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Cuento y leyenda de Arenas

Diputación de Málaga
Portada Guía de cuentos y leyendas de la Axarquía.ESP

Cuento y leyenda de Arenas

Zip Code 29753
Chronicles and Legends (si se trata de historia)

The name Arenas comes from “El Arenal” (Sandy Spot) in reference to the deposits of sand and gravel which the river leaves behind as it passes the old farm house.

  • Name of its inhabitants:

Areneros.

  • Leyenda:

The legend of the capture of Bentomiz Castle is part of a past that is closely linked to the struggle between Moors and Christians. An oral tradition that comes down for generations since the end of the XV century that, in the absence of sufficient troops to expel the Moors, the Christians worked out an ingenious plan to achieve this and working at night they tied lanterns to the goats and sheep, making them look like a great army. When the defenders saw such an enormous and shining army approach, enlarged by all sorts of noises, they felt their position was untenable and opted to flee, leaving the castle in Christian hands.

The legend continues and says that all the treasures and precious metals discovered in the fortress were melted down to make a bell. But, when around 1.570 the times became difficult with the revolts of the Moors disrupting peace in the estates, it was decided to bury the bell within the fortress so as to protect it from being taken. The place and the form were so carefully kept that it has never since been found. Such a treasure over came the locals’ imagination and it is said that there are still some who go round with picks and spades in case they hear the clapper.

The Fountain of Love, a legend surrounding a fountain in a small district of Arenas, called Daimalos, says that during the Moorish period there lived in the farm a young girl who could see her vigor disappear without finding a suitor, and frightened of becoming a spinster, she asked the advice of an important person in the neighboring Sayalonga. The wise old man advised the young girl that she should go to the fountain to drink its water several times a day. She did as she was told and, soon, she found love. The young girl, blissful, told her friends what had happened and the legend was born: whoever drinks the water from the fountain in Dimalos will find love.

 

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Discover more about the province of Malaga