page_title: Siglas poveiras
section_title: Chapels in beaches and hills
hierarchical_section_title: Siglas poveiras / Magical-religious marks / Chapels in beaches and hills
caption_attribution_description: author:user:PedroPVZ
context_page_description: The siglas poveiras is a proto-writing system that has been used by the local community of Póvoa de Varzim in Portugal for many generations.
  The siglas were primarily used as a signature for family coat-of-arms in order to mark family belongings. The symbols were normally written using a razor on wood, but painting on boats and beach sheds was also a common practice.
  The purpose of the siglas was to record history and thus they have been ascribed as comprising Póvoa's "writing system". However, the siglas do not record sounds or specific words, and so are not considered true writing. The reason for their prominence has been ascertained to be due to a common ignorance of the Latin alphabet among the local population.
context_section_description: Useful places for the study of Siglas Poveiras are the religious temples located not only in the city and its rural area, but also in all the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, especially in the Minho region (in Portugal) and in Galicia.
  The Poveiros, throughout generations, used to make inscriptions in the doors of chapels close to beaches or hills as a journey mark or as "campaign promises" (promessas de campanha). This has been observed in Nossa Senhora da Bonança in Esposende's beach, and Santa Trega in A Guarda Hill, Galicia. The mark inscribed would serve as a marker for the Poveiros that would come later indicating either the passage of the inscriber or the attempts to procure good luck from the venerated saint of that place.
  On September 23, 1991 a sculpture honouring Siglas Poveiras was inaugurated in the festival of Santa Trega in North-western Iberia, as a means to perpetuate the ancient and lost door of the Chapel of Santa Trega known to be covered with Siglas Poveiras. After the inauguration, an expedition aboard the Lancha Poveira Fé em Deus (Faith in God) came from Póvoa de Varzim, whose fishermen went up to the Trega and prayed in the chapel dedicated to the patron saint of the hill. The hills close to the coast, by being visible by the sea, have always had an importance in the Poveiros sect traditions. Long ago, the fishing class went to this hill to pray to the saint in a ritual with chants attempting to change the winds so that they could return home.
  Siglas, being used in the same way, can be found in the temples of Senhora da Abadia and São Bento da Porta Aberta, in Terras de Bouro, São Torcato, in Guimarães and Senhora da Guia, in Vila do Conde. In the municipality of Póvoa de Varzim, these can also be found in the Chapel of Santa Cruz in Balasar.
caption: Only very rarely did siglas have magical value or used as a religious symbol. The sanselimão sigla was used as a protecting symbol.
exif: {}