HISTORY

Although there is no evidence so far, the territory where Trabanca is set up nowadays probably was a place on the way of travellers since the very ancient ages. We based this data on the importance of the River Tormes route during the lower Palaeolithic, about 300.000 years ago. It is in the fluvial terraces of this river where it has been found stone tools and pieces of sculptures, as a result of a quartzite "tools" manufacture. Therefore, it makes the human presence surrounding these places more probable.

However, until the Low Roman Empire, around 4th century b.C. we cannot assure the presence of some settlements in the surroundings of the present Trabanca. The absence of archaeological excavations in these sites does not let us know these settlers' development level and why they got established in such places. However the situation and the proximity of some of these settlements, close to the river Tormes route, could be related to the communications control.

During the High Middle Age, the whole west part of the province of Salamanca was immersed in a variety of repopulation processes throughout the 11th and 12th centuries. As a result, these vast territories were under control of the Bishopric of Salamanca and, later, of the archdeaconship of Ledesma. As a consequence of the above mentioned process, the name “Trabanca” appears for the firs time around 12th century.

But, there will not be any written evidence until 1476. In that year Gonzalo de la Merca sells half Trabanca to the town of Villarino , around 4,33 square miles. This fact is traditionally known as: “half of Trabanca is not the Duke's anymore, he lost it playing cards one night”.

From that moment, the lands exchange is a constant feature of the moment. In 1912, the land fell into the countess of San Martín de Hoyos hands, Miss María Fernández de Hinestrosa Salabert. She was its last owner before the municipality was sold to the tenants in 1941.

 

TRADITION

Trabanca, as a tradicional town of the Arribes del Duero area, still keeps several rituals and traditions closely related to its cattle raising vocation. One of the most significative is “ La Cuenta ”. It takes place in April and October. Its aim was to count the cattle in order to proceed to the local tax on the cattle property.

With that purpose, all the flocks were brought all together the previous night. It was a public act as a form of deterrent to avoid cattle farmers declaring a number of animals lower than the real one.

Later on, this ritual was celebrated at the same time that a picnic in which every family in the village took part. Families brought food, and the owners of the largest flocks brought wine. In those special occasions, flocks owners gave shepherds a great amount of food like, for example, cold meat, omelettes, cheese, etc.

Nowadays, Trabanca reminds us that ritual, giving that name to the Portuguese street market, which is celebrted the first Sunday of every month in Trabanca.

Las Bolagas, is a pagan tradition. It is linked to ancestral purification rituals in which fire was the center. It takes place on December 31. That night is San Silvestre´s night. Previously, it was celebrated on December 24, date of the winter solstice.

The ritual involves burning bolagas , a kind of bush, and purifying the participants using the smoke of jumping the bonfire.