The Need for a Decaying Past: An Archaeology of Oblivion in Contemporary Galicia (NW Spain)

Abstract

Between the late 19^th century and the 1960s hundreds of thousands of people emigrated from Galicia to America and Europe. From the 1970s onwards many of these emigrants returned to their homeland and with them came a sense of shame for their old pre-modern peasant identity. In this article, the relationship between former emigrants and their houses is explored. I want to show that the construction of a new modern self involves a peculiar attitude towards vernacular architecture, in which nostalgia is transformed into disappointment and rage. Material culture in general and houses in particular are actively used to make statements about history and identity and to (re)construct biographies. Yet not only are new houses used in this way, abandoned buildings and discarded artifacts also play an outstanding role in creating new identities. Instead of places of collective recollection, ruins become ambiguous locales where an unpleasant past is exorcised.