El Padul
Encyclopedia
El Padul is a municipality
of south-eastern Spain
, in the province of Granada
, within the comarca of el Valle de Lecrín. The population on 2008 was 8.440 inhabitants. This town is situated 13 km at the south of the city of Granada
. Its altitude is 744 meters above the sea level.
, Otura and Dílar
to the north, ; Dúrcal
and Villamena
to the east; Las Albuñuelas
to the south and Jayena
to the west.
word palus-paludis and exactly from its accusative case paludem, which means wetland or bog, clearly referring to El Padul's wetland.
Due to the lack of known manuscripts talking about the name of the town along a period of time ranging several centuries, the phases of evolution of the Latin word are unknown, as well as the preceding definite article
"El". In relation to this point, two plausible possibilities are proposed: (1) The article could have appeared directly from the Latin word ille, which originated the definite articles in all Romance languages
. (2) The article could have appeared later with the Arabic
article al. Regardless this controversy, during the Nasrid period
, Ibn al-Jatib wrote the word "Al-Badul" (in Arabic spelling), with "B" because "P" does not exists in Arabic
, although probably people used the sound "P".
The modern name of El Padul appears in the first manuscripts written in Spanish language
in the 16th century. Among these manuscripts, the most important are the Parochial Archive and the Book of Surveying written in 1571. In the latter is possible to read this sentence: ...que era de vecinos moriscos del dicho lugar El Padul....
In the 20th century, when the road signs started to be used, most of them were settled with the name of Padul without article
, which has caused an important controversy about the real name of the town.
Towards the end of the 20th century, a cultural movement formed by several writers and History teachers of the town proposed to the town council to restore officially the whole name of the town. The result of that cultural movement took place on 18 December 2000, when the Town Council chose the name El Padul as the official of the town. The proposal was accepted by unanimity of all the town councillors.
were found in 1982. A good example of a tusk is exposed in the Sciences Park of Granada
.
The most ancient tracks of human presence match with the Middle Paleolithic
, including projectile point
s and racloir
s of the Mousterian
culture, which suggest the presence of settlements of Neanderthal
s near the wetland and close to important caves of the municipality.
Neolithic
remains are more abundant and are represented by vessels, bracelets, domestic and farming tools, etc.
The carnival is a traditional feasting period, where many disguised people sing humorous and satirical songs. These consist mainly of faux-tales about how their parents, or grandparents, committed various acts of petty theft and adultery
.
Within the Holy Week
, the procession of "Jesus Christ's Burial" in the Good Friday
is of special relevance. This procession relates with 10 pasos (moving sculptures) all the Passion
.
The Fair
is celebrated the last weekend of September.
Food, Agriculture and Tourism fair of the comarcas of Valle de Lecrín, Temple and Costa Interior is celebrated between the 6th and 8th of December. At the same time is celebrated the day of wine and the day of pig slaughter.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of south-eastern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, in the province of Granada
Granada (province)
Granada is a province of southern Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is bordered by the provinces of Albacete, Murcia, Almería, Jaén, Córdoba, Málaga, and the Mediterranean Sea . Its capital city is also called Granada.The province covers an area of 12,635 km²...
, within the comarca of el Valle de Lecrín. The population on 2008 was 8.440 inhabitants. This town is situated 13 km at the south of the city of Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
. Its altitude is 744 meters above the sea level.
Borders
El Padul borders on AlhendínAlhendín
Alhendín is a city located in the province of Granada, Spain. According to the 2005 census , the city has a population of 5200 inhabitants....
, Otura and Dílar
Dílar
Dílar is a municipality located in the province of Granada, Spain. According to the 2005 census , the city has a population of 1620 inhabitants....
to the north, ; Dúrcal
Dúrcal
Dúrcal is a Spanish municipality located in the northeastern part Lecrín Valley , in the autonomous community of Andalusia, one of the fifty-one entities that make up the metropolitan area of Granada. It borders the municipalities of Dílar, Lanjaron Nigüelas Villamena and the Padul. Other nearby...
and Villamena
Villamena
Villamena is a municipality located in the province of Granada, Spain. According to the 2005 census , the city has a population of 1010 inhabitants....
to the east; Las Albuñuelas
Albuñuelas
Albuñuelas is a village at the head of the Lecrin Valley, Granada, Spain. It is made up of three neighbourhoods : Alto , Bajo and Fernán Núñez . It is situated on the European route Nº 4 .- History :...
to the south and Jayena
Jayena
Jayena is a municipality located in the province of Granada, Spain. According to the 2005 census , the city has a population of 1237 inhabitants....
to the west.
Natural environment
- El Padul's wetland : One of the most important wetlands in south-eastern Spain, recently included in the Ramsar ConventionRamsar ConventionThe Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural,...
. It has the greatest peatland of the Mediterranean basinMediterranean BasinIn biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...
and it has also several threatened species.
Etymology
The origin of the name of El Padul comes from the Roman era, deriving from the LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word palus-paludis and exactly from its accusative case paludem, which means wetland or bog, clearly referring to El Padul's wetland.
Due to the lack of known manuscripts talking about the name of the town along a period of time ranging several centuries, the phases of evolution of the Latin word are unknown, as well as the preceding definite article
Definite Article
Definite Article is the title of British comedian Eddie Izzard's 1996 performance released on VHS. It was recorded on different nights at the Shaftesbury Theatre...
"El". In relation to this point, two plausible possibilities are proposed: (1) The article could have appeared directly from the Latin word ille, which originated the definite articles in all Romance languages
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
. (2) The article could have appeared later with the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
article al. Regardless this controversy, during the Nasrid period
Nasrid dynasty
The Nasrid dynasty was the last Moorish and Muslim dynasty in Spain. The Nasrid dynasty rose to power after the defeat of the Almohad Caliphate in 1212 at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa...
, Ibn al-Jatib wrote the word "Al-Badul" (in Arabic spelling), with "B" because "P" does not exists in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, although probably people used the sound "P".
The modern name of El Padul appears in the first manuscripts written in Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
in the 16th century. Among these manuscripts, the most important are the Parochial Archive and the Book of Surveying written in 1571. In the latter is possible to read this sentence: ...que era de vecinos moriscos del dicho lugar El Padul....
In the 20th century, when the road signs started to be used, most of them were settled with the name of Padul without article
Definite Article
Definite Article is the title of British comedian Eddie Izzard's 1996 performance released on VHS. It was recorded on different nights at the Shaftesbury Theatre...
, which has caused an important controversy about the real name of the town.
Towards the end of the 20th century, a cultural movement formed by several writers and History teachers of the town proposed to the town council to restore officially the whole name of the town. The result of that cultural movement took place on 18 December 2000, when the Town Council chose the name El Padul as the official of the town. The proposal was accepted by unanimity of all the town councillors.
Prehistory (Origins)
In the municipality, numerous traces pertaining to different prehistoric periods have been found. Thus, in the land of the ancient wetland, close to a peat quarry, fossilized remains of Mammuthus of the Middle PleistoceneMiddle Pleistocene
The Middle Pleistocene, more specifically referred to as the Ionian stage, is a period of geologic time from ca. 781 to 126 thousand years ago....
were found in 1982. A good example of a tusk is exposed in the Sciences Park of Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
.
The most ancient tracks of human presence match with the Middle Paleolithic
Middle Paleolithic
The Middle Paleolithic is the second subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. The term Middle Stone Age is used as an equivalent or a synonym for the Middle Paleolithic in African archeology. The Middle Paleolithic and the Middle Stone Age...
, including projectile point
Projectile point
In archaeological terms, a projectile point is an object that was hafted to a projectile, such as a spear, dart, or arrow, or perhaps used as a knife....
s and racloir
Racloir
A racloir is a name given by archaeologists to a certain type of flint tool made by prehistoric peoples.It is created from a flint flake and looks like a large scraper. As well as being used for scraping hides and bark, it may also have been used as a knife. Racloirs are most associated with the...
s of the Mousterian
Mousterian
Mousterian is a name given by archaeologists to a style of predominantly flint tools associated primarily with Homo neanderthalensis and dating to the Middle Paleolithic, the middle part of the Old Stone Age.-Naming:...
culture, which suggest the presence of settlements of Neanderthal
Neanderthal
The Neanderthal is an extinct member of the Homo genus known from Pleistocene specimens found in Europe and parts of western and central Asia...
s near the wetland and close to important caves of the municipality.
Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
remains are more abundant and are represented by vessels, bracelets, domestic and farming tools, etc.
Monuments
- Casa Grande (16th century): Palace of civil character. This building served as a scenario for the film The Long DuelThe Long DuelThe Long Duel is a 1967 British adventure film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Yul Brynner, Trevor Howard, Charlotte Rampling and Harry Andrews...
starring Yul BrynnerYul BrynnerYul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
.
- Church of Santa María la Mayor (16th - 18th centuries)
- Chapel of Saint Sebastian (18th century).
- Source of the five pipes (Lavadero) (s. XVI-XIX).
- Roman road: The remains of an ancient roman road that connected the cities of Ilíberis (GranadaGranadaGranada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
) and Sexi (AlmuñécarAlmuñécarAlmuñécar is a municipality in the Spanish Autonomous Region of Andalusia on the Costa Tropical between Nerja and Motril . It has a subtropical climate...
), located in the place known as Los Molinos.
Fiestas
The afternoon of 19 January, the people of El Padul go to the mountains that surround the town in order to look for firewood and aromatic plants. Then they make big pyres during the procession of Saint Sebastian between the chapel and the church. The following day, 20 January, there is another procession with more huge pyres and gunshots. These days, people sing the local hymn of Saint Sebastian.The carnival is a traditional feasting period, where many disguised people sing humorous and satirical songs. These consist mainly of faux-tales about how their parents, or grandparents, committed various acts of petty theft and adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
.
Within the Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
, the procession of "Jesus Christ's Burial" in the Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...
is of special relevance. This procession relates with 10 pasos (moving sculptures) all the Passion
Passion (Christianity)
The Passion is the Christian theological term used for the events and suffering – physical, spiritual, and mental – of Jesus in the hours before and including his trial and execution by crucifixion...
.
The Fair
Fair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
is celebrated the last weekend of September.
Food, Agriculture and Tourism fair of the comarcas of Valle de Lecrín, Temple and Costa Interior is celebrated between the 6th and 8th of December. At the same time is celebrated the day of wine and the day of pig slaughter.
External links
- Ayuntamiento de El Padul (in Spanish)
- Tourist information of El Padul by the Tourist Board of Granada
- Information about El Padul (History, parties, links...) (in Spanish)
- Holy Week in El Padul (in Spanish)