SPAIN
191
SPAIN
From the foregoing table the change in the nature
of the charitable works may be noted according to the
various epochs. Those of a distinctly pious nature
reached the maximum point from the fifteenth to
the eighteenth centuries and decreased rapidly in the
following centuries; with those dealing with social-
economic problems exactly the contrary was the case.
This is a natural consequence of the politico-social
character of the respective periods. Similar is the
development of the foundations for the benefit of
women and similar causes serve to explain it. On the
other hand, charities having for their object the relief
of the sick and poor are not subject to decided varia-
tions, doubtless because this special form of need is
constant. Grouped according to their objects, the
foundations established down to the present are as
follows:
Active. Inoperative,
For the Poor 797 716
For the Sick 696 714
Social and economic 120 55
Educational 757 549
Dowries and pensiona 1153 1059
Religious 592 309
Ninety-five per cent of the beneficent foundations in Spain have had their mainspring in charity, have been sustained by Christian sentiments, and have suffered from the animosity of Radicals of all stamps. The four hundred and forty-two official charitable institu- tions (provincial or municipal) are attended by re- ligious communities or by as,sociations of women. In one hundred and eleven of these institutions these services are rendered gratuitously, and in two hun- dred and eighty-eight they receive a peseta (about 19 cents) daily for food and ten pesetas a month for cloth- ing. All the private institutions are attended by religious communities and many of them supported by them as well. The organizations through which charities are operated are a Protectorate and Pro- vincial and Municipal Committees. To the Pro- tectorate, directed by the minister of the Interior and the president of the Council, pertain the functions of classifying, creating, enlarging, or modifying the various charitable in.stitutions, the distribution of surplus funds, the authorization of representatives of the institutions to have recourse to coiirts of justice and to sell property, the appointment and suspension, dissolution and re<:)rganizationof committees (juntas), authorization of transfers of scrip in the public debt, approval of statements and accounts, etc. The juntas, as subordinate organs, have only to co-operate with the protectorate, acting as agents and distributors of the property of the various institutions.
Radical and sweeping reforms were introduced and carried through by Sefior La Cierva. He began by reorganizing the protectorate, giving it a more nu- merous and better qualified pensonnel, creating the "Junta Superior de Beneficcncia" to assist the Pro- tectorate, and constituting a special bureau for the management of expenditures, liquidations, and sav- ings eiifected by it in favour of the charitable institu- tions. Another measure was the formation of archives, provincial and municipal, with correspond- ing indexes, giving a great deal of correct, though incomplete, statistics, to serve a.s a ba.sis for the knowl- edge of the work done in behalf of charity, the num- ber, capital, and patronage of the varioifiT charitable institutions. In this way the Protectorate is ably assisted in the performance of its important duties. Further measures were also prescribed which com- pleted the reform.
Religion, Moralily, Customs. — The greatest diver- sity in all respects exists in Spain between the in- habitants of the various regions; but certain zone.s may be marked off in which some characteristics in com- mon may be observed. Some similarity may be noted between the regions which were longest under the sway of Arab influences — Valencia, Murcia, and
Andalusia — and also between tho.se which in more
recent times have come more directly in 'contact with
foreigners, especially the maritime regions of Galicia
and Andalusia, and the most populous centres of
commerce.
The Spanish people are as a rule religious, and nat- urally inchned to the practices of Catholic worship. In their popular festivals secular diversions hold an equal place with religious observances. The morn- ing is devoted to magnificent church fvmctions, and the afternoon to balls, bull-fights, and other amuse- ments, which are carried on into the night. A great variety may be noted in the character of the popular diversions in the different sections, while the religious features are uniform and universal. In Andalusia and Murcia the bull-fight still holds first place; in Valencia the enthusiasm for it is not so great, and still less in Catalonia, Aragon, and other regions. In the Basque provinces the favourite sports are pe- lota, barra, and others. Catalonia is much addicted to dancing, and its popular dances are very various; here the ancient and extremely artificial dance of the Sardanas, in which a great number of persons take part, dancing in the form of a great circle, is still the fashion. The name is connected with that of Sardos or Cerdanes of Sardinia. In Aragon the jota, where the partners, man and woman, dance facing each other, but without taking hands, is still popular. In Andalusia and other provinces they have similar dances where the partners do not take hands. But as a rule more modern dances — the waltz, etc. — ^are more common. There are many regions, however, where the people scarcely dance at all.
There is also great difference in the popular songa of various sections. In the sections where Arabic influences have prevailed, singing is very general, but without chorus, sometimes accompanied by the cas- tanets, sometimes by the guitar. Another instru- ment very much used is the gaila (bagpipe), a goat- skin bag filled with air by means of which a kind of pipe is made to produce a continuous, monotonous sound. The inhabitants of the Bas<|vic jirovinces are noted for their good ear and tlie tuiii'fulne.ss of their songs, and of all the Spanish peoples they practice choral singing most. In Andalusia the seguidillas, malaguenas, etc. are very popular, some of them, aa the saetas of Seville, being sung in religious processions. Religious feasts are celebrated with long church func- tions, solemn Mass, music, and sermons, besides pro- cessions and pilgrimages. There are processions which have become widely celebrated, to which the people of all the surrounding district flock, such as the festivities of Holy Week at Seville and of Our Lady of the Pillar in Saragossa. The most popular devotion of the Spaniards is to the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of God, particularly under her titles of the Immacu- late Conception, of the Seven Dolours, of Mount Car- mel, and of the Rosary. Innumcral>lc Spanish women bear the name of Mary to which is added some dis- tinguishing title, de la Concepcidn, del Rosario, del Carmen, de los Dolores. Commonly, however, they are addressed only by the particular invocation, hence the Carmens, Dolores, Rosarios, Conchas (Concepci6n), Mercedes, etc. There is scarcely a town which does not possess a chapel or sanctuary dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, to which pilgrimages are made once or more frequently during the year. Many of these images are considered miraculous and are the centres of poetic legends.
The sacraments are much frequented in Spain, es- pecially in the more cultured sections — Catalonia, Valencia, Navarre, the Basque provinces. Old Castile, so that the Decree of Pius X with regard to daily communion was well received and the practice taken up. All kinds of pious congregations and confrater- nities, both ancient and modern, — such as those of Mount Carmel, the Rosary, the Third Orders, eepe-
