Origins
The siglas were first studied by António de Santos Graça in his book Epopeia dos Humildes ("The Odyssey of the Humble"). Published in 1952, the book contains hundreds of siglas and the history and maritime tragedy of Póvoa. Other works of his are "O Poveiro" (The Poveiro, 1932), "A Crença do Poveiro nas Almas Penadas" (Poveiro Beliefs Regarding Dead Souls, 1933) e "Inscrições Tumulares por Siglas" (Tomb Inscriptions Using Siglas, 1942).
For Santos Graça, the siglas poveiras were related with the Castro peoples, and the author compared it and other dissimilar modern marks, found in other fishing communities, with the Iberian writing system. But, this thesis did not have sufficient proof.
After a visit to the National Museet in Copenhagen, Octávio Lixa Filgueiras, by accident, found objects marked with "home-marks" from Funen in Denmark. Moreover, the complex hereditary mark system of Póvoa de Varzim was also found in Funen.
The Siglas development is at least, partly, attributed to the Norsemen that settled in the town during the 10th century and 11th century. This form of primitive writing developed within the community of Póvoa de Varzim was kept due to the practice of endogamy. Also, the similarity with the Scandinavian tradition of using specific bomärken ("homestead marks") for signatures and for marking property has also been noted.
Each base sigla has a name, normally related with daily objects, but this sigla-object association occurred at a later date for both, Póvoa de Varzim and the system studied in the Danish town of Funnen. The hourglass of Funnen was drawn in the same way as the chalice of Póvoa de Varzim thus indicating that both are remnants of a later era.
Siglas have also been compared to runes, especially in the 1960s when Lixa Filgueiras called for further studies on the matter.
Comparing only identical Nordic runes:
- pique - i-rune isaz (ice)
- arpão (harpoon) - t-rune Tiwaz (Tyr)
- meio-arpão (half-harpoon) l-rune laguz (lake)
- cálix fechado (closed Chalice) - d-rune dagaz (day)
- cruz (cross) g-rune gyfu (gift)
According to Santos Graça, the siglas were inspired by daily objects of Póvoa de Varzim residents:
- lanchinha — Poveiro Boat (port)
- lanchinha — Poveiro Boat (nose)
- mastro e verga — Barco Poveiro with hoisted sail
- coice — Barco Poveiro (an area where women pushed for Ala-Arriba)
- padrão — Cruzeiro of the Cemitery of Póvoa de Varzim
- grades de dois e três piques — Gratings (Agricultural object used in the smoothing of the farm fields after harvest in Giesteira, Póvoa de Varzim)
- sarilho and meio sarilho — Sarilho (object used by women to make hanks of wool or hemp in Póvoa de Varzim)
Read more about this topic: Siglas Poveiras
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