Lenda-Gardunha_Myownportugal2

The apparition of Our Lady of the Mountain

The moment of the apparition of Holy Lady of the Mountain is very old. The legend tells us that, one afternoon, a woman, claiming to be from Alcongosta, carrying her daughter, went to Gardunha's mountain to gather wood for the fire, at the same time she took two goats to graze. Suddenly, began appearing fog, driven by the wind, up hill. The girl start playing with small peddles and wander off from her mother, behind a broom. The mother, not seeing her daughter, began crying out for her, with cries of distress. The fog grew and darken the sky. The mother, always screaming for her daughter, walked the hills, through the area, looking for her, while praying to Our Lady. Very worryinly, the sad mother came back to her village. Soon she told her story to the neighbors and they returned to the mountains to look for lost girl, but without any results. They searched every corner of the mountain and only found the girl three or four days later, inside a footwall, with Our Lady. All were amazed to have found the girl alive, which they already thought dead, eaten by wolves. And also, because, the hole was formed by large boulders, they saw a beautiful image of Our Lady, that lit the whole place.
The girl said she was not hungry, because the Lady had given her food in all the time she was there.
Soon the cave was turned into a chapel and the miracle and of the Lady of the Mountain, was invoked, and spreaded to many and distant places.
The people of Castelo Novo, Alpedrinha, Casal da Serra and Souto da Casa ordered an image of Our Lady, and placed it inside the cave, and started making an anual festival, in praise of Our Lady, and to commemorate the miracle she made there .

Source: MATOS, Albano Mendes de Literatura Popular Tradicional na Gardunha s/l, Author's Edition, 2004 . www.lendarium.org


 

The legend Gardunha

At the time when Moors came, and with them the war, was in the village of Idanha-a-Velha a widower and wealthy man who married a much younger woman.Lenda gardunha_myownportugal (2)
This man had a daughter from his first wife, still young and very beautiful, that the stepmother was not so kin, scolding her every time.
The girl had a dog, which was her great friend accompanying her everywhere.
The stepmother mistreated the dog, to make the little girl angry. The girl cried clutching to the dog.
One day, her stepmother hit the dog with a stick and the girl grumble at her. In response, she took two slaps from the stepmother, and even told her that, if she said something to her father, she would kill her. Would kill her and the dog.
The girl began to cry more. She hold to her dog friend and told it that they would run away from home. Furtively, she arranged provisions, bread, cheese and smoked sausage, put a shawl around her shoulders and ran out of the village. Seeing a mountain in the distance, the girl said to the dog:
"Farrusco", let's go to that mountain, and then we'll manage!
The dog shook it's ears, and came near the friend's legs.
So, then, through rubble paths heading for the mountain, high in the distance. They walked, and walked, by trails and paths. When they reached the top of the mountain, the day was almost over. Walking a little further, on the top, the girl saw large boulders, where they found a large stone . The dog entered the cave and returned wagging its tail. With fear, the girl went inside, along with the door. They sat down and ate. When it got dark, the girl and the dog snuggled-in in the shawl to pass the night. The girl felt safe, because the dog was guarding her. So they fell asleep.
The morning light was entering the cave, when the girl felt someone touching her shoulder. She stood up, looked around, but only glimpsed some clarity. At her side, the dog was jumping around.
The air became clearer and at the back of the cave a great shine appeared. From there, came out a very beautiful lady, dressed in white and smiling.
The girl and the dog stood looking at the Lady.
Then, the Lady, in a voice that seemed to come from the high, said:
– Girl! You have to come back to your village, to take a message.
The girl shivered and asked the Lady:
– Who are you?
The Lady, laughing, told her:
– I am the Virgin Mary! I came from Heaven to help you, you and your people!
The girl was muddled, looking at the Lady.
The Lady come closer to the girl, placed her hand on her shoulder and told her:
– Run to your village and tell your father and all your people to flee here, because the Moors are close, to kill everyone. Here, you can defend yourselves, and be saved.
Girl and friend dog ran down the mountains. Dog was ahead, because it knew the way better.
Once she arrived at Idanha, the girl told her father what had happened. That Our Lady appeared to her and told her for everyone to flee from Idanha.
Her father didn't believe her and told her that she must be sick or dreaming.
The girl insisted that it was all true. that the Lady told her that she came from heaven to warn them and to help. All should flee to the mountains, because the Moors were already near Idanha.
The news soon spread through the streets and fields. The people, fulfilling the Lady's wish, fled and hide up in the rocks and at the hills, expecting what was to come, good or bad.
When the Moors arrived, there was no one left in Idanha. They found only empty houses. They ran for the hills, looking for the villagers, but were defeated by the people who fled. On the heights of the mountain, they were in an advantageous position and, also, protected by Our Lady.
The people of Idanha, who had fled to the mountains, for having been warned by Our Lady, started calling the mountain Gardunha, which meant: It kept those from Idanha .
The people of Idanha-a-Velha, that took refuge in the mountain, soon converted the cave, where the apparition happened, into a chapel and it placed there an image of the Lady, to which started calling Our Lady of the Mountain and worship her for the miracle she had performed.

Source: MATOS, Albano Mendes de Literatura Popular Tradicional na Gardunha s/l, Author's Edition, 2004 , p.52-55 . www.lendarium.org