💛 The Galician sheep. Galicia, Spain 🐑🐑🐑🐑

The Galician sheep was a type of livestock already known during the 15th and 16th centuries. However, the origin of these small sheep probably dates back a few centuries further. The Celts occupied, more than 2,500 years ago, large regions of Europe. They were accompanied by small black sheep with coarse and long wool. Today, a small number of these breeds are preserved in the Atlantic Finisterres and in small territories of Central Europe where Celtic languages are still spoken or are influenced by this ancient culture. In this sense, their existence has been confirmed in Germany, where three breeds are preserved: the Skudde, the Weiße Gehörnte Heidschnucke and the Moorschnucke. On the island of Ouessant, culturally related to the Celtic peoples of Brittany, the Ouessant breed has been preserved. In Wales, there is the Cochddu breed, influenced to a greater degree by other neighbouring racial groups. Finally, in the Shetland Islands, north of the Scottish Highlands, another breed of clear Celtic ancestry called Morite has been preserved.
The Galician sheep was managed in a very similar way to the Xalda sheep of Asturias. It was mainly used for its meat production and its wool production was used to produce the typical sackcloth of the land.
As we have indicated, it is likely that there was an ancient relationship between all the Celtic breeds that were traditionally exploited in the transhumant Sierras of Castile. Curiously, these breeds shared their territory during the summer months with the Merino sheep and this relationship probably has a lot to do with the genesis of this wool breed.