Directions The Serpent’s Stone in Vilaescura (Legend)
There is a traditional legend that tells of how many, many years ago, when the mythical beings known as mouros and mouras first arrived in this part of Galicia, a beautiful moura* fell in love with a young man from the village of Vilaescura in the municipality of Sober.
They fell in love, and they began to meet each other in the forest, always in the same place: behind an enormous stone along a hidden path.
One day the moura’s family found out about what was happening, and they decided to kill the young man. In those days, they were unable to accept a love story between people from such different origins and cultures.
When the beautiful moura found out that they had killed her lover, she went mad. She cast a spell and turned herself into a black serpent. Ever since then, she has remained in the area of the large stone that concealed their secret meetings in the forest, hoping that one day her lover will return.
This means that even now, if you are walking through the forests of Vilaescura and see a black serpent, you must be careful not to harm it, because it is the serpent of the Moura’s Stone.
This tale from the local folklore has been portrayed in a mural named after the story, located in the town of Sober. It was created as part of the project A Touch of Colour in Ribeira Sacra.
Text describing the legend by María Oruña Reinoso and Antonio Reigosa, taken from the book Galicia Encantada.
*Definition of moura