InBasque mythology,Basajaun (Basque pronunciation:[bas̺ajaun], "Lord of the forest", plural:basajaunak, femalebasandere) is a huge, hairy hominid dwelling in the woods. They were thought to protectflocks of livestock, and teach skills such asagriculture andironworking to humans.[1]
Basajaun (var.Baxajaun,Basque pronunciation:[baʃajaun][2]) is glossed "Lord of the forest",[1][2][4][6] or the "wild lord".[8] The female counterpart is theBasandere[9] (var.Basa Andre,[10]Basa-Andre,[11]) probably created during a later period, by analogy.[12]
The creature is called Basajun in the Basque-Navarre valleys as well as theAragonese Pyrenees, to where the name may have been transmitted (from Basque country),[3] while the creature is calledBasajarau,Bonjarau in theTena Valley and the vales of the cities ofAnso andBroto in Aragon,[3] places that preserve Basquetoponymy. It is also known asBosnerau in Aragonese myth.[13] Thus the creature also known in the neighboring regions as part ofAragonese mythology.
Basajaun is also calledAncho[14] (var.Antxo,[17]anxo[18]). Thus in the tale retitled "Basajaun captured" by Vinson, Ancho is identified as equivalent to the Basajaun at the beginning of the text.[19][20]
The Basajaun is said to have a tall, human form, with his face and body covered in hair, with the strands reaching the knees, walking upright like a man.[21][2][23]
His two feet are differently shaped, thus leaving an odd set offoot tracks. While one foot is normal, the other one (left foot[24]) is rounded like the tree stump (base of a tree trunk[3]), and leaves circular footprints.[3][24]
He may have a single eye in the middle of the forehead,[25] though this is also the attribute of theTartalo[26] with which the Basajaun is often confounded,[12] that is to say, the role of the giant in a certain tale type can be substituted by the "Tartaro" or "Basa Jaun", depending on the telling.[27]
Thebasajaunak dwell in the forests and caverns at higher altitudes or "prominent places".[21][12][2] More specifically, it is said to inhabit the mountainside of theGorbea inBiscay Province (or the forests ofZeanuri town nearby[25]), aroundAtaun town which is the backwoods of neighboringGipuzkoa Province, and theIrati Forest of thePyrenees inNavarre Province.[28]
TheBasajaun is protective of sheep flocks from wild beasts (wolves[21]) and storms,[3][12][1][2] An indication of his presence is that the sheep will all start shaking their bells simultaneously, and theshepherd can go to sleep, delegating the night watch to the Basajaun.[21][12][2] When a storm (or a pack of wolves[28]) is approaching, theBasajaun makes a howling cry in the mountains to warn shepherds,[21][12] giving people opportunity to move their flocks inside thefolds.[2]
A local folktale relates how thecowherds gave Ancho or Basajaun a portion of bread as nightlyofferings (cf.§ Ancho and the cowherds).[17]
TheBasajaun sometimes appears in the stories as terrifying man of the forest, of prodigious strength and surpassing agility (swifter than astag[23])[2] with whom it was better not to run into.[21][29]
Basajaun is also said to have been the world's first farmer who taught mankind how to cultivatecereals.Basajaun was also the world's firstblacksmith, andmiller, from whom mankind stole the secrets of making thesaw, the millaxle, and the art ofwelding.[21][2] Alternatively, it was the tricksterSan Martin Txiki who acquired these various skills from them, which he subsequently taught to humans.[29]
The Basajaun was also thought to buildmegalithic structures, or at least toponymy suggests his kindred were responsible for buildingdolmens, etc. In Ataun, there are many dolmen sites found in the mountainous terrain, dubbed Jentiletxe or "house of theJentil", while on Mt. Saadar inZegama, such dolmens are called Tartaloetxéta or "house of the Tartalo",[30][31][2] and there is a geological formation (anarroyo) that is named Basajaundegi or "residence of the Basajaun" found in theAratz-Erreka district ofAzpeitia.[31]
Naturally, the beginnings of Christianity (Kixmi) and the spread of technology coincide with the period when the Romans came to the Basque Country.[citation needed]
Some scholars[32][33] have suggested that the Basajaun myth might be afolk memory of early human contact withNeanderthal populations in theIberian Peninsula.
In one tale, billed as the only depiction of the Basajaun as a "vampire",[35] the wild man (Basa-Jaun) accepts three boys and a girl as servants, but the girl grows thin because he comes each evening demanding her to poke her finger through the door, and he has been sucking on the finger, which has been the cause of her languor. The children push the wild man down the ravine. But the wild woman (Basa-Andre) instructs the girl to place three large teeth in the warm water the girl uses to wash her brother's feet, and the boys turn intooxen. But the girl eventually finds opportunity to threaten the wild woman into confessing how to undo the spell with threehazel rods.[36][34]
The tale "Le Chandelier de Saint-Saveur (The candlestick of the St. Saviour)" is given in two versions. In theMendive version, a farmhand named Hacherihargaix (fox-hard-to-catch) steals thecandlestick of the Basa Andere, and is pursued by her father, the Basa Jaun. When the thief reaches the (chapel of) Saint-Saveur, the bell rings, and this somehow causes the wild man to spare the thief's life and not devour him until the next opportunity, which will be when the man is fasting. One day the thief is doing farm work without having eaten, and spots the lord of the wilderness coming. He manages to find four grains of wheat in his hair and starts chewing, which makes the Basa Jaun go away, for good.[37][a][38] This notion held by the Basque that the act of eating should have certain mystical powers has been seen as rather peculiar.[39]
In the tale "Three Truths" published in French byJulien Vinson (1883), when the shepherds move their encampment to lower altitude, they forget to bring their grill which they use to cook dough on. The reward of 5sous is offered to whoever volunteers to retrieve it. The shepherd who accepts encounters the Basa-Jaun baking bread on it. The wild man will return the implement if the shepherd tells three truths, which he does (even a full moon is not really as bright as day, even a well-mademéture [fr] (galette made of corn,[40][b]) is not really as good as wheat bread, and the shepherd would not have come if he knew the Basa-Jaun would be there). The Basa-Jaun admits the bargain is met, and offers the advice: never take a night job for pay, one should sooner do it for free.[42][43][c]Taboo against working nights for pay is part of Basque tradition (remarked as being "another strange idea"), and the theme occurs in a different tale where the girl who breaches the prohibition by taking a night job for 5 sous and loses her life.[10]
In the tale "Basajaun Blinded", two soldiers onfurlough encounter a one-eyed Basa-Jaun, and one of them skewered on aspit, roasted, and eaten straightaway. The survivor, who is saved for later, sneaks up to the sleeping Basa-Jaun and drives the red hot spit through the giant's eye. Although the soldier now has a sporting chance to escape, he is tricked by the giant's gift of a ring, which starts screaming "Here I am", and which cannot be removed. The soldier cuts off the ring with his finger and throws it in a stream. Basa-Jaun dives in after and drowns.[46][47] One-eyedness is actually the typical feature of theTartalo (Tartaro)[26] aka Torto,[d][2] and the lore of the Tartalo and Basajaun are often mixed up,[12] as already noted. In fact, there is another version of this tale where a Tartaro is the blinded enemy, and the same talking ring motif occurs.[48][49] The narrative resembles the story concerningUlysses and thecyclopsPolyphemus in the Greek epic,The Odyssey.[47][27][50][e]
There is a story entitled "Malbrouk" in the version edited by Webster, which is thought not to be a native Basque tale, but borrowed from Celtic tradition, just one of many such borrowings[52][51] involving "external soul" and "animal helpers" motifs, though similar stories are found in other cultures, e.g.Magyars (Hungary).[53]
Here Malbrouk is the name of both hero and the villain, his godfather and kidnapper. In this version, the hero escapes and later must defeat a "body without a soul", by going on a side-quest to find the egg (presumably the monster's external soul) inside the pigeon inside the fox, nested within the wolf, and to strike that egg on the "body without a soul", which is the only way to kill it. The hero is aided by the ability to transform into a wolf, dog, hawk, etc. a power conferred by his helper animals.[54][53]
There is a version of this legend featuring a "wild Tartaro" as the villain, according toAntoine d'Abbadie.[55]
An obvious cognate tale was edited with French translation by Cerquand (1882), "Les animaux secourables, et le corps sans ame (Helper animals and the body without a soul)", categorized asAarne-Thompson type 302 "The Giant Whose Heart Was In an Egg".[57] The hero (here a fisherman) unknowingly enters the service of Basa Jaun in danger of being eaten. Alerted by a captured maiden, goes on his side quest defeating thedragon (Eren-Sugué,Herensuge,Heren-Suge), because nested inside it are thehare containing the dove containing the two eggs that are the Basa Jaun's soul. The hero here also can transform into abear to kill thedragon,greyhound to chase the hare, thecrow to snatch thedove, to accomplish his quest.[58] Cerquand notes similarity to the Scottish tale "The Young King of Easaidh Ruadh" as well as other cognates.[59] Similarity to theNorwegian tale "The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body" edited byDasent is also mentioned as resembling a variant version.[60]
In the tale "Basa Jaun the kidnapper, disappointed", the basajaun abducts a shepherdess and keeps her at his hole (Ancho's Hole). The people ofBéhorléguy attempt a rescue armed with crosses and holy objects, and successfully liberates her, but when the lord of the wilderness tells her to turn around, she drops dead.[61][f] This clearly parallels the myth ofOrpheus and Eurydice.[10]
There is a story fromEstérençuby (Esterenzubi) about Ancho, the lord of the wilderness (Basajaun), receiving a portion of bread from the evening meal as offering by the cowherds. He would arrive at night and eat the offering while the herdsmen were asleep. One night, only the youngest cowherd offered the bread, and the others were punished by Ancho who stole their clothing. The youngest was asked to retrieve the clothes in exchange for the payment of a scrawnyheifer. Ancho instructed the youth to strike the cow with ahazel rod a 101 times, and the youth now owned a whole herd of 101 cattle besides the single cow.[17][18][15][g]
The Basajaun (var.basojaun,basayaun) is considered a variety of "wild man",[62] or the Basa Andre with "wild woman", each comparable with theogre and ogress.[10] Various cultures across Europe have their own unique concept of the "wild man", with distinct names and folklore.[63]
A comparison has been made between Basajaun and the Roman godSilvanus,[65] although it is thesalvan orsalvang the wild man ofLombardy which is linguistically derived from Silvanus.[63] Silvanus was more fully known as "Silvanus sylvestris deus", protector of forests and plantations, and "Silvanus agrestis", who safeguarded shepherds from harm. This pattern is also common among the different variations of the wild man myth.[citation needed]
Like theJentil, the Basajaun is a large, hairy, wild man who lived in dark jungles and deep caves, but unlike them, he is very wise. TheBasajaun is said to have been among the last of the survivingJentilak during the arrival of Christianity. He is presented as the protective genius of the flocks, and when a storm approaches, he roars for the shepherds to protect the flock. He also prevents wolves from getting close to the herd. He has also been depicted as a fearsome and evil man of great strength.[citation needed]
Similarity between the Brazilian legendary creaturepé de garrafa ("bottle foot") which leaves footprints like the bottom of a bottle, and the round footprinted (as described by Vinson[24]) has also been noted byLuís da Câmara Cascudo.[66]
Late medieval carving depicts the basajaun at theCathedral of Saint Mary of Burgos.[9]
Joseph Augustin Chaho (1811–58) once described the basa-jaun as 'tall and of prodigious strength: his whole body is covered with a long smooth coat resembling hair: he walks upright like a man, surpassing the stag in agility'