15/08/2021
PORTUGAL - Everything you need to know
POPULATION: 10.5 million
LANGUAGE: Portuguese
RELIGION: Roman Catholicism; Islam; Judaism; Protestantism
HISTORY
Portugal was one of the first European nations to be unified into a single country. It gained independence from Spain with the accession of King Alfonse I in 1143. The country is located in southwestern Europe. Due to colonization and emigration, there are Portuguese-speaking peoples living in North and South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia.
The Portuguese Age of Discovery began in the fifteenth century. This marked the beginning of a vast overseas empire which expanded for over three centuries. Portugal's wealth and importance declined after the loss of Brazil in 1822. In 1910, the monarchy was eliminated and a republic was declared. This was replaced by the dictatorial rule of António Salazar (1889–1970) in 1926.
The Salazar government was finally overthrown in 1974. A democratic government was established and a new constitution was adopted in 1976. During this period Portugal granted independence to its remaining colonies, including Angola and Mozambique. In spite of continuing poverty, especially in rural areas, the nation has seen numerous advances since the 1970s.
FOLKLORE
The Portuguese are a deeply superstitious people. Their formal Catholicism is mixed with pre-Christian practices and beliefs. Offerings to saints—intended to promote healing—hang on strings near many church altars. Images on these offerings depict whatever is to be (or has been) healed. These include hands, heads, breasts, babies, and animals.
Popular superstitions involve the phases of the moon, the healing power of fountains, and the evil eye, which is the power to inflict bad luck on someone. The evil eye is feared in a number of situations. Ceremonies surrounding death and the occult abound. Portuguese widows are expected to wear black for about seven years, and many wear it for the rest of their lives. The loss of a parent is mourned for up to three years.
RELIGION
The overwhelming majority of Portuguese (97 percent) are Roman Catholics. Catholicism is at the center of Portuguese life. Portugal's holidays, its moral and legal codes, health and education systems have been greatly impacted by its Catholic heritage. While only about a third of the population attends church regularly, almost all Portuguese are baptized and married within the church and receive its last rites when they die. Religious observance is greater in the northern part of the country than in the south.
Churches occupy a prominent physical location in almost every Portuguese village. Many Portuguese make pilgrimages (romarias) to religious shrines. The most famous such shrine is the one at Fátima where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared before three children in 1917. The cult of the Virgin is very powerful in Portugal, and images of Mary and Christ are commonly seen even in such non-religious places as labor union offices. There are small numbers of Muslims, Jews, and Protestants.
RELATIONSHIPS
When the Portuguese greet each other, they kiss on both cheeks. Those who live in the northern part of the country, which has been isolated from foreign influences, are formal, conservative, and reserved among strangers. In the south people are generally more casual, relaxed, and friendly. In the north, many people are referred to by nicknames (alcunhas), which are an important part of their identities.
LIVING CONDITIONS
Over half of all Portuguese rent their homes. Rural villagers often live without electricity or running water. Migration to the cities made an already existing shortage of urban housing worse. It also resulted in the growth of shantytowns (bairros da lata) which lack sewage systems. In response to this situation, the Portuguese government has instituted a $2 billion program to clear these slums and build low-income housing units.
Almost all sectors of Portuguese society have access to modern medical care. Portugal's national health service was inaugurated in 1979. While infant mortality rates were cut nearly in half between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s, the government program is still insufficient to meet the nation's health care needs. It is supplemented by church-supported services. While home birth was common as recently as the 1960s, today almost all Portuguese women have their babies in hospitals.
FAMILY LIFE
The family headed by a father is the ideal throughout Portugal. But in reality families vary considerably according to class and region. Middle-and upper-class Portuguese, and those in the southern part of the country, are more likely to conform to the tradition. Women stay at home to raise children and run the household while men engage in business or the professions.
Among the poor, especially in the northwest, the relationship between husband and wife is a more equal one. Households are headed jointly. In farming families, women may work the fields alongside their husbands. Fishermen's wives may help repair nets or sell the day's catch. Due to high rates of male emigration, a relatively large number of women in the north never marry. Many have traditionally managed their own farms and remain financially independent.
The position of women in Portugal improved greatly after the end of the military dictatorship in 1974. The 1976 constitution guaranteed them full legal equality. By the early 1990s, women accounted for more than half of all persons enrolled in higher education and 37 percent of the country's physicians.
FOOD
Fish is the main staple of the Portuguese diet. Cod is the most popular. The average Portuguese eats about 100 pounds (45 kilograms) of it every year. It is prepared so many different ways in Portugal that there is said to be a different recipe for every day of the year.
Other commonly eaten seafoods include sardines, salmon, sole, sea bass, and hake, as well as eel, squid, octopus, and lamprey. Practically every Portuguese meal is accompanied by soup. The most popular is caldo verde (green soup), made with couve galega (Galician cabbage), sausage, potatoes, and olive oil. Another popular soup is sopa alentejana, simmered with bread, garlic (another staple of the Portuguese diet), and other ingredients. Caldeirada, a fish stew, is another popular national dish.
Portugal's varieties of succulent fruit, which vary regionally, provide some of its best desserts. These include peaches, strawberries, oranges, figs, plums, pineapples, and passionfruit. Of the sweet dessert offerings, the most common is arroz doce, a cinnamon-flavored rice pudding. Flan, a custard with caramel topping, is also very popular.
CULTURAL HERITAGE
Portugal's most famous poet was Luiz Vaz de Camões (1524–80), who wrote during Portugal's Age of Discovery. He was also an explorer himself. His epic poem, Os Lusiadas (The Lusiads), is based on the life of the famous explorer Vasco da Gama (c.1460–1524). In modern times, the poems of Fernando Pessoa (1888–1935) are popular. Freedom of expression has thrived in the period since the 1974 revolution. It has seen the publication of books that used to be banned as well as new ones by women writers such as novelist Olga Goncalves. Portuguese-Africans, including Angolan Jose Luandino Viera, have also become popular writers.
The Age of Discovery produced the Manueline style in architecture. This style expressed the national passion for exploration and the sea through the use of sailing images in buildings. Famous examples of this style include the Tomar and Batalha convents.
Also unique to Portugal are the decorative tiles known as azulejos. Adopted from Spain, they were modified by the Portuguese, who added a variety of colors, most notably the blue, or azure, from which they get their name.
In music, Portugal is known for its fado songs. These plaintive songs reflect the fatalistic Portuguese spirit of melancholy and nostalgia known as saudade. Performers of fado (which, roughly translated, means "fate") are known as fadistas.
SPORTS
Soccer (called football) is the foremost sport in Portugal, as in much of Europe. Golf has grown increasingly popular, and the country now boasts more than twenty world-class golf courses. Tennis is widely played as well, and auto racing becomes the focus of attention during the annual Grand Prix of Portugal held in September.
RECREATION
One of the most popular recreational activities in Portugal is bullfighting (Tourada), with cavaleiros (bullfighters) dressed in eighteenth-century costumes. These costumes include tricornered hats, silk jackets, and riding breeches. In contrast to the violent bullfights in Spain and parts of Latin America, in Portugal the bull's horns are sheathed to avoid injuries, and bulls are not killed at the end of the event.
Another well-known national pastime is dancing. The fandango and other popular folk dances are enjoyed throughout the country. Other forms of recreation include horseback riding, fishing, hunting, skiing, and water sports.
CRAFTS AND HOBBIES
Traditional craft industries can be found throughout Portugal. The people of the south are renowned for their rug making. Other regions are known for fine embroidery, black pottery, and basket weaving. Characteristic folk art is also seen on floats carried in religious pageants.
