The Wells of Tanit

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“He who loses his language, loses his world.”
Scottish Gaelic proverbWhat does the Catalan language, and its local dialect of Eivissenc, really mean to the people of Ibiza who speak it today? How is it much more than a language, but rather, a fierce expression of local cultural identity on an island whose identity has been distorted and disfigured (on a global scale) as Ibiza the party island, and Ibiza the billionaire's playground? And how does speaking Eivissenc foster a deeper relationship with the landscapes of Eivissa?

Shortly after the Nit de Sant Joan, the midsummer solstice celebrations which traditionally take place on this island, and as heat waves rage across Europe, I retreat to well hidden in a forested glade near Atzaró, central-northern Ibiza, to the mysterious stone chamber of the Font d'en Prats. Here, as we gaze at the faint remains of decorative paintings leading down to the full pool of water below, we explore how Ibiza's 'indigenous' language is intrinsically tied to local sites like these.Our journey into Ibiza's native language runs in parallel with an exploration of the gaelic language of the British Isles, and how an entire cosmological worldview was repressed and erased with the later imposition of the English language. Meanwhile, on Eivissa, I speak to the eivissencan poet and linguistic activist Jèssica Ferrer Escandell to find out why she carries out all of her artistic work in Catalan, and why she sees defending the Catalan language as a vital way to explore new cultural movements on Ibiza. Then we visit Hazel Morgan,the native English president of Amics de la Terra Eivissa (Friends of the Earth Ibiza), and also a fluent Eivissenc speaker, to hear her moving reflections on why language and ecology are inherently intertwined.

English voiceover for the interview with Jèssica Ferrer Escandell is provided by Olivia Gajetzki.

This episode features the track Caisleán Óir by Clannad, whose lyrics are in gaelic.

Mentioned/featured in this episode:

Guia Mágica de Fuentes y pozos de Santa Eulalia del Rio, by Michel Ferrer Clapes, 1995
Extract from the Nit de Sant Joan (St. John’s night) manifesto, 2026, recited by the Institut d’Estudis Eivissencs (translated into English from Eivissenc)
Soil and Soul: People versus Corporate Power, by Alistair Macintosh, Aurum Press, 2001
Revista 078, Eivissan publishing collective. https://revista078.xyz/
Linguistic imperialism, term coined by Robert Phillipson
Amics de la Terra Eivissa (Friends of the Earth Ibiza): https://amicsdelaterraeivissa.org/ca/que-feim/
Thirty Two Words for Field by Manchán Magan, published in Emergence Magazine, 2026: https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/thirty-two-words-for-field/
La Casa Eivissenca by Rolph Blakstad, Loft Publications SL, 2021
Eivissenc/Catalan voices recorded during a hike to the Font den Prats in May 2026, organised by the Institut d’Estudis Eivissencs

Written, presented and produced by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer, performance-maker, writer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients (www.theatreoftheancients.com)
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.

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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 Freesound.com)

Mentioned in this episode:
- The Bird at Dawn, poem by Harold Monro
- Institut de Estudis Eivissencs https://estudiseivissencs.cat/
- 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 https://www.davidabram.org/
- ‘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. https://palomaibiza.com/
- ‘Feminism and Religion’, blog by Carol P. Christ https://feminismandreligion.com/
- 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 (www.theatreoftheancients.com)
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.

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“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: https://burntpaw.bandcamp.com/

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: https://www.celiaruizcrea.com/ (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: https://romanie.net/
- Santiago, (extract from) a poem by David Whyte, taken from Pilgrim, 2013.

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.

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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.

As usual, *full episode notes and exclusive additional material to accompany this episode are available via my online Patreon community, in the 3€/mth Resin-gatherers tier. For full details and to sign up, go to: www.patreon.com/theatreoftheancients ***

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 (https://www.margaretlengtan.com/), from her album The Art of the Toy Piano. Sincere thanks also go to Toby Twining (https://soundcloud.com/toby-twining-music) who composed the track Satie Blues, and the toy piano arrangement of John Lennon/Paul McCartney’s Eleanor Rigby. The full story of how I first crossed paths with Margaret Leng Tan and her incredibly original and emotive music is included in my episode notes on Patreon.

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.
(https://territoriocat.wordpress.com/tag/cristina-amanda-tur/)

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......

Written, presented and edited by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer, performance-maker and founder of Theatre of the Ancients (www.theatreoftheancients.com**)

For full episode notes, further reading and bonus material in relation to this podcast, sign up (commitment-free) to my online Patreon community at the 3€/mth Resin-gatherers tier, where you will also receive my monthly translations from local writers on Ibizan culture, history and folklore.*www.patreon.com/theatreoftheancients* Thank you to Bex Hronek for providing the voice over for my interview with Cristina Amanda Tur.
Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent*' by* Uc (released by Produccions Blau, Mallorca****)

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'I remember when I first laid my 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 (https://www.ibiza5sentidos.es/), 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. Written, presented and edited by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer, performance-maker and founder of Theatre of the Ancients **(www.theatreoftheancients.com)

For full episode notes, further reading and bonus material in relation to this podcast, sign up (commitment-free) to my Patreon community at the 2€/mth Ses Feixes tier, where you will also receive my monthly translations from local writers on Ibizan culture, history and folklore.

www.patreon.com/theatreoftheancients

Thank you to Enrique Villalonga (www.filmotica.com) for providing the voice over for my interview with Xescu Prats.**

Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent' by Uc (released by Produccions Blau, Mallorca**)

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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 Jo Youle's wonderful 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.

You can now support this podcast and journey with me deeper into the culture, history, folklore and myths of Ibiza by joining my Patreon community! Sign up from 1€/month to access exclusive additional material to accompany every podcast episode, as well as my creative writings, essays, translations and artistic offerings in relation to the culture of Ibiza: www.patreon.com/theatreoftheancients

Written, presented and edited by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients(www.theatreoftheancients.com**)

Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent*' by* Uc (released by Produccions Blau, Mallorca****)

Featured/referenced in this episode:

'*When I was Furthest from Water***' poetry-photography book by Joanna Hruby and Michaela Meadow, published by Hedgespoken Press (https://hedgespokenpress.com/)
'*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 (https://www.ibiza5sentidos.es/restaurantes/es-pins/)
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 (breadandpuppet.org)
Finca Ecologica Can Puvil, San Jose, Ibiza (https://ibizaproduce.org/can-puvil/)
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: https://podcast.ausha.co/gang-of-witches-ibiza-podcast/2-the-rise-of-the-rural-women
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.

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As the island of Ibiza undergoes huge changes and transformations as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, we explore what it means to close oneself off to the outside world, as Ibiza is currently doing:What is it to truly be, and 'feel' like an island?

We embark on this journey into Ibiza's closed, Insular nature at a very suitable location - the hermit's spring of Es Cubells, once home to the carmelite monk Francisco Palau i Quer, who spent prolongued periods meditating in isolation on the nearby uninhabited rock, Es Vedrà. From this enchanted spot, we contemplate the essence of Ibiza as an island that, up until the recent dawning of mass tourism and globalisation, looked inward, not outward....

We ponder on the insular, womb-like nature of Ibiza's traditional architecture, the casas payesas, and also the mysteries surrounding Es Culleram, the cave sanctuary to the goddess Tanit, discovered in the early 1900's. We visit the writings of Francisco Palau i Quer in which he recounted his mystic and religious visions on the island of Es Vedrà in the mid 1800's, and we meet the outspoken Hermana Gracia, one of the carmelite nuns who now runs the Es Cubells monastery.

There are some fascinating and sometimes harrowing stories of personal confinement on Ibiza, from recent history to the present day, as I try to unravel Ibiza's rapidly shifting social and cultural identity in light of the current pandemic.

Is it really true, that 'no man is an island'?

Written, presented and edited by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients(www.theatreoftheancients.com**)

Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent*' by* Uc (released by Produccions Blau, Mallorca****)

Featured / Mentioned in this episode:

'Baleares, confinada por mar y aire', 17th March 2020, Periodico de Ibiza*https://www.periodicodeibiza.es/noticias/baleares/2020/03/17/1149317/prohiben-desembarco-pasajeros-por-mar-vuelos-comerciales-baleares-algunas-excepciones.html* - 'The Psychic Environment', Rolph Blakstad, La Casa Eivissenca, 2009
'La Joyeria Ibicenca', Maria Lena Mateu Prats, 1984
'A Brief History of San Vicente', Emily Kaufmann, from 'The Road to San Vicente' published by Barbary Press, 1967
Francisco Palau i Quer 'My Relations with the Church', 2000
Many thanks to Nacho Sotomayer for granting me permission to feature his track 'Mosaic' (Francisco Sotomayor) from the album 'Noches de Encuentros: Alhambra Chill Out' released in 2003 by Sombra Records.** https://nachosotomayor.com/

**- Thank you to Karen Killeen, founder of Extinction Rebellion Ibiza, for providing the English language voice over for my interview with Hermana Gracia

'Dope in the Age of Innocence,' Damien Enright, Liberties Press, 2010
'Eric-Jan Harmsen: «Tendría que haber muerto de coronavirus, pero no me han dejado morir»', Diario de Ibiza, 15th June, 2020**

https://www.diariodeibiza.es/pitiuses-balears/2020/06/16/tendria-haber-muerto-coronavirus-han/1149543.html - 'Retorno a Cayo Coco', Laura Ferrer Arrambarri, Noudiari, 2020https://www.noudiari.es/2020/05/retorno-a-cayo-coco/ **Instagram: @wellsoftanit

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After a ridiculously long absence, we return to the ancient wells of Tanit to dive into the myths and the mysteries of The Big Blue - the waters which surround the island of Ibiza.

Episode Six is recorded beside Es Pouet, a historical well in the most unexpected location - on a beach in the built up, highly touristic town of San Antonio on Ibiza's west coast. Here, where ancient history meets mass tourism, I gaze at the sparkling Mediterranean waters surrounding this 'summer holiday island', and undertake a journey into their darker, lesser known facets...

We ponder on the meaning and importance of the ocean in Ibicenco history and folklore, and wonder about the gods or goddesses that might protect it. We remember the almighty Greek god Poseidon and imagine what might lie beneath the 8km long sea meadow named after him, the Posidonia, a living creature that is currently endangered by Ibiza's tourist industry.

I journey to Groc studios in Badalona, Barcelona, to meet and chat with the artist Elizabeth Rose Langford, whose exploration of Ibiza's natural earth pigments has led her to work with posidonia. She discusses her very personal artistic process, as well as her relationship with the island of Ibiza and her passion for its natural landscapes.

Later I weave a dirt track through the forest of San Mateu to meet Timotheus Freytag, a freediver who generously and thoughtfully tells me about how diving in Ibiza's waters without the use of oxygen tanks allows him to get to know the island, and himself, in new and deeper ways.

We dip into local tales and folklore about some of the treasures buried in the deep blue waters around this island, before I end up completely in darkness at the little well of Es Pouet, and say farewell, until the next time.

Written and presented by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients(www.theatreoftheancients.com**)

Thanks to Enrique Villalonga of Filmótica*(filmotica.com***) for the loan of recording equipment.

Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent*' by* Uc*(released by* Produccions Blau****)

Featured / Mentioned in this episode:

Xescu Prats: https://www.diariodeibiza.es/pitiuses-balears/2019/09/15/pouet-frontera-madereros-agua-dulce/1091674.html - Sea in the Greek Imagination, by Marie-Claire Beaulieu
Ibiza Preservation Foundation: Protection of Posidonia*https://ibizapreservation.org/esp/project/proteccion-de-la-posidonia/* - Elizabeth Rose Langford, abstract painter:*https://www.elizabethroselangford.com/* - Timotheus Freytag: True Blue Experiences, freediving on Ibiza:*https://www.trueblueexperiences.com/* - Tales of Mel, the Story of an Ibizan Hound, by Rafael Sainz**

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How have the ancient, and modern Migration Routes linking Ibiza with the rest of the world shaped the island's unique, multi-layered and often misunderstood identity? This is the question I ponder over in Episode Five, at an enchanted well with a jade green door, the Font de Can Pere Musson near San Lorenzo, Ibiza. With the help of an imaginary treasure map, we will journey through those layers of routes which have brought tribes of people, ideas and 'things' to and from this little Mediterranean island, giving it a cultural identity which is complex and staggeringly rich, but which often lies buried beneath the more commonly known, modern set of migration routes called mass tourism. Starting with the present day, we scrape back the layers of historical routes, stumbling upon the hippy trail, beatnik-filled steamships and pirates along the way. I am joined by Evelyn Naon, founder of Evelyn Naon Ibiza oil perfumes, and long time researcher and traveller of the ancient Moorish and Phoenician trading routes linking Ibiza with the North Africa, the Middle East and Arabia. She takes me on an olfactory journey into many of the sacred substances which have travelled along these routes, leaving their legacy on the island, and in her mysterious and universal scents which transcend gender, religion and culture. When we reach the final layer of my treasure map of migration routes, we discover that the most ancient ones aren't quite as buried as we thought, and these layers of old and new which shape Ibiza into the island it is today are more intertwined than we could have ever imagined....

Written and presented by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients(www.theatreoftheancients.com**)

Thanks to Enrique Villalonga of Filmótica*(filmotica.com***) for the loan of recording equipment.

Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent*' by* Uc*(released by* Produccions Blau****)

Featured / Mentioned in this episode:**

- 'When I was Furthest from Water' – poem by Joanna Hruby featuring photography by Michaela Meadow, published by Hedgespoken Press, 2018. (hedgespokenpress.com)

- 'Balafi: Fountain of Blessed Waters' by Rolph Blakstad, published in White Ibiza.

- 'The Spiritual Economy of Nightclubs and Raves: Osho Sannyasins as Party Promoters in Ibiza and Pune/Goa', Anthony D'Andrea, Culture and Religion Journal, Routledge, 2006.

- 'Fake! The Story of Elmyr de Hory, the Greatest Art Forger of our Time', Clifford Irving (1969)

- The White Island, Stephen Armstrong, 2004

- Evelyn Naon Ibiza: oil perfumes inspired by the ancient trading routes linking the Mediterranean with North Africa, the Middle East and Arabia. (evelynnaonibiza.com)

- Romanie Sanchez Smele (romanie.net) **Follow us on Instagram: @wellsoftanit

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In this episode we dig deep into the theme of Home, in relation to the modern and ancient culture of Ibiza. In the stunning wilderness of the Font d'es Verger, San Jose, with fresh water trickling above and below, we try to figure out what it is about the island of Ibiza that calls to so many people, leading them to search for a home here. We ponder on the 'bohemian island soul' which has become a high priced, VIP commodity in recent years, and try to trace it back to its authentic roots. I chat with an old friend Sol Ortega, about her twenty-year, shifting relationship with Ibiza, which began when she lived in caves around the island, at a time when this was both possible and accepted. Later we venture to the hills of San Joan and meet writer and playwright Ben Dunwell, whose play 'Her Island Name' centres around a property developer who arrives on Ibiza to attempt to renovate an ancient finca, but who ends up being 'renovated' herself... Ben chats with me at length about self-transformation, the idea of 'returning home' and that strange power the island has, drawing so many to its shores, and teaching them important, almost mythical lessons. We celebrate those centuries-old houses of Ibiza, the ones ever-more in danger of falling into the hands of money-hungry developers, and step inside one full of stories, relics and strange odours, thanks to Paul Richardson's personal account of restoring an Ibizan finca, first published in 'Our Lady of the Sewers and Other Adventures in Deep Spain.' And as night falls in the deep, pine-covered gorge of the Font d'es Verger, we say a prayer to that ibicenco farmer of Santa Ines who said 'no' to the promise of a foreigner's riches, and 'yes' to the place that he had always called home.

Written and presented by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients (www.theatreoftheancients.com**)

Co-editing: Enrique Villalonga of Filmótica (*filmotica.com*)

Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent*' by* Uc (released by Produccions Blau****)

Featured / Mentioned in this episode:**

'One Word is Too Often Profaned' (extract) P. B. Shelley (1822) 'Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen: the Love Affair of a Lifetime' – article in The Observer by Andrew Anthony, Sunday 30th June 2019 'More' (Barbet Schroeder, 1969) – cult film shot on Ibiza 'Ibiza..... A Dream?' (Tony Keeler, 1973) – rare, cult black and white photography book 'Her Island Name' – a play written by Ben Dunwell, first performed in San Lorenzo, Ibiza, in June 2019 'Epilogue' - Paul Richardson (extract), taken from The Road to San Vicente (Barbary Press, 2007) originally from 'Our Lady of the Sewers and Other Adventures in Deep Spain (1998) 'Walking Ibiza' – high quality island walking group (walkingibiza.com) **Follow us on Instagram: @wellsoftanit

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On Ibiza, an island converted by mass tourism into a 'mecca' for modern day sun worship, what is the authentic cultural and mythological significance of the sun? Join me this month on a quest to the Font d'en Miquelet, a well near to Santa Gertrudis in Northern Ibiza which is painted with mysterious ancient symbols which some associate with the sun. Here, we contemplate the almighty sun as ruler, life-giver and destroyer, and reflect on the moment that people first began to shed their clothes on Ibiza and embrace, rather than shelter from, the sun.

Exploring ancient egyptian sun gods and pagan fire rituals, we delve into the meaning of the sun in Ibiza's history and folklore, before stumbling on the Font d'en Miquelet's lost symbol of the moon goddess, Tanit... Join us as we venture to the headquarters of Blakstad Design Consultancy in San Carles, to ponder on the ancient symbols and motifs found at the island's wells and also on its traditional architecture, as explored by the company's founder, Rolph Blakstad, almost sixty years ago at the advent of tourism.

In this episode we reflect on the harmful, destroying power of the sun, turning to the poetry of Robert Hale, of Ibiza poetry collective Yabisah's Gashouse. We also discuss the introspective journey of witnessing the sun set each day, a process that is soundtracked as an art form by 'The Prince of Balearic Chill', DJ and producer Mark Barrott, who shares his personal insights with us.

Join me in the shade of a forgotten inland well, where we ponder on the firey celestial globe in the sky which keeps us alive, but also eternally threatens to destroy us... as humans, as landscapes, as communities and as mass tourism destinations such as Ibiza.

Written and presented by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients (www.theatreoftheancients.com**)

Series sponsor/editing: Enrique Villalonga of Filmótica (*filmotica.com*)

Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent*' by* Uc (released by Produccions Blau****)

Featured in this episode:**

'Solar' – poem by Philip Larkin

'Song to the Archetypal Forest' – poem by Robert Hale, from 'A Crack Between the Worlds', by Ibiza poetry collective Yabisah's Gashouse**, 2019.

'*Deep Water' – Mark Barrott (a track from the album* Sketches from an Island*, released by* International Feel Recordings**, 2014)

**Excerpt from 'Becoming Animal' – book by David Abram (Vintage Books, 2010)

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This second episode of The Wells of Tanit is recorded at the Pou de Labritja, an ancient well near the village of Sant Joan in the North of Ibiza. In this episode we explore the theme of 'dance', unravelling Ibiza's popular identity as the 'dance music capital' of Europe. We reveal that, as seen from the perspective of ancient mythology and folklore, Ibiza has indeed been an island of dance for several thousand years... the first Phoenician settlers even named the island after Bes, the Egyptian god of dance...

In this episode we go in search of a local man who built a temple to the god of dance, as well as journeying deep into the astonishing secrets of Ibiza's folk dance tradition, the 'ball pages', whose roots originate in North Africa and the Middle East, and are said to centre around the worship of a Carthaginian moon goddess... We have a chat with our sponsor Enrique Villalonga of Filmótica, film-maker and expert on the history of Ibizan cinema, and he tells us about his experiences filming the 'ball pages' dances for local government archives. Enrique also tells us about 'Agost', a rare, experimental film shot on Ibiza in the mid 1970's exploring the local folk dance tradition through unusually poetical and psychedelic perspectives...

Join us at another of Ibiza's ancient, secluded wells and let's head deep into the mysteries of an island which has inspired people to dance for millenia, and which still does today...

Written and presented by Joanna Hruby, artist, puppeteer and founder of Theatre of the Ancients (www.theatreoftheancients.com)

Series sponsor/editing: Enrique Villalonga of Filmótica (filmotica.com**)

Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent' by Uc (released by Produccions Blau)

Also featured in this episode:

Extracts from the book 'The White Island' by Stephen Armstrong

Translated extracts from the book 'Ball Pagès. Origens', by Miquel Mayordomo and Toni Manonelles

Audio excerpt from ball pages folk dance, Ibiza, recorded in 2018 by Filmótica

Audio footage from the film Agost (Eivissa. Cròniques d’un ball), 1975, Directed by Francesc Juan

Audio excerpt from 'The Twilight Zone' by Mascalito

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The Wells of Tanit podcast series starts with an episode recorded at the Font de Balàfia, an ancient well near San Lorenzo, in the North of Ibiza. In this episode we explore the theme of 'Water' in relation to the culture, history, mythology, folklore and ecology of the island of Ibiza. What have Ibiza's freshwater sources represented to the islanders through the centuries? How has mass tourism and globalisation drastically changed this relationship, and what does that mean in mythical terms? What are the ancient, mystical secrets to be found in the wells and fresh water sources of this little island...

Down in the well of Balàfia we explore poetry, literature and ancient myths, as well as chatting with our sponsor, film-maker Enrique Villalonga of Filmótica, about a documentary project he carried out for the local government in relation with the island's now dry river, the Riu de Santa Eulàlia.

You can now support this podcast by joining our Patreon community, where from 1€ a month you can access blogposts, essays, translations and writings on the culture of Ibiza, and Joanna Hruby's artistic work in relation to it:

https://www.patreon.com/joannahruby

Instagram: @wellsoftanit

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Theme music: 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent' by Uc (released by Produccions Blau)

Special thanks: Jo Youle of Reset Rebel Productions

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The Wells of Tanit is a new English language podcast celebrating the culture, folklore, history, mythology and ecology of the island of Ibiza. Each episode will be recorded at a different ancient well of the island, and have a different theme, which we will explore from mythical, playful, philosophical and poetical perspectives. Together, we will look beyond the common masks of Ibiza and see this ancient and culturally-rich island with new eyes.

Our theme music is 'De Jo Et Vas Despediguent' by the Ibizan folk group Uc, released by Produccions Blau.

https://www.patreon.com/joannahruby

The Wells of Tanit: Recent Episodes

Joanna Hruby