The names of the main rivers of the Ribeira Sacra come from Palaeo-European roots meaning water. Such is the essence of this humid land, also steeped in the immaterial spirit of water, which survives in the spells of the mouras that guard its springs; in the fiery treasures, which will always end up submerged in the river; in the love of its people for the xacias, which dwell in the deep wells of the rivers; in those arms offered to the Sil, in that "religion of the springs"; or in the divine waters that Martiño de Dumio, founder of the first monastic communities of this Ribeira, pursued.
The river grape harvest, the numerous festivals and traditions, the sacralisation of springs and the survival of a multitude of unique hydronyms.