón 5
eslabón 6

Como ves es bastante fácil diferenciarlas.

I've camped out in the hills above the branas of El Campel (Bustantigo) only to find out later from friends in Puela that it's technically illegal. The SEPRONA, a kind of country police that controls natural resources, could ask you to decamp if you're in an especially sensitive area. But honestly, there is so much empty space that if you find a sheltered spot that is relatively out of sight, you can discretely get away with it.

One more place you should put on your agenda is Samartin d'Ozcos (San Martin de Oscos) in West Asturias. A German (Thomas, like the other German fellow in Pezos/Pesoz) has opened a bar there and rents out rooms at an inn. There are wide open spaces up there, but the altitude (750m) means it gets very cold in winter. Down at the Mazo de Mon (a 17th century forge), on the river Ahio, a Dutch couple have set up photovoltaic panels and restored a group of old houses.

Make a stop in Pezos/Pesoz to speak with Manulo at his bar. He can point you to other foreigners that have settled the area recently and who may provide leads. Manulo is lots of fun to speak with and he has good local wine (the better one is the white one).

He will switch to speaking to you in Galician if you try out your Asturian with him, as the language border between West Asturian and Galician gets very fuzzy. He's loads of fun and definitely up with local news (Pezos, Grandas de Salime, Samartin d'Ozcos, Eilao and Ayande).

Is wrote: there is so much empty space that if you find a sheltered spot that is relatively out of sight, you can discretely get away with it.

hola iS, sí, no me recuerdo cuando he estado el ultimo vez en un sito de camping oficial. y, creo, he pasado en todo ya por lo menos un año de mi vida en una tienda. pero esta vez no será tan fácil, ya que tendré no sólo un rucksack sino también un bici y un remolque y más stuff.

One more place you should put on your agenda is

me gustan todos tus sugerencias, dankeschön. compraré una mapa de asturias cuando vengo. y entonce voy a marcar todos los sitios etc que tú o otras personas me recomiendan.

He will switch to speaking to you in Galician if you try out your Asturian with him,

jaja, eres tan divertido, paul ¿q¿q¿qué??? te refieres cuando dices "mi asturiano". ni siquiera puedo hablar más castellano que tratar de preguntar dónde está el proxima tienda donde puedo obtener bananas para no me quedo sin combustible para mi caballo del pedales

pfüadi ~ peter

If you want to camp out in my backyard, that's fine with me. But I would prefer having you as a guest in either of my homes. We have an extra bedroom or two in each, and I can guarantee you food and wine you will enjoy, and good conversation. Should you ever travel to the EEUU, please let me know.

Bob wrote:Should you ever travel to the EEUU, please let me know.

Actually, Tierradenaide is just south of you, Bob (in NYC). But heck, I'd bike over there to test the famous chourizos you make from scratch. That alone is worth the trip.

Bob wrote:If you want to camp out in my backyard...

hola bob, eres muy amable y generoso .:. munches gracies { si todos ser humanos fueran como tú , el mundo, por lo menos el mundo terrestre, sería en un estado menos, excuse my language: jodido }. cuando encuentre un hogar en asturias, por favor, la próxima vez cuando vengas allá: visítame, be my guest. voy a hornear deutsches bauernbrot * { pan de campesinos alemán } por ti. me iré de nyc en cuatro semanas { p.d.: vivo en los estados 'unidos' desde hace veinte años, (me) parece, ha llegado la hora para algo diferente; thusly i will fold camp here very soon, no voy a hacer más camping acá } ~ hasta pronto ~ por ahora: all the best from ground_zero ~ tschüß, peter

* http://www.sbg-bauernbund.at/rezepte/bauernbrot.jpg

Is wrote: I'd ... to test the famous chourizos**

ah, iS, you are such a tease(r). thanks so much for letting me k'now, with one foot all&ready outa the gate { one hand off the rail * }



* http://www.erikroner.com/blog/wp-conten ... o-jump.jpg

** mir läufts wasser im maul zusammen ~ bien hecho!

Peter, I think you can bike most or all of the Way of Saint James. There are several variations on it, but if you do it westward and back, you'll have a good sense of Asturias. (I'm hoping to make this trip some time. It'd be great to put together a group to do it with.)

Also, there are places along the path that you can stay in very cheaply if you sign up as a "pilgrim." I think you can find guides and information online.

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Peter, pienso que puedes viajar en bicicletala la mayoría o todo del Camino de Santiago. Hay algunos variaciones en ello, pero si lo haces del este hasta el oeste a y al revés, tendrás una idea de todas las regiones asturianas. (Espero hacer este viaje un día. Sería estupendo formar un grupo para hacerlo juntos.)

También, hay sitios a lo largo del camino donde puedes dormir para pocas peras si te registras como "un peregrino". Pienso que puedes encontrar guías e información en línea.

Art wrote: (Espero hacer este viaje un día. Sería estupendo formar un grupo para hacerlo juntos.)

sí, suena como un 'proyecto' lindo, art { ¿tienes una idea ya cuándo vayas a asturias la próxima vez? }. ir de excursión es una de las maneras superiores a limpiar el coco, a tirarlo con oxígeno { con o sin uno dios }.

{ estoy diciéndolo en un día que mi 'secundaria' cabeza, el ordenador, ha decidido a romperse, dormirse ... entre otras cosas extraordinarias }.

un saludo, peter


p.d. : mi amiga fabiola desde argentina me envió este enlace:

http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es/eta ... do-a-grado

p.p.d. : me alegre verte de nuevo en el foro. art. y, que sigas a pitar!

Gracias, Peter.

Pues, voy a Asturias este verano sobre todo en Oviedo para participar en la Escuela d'Asturianía. Vamos a mejorar mis habilidades con la gaita, lo que me alegra muchísimo.

¿Tal vez nos encontremos allí? Desafortunadamente, no tendré bastante tiempo aparte de la escuela para hacer el Camino de Santiago.