The cabañuelas. Ancient method used by the indigenous people of pre-Hispanic civilizations to the present day, by peasants, to forecast the climate conceived during the year from the observation of the weather during the month of January. In addition, it was used and popularized by the shepherds who lived during the summer in the “cabins” in the mountains, hence its name.
Summary
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- 1 What are cabañuelas?
- 1 Traditional history
- 2 Scientific reference
- 3 Methods or practices to use
- 4 In Cuba
- 2 Study of the cabañuelas
- 1 Theoretical-interpretative contribution around the “Cabañuelas”
- 2 Signs in the animal world
- 3 Popular sayings of the wind, clouds, sun, and moon =
- 3 See also
- 4 Reference
- 5 Sources
What are cabañuelas?
According to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, [1] the cabañuelas are the popular calculation based on the observation of atmospheric changes on the first 12, 18 or 24 days of January or August, to forecast the weather during each of the months of the same year or the next.
Traditional history
In pre-Hispanic Mexico , the Mayans and Aztecs used this system. The Aztec culture adopted this tradition from the Mayans, since in both their calendar had 18 months of 20 days each, plus five additional days that entered the months. The first 18 days of January were used to predict the weather for each of the months and the remaining two days were dedicated to other phenomena. The 19th was to forecast the time of the summer solstice and the 20th was for the winter solstice .
The cabañuelas, currently, are predicted “in the first month of the year, that is, in January, where the possible behavior of the climate for the rest of the year is observed . For people who live in big cities, this word is strange; But for those who live in rural areas or in the province, it is known to them, without a doubt, it is part of their daily speech during the first month of each year.
Las cabañuelas, is a method of meteorological prediction used in the south of Spain , America and part of the Caribbean . They are a set of traditional methods that aim to predict the weather in the long term. Since ancient times mankind has had the need to predict the weather. Observing the sky has always been a starting point for many predictions, myths, and fears. In the case of the cabañuelas, experience and tradition play a fundamental role.
The first references to these predictions are very old; it is stated that in ancient Babylon the “Feast of Luck” or Zamuk was celebrated in the Akitu ceremonial of the Babylonian New Year, in which the time was predicted for each of the twelve months of the year. To understand the cabañuelas method, from January 1 to 12 of each year the months are counted in ascending order, that is, starting with January, and from January 13 to 24 of each year the months are counted in Descending order.
Scientific reference
From a scientific point of view, the cabañuelas are completely meaningless when it comes to obtaining predictions about the meteorological weather. The first Western scientific treatise on time is written by Aristotle , who describes various long-term prediction methods as valid.
Since the appearance of scientific meteorology and the making of predictions, cabañuelas have been losing popularity. Currently, meteorology considers that, although short-term prediction through popular knowledge and experience is perfectly feasible, this is not the case with long-term prediction, which is why it is considered a pseudoscience .
For the peasants, it is a priority to take the reading of the cabañuelas since, with this, they will predict the dry and rainy months to be able to plant seasonal corn , and the days of January are of vital importance to keep track of every day. The cabañuelas are, more than anything, an oral custom that is remembered at the time and only during the month of January, because in reality few people take the trouble to make their notes methodically.
Methods or practices to use
A practice is done by observing the weather during the first 12 days of the month of January, which represents the 12 months of the year. For example, if the 1st day turns cold, low temperatures are forecast for the month of January. Day 2 will tell us what February will be like and so on until we reach December 12. According to the complete method, when the 13th arrives, the months are counted again, but in a regressive way, that is, the 13th corresponds to the December weather until reaching the 24th which would be January.
This weather forecast is also used in the month of August to forecast the weather for the following year. The first 12 days of August show what will be the time of the first fortnights of each month, so on day one it will tell us what will happen from one to the fifteenth of January 2017. To know what will happen during the second half of each month we resort to las Tornas, which from August 13 to 24 will show the weather forecast in reverse order. In this way, on the 13th we will know what time the second fortnight of December will be and on November 14th. To prepare these forecasts, various climatological factors are taken into account, from humidity to the presence of wind, clouds, temperature and, obviously, rainfall.
Another way is by using salt balls. For this, 12 pieces of paper are cut out on which the 12 months of the year are written and a handful of salt is added, which are observed during the first 12 days of January. If the salt gets wet, that wet month is forecast, otherwise it will be a dry month. From a scientific point of view, the cabañuelas are completely meaningless when it comes to obtaining predictions about the meteorological weather.
Popular calculation based on the observation of atmospheric changes in the first 12, 18 or 24 days of January or August, to forecast the weather during each of the months of the same year or the next
Theoretical-interpretative contribution around the “Cabañuelas”
- Etymological approach: The etymological interpretation of cabañuelas has been discovered to us of great interest, so that, with respect to this point, we dare to issue the following working hypothesis: The Cabañuelas voice in its meaning of long-term prediction, as understood by popular level, it could have its origins in the etymology of the term itself. The word Cabañuelas, which refers to the place where the Jewish festival of the Tabernacles or Cabañuelas was celebrated in Toledo, due to a semantic phenomenon of metonymy, would go on to indicate the moles where the rain forecast rituals were celebrated within this holiday Hebrew, to signify the same ritual of meteorological prediction, in an agrarian environment in which the climate makes the appearance of rain more than necessary .
- Anthropological approach: The cabañuelas as a form of long-term meteorological forecast, consist of relating specific days of the month of August with each month of the year; these day-month relationships begin on August 2, which would correspond to January, February 3, and so on until the 13, which would correspond to December. The first of August is a key date in the cabañuelas, which is known as the “key of the year”, so that the meteorological variations occurring throughout this day will give an account of how the year as a whole will be. The prediction is made from the observation of the different atmospheric phenomena that take place throughout each of the days indicated. The ultimate foundation would reside in the deep knowledge that the farmer has of his environmentand its microclimate. We consider it of great interest to recall at this point the “Feast of Luck”, a ceremonial of Akitu, the Babylonian New Year, in which the omens were determined for each of the twelve months of the year. This would be a ritual of creation and regeneration for the twelve months to come. We would find, following Eliade, before a mythical-ritual manifestation previous in many centuries to the Indo-European culture, since it was already known by the Sumeroacadians five millennia before Christ. Related to the lifting of the taboo of the new harvest in primitive agrarian cultures, the ritual was oriented to predict the amount of rain granted next year. And this is the fact that we find in Jewish culture around the Feast of Tabernacles or Cabañuelas, in whose celebration the amount of rain for the coming year is decided by the heavens.
- Ethnographic Contribution to the subject: short and medium term prediction: We want to begin the presentation of this section by highlighting the fundamental value and fundamentally that the observation, the medium and long-term forecast issued by the farmer is supported by the deep knowledge that he has of its microclimate, within which the weather forecast gets its foundation.
Signs in the animal world
- They are considered signs or indications of rain: Appearance of ants with wings. Mule earing. Cramps in animals. When the pigeons bathe. When the cat washes its face .
- Signs of weather change: When the rooster crows during the day. The tranquility of the animals. Ancient scars from wounds and amputations in humans, in their manifestations of pain, itching, and so on. When cats run and jump it is a sign of wind.
- Signs in inanimate beings: They are considered signs of the coming rain: Crackles and sounds from the furniture (mainly from the ark). Soot that comes off and falls from the chimney. Smell from sinks, toilets, pipes etc. The planting while “twisted”. When the thistles typical of the area are closed , whose photograph and scientific reference are attached. Humidity in the rooms appeared on the floor tiles. The branches, when being dry “cry”. If at dawn, in the time of cabañuelas, the “straw” of the stubble is “leathery” (wet). The smell of “tempero” in the morning. When it is cold, the fire “sizzles.”
Popular sayings of the wind, clouds, sun, and moon =
- Sunny air, water in hand.
- Coming in winter the air of cornicabra, children with beards freeze.
- If while it is raining, change the air to sunny or windy, clarify.
- “Early morning water, does not remove work” (It means that that day it will not rain or in such a small quantity that it will not prevent the work of the field).
- Sky aborregao, after three days wet.
- “Palma” del Guadiana, if it doesn’t rain today, it will rain tomorrow.
- “Sol empozao” at sunset, rains the next day.
- “Rebolá” to rain, to rise and not to set (the sun).
- “Palma”, if it starts from the North, it rains earlier but less; if it starts from the South, it takes longer to rain, but it is more abundant.
- If the moon and stars are surrounded by it, water immediately.
- Raining on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th days of the new Moon, it rains every quarter of the Moon.
- Four days after entering the new Moon, or 2nd quarter, if there is “rebolá” when the Sun rises, it rains in that month.
- In the quarters of the Moon, if it “comes volcá” – with inclination -, it is that it “pours” it, that is, it pours the water, it will rain.
