THE SACRED SPRING (sa Domu 'e Orgìa)

The archaeologists, first of all the Lincei academic Giovanni Lillìu, have had a vivid curiosity for the name Orgìa, often referred to a spring goddess. The name is considered a corruption from lat.Lucia, with basis in lat. lux,lucis 'light'. There were many Christian saints with this name. First was a Syracusian martyr in 303-304. From the latin basis it was easy to transfer to the Saint Lucia her thaumaturgical property, the recovery of the ocular diseases. But this property is known only from XII century. The great diffusion of her cult is due to oriental monks.

And if the etymology of name Lucia seems to be appropriate, it's less appropriate to combine Lucia with Orgìa.Orgìa is considered a springs demon, and often is named Orgìa Rabiosa or Rajosa or Arrabiosa 'the furious', to underline her unbenevolent intentions. But in this case Rabiosa as 'furious' is a contraddictio in terminis, because the goddess, notoriously, lyes in the sacred nuragic springs in order to cure the ilnesses oh humanity.

Nevertheless, it's difficult to escape from the correct etymology of Rabiosa,Arrabiosa, a name that is the modern corruption of the ancient Aráj, masculine correspondent of (Orgia)Arrabiosa. I refer to Araj Dimòniu, known in the country myths as a malefic entity (or perhaps an elf, simply) whose effects against the crowd were more praised than visible. This malefic entity is joined to Sardian ráju 'bolt of lightning, destructive entity' < Akkad. arahu (*) 'to devour, destroy; consume (with fire)'. So was Orgia Arrabiosa, at least as medieval conception, because this divinity too was, above all, an elf, a fairy. And being Orgia known as feminine entity joined to sacred springs, it's necessary to insist in the etymological investigation, in order to understand the connection between Orgia and her springs.

Today, Orgia and Orgiàna (his derivated), is known in Sardinia first of all as a surname (expecially Orgiana). From the Semerano's studies (OCE 178) it's possible to move Orgia to an attribute of Arthemis in Arcadia and Sparta: ’Ορθία (Βορθέα, Βωρθεία) that has a remote antecedent in the Akkad. burtu 'cistern, well; source; hole, pit': which means '(Arthemis of) springs'. It is the same ipothesys for Sardinia.

Sardella (SLCN 346-348) has even picked up a legend handed down by two old informers, who refer of a nocturnal procession of Orgiànas in Brabaxiana region. This legend was clearly corrupted by the Christian monks, and today it is indissolublely binded to nocturnal procession of the medieval witches making their way towards the Sabbath.

Sardella considers the Orgìas, Orgiànas as priestesses assigned to water cult, and it's possible to accept, in part, his etymological suggestion < Sumeric ur-gi-ana 'the slave keeping back the water'. He explains that al the priests to be slaves of God and specifies that GI means 'to keep back' and 'night, shade, black', while the concept of 'night' widens to one of 'protection'.

But it's difficult to accept the Sardella's ipothesis. In Greek language we have better possibilities, ’οργή 'interior excitement', οργάς 'moist ground', 'rich and fertile ground', ’οργή 'anger, fury, passion; impetus'; ’οργάω 'I'm full of surge', 'I'm fertile'; ’οργασμός 'orgasm'.

The stem of Orgìa lays in these Greek forms. And nevertheless it have the more ancient basis in Akkad. irhu (*) 'insolence', arahu,erehu (*) 'to be urgent, hurry', 'to be full of surge', to be aggressive'; and arahu (*) 'to devour, destroy'.

ThereforeOrgia has the complex character of a feminine demon of the antiquity, which expressed herself with impetuousness, sometimes with anger, but was first of all a beneficial elf or fairy of the springs.