Mount St. Anthony

The hill (or peak of) St. Anthony, with 379 m of altitude, is the second highest peak of the island of Boa Vista, in the archipelago of Cape Verde. It has volcanic origin and is located 20 km southeast of Sal Rei.Located near Rocha Estância and west of Monte Estância, one of three beautiful geographical island, a beautiful morphological with semicircular base height located in the plane of Alcanza with differences in altitude at 320 meters. It is part of a protected natural area in Cape Verde under the status of a natural monument, which is why it describes geological and geomorphic characteristics.

The upper part of the mountain is composed of rocky material, notably basalt. The view of the mountain varies, its width is from east to west and short from north to south, the height of this portion is about 25 meters to the northeast and 50 meters to the southwest, where the summit is. To the west of the foot is a tiny village. It also protects remarkable endemic plants and flowers. Up there it has panoramic views of much of the island and parts of Maio and São Nicolau.

An old legend: Nha Tomás’ Hut is another legend from Boavista that instills fear, especially in the elderly people of Rabil, Estância de Baixo, and Povoação-Velha.

The legend we are about to tell is about a man named Tomás, originally from the island of Boavista and popularly known as Nha Tomás. He was an admirable man, not only for his eccentric habits, but also for his inexplicably bizarre character.

Popularly known as Nha Tomás, this man from the village of Rabil was already old and solitary when the events that would be subsequently narrated had occurred. Nha Tomás lived alone, cultivating and raising livestock, on the top of the mountain known as Rótxa de Santantone (Rocca di Santo Antonio), about three hundred meters high. This mountain is located halfway between Rabil and Povoação-Velha. On the crest of the mountain, he had built his dwelling, a hut made of loose stones, covered with palm branches and “paglia sóka” or a straw mat, and an enclosure made of loose stones where he practiced some agriculture and kept the animals he owned. He obtained water from a small spring that flowed between two stones a few meters from his hut.

The sun was already pouring its last yellow rays towards Moro d’Areia when Nha Tomás died without anyone noticing. Two days and one night passed. On the third day, two boys were herding goats near Rótxa de Santantone, specifically near Pedra de Janela, when suddenly their dogs started barking towards some stones. Shortly after, they heard a very sad and mournful voice coming from the stones, saying: “For three days Tomás has been dead!… For three days Tomás has been dead!…”

The two shepherds knew that Nha Tomás lived up there on the mountain. So they quickly headed upwards, with their hearts in their throats. When they arrived at the man’s hut, they actually found him dead: the body, with the head facing the door, as if he had tried to leave the hut, was already emitting a nauseating odor. Immediately, they took care of burying the mortal remains of Nha Tomás, the legendary solitary man of Rótxa de Santantone.

To this day, the people of Boavista attribute the voice coming from the stones to Santo Antonio, whose chapel is located about three kilometers east of the rock that bears the name of the Saint. The place has become hidden and instills fear in all superstitious people who pass by, especially in the darkest hours.

The data relating to this legend were collected by several informants in the villages of Rabil, Estância de Baixo, and Povoação-Velha and gathered by the historian Antonio Germano Lima.