Traditionally (and in much of the island
up until at least the 1960s), an Ibicenco peasant family's
'wealth' was not really measured in terms of money. This would
actually have been very difficult to do as so little money
circulated amongst these almost self-sufficient people. Real
wealth was basically in one's land, one's agricultural produce
(e.g. almonds, olives, chickpeas, carob beans, etc), one's
house, one's pigs, goats, sheep and chickens, one's rich language
and the stored memory of centuries of history, songs, myths,
legends and life held by the older members of one's extended
family. It is still almost like that today in a very few isolated
areas of the island. There was however - and still amongst
certain families - another traditional form of wealth, 'ses
emprendades', the large gold chains worn around a woman's
neck and hanging from shoulder attachments slung across her
chest. These forms of chains, whose origins are lost in time
- although it is interesting to note that very similar decorations
were worn in the same way by women on Eivissa during Carthaginian
times - formed part of a woman's dowry or bridewealth, and
were handed down from generation to generation. Another form
of this bridewealth were the intricate filigree-work gold
finger rings, of which a woman could wear up to a maximum
of 24 for ceremonial occasions. Transfers of these from woman
to woman and generation to generation were one of the things
regulated by 'el espolits', the ancient and complex marriage
contract formalities of the Pitiusas islands (a note here
for new readers: don't be fooled by the formal Spanish designation
of Eivissa/Ibiza being part of the 'Baleares' - Balearic Islands:
Eivissa and Formentera are actually part of their own island
sub-group, the Pitiusas. The Balearic Islands are Mallorca
and Minorca). This wealth in gold was traditionally stored
(and in a few cases still is) inside the family house in a
portable wooden strongbox called a 'baul' (pronounced 'ba-ool').
These 'baules' contained items of the extended family's wealth
and were in effect the family bank box. Some families of ancient
and distinguished lineage had amassed large amounts of these
gold objects over the centuries and there is a possibility
that the island has been sucking in gold from around the Mediterranean
for ritual purposes since time immemorial.
The existence of these 'baules' is sort
of a well-kept peasant public secret: everyone knows which
families are supposed to have them, but the actual contents
were/are known only to certain members of the extended family
belonging to a particular house. It is important to point
out here to readers that the concept of a 'house' here in
Eivissa/Ibiza is rather different from that of most readers
of this column. In further articles I will deal in more detail
with traditional eivissenc goldwork and traditional concepts
regarding the 'casa pagesa' (peasant house) but suffice it
to say here that the peasant house was/is considered to have
almost a personality itself. Each house has a particular traditional
name, which places it within an ancient social network difficult
to understand by outsiders but part of normal life for those
still attached to their traditions here. Even today, if two
old Ibicenco peasants meet for the first time, their first
questions to each other are not "What is your name?"
but rather "What house do you come out of?" Once
both know which house each was 'born out of', then they can
easily calculate the kinship/marriage/relationship structures
involved and therefor know whether they are actually distantly
related or not. Traditionally in this way one can rather easily
distinguish 'relative/friend from potential foe'. The 'baules'
were/are part of the traditional possessions of the house
itself, which expressed its personality through the living
members of the house's patriline (those belonging to the patrilineal
lineage of the house). Possession of an important 'baul' was
a source of family pride.
Possession of these 'baules', though, could
at times be a disadvantage. In the old days - and as late
as the first quarter of the 19th century the island was under
perpetual threat of attack from almost all sides. Historically,
the island has never really been a haven of peace, but has
been a magnet for raiders. Barbary pirates from North Africa
were probably one of the last major threats, but the last
boat from Mallorca to raid the island for women (to work in
a chain of brothels in Palma, Lisbon, Barcelona, Rome - and
one place in North Africa) came in 1809. The last 'raiders'
were/are, of course, the 'tourist invasion' beginning in the
1960s, and this invasion has unfortunately proved the most
destructive for traditional eivissenc culture. Most raiders
from outside did not necessarily know of the existence of
these peasant strongboxes of riches, but at times of invasion
a peasant priority was the protection of the household's living
members and livestock and the household's 'baul'. Protection
of the latter often involved an active male member of the
household hiding it in a secret cave.
During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939),
the situation was slightly different though. The time of the
Civil War on Eivissa was a time when many people with intimate
local knowledge were involved, and it was a traumatic time
for the inhabitants here as well as the time when the contents
of many 'baules' disappeared from the hands of their traditional
owners forever. The time of the Civil War on Eivissa and Formentera
is still a traumatic event that elderly islanders only talk
about with great reluctance, if at that. In a small island
where basically everyone knew almost everyone or could find
kinship relationships, however distant, with most people,
events such as a civil conflict are more destructive and remain
longer than in larger societies. Much of present-day politics
in Eivissa and Formentera (and even, for example, why Eivissa
has allowed 'uncontrolled tourism' to unfortunately damage
so much of the island whereas Formentera has been much more
cautious) can only be understood by having a knowledge of
the slightly differing traditional leadership patterns of
the two islands plus a knowledge of the events of the Civil
War. Actual fighting on Eivissa lasted only five weeks in
1936, from the disembarking of the Republican (anti-Franco/fascist)
forces at the Pou d'es Lleo in Sant Carles (San Carlos) on
8th August to the Nationalist (Franco/fascist) aerial bombardment
of Vila (Ibiza town) on 13th September. The effect of the
bombardment was devastating, and a foreign boat chancing to
visit Ibiza town a few days later found the whole city without
light, water and food, with most of the stores ransacked and
with a terrorized and absolutely silent population. Nationalist
forces, coming from Mallorca, landed on the island on 20th
September 1936. There followed several years of intense and
severe repression followed by decades of silence. Events of
those weeks in 1936 and the horrific repression afterwards
were such that even today elderly rural peasants may say that
in spite of all the good and bad things that happen on the
island now, " at least we have peace". Most tourists
coming to the island do not know that officially (well, at
least up until December of last year) the island is still
under military occupation by the Spanish armed forces. When
I became a resident on Eivissa in 1990 I had to obtain a clearance
from the military occupying forces as well as the Spanish
government.
During the events of the Civil War on Eivissa
and Formentera, some sad atrocities were committed by both
sides. The worst committed by the left-wing Republicans was
the shooting of approximately 70 right-wing prisoners (a similar
number escaped over the castle walls) being held in the dungeons
of the old castle in Dalt Vila. This event took place on the
night of 13th September 1936 after the Nationalist (right-wing/fascist)
bombardment of the town, which killed 40 people earlier that
day. The Nationalists shot more than the number killed in
the castle in an extended series of executions held against
the walls of the old cemetery of Ibiza town. Nationalist atrocities
have been kept much more closely hidden, as they came out
the winners and have basically held the political power in
Eivissa from late 1936 up until the late 1990s. It is usually
the winners of wars and civil wars who decide what becomes
the 'official version' of the events of any conflict. In our
day and age the general western public tends to accept the
American version of events of its recent wars: history will
show eventually that these versions often differ greatly from
the reality. Having myself been rather 'close at hand' during
the events of the US invasion of Panama just over a decade
ago, I can vouch for the fact that the US version of events
leaves a lot to be desired, to put it mildly. The severe Nationalist
(right-wing/fascist) repression on Eivissa and Formentera
for some years after this (they even constructed a concentration
camp on Formentera which contained 1400 prisoners - many of
whom died of hunger - up until late 1940) leaves open the
possibility that a longer series of tragic events have still
not yet been brought out into the open.
An as yet unknown number of gold-filled
'baules' disappeared during these tragic years. Both sides
in the conflict were short of actual money, and as both sides
contained rather uncontrollable elements there was always
the possibility that certain 'baules' were stolen for purely
personal gain. With the time scale involved, though, it is
probable that right-wing elements were responsible for the
disappearance of more eivissenc gold than left-wing elements.
One old pagès (peasant) friend told me that his family
gold 'was in Moscow', which would mean that it had been stolen
by an individual or group associated with the Republicans
(anti-fascist left-wingers). Stories of family gold being
taken by elements associated with the Nationalists are more
widespread but slightly more difficult to actually pin down
(as the Nationalists and their 'descendents' have basically
held the political power here until just recently). Many pagesos
(peasants), however, hid their 'baules' during this time,
only bringing them out of hiding years later when things had
calmed down. But sometimes the strongboxes were never recovered.
Often only one or two individuals knew where each 'baul' had
been hidden. These were usually adult male household heads
that had the physical strength to hide them. These, however,
were more at risk of being captured/killed or tortured for
political reasons - or simply, captured and interrogated/tortured
for political reasons but with the added benefit of maybe
being able to give information about the hiding place of a
family 'baul'. Certain men died under such circumstances and
with the situation of the concentration camp inmates in Formentera
(whose surviving inmates were dispersed in late 1940 to other
such camps around Spain) one will probably never know how
many 'baules' were lost as the men safeguarding the knowledge
of their whereabouts disappeared. One pagès family
I know of in Northwest Eivissa have been looking quietly for
their 'baul' for decades: hidden by the grandfather who was
later tortured and executed (obviously not telling his captors
where his 'baul' was), the family only found the hiding site
a few years ago. The grandfather had hidden it in a small
cave 20 metres from the top of a high cliff with a sheer drop
to the sea, obviously climbing down by rope to put it there.
He then closed up the small cave entrance with stones and
local cement that looks so much like the surrounding rock
that it can be almost impossible to distinguish the difference.
It must have been an arduous task.
The coasts of Eivissa abound in ancient
secret smuggler caves - by some accounts anything between
150-250, but the secrets of most of them are still kept hidden
by their traditional owners. Tourists visiting the island
should not expect to get any information about these, nor
should they be advised to ask about them. It is nothing to
do with you. Some hidden spots may still contain these wonderful
boxes of gold, but then again that is no concern of tourists.
Yes, there may be 'lost treasure' on the island, but the real
'lost treasure' of Eivissa is its unique mix of ancient language
and culture which - although not lost completely yet - will
be gone forever in a few short years when the last of the
oldest generation pass away. Vestiges of it will survive amongst
their descendants in a modified form, but how much remains
to be seen. These younger descendants need to develop and
retain a pride in their own language and culture. The onslaught
of modern tourism has been an enemy of this. I wish them luck.
Kirk W Huffman
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