Gospelario : Basajaun
Meaning "Lord" or "Lord of the Forest" in Basque language, the only language actively spoken in Europe that predates the arrival of speakers of the Indo-European languages that dominate the continent today.
BASAJAUN (noun, m.)
1. A major figure in Basque mythology: gigantic, fur-covered lord of the forest, where he lives, maintaining the balance, and protecting shepherds.
Santi Otálora, 2024.
You can trust the spirit of the woods and take the BASAJAUN with you on your next journey through forests and peaks.
Santi Otálora, 2024.
Basajaun is a numen that inhabits the depths of the woods or high caves along the forests of Gorbea (Álava), the Irati Forest (Navarre), and the Ataun region in Gipuzkoa. He is very tall and strong, with a human-like form, and his body completely covered in fur. One of his feet is like that of a man, while the other has a circular sole. His female counterpart is called Basandere.
Basajaun protects the flocks. When a storm approaches, he gives a shout to warn the shepherds to move their livestock. He also prevents wolves from coming near. The sheep announce Basajaun’s presence with a simultaneous, collective shake and the ringing of their bells. This way, the shepherds know they can rest easy, as the wolf won’t bother them that night or day. As a tribute, the Basajaunak receive a piece of bread, which they pick up while the shepherds are asleep.
Ander Esparza
Basajaunak have some wild cousins around the Cantabric coast—there’s Mouros in Galicia, Busgosus in Asturias, and Ojáncanos in Cantabria. Family reunions must be a real blast up north.
Pastoreo de ovejas con dos veteranos pastores transhumantes — Eugenio Monesma documentales.
Bera Basajaun
The legend says that the Basajaunak cultivated wheat in Ataun, on the Muskia mountain. One day, a man named Martin Txiki went to their cave, intending to steal some wheat seeds. He wore wide shoes and challenged the Basajaunak to see who could jump over their piles of wheat without touching a single grain. The Basajaunak easily cleared the piles, but Martin Txiki landed right in the middle, filling his shoes with wheat. He then said goodbye and left.
Now the men had the wheat seeds but didn’t know how to plant them. Martin Txiki returned to the Basajaun cave and overheard them singing: "If men knew this song, they’d make good use of it: when the leaf sprouts, plant corn; when the leaf falls, plant wheat; on St. Lawrence’s day, plant turnips." After hearing this, San Martin Txiki planted the seeds in autumn, and by summer, he had the first cereal harvest. And so, wheat cultivation and the use of bread spread across the land.
Basajaun en la cueva de San Juan Xar
Salvador Dalí — La cesta de pan, 1945.
