Nabia was the goddess of
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...
s and
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as ...
in
Gallaecia
Gallaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the north-west of Hispania, approximately present-day Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal, Asturias and León (province), Leon and the lat ...
n and
Lusitanian mythology, in the territory of modern
Galicia
Galicia may refer to:
Geographic regions
* Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain
** Gallaecia, a Roman province
** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia
** The medieval King ...
(
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
),
Asturias
Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain.
It is coextensiv ...
(
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
) and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
.
The present-day
Navia River and
Avia (river) in Galicia and Asturias, the
Neiva River
Neiva () is the capital of the Department of Huila. It is located in the valley of the Magdalena River in south central Colombia with a population of about 357,392 inhabitants. It is one of the most important cities in southern Colombia, mainly ...
, near
Braga
Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...
(''Bracara Augusta'', old
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
capital of Gallaecia) and the
Nabão River which passes through the city of
Tomar
Tomar (), also known in English as Thomar (the ancient name of Tomar), is a city and a municipality in the Santarém district of Portugal. The town proper has a population of about 20,000. The municipality population in 2011 was 40,677, in an a ...
may all share the etymology of the goddess's name.
The goddess Nabia was very popular in the territory of the
Callaici Bracari The Bracari or Callaeci Bracari were an ancient Celtic tribe of Gallaecia, living in the northwest of modern Portugal, in the province of Minho, between the rivers Tâmega and Cávado. After the conquest of the region beginning in 136BC, the Ro ...
with several inscriptions, like the one at Braga's ''
Fonte do Ídolo'' (
Portuguese for ''Fountain of the Idol'').
See also
*
Castro culture
Castro culture ( gl, cultura castrexa, pt, cultura castreja, ast, cultura castriega, es, cultura castreña, meaning "culture of the hillforts") is the archaeological term for the material culture of the northwestern regions of the Iberian Pe ...
*
Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula
This is a list of the pre-Roman people of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania, i. e., modern Portugal, Spain and Andorra). Some closely fit the concept of a people, ethnic group or tribe. Others are confederations or even unions of t ...
References
* Coutinhas, José Manuel. ''Aproximação à identidade etno-cultural dos Callaici Bracari''. Porto. 2006.
* García Fernández-Albalat, Blanca. ''Guerra y Religión en la Gallaecia y la Lusitania Antiguas''. A Coruña. 1990.
* Olivares Pedreño, Juan Carlos. ''Los Dioses de la Hispania Céltica''. Madrid. 2002.
Further reading
* Abad, Rosa Brañas. "Navia. La gran diosa galaica". In: ''Memoria del agua: la tradición y el imaginario galaicos''. Ladislao Castro Pérez (ed. lit.), María Eugenia Muñoz Fernández (ed. lit.), 2021, págs. 87-132. .
* Fernández-Albalat, Blanca García. "La diosa Nabia: nueva interpretación". In: ''Actas 1er. Congreso Peninsular de Historia Antigua : Santiago de Compostela, 1-5 julio 1986''. Gerardo Pereira Menaut (dir. congr.), Vol. 2, 1988, págs. 249-261. .
* Olivares Pedreño, Juan Carlos.
El culto a Nabia en Hispania y las diosas polifuncionales indoeuropeas. In: ''Lucentum'', ISSN-e 1989-9904, Nº 17-18, 1998-1999, págs. 229-242. .
* .
El nombre de la diosa lusitana Nabia y el problema del betacismo en las lenguas del occidente peninsular. In: ''Ilu'' 2 (1997): 141-149.
External links
(in Portuguese)
El nombre de la diosa lusitana Nabia(in Spanish)
Sea and river goddesses
Lusitanian goddesses
Gallaecian goddesses
{{Portugal-hist-stub