Women with a bold temperament, without beating around the bush or “mincing their words” and with the aura of being the owners of the entire street, carried their fish in a basket on their heads.

“Oh, long live the coast.

Look at the sardine, it lives on the coast.

There are beautiful horse mackerel and sardines.

There is fresh horse mackerel, look at the horse mackerel for the cat.

Oh customer, come down below.

Hey customer, take a block, my sardines are fresh.

I have beautiful chicharro, horse mackerel, fine hake.”

Fishing as part of the Economy

In a country right on the seashore, the fishing tradition in Portugal seems quite timeless. This has always been one of our main economic activities, in a country where the coastline is abundant in terms of length and marine life, and there is no shortage of estuaries, lagoons and marshes created by nature. Under these conditions, not only fishing, but also activities such as shipbuilding, rope-making, cooperage and salt extraction became a vital part of an economy based largely on the coastal area. With these arts came their protagonists, and with fishing practices came not only fishermen, naturally, but also a figure that did not seem born to be secondary: the varina.

The origin

Originally from Beira Litoral, street fish vendors date back to the 19th century and it was in Lisbon that they began to (truly) attract attention, with their characteristic costumes and cries that capture the attention of even the most inattentive passer-by. Within the public sphere, dominated by men at the time, the varinas captured their place, of charm and respect, on their own merit, with their assertive attitude and without manifest prejudices, and their unencumbered character and sharp liveliness.

Lisbon in other times: the origin of the varinas (ncultura.pt)

Lisbon in other times: the origin of the varinas (ncultura.pt)

Exuberances and Migrations

Their mannerisms also left their mark on the social imagination. António Miranda, from the Lisbon Museum, describes: “(…) they create a very particular atmosphere in Beira Rio. On the one hand, there is a certain exuberance, an exuberance in the community’s way of walking, especially very feminine. In the way they walk with their hips swaying, in the way they speak, in their chanting. (…) And in the constant shouting in which, in fact, life in Beira Rio developed”. Originally called ovarinas, these women were mostly from the areas of Ovar and other towns in the district of Aveiro and went to Lisbon in search of work. Only later did time drop the first letter of their name (also hiding the origin of these migrants), and their name was simplified in order to also standardize the trend of a lifestyle that crossed its initial borders to spread throughout the country.

The fishing villages, by the river/sea

After settling in the neighborhoods of Madragoa or Alfama, among others, their work generally began when the fishermen, often their husbands or other close family members, finished their work. These families settled, for the most part, in fishing villages - communities that became increasingly important as the Portuguese tradition of the sea and fishing developed -, with their small storage huts for fishing equipment, benches worn down by the sun used while mending their nets and, in short, small picturesque dwellings, with nautical carvings and of a purely practical nature for those people who made their living at sea, or through it. Fishing villages quickly “left” the capital and today we can find hundreds of examples spread along the Portuguese coast. X-arqWeb (cm-lisboa.pt)

The costume

The costumes were an integral part, as important as their vocal virtue, of the figure of the varina. Carlos Cardoso, from the blog Trajes de Portugal , outlines an impeccable description of them: “ Her attire is perfectly suited to her role: a cotton blouse, a long, wide skirt and a striped apron. To hold up the skirt, adapting to her height, or her belly, when pregnant, she wears a cloth sash around her hips. On her head, a woolen cloth scarf and a felt hat with a small brim turned up to catch the drips that fall from the basket. On her feet, usually barefoot, she wears wooden clogs and black sheepskin. In winter, she wears a thick woolen shawl that crosses over her chest and ties at the back, so as to allow her arms to move.

The profile

Women with a bold temperament, without beating around the bush or “mincing their words” and with the aura of being the owners of the entire street, carried their fish in a basket on their heads, and their hand on their waist is already an iconic image of their identity. On the street, their presence was more than just noticed - it was notorious - and their cries and quick responses filled them with fascination and, thus, a source of inspiration for countless artistic means - including the Flower Carpets mentioned here - which made a point of immortalizing this true symbol, not only of Lisbon, but Portuguese and timeless.

MNAC: The varinas (museuartecontemporanea.gov.pt)

X-arqWeb (cm-lisboa.pt)

The profile

António Miranda further profiles them: “This character of the fishwife ends up arriving in a grey, very conservative universe and the way she behaves on the street goes against all the norms of what the city is used to. Obviously, we are not talking about women of the night, here we are talking about a working community that appropriates this urban space as its territory, its natural territory. That makes all the difference.”

In the voice(s) themselves...

Reports from fishmongers today reveal the changes that have taken place over time and in their living conditions, and with them the figure of the fishmonger has also changed, now relegated to the market and increasingly distant from its former personification: “In the past, people carried the basket on their heads, then they moved to the car. Now we have the market in Ovar. Someone would get up at 5:30 or 6 in the morning so we could walk to Furadouro to get the fish, carrying the basket on their heads,” recalls an old fishmonger, nostalgic for other times and customs.

lisbon: varinas – Endless Mile

Collections and Products

To pay homage to this very symbol, Letheshome created the Varinas Floridas collection (see it here ) and produced two cushion cover designs with a direct reference to the varinas. The collection is available in items for your table, living room, kitchen and bedroom, as well as extending to the much-loved traditional scarves and (more contemporary) tote bags . The aforementioned collection quickly became a best seller , proving the appreciation and fascination that the national public has for these charming figures. “Oh, fishwife, pass by, you go first! You are the flower of the race, The most serious grace From the whole country”

We strongly recommend watching the following documentary, produced by Lisbon City Council, where we can find a huge range of audiovisual and documentary sources on the figure of the varina as a woman, mother, worker and, undoubtedly, a symbol of the capital and the country itself.

Lisbon in other times: the origin of the varinas (ncultura.pt)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-9v4GFS_EA