The “X” Memories – Walking down the Camino memory lane

Ah – those xanthic arrows! I had to look hard for “X” words, and as you will see, I could only come up with two, but they are good ones!

So xanthic means “of or relating to yellow”. The yellow arrow is a very common symbol of the Camino. We love the yellow arrows as they confirm the “way” to go. They can be found on just about anything permanent – a wall, a tree, a building, a post – – name it, it can have a yellow arrow.

Elías Valiña, pastor of O Cebreiro, was the first pioneer who began on his pilgrimage to sign the route with this symbol, then spread it on all the way. He was originally from Sarria, although he settled in O Cebreiro as a priest. He studied the history of the Camino, which was the subject of his doctoral thesis. Between the end of the 1970s, and the early 1980s, the marking  of the French Way (Camino Frances) was undertaken. Today, pilgrims can be secure in knowing the arrows will guide his way.

My other “X” word is xyloglyphy. You won’t find its definition in the abridged dictionary, but it can be found in the extended version. It means an artistic wood carving.

There are many artists on the Camino that work with wood. I found many wood statues of St. James, often placed at the entrance of albergues or churches.

I found this particular one in a small town in Basque Country. There was an abundance of art of  just about every form, from the works in stained glass, marble statues, wooden art pieces, and paintings done hundreds of years before my country was discovered! The Camino experience can be not only spiritual but artistic as well.

Cheers from my virtual Camino tour!

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