Picture of the Rocha dos Namorados

Try an ancient way to determine your marital fate in Portugal's Alentejo Region

Ok, so here's a carved rock outcrop called a "menhir" that you can see just outside the town of Estramoz. Locals call it the Rocha dos Namorados. Since it looks like a uterus, some call it the "uterus rock." You can even call it the "fiance's rock" if you want. Nobody will stone you for it.

Which brings us to all those stones you see in the picture. You see, in ancient times (through the present) a young lady amenable to the idea of getting hitched would stand just to the left of the outcrop in the picture, turn around so her back is to the Rocha dos Namorados, and heave a pretty big rock over her shoulder. She was trying to get it to stick without knocking another rock off.

Here are the three possible outcomes:

• She misses: No marriage for her in the next year!
• She gets her stone to stick on top: She'll be married within the year
• Her stone gets to the top but knocks another stone off: She'll have an affair with a married man!

As with all pagan or alleged pagan customs and rituals, Christians have a tendency to come along and try to take advantage of the power in the sacred place and make it their own. You'll find many Christian tombs in the foundations of many Pre-Christian era Greek temples, for example. You'll also find an example of this at the Rocha dos Namorados. See the next picture...