Belonging also to the municipality of Elburgo, the following temple whose review deserves special attention in this route, is that of the Nativity of Nª Sª, in the small town of Añúa. A temple that, although very reformed throughout the different historical periods, already contains in its constitution protogothic elements of transition, that show interesting symbolic reviews, as it could not be less, if we consider that we speak of a place that was very linked to the Jacobean pilgrimages, as it passed through and still passes that ancestral road called as Vasco del interior.

It draws attention, on the other hand, the hexagonal shape of its apse. A form that, after all, is not alien to some constructions of the province, being one of the most notable examples, the imposing apse of the parish church of Lasarte, place that we have to place in the vicinity of the Alava capital and just a little more than a kilometer from the unsurpassed although ill-fated Collegiate of Armentia.

Perhaps the detail of being part of that Jacobean path, served as an inspiration, in the background to the stonemasons who, in the end, left a considerable number of artistic ornaments complex and at the same time rich symbolism. Among them, apart from the presence of the cow (1) - very present theme, especially in the Romanesque north of the peninsula - it is possible to stand out, given its complexity and also, because in my point of view, it is not very frequent to find, tremendously significant figure of the jester.

Equivalent to that enigmatic figure, who within the Tarot deck is known as the Fool, the buffoon offers us a wake-up call, and at the same time, a wink from the stonemason who warns us that sometimes -or perhaps more often than not- what we imagine - appearances deceive; above all, if we take into account that behind that burlesque, outlandish appearance, there hides a wise personality, whose message -argotic, after all- must be carefully analyzed. Interestingly, their position, next to the cow, can be, in some way, also significant.

Birds and snakes, including winged dragons -representativity of the binomial sky and earth- are also present in this temple of Añúa, where even the stonemasons added a touch of erotic picaresque and it is even possible that the Magister represented himself, wielding a pike .

Likewise, common to the theme developed in numerous temples of the province, the vegetal or foliaceous motifs also have a variegated diversity. Interesting, as a climax to this brief approach to the symbolic here developed, comment on the presence of an animal of rich symbology, such as the wolf (2).

Finally, note that the cover shows us, as main motifs of ornamentation, human faces and plant motifs.

Notes, References and Bibliography:

(1) The subject of the cow, has in this church of the Nativity of Añúa, a particularly intense relevance. It is observed on numerous occasions, even as small heads peeping through the vegetation, perhaps as a review of the ancient cults, where this animal had a more than important relevance, which may be a large subject to be treated separately.
(2) Among others, the wolf was one of the animals adopted by some medieval quarry lodges. Also, it was the companion -possibly substituted or Christianized by the figure of the dog- of saints of mystical connotations, such as San Roque, San Lázaro and even Santa Quiteria. In Celtic mythology, it was the representative animal of the god Lug.

NOTICE: Originally published in my blog ROMÁNICA, ENIGMAS DEL ROMÁNICO ESPAÑOL. Both the text and the photographs that accompany it are my exclusive intellectual property. The original entry, where you can check the authorship of juancar347, can be found at the following address: https://juancar347-romanica.blogspot.com/2013/05/anua-church-of-the-natividad-de-ns. html