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A view of San Martín de Unx (Navarre) in the 1970s. Courtesy of Francisco Javier Zubiaur.

Today smileys and pictograms are used in text messaging on mobile phones to express emotions such as joy, grief, surprise or disappointment, but in former times, when emojis did not exist, shouting was a popular form of communication. In San Martín de Unx (Navarre) such a shout, a compromise between a neigh and the expression of a human feeling, was known as relinchido and practised in their youth by those approaching now the age of 80. Young men would whoop and holler on a night out, at festivities, to other working parties while spading the fields, or on spotting a group of girls. “Ahiiiiiiiii, jí!” would be its graphical representation in Spanish. The musicality of the sound, proper to the locality and environs, matches that of the “auuummmm…!” uttered to show admiration or the “ahiiiiiiiiiííí…!” that accompanies a sharp pinch. (more…)