What's a madreña?

The madreña has been the typical footwear of rural regions in the northern Spanish mountains for centuries. Until their industrial production became widespread in the second half of the 20th century, they were made in the small villages of wood (in our area of birch wood) by hollowing it out by hand. The madreña stands on three legs, two parallel in the forward part of the foot and one under the heel. Before the use of modern slippers spread, they wore them with pointed shoes made of woollen cloth. They were used by everyone, children and adults, in winter and in summer, walking in the streets and in the mountains, working and dancing. They protected people from mud, water, snow, cold, the blade of the scythe whilst cutting the hay, the sharp tongue of the vipers in the mountain, the legs of the animals in the stable and round the plough or the cart. They didn't need raw material from a distance and the trade of making them became very conscientious and acknowledged, passing it on from one generation to another. A pair of madreñas in front of the door denounced the presence of their owner inside. There were no two pairs alike and everyone knew their own ones from the ones of most of their neighbours. In the old days they smoked them or polished them with grease to protect them and keep the inside dry. More lately they started to paint them, almost always black, except the ones of the children that were sometimes in colour...

mil madreñas rojas (2008)