APPLICATION OF CULTURAL ASTRONOMY METHODS TO HIGH SCHOOL BY MEANS OF STUDYING ASTRAL DECORATIONS AND ORIENTATIONS OF GALICIAN HÓRREOS

Abstract

The specific granaries called hórreos are a very characteristic element of the northernmost and wet areas of the Iberian Peninsula, and in particular of the Spanish region called Galicia. They are in fact an outstanding architectural rural element of the Galician popular cultural heritage, with a social prestige surpassing their utility as simple maize granaries. Braña Rey & Ulla Miguel started in 2013 a multidisciplinary study in cultural astronomy of a sample of hórreos located in the two parishes of Cobres, in the council of Vilaboa (Galicia), on which a significant number of astronomy-related decorative motifs of iconographic importance was found worth studying. As popular constructions of very high social meaning, they still keep their importance as a symbolic and identity referent for the Galician society as a whole. It is, then, crucial to consider the spatial context in relation to their traditional and current uses when it comes to their study and hórreos can be used as a key educational resource for various purposes. In this regard, the present collaboration deals with an educational project developed to study a sample of hórreos in the parish of Beade (council of Vigo) by a group of 20 students between 15 and 17 years old. No astral motifs were expected to be found in the area, but the sole application of the scientific method to a research project tackled by High School pupils on their own was found most interesting analysing, together with all the educational aspects to be derived from the project development itself. For this still ongoing work, a summary of preliminary results can be presented for the Beade sample in three main aspects: ethnography, orientations and education. When appropriate, some comparisons with the data previously obtained for the hórreos of Cobres will also be addressed.