El Camino

“Santiago is a city in the most remote region of Galicia and one of the most visited
sanctuaries, not only by the Christians of Spain, but also of Europe;
for them is Santiago as venerable as for the Muslims is the Kaaba in the
Mecca” (Ibn Hayyan, 987-1076).

At the beginning of the 9th century, the news that the body of the Apostle St. James was in Galicia spread rapidly throughout the Christian world, attracting people from all over Europe. Hundreds of pilgrims appeared walking to the tomb of the Apostle, thus creating the different routes of the Way of St. James.

It is not possible to understand this “mass phenomenon” in the middle of the Middle Ages without taking into account the prevailing mentality of the people of that time, to whom religious faith could drive them down unsuspected paths. The curiosity to reach the place where the remains of the Apostle rested grew not only in Christianized Europe, but also among the Christians of the nearby peninsular territories that were under Muslim domination, the Mozarabs,
.

If we take into account the religious characteristics of the ruling class in the Muslim kingdom, evidently, the conditions for the development of a pilgrimage route to Compostela from the south were not favorable. They were also accentuated by the insecurity of the roads and the defensive attitude of the Christian kingdoms towards the Caliphate of Cordoba. Suffice it to recall the attack suffered by the population of Compostela at the hands of Almanzor in 997.

On the other hand, the Christian monarchies of the northern peninsular, in need of a reference value before the Church of Rome and the rest of the European kingdoms in their crusade against Islam, maintained from the beginning a decisive support for Compostela and the routes by which pilgrims from all over Western Europe reached their territories by crossing the Pyrenees.

This led to the Camino de Santiago being historically identified with the French Way, which enters through Roncesvalles. In reality, the Camino de Santiago is a network of roads that millions of pilgrims have traveled from all the capitals of Europe following different itineraries.

As mentioned above, the unfavorable conditions for the development of a pilgrimage route to Compostela from the extensive Muslim territory, make it impossible to identify any of the many roads that existed in ancient al-Andalus as an exclusive and original pilgrimage route to Santiago, as was the case with the French Way.

Although unfortunately, we have not received written testimonies of these first Mozarabic pilgrimages, recent archaeological research carried out in the city of Cordoba itself allows us to confirm the presence of Mozarabic Christian pilgrims in Compostela around the 12th century, the peak of the Camino de Santiago. Likewise, the latest analysis of the skeletal remains of the individuals
buried in the necropolis of the subsoil of the Cathedral of Compostela, conclude that during the ninth and tenth centuries more than 50% of the first inhabitants of Santiago came mainly from al-Andalus.

According to Professor Rivas Quintas, “the discovery of the tomb of the Apostle St. James at the beginning of the 9th century in the confines of the Asturian kingdom was to become the spiritual goal for the Christians coming from the south, the first pilgrims for whom “St. James was their visible heavenly help in the heat of combat, their liberator”. Reason is not lacking, then, to those who have seen in this Way the first and oldest of the itineraries to Santiago”.

And for the professor of the University of Cordoba E. Cabrera, “the Church conserves, with respect to the Islamic political power, all independence in matters of dogma, cult or ecclesiastical discipline […] The Christian faithful are assured freedom of movement within and outside the Islamic state
“. In spite of the inexistence of direct testimonies, it is logical to suppose the arrival to Compostela, already in the first moments, of Mozarabic groups that, from the neighboring al-Andalus, were on their way to the tomb of the Apostle protected by safe-conducts issued in Cordoba.

In the same way that the denomination of the well-known French Way alludes to the influx of pilgrims that from the most remote places of Europe penetrate the Peninsula to its westernmost end, in Compostela, crossing the neighboring country, necessarily, when speaking of the today called Mozarabic Way, we must refer to the first pilgrims who passed through it towards the tomb of the apostle.

This Jacobean route has as its central axis the historic trade route known as “Vía de la Plata”, currently also included in the denomination of “Camino Mozárabe”. From all the Andalusian provinces there are signposted itineraries that merge into one in the city of Mérida, to continue through Cáceres, Salamanca and Zamora. Here, pilgrims continue along the “Camino Mozárabe Sanabrés” to reach
to Orense in the direction of Santiago de Compostela. Although the Camino de Santiago has its roots in the Middle Ages, it continues to fill an important spiritual gap in the world today.

In the Camino of the 21st century, the traditional experience of devotion and the search for personal self-realization of modern man are combined.
For today’s society, the Camino de Santiago contributes to cultural pluralism, interreligious dialogue and respect for beliefs, as well as to the sustainable development of tourism. Personally, they are stages in the search for inner peace and harmony with others and nature.

The Mozarabic Way of St. James is a clear example of this respect for human diversity. Pilgrims of many nationalities pass through this route, leaving a record of their passage through the heart of the old al-Andalus. They began their pilgrimage in very diverse and distant points: Almeria, Granada, Jaen, Malaga and Cordoba. They are long-distance pilgrims, veterans of the Camino who admire the
beauty, silence and solitude of our countryside. They hope to find, as the Declaration of Compostela says, inner peace and harmony with others and nature. That is why they value, above all, the welcome and closeness of the people. They bring not only the richness of cultural or linguistic diversity, but also respect for the plurality of beliefs and values.

In places of passage, the Camino is an engine of hospitality and an impetus for responsible and sustainable growth of tourism and local development. This work of attention to the pilgrim has ended up developing some potentialities that contribute a grain of sand in the knowledge and development of the towns. It has always been like this. Therefore, municipal policies and strategies are needed that, from the management of resources, heritage conservation and respect for natural areas, are able to achieve a balance between traditions and the needs of visitors.

ULTREIA. GOOD WAY.

Isidro R. Rodriguez