Rooster

Legend of the Portuguese Rooster

The Rooster of Barcelos (Portuguese: Galo de Barcelos) is one of the most iconic symbols of Portugal. It’s a colourful, stylized rooster that represents faith, justice, and good luck and is deeply rooted in Portuguese folklore and tradition.

According to a legend that dates back to the 14th century in the town of Barcelos, in northern Portugal, a Spanish pilgrim was travelling through Barcelos on his way to Santiago de Compostela (a popular pilgrimage to the Memorial Church of the Apostle St James, a site in Spain). The pilgrim was accused of theft, arrested, and sentenced to be hanged, despite his protests of innocence.

As a final request, he asked to speak to the judge who condemned him. He was taken to the judge’s home, where a banquet was in progress. 

Pointing to a roasted rooster on the buffet table, the man proclaimed,  “It is as certain that I am innocent as it is certain that this rooster will crow when I am hanged.”

The judge laughed at his incredulous statement but didn’t stop the execution. However, just as the man was about to be hanged, the roasted rooster stood up and crowed. Shocked, the judge rushed to stop the execution. The man was found alive thanks to a poorly tied knot, and he was eventually released.

Years later, the pilgrim returned to Barcelos and carved a cross in honour of the Virgin Mary and Saint James, a gesture of gratitude.

Statutes on top of traditional Goan houses

Most ancestral homes in Goa have sloping roofs with a quaint terracotta statue at the top -  either a rooster, a lion, a mid-salute 'soldado' or soldier or maybe even a cross. 

On a practical level, the large statue placed on top of the houses covers the gap created by the meeting of three to four rooftops, however, these statues also convey a proud family tradition. 

The rooster is the national bird of Portugal, symbolising the Rooster of Barcelos — a key character representing integrity and truth in a popular Portuguese folktale. Centuries ago, the rooster was said to signify that families of Goan homes were Catholics and therefore pro-Portuguese

The lion, on the other hand, has a direct connection with the ancient Kadamba kingdom, which ruled Goa from the 10th to 14th centuries, as it was their emblem, seen as a symbol of strength and courage; a proud marker of those who lived there centuries ago and were against colonial rule.

The soldier suggests that someone from that house had served in the military, earning a special social status. The statute played the role of protector, a symbolic feature of a guard to be feared.

Some houses, where members of Catholic families may have joined religious orders, had a cross on them. It was customary for the second son of each household to join the clergy.

In the book ‘Houses of Goa’, Heta Pandit and Annabel Mascarenhas write: “In Goa, the gateposts and gateways crave attention for the architectural features that perform an ambiguous function- that of drawing your attention to the house within and intimidating you from entering without permission. The most distinctive of all Goan gateposts are the ones with animal forms perched on top of the gateposts."

Source:https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/stone-sentinels-of-gateways-to-the-past/articleshow/57471533.cms