The Wells of Tanit

JUN 24, 2025

<div>When the Ibiza-based writer and cultural historian Martin Davies refers to Ibiza as an island of migrants, he’s not just referring to the human population – way before the first human set foot on this territory, it was home to a spectacular array of feathered beings, temporarily resting on these shores, and bringing with them their melodic, haunting calls, and their legacies from distant lands. When we tune our ears into the song of the feathered ones, which messages do they offer us? Here on Ibiza it is the Nit de Sant Joan, or St. John’s night, Spain and the Balearic Islands’ midsummer celebration which involves jumping the purifying fires, as well as renewing spirits with the restoring freshwaters of the wells. I bring this episode to you from the Pou de Aubarqueta, near San Miguel, a stunningly beautiful and historical well, easily recognised by its curved, egg-shaped form on the roadside. Here, we delve into the secrets of well that has been known as ‘blessed’ since Arab times, and which continues to provide for the local community over a millennia later. And from the starting point of an egg-shaped well, a mythical journey begins…. With the help of three local bird companions, and the incredibly rich local folklore, myths, legends and meanings attached to them. In times of much darkness, human conflict and cruelty in the world, we will open ourselves to the eternal messages of the birds, and see if we can mend our broken wings and return to the skies. This episode features birdsong recorded on my phone over the past year in different locations of the North of Ibiza, at different times of day. Also included is an ambient soundscape by Sinewave Lab (via <a href="http://Freesound.com">Freesound.com</a>) Mentioned in this episode: - The Bird at Dawn, poem by Harold Monro - Institut de Estudis Eivissencs <a href="https://estudiseivissencs.cat/">https://estudiseivissencs.cat/</a> - Birds of Ibiza, illustrated by Sarah Nechamkin, edited by Martin Davies, Barbary Press, 2013 - ‘The End of the End of the Earth: Essays’, Jonathan Franzen - The Well of Grief, poem by David Whyte - David Abram, writer, philosopher, ecologist <a href="https://www.davidabram.org/">https://www.davidabram.org/ </a>- ‘Gallo Rojo, Gallo Negro’ song by Chicho Sánchez Ferlosio (1963), a versión of which features at the end of the Goya award-winning film ‘El 47’, directed by Marcel Barrena (2024) - ‘Tras el Velo de Tanit: historia mágica de Ibiza y Formentera’ by Jorge Montojo, published by Montolongo, 2006 - ‘Ibiza: A World Forgotten’, writings by Rolph Blakstad, originally published by White Ibiza magazine (year unknown) - La Paloma restaurant, San Lorenzo, Ibiza. <a href="https://palomaibiza.com/">https://palomaibiza.com/ </a>- ‘Feminism and Religion’, blog by Carol P. Christ <a href="https://feminismandreligion.com/">https://feminismandreligion.com/</a> - Up Where We Belong, song by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes (lyrics quoted), 1982 - Broken Wings, song by Mister Mister (lyrics quoted), 1985. Written, presented and edited by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer, performance-maker, writer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients (<a href="http://www.theatreoftheancients.com/"><a href="http://www.theatreoftheancients.com">www.theatreoftheancients.com</a></a>) Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent' by Uc (released by Produccions Blau, Mallorca) Instagram: @wellsoftanit Facebook: The Wells of Tanit If you appreciate this podcast please leave us a review on Itunes as this really helps the podcast reach a wider audience. </div>

53 MIN

OCT 31, 2023

11: Episode Eleven: CAMINO

<div> “These caminos are the gateway into the labyrinth…” What do we find if we unpeel the layers of Ibiza’s traditional dirt roads? We discover a hidden mycelial network of interconnected stories, and an insular way of life that was bound together by the paths the people trod. We discover the old, forgotten rhythms of Ibiza, and a sense of what was sacred and important to the Ibicenco people before the arrival of tourism. But in the red earth camino we also unexpectedly find a mirror and a metaphor for the road of life that we all walk, and some nuggets of wisdom as to how best to make that journey. It’s the eve of Tots Sants, or Samhain, and this episode comes from the depths of a pomegranate grove in the lost depths of the Benimussa valley, in the South of Ibiza. Here, I sit beside the Pou de Benimussa, a handsome stone well which I nearly couldn’t find, and one which has much to tell me about the imprint left by the Moors on this magical valley, and the drastic shifts and passing of time since then. My passage down the caminos of Ibiza begins with a conversation with my old schoolfriend Clare, with whom I spent a summer hitch-hiking around the North of Ibiza two decades ago. From there, we explore the camino as a pilgrim path for travellers and seekers, before wondering about its role in the lives of the native Ibizans, and what happened to the island’s caminos with the abrupt arrival of tourism. I speak to theatre-maker Celia Ruiz about her moving and inspiring project to bring one of Ibiza’s abandoned caminos back to life through immersive and sensory theatre, and ask what is the future of the island’s slow transit, dirt roads, as globalisation brings a very different, and sometimes dangerous rhythm to Ibiza’s roads. We end with a conversation with friend, artist and forestry firewoman Romanie Sanchez, who shares what her regular journeys down the nearby Camí de Benimussa mean to her. Dispersed throughout this episode is the hauntingly beautiful music of Edinburgh-based musician and artist Burnt Paw (Andy Green), taken from his latest album, ‘Levitation Songs’. I'm infinitely grateful that he has given me permission to use these evocative tracks, and you can download the album (or buy it on cassette) via Bandcamp: <a href="https://burntpaw.bandcamp.com/">https://burntpaw.bandcamp.com/</a> Mentioned/featured in this episode: - Casita Verde / Greenheart – ecological centre in Benimussa, Ibiza. - Joan Castelló Guasch, Balearic folklorist - A Season in Heaven: True Tales from the Road to Kathmandu by David Tomory, 1998 - ‘California’ by Joni Mitchell, from the album Blue, 1971 - Ibiza: La Destrucción del Paraiso, by Joan Lluís Ferrer, 2010, (Balàfia Postals) - Ibiza historians: Emily Kaufman and Joan Marí Cardona - Rolph Blakstad, founder of Blakstad Design Consultancy - The Teachings of Don Juan, memoir by Carlos Casteneda, 1968 - The Book of Trespass: Crossing the Lines that divide us, by Nick Hayes, 2021 - Plataforma per la Catalogació dels Camins Públics d'Eivissa – cultural association defending Ibiza’s public caminos. - Celia Ruiz, theatre-maker, theatre-director and clown: <a href="https://www.celiaruizcrea.com/">https://www.celiaruizcrea.com/</a> (many thanks to Karen Killeen for the voice-over) - Road, (extract from) a poem by Jessica Dunlop of Can Purtell, Ibiza. - Romanie Sanchez, Ibiza-based surrealist painter: <a href="https://romanie.net/">https://romanie.net/ </a>- Santiago, (extract from) a poem by David Whyte, taken from Pilgrim, 2013. Written, presented and edited by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer, performance-maker, writer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients (<a href="http://www.theatreoftheancients.com/"><a href="http://www.theatreoftheancients.com">www.theatreoftheancients.com</a></a>) Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent' by Uc (released by Produccions Blau, Mallorca) Instagram: @wellsoftanit Facebook: The Wells of Tanit If you appreciate this podcast please leave us a review on Itunes as this helps the podcast reach a wider audience. </div>

103 MIN

JUL 21, 2022

10: Episode Ten: PUPPETS AND DOLLS

<div>Episode Ten is an exploration of a theme very close to my heart as a puppeteer - how have puppets, dolls and crafted deities been used on the island of Ibiza in past times? Before me, who else has thought of fashioning a handcrafted figure representing an imaginary being..... why did they do it, what was driving them? Welcome to a world where reality and fantasy are sometimes hard to separate, where dreams can become delusions and where a fairytale can suddenly flip into a nightmare..... this is Episode Ten: Puppets and Dolls. At the myth-steeped Font d'en Lluna well, at the mouth of the river of Santa Eulària, I recorded this episode on a warm midsummer's night. As I explain, this is the perfect location to discuss magical and imaginary beings, as the ancient riverside bathing spot is associated with many local myths and legends. Here, we gaze into the watery looking glass and travel back in time fifty years to remember the extraordinary and tragic story of Ingeborg Schaefer, the talented puppeteer of Ibiza's old town who came to be brutally murdered under suspicious circumstances.... **I am honoured and overjoyed to have been given permission to incorporate two tracks into this episode by the New York-based toy piano artist, Margaret Leng Tan (<a href="https://www.margaretlengtan.com/">https://www.margaretlengtan.com/</a>), from her album The Art of the Toy Piano. Sincere thanks also go to Toby Twining (<a href="https://soundcloud.com/toby-twining-music">https://soundcloud.com/toby-twining-music</a>) who composed the track Satie Blues, and the toy piano arrangement of John Lennon/Paul McCartney’s Eleanor Rigby.** ....We then enter into deep conversation with the Ibizan journalist, writer and criminologist Cristina Amanda Tur, author of the book 'Ingeborg: El Crimen de las Marionetas', published by Balàfia postals. Through exploring the life, and death, of the puppeteer Ingeborg Schaefer on Ibiza in the 1970's, we discover that sometimes a puppeteer themself can be puppeteered by the circumstances, people and unspoken secrets surrounding them. (<a href="https://territoriocat.wordpress.com/tag/cristina-amanda-tur/">https://territoriocat.wordpress.com/tag/cristina-amanda-tur/</a>) But sweet-natured Ingeborg wasn't the only one on this island who ever channeled her dreams for a different world into hand-crafted puppets and dolls. Stick to the end of the episode and you might be in for a few surprises...... Mentioned/featuring in this episode: - ‘Guia Mágica de Fuentes y Pozos de Santa Eulalia del Rio’, by Michel Ferrer Clapés - History and folklore of the Pont Vell bridge, via the blog of Cristina Amanda Tur: <a href="https://territoriocat.wordpress.com">https://territoriocat.wordpress.com</a> - 'Ingeborg: El Crimen de las Marionetas' ('Ingeborg: The Puppet crime'), book by Cristina Amanda Tur, published by Balafia Postals, 2021 - Interview with Cristina Amanda Tur, criminologist, journalist and writer (<a href="https://territoriocat.wordpress.com/tag/cristina-amanda-tur/">https://territoriocat.wordpress.com/tag/cristina-amanda-tur/</a>) - Thank you to Bex Hronek, co-founder of Los Fermentistas, for providing the voice over for my interview with Cristina Amanda Tur (<a href="https://www.losfermentistas.net/es">https://www.losfermentistas.net/es</a>) - ‘A brief history of San Vicente’ essay by historian Emily Kaufmann, included in the novel ‘The Road to San Vicente’ by Leif Borthen, published by Barbary Press in 2007. Written, presented and edited by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer, performance-maker and founder of Theatre of the Ancients (<a href="http://www.theatreoftheancients.com/"><a href="http://www.theatreoftheancients.com">www.theatreoftheancients.com</a></a>) Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent' by Uc (released by Produccions Blau, Mallorca) Instagram: @wellsoftanit Facebook: The Wells of Tanit If you appreciate this podcast please leave us a review on Itunes as this helps the podcast reach a wider audience. </div>

76 MIN

SEP 25, 2021

9: Episode Nine: 'X'

<div> 'I remember when I first laid eyes on 'X'.....' Episode Nine is devoted to the mystery, the myth and the meaning behind the letter 'X', as found in the local place names and language of Ibiza. What is the story behind these 'X's which are found on so many of Ibiza's roadsigns, from La Xanga in the South, to Portinatx in the North? As markings leading us back to Eivissa's Catalan roots, what precious, local information is buried within them? Join me today as I head to the place which first initiated me into the mystery of 'X' - Portinatx, Ibiza's Northernmost village. Here, I track down the Pou de s'Arenal Petit, a local well which has silently witnessed Portinatx's drastic transformation from a remote idyll into a major touristic hub in less than seventy years. After a sad discovery at the site of Portinatx's historical sea well, I retreat to some nearby rocks to delve deeply into the multi-layered languages of Ibiza as symbol for the island's complicated relationship with globalization, and its own authentic, traditional culture. And I share with you an in depth conversation with the Ibizan writer and journalist Xescu Prats (<a href="https://www.ibiza5sentidos.es/">https://www.ibiza5sentidos.es/</a>), who leads us on a magical mystery tour into Ibizan toponymy, history, folklore and cultural identity, via the letter 'X' that he proudly bears in his own first name. I hope you enjoy this exploration of the world of 'X' - a symbol for that aspect of a famous, summer holiday destination which is dark, elusive and always slightly beyond our grasp... It has so much to teach us, and stands in complete opposition to all that we think we know about the island. May we always keep searching for it. Mentioned/featuring in this episode: - 'Ibiza: la destruccion del Paraiso', by Joan Lluis Ferrer, published by Balàfía Postals, 2015 - “Portinatx: how tourism conquered a little piece of paradise”, article published in Diario de Ibiza, 13th July, 2019 - writings on Portinatx's well, Es Pou de S’arenal Petit, by Martin Davies, founder of Barbary Press - Enric Ribes, Ibizan toponomist (who has investigated 'ses senyes', Ibiza's ancient oral navigation system used by the island's fishermen) - Xescu Prats: Ibizan writer, cultural commentator and journalist, founder of Ibiza 5 Sentidos (<a href="https://www.ibiza5sentidos.es/">https://www.ibiza5sentidos.es/</a>) - Thank you to Enrique Villalonga (<a href="http://www.filmotica.com">www.filmotica.com</a>) for providing the voice over for my interview with Xescu Prats. - 'twelve secret names'.... idea coined by the storyteller and mythologist Martin Shaw (<a href="https://drmartinshaw.com/">https://drmartinshaw.com/</a>) - 'Braiding Sweetgrass', book by Robin Wall Kimmerer, published in 2013 by Penguin. Written, presented and edited by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer, performance-maker and founder of Theatre of the Ancients (<a href="http://www.theatreoftheancients.com">www.theatreoftheancients.com</a>) Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent' by Uc (released by Produccions Blau, Mallorca) Instagram: @wellsoftanit Facebook: The Wells of Tanit If you appreciate this podcast please leave us a review on Itunes as this helps the podcast reach a wider audience.</div>

68 MIN

APR 22, 2021

8: Episode Eight: BREAD

<div>If we go in search of the original bread of Ibiza, what will we find along the way? No doubt, following the trail of flour, water and masa madre will lead us back to the authentic, ancient culture of the island and tell us about the profound relationship the Ibicenco people had with their land and their soil until the arrival of mass tourism about fifty years ago. Join me today at the Font d'Atzaró spring, a hidden gem deep in the countryside of San Carles, North East Ibiza, where we explore that humble, universally-recognised food staple of bread as a symbol of sustenance, community, fertility... and man's timeless relationship with the cycles of nature, of life and death. Travelling backwards we voyage from the loaf to the wheat-sheaf to the seed, visiting the traditional Ibicencan restaurant Es Pins, in San Lorenzo, which has been serving its local community with bread baked in a wood-fired oven since the 1970's. From there we explore the mysteries and sacred nature of Ibiza's circular threshing floors, where the island's farmers would separate their wheat grains from the husks at harvest time. Finally, we head south to the Finca Ecologica Can Puvil, where I talk to Ibicencan farmer Marina Cardona about her passion for conserving, and reviving, Ibiza's most ancient wheat, the 'xeixa' grain. This conversation continues a theme first raised in The Gang of Witches Ibiza podcast about Ibizan female farmers and seed sovereignty, 'The Rise of the Rural Women' (link below). With a humble loaf in our hands, we are searching for clues to the origin and roots of Ibiza's rich, complex and many-layered culture and, as always, it reveals itself to us in unexpected ways. Come with me again to the ancient life source of Eivissa... to the Wells of Tanit... I hope you enjoy the adventure. Mentioned/featuring in this episode: - 'When I was Furthest from Water' poetry-photography book by Joanna Hruby and Michaela Meadow, published by Hedgespoken Press (<a href="https://hedgespokenpress.com/">https://hedgespokenpress.com/</a>) - 'De Cuando el Pan era Sagrado en Ibiza' (When Bread was Sacred on Ibiza…” Miguel Angel Gonzalez, Dec 2020, Diario de Ibiza - Es Pins restaurant, San Lorenzo, Ibiza (<a href="https://www.ibiza5sentidos.es/restaurantes/es-pins/">https://www.ibiza5sentidos.es/restaurantes/es-pins/</a>) - Voice over for the Es Pins interview with Kati is provided by Karen Killeen, actress, activist and founder of Exctinction Rebellion Ibiza - 'De la Siega y la Trilla', Miguel Angel González, July 2016, Diario de Ibiza - Bread and Puppet Theater, Vermont, USA (<a href="http://breadandpuppet.org">breadandpuppet.org</a>) - Finca Ecologica Can Puvil, San Jose, Ibiza (<a href="https://ibizaproduce.org/can-puvil/">https://ibizaproduce.org/can-puvil/</a>) - Jo Youle of Reset Rebel Productions's original interview with Marina Cardona of Can Puvil in 'The Rise of the Rural Women' for the Gang of Witches podcast: <a href="https://podcast.ausha.co/gang-of-witches-ibiza-podcast/2-the-rise-of-the-rural-women">https://podcast.ausha.co/gang-of-witches-ibiza-podcast/2-the-rise-of-the-rural-women</a> - Voice over for Marina Cardona provided by actress Ali Gray (find her new podcast project on Instagram at @offmytitspodcast) - Featured in this episode are audio clips of the 'xacoters' of Sa Torre des Puig d'en Valls performing the 'Caramelles de Pascua', an ancient ibizan chanting tradition performed in the island's churches every Easter. Written, presented and edited by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients(<a href="http://www.theatreoftheancients.com/"><a href="http://www.theatreoftheancients.com">www.theatreoftheancients.com</a></a>) Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent' by Uc (released by Produccions Blau, Mallorca) Instagram: @wellsoftanit Facebook: The Wells of Tanit If you appreciate this podcast please leave us a review on Itunes as this helps the podcast reach a wider audience.</div>

59 MIN

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