ruta turística de arrigorriaga el secreto de las piedras rojas
- 1
- Euskara
- 2
- Mythology
- 3
- Battle of Padura
- 4
- General Assembly
- 5
- Carlist Wars
- 6
- Economy
- 7
- Emigration
- 8
- Basque Sports
Mythology
If, on a stormy night, you should happen to see the figure of a woman enveloped in flames streaking across the sky like a shooting star, don’t rub your eyes in disbelief: it’s Mari, the goddess of the Basques, flitting from one of her homes to another.
Most Basque deities are female, and Mari is the most important, most popular of them all. She lives deep underground, but often comes up to the surface through grottos and caves, where she can be seen sitting placidly in the entrances.
Some who claim to have seen her say that she is a smartly-dressed woman, who holds a golden palace in her hands. Others describe her as riding on a ram. She has also seen in the shape of a horse, a tree, a white cloud, a crow and indeed almost as many guises as there are towns in the Basque Country. Every seven years Mari moves house. When she does this she can appear as a woman, a balloon, a sickle, etc, but always in flames.
Mari
Mari has homes on many peaks and mountain ranges, including Aralar, Aizkorri, Txindoki and Gorbea. But her favourite is without doubt the rocky peak of Amboto in the Duranguesado Mountain Range. That is why she is known in Vizcaya as the “Lady of Amboto”
This most charismatic of Basque deities is said to be partnered with Sugaar, a male serpent god. Like Mari, Sugaar flies across the sky wrapped in flames. His passing is regarded as the sign of an impending storm. In the Azkoitia area, where he is known as Maju, he is believed to be Mari’s husband, and they are said to meet there every Friday.
Another of the most popular deities is Baxajuan, Lord of the Woods.
He is said to be huge, bearded and man-like in form, with hair down to his waist. Despite his ferocious appearance he is well thought of because he frightens off wolves and warns shepherds of coming storms.
In some regions he is said to have been the first miller, the first blacksmith or the first farmer, and to have taught these trades to ordinary mortals.
The Lord of the Night
Gaueko is the Lord of the Night. There is a saying which goes “The day for the day-walker; and the night for the night-walker”, where the former is mankind and the latter is Gaueko, who allows no activity outdoors between midnight and cockcrow. He particularly punishes those who boast of having no fear of the dark or of silence, i.e. those who disdain his realm and challenge his reign.
All over the Basque Country there are tales of girls being carried off by Gaueko for having ventured out at night unnecessarily, disobeying his orders and mocking his power. There are also many other deities and spirits in the peculiar universe of Basque mythology, such as Inguma, Tartalo, Akerbeltz, Aideko, Mamarro, Ieltxu, the vain Lamias, the little Galtzagorris and so on.
The Basque people have always felt deep respect and veneration for natural elements.
- Lur, the Earth, is considered to be the mother of the Sun and the Moon.
- Urtzi, the Sky, is said to be responsible for the bountiful spring rains.
The Basques were traditionally worshippers of Eguski, the Sun, as reflected in many monuments of popular art. The tombstone that you can in the church of Santa María Magdalena in Arrigorriaga, next to the stone sarcophagus, is a clear example. In many of these monuments it is possible to make out rosettes, circles and figures representing the Sun and occasionally also Ilargi, the Moon.
Everything surrounding the figure of the Moon is infused with an aura of bewitchment and illusion. Basque mythology as we know it today is the result of changes over time and blending with other beliefs and cultures.
A peculiar feature of Basque mythology is that it has no single prototype: the same deity can be attributed different names and even contradictory patterns of behaviour in different areas. But first and foremost it is a beautiful fantasy world, a world full of codes and magic, which until quite recently was very relevant to people’s lives.
If you ask people in a Basque town whether they believe in the spirits of local mythology, you are sure to find more than one who will smile and quote this ancient saying:
“Everything that has a name exists, but you must not say that they exist”.