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Mairu
Mairu (plural: mairuak), also called Maideak, Mairiak, Saindi Maidi (in Lower Navarre), Intxisu in the Bidasoa valley are creatures of Basque mythology. They were giants who built dolmens or harrespil. Like the dolmens, they are only found in mountains. They are often associated with lamia, though these are known in all the Basque Country. ''Mairu'' could mean "moor" in Basque. {{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104134318/http://www1.euskadi.net/morris/resultado.asp , date=2014-11-04 in the Online Morris Basque-English dictionary. This term is used with the sense of 'non-Christian' to refer to former civilizations or ic monuments. The origin of the Mairu is thought to be as old as the " [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basque Mythology
The mythology of the ancient Basques largely did not survive the arrival of Christianity in the Basque Country between the 4th and 12th century AD. Most of what is known about elements of this original belief system is based on the analysis of legends, the study of place names and scant historical references to pagan rituals practised by the Basques. One main figure of this belief system was the female deity Mari. According to legends collected in the area of Ataun, the other main figure was her consort Sugaar. However, due to the scarcity of the material, it is difficult to say if this would have been the "central pair" of the Basque pantheon. Based on the attributes ascribed to these mythological creatures, this would be considered a chthonic religion as all its characters dwell on earth or below it, with the sky seen mostly as an empty corridor through which the divinities pass. Historical sources The main sources for information about non-Christian Basque beliefs are: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giant (mythology)
In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: '' gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 from Robert of Gloucester's chronicle. It is derived from the ''Gigantes'' ( grc-gre, Γίγαντες) of Greek mythology. Fairy tales such as '' Jack the Giant Killer'' have formed the modern perception of giants as dimwitted ogres, sometimes said to eat humans, while other giants tend to eat the livestock. The antagonist in ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' is often described as a giant. In some more recent portrayals, like those of Jonathan Swift and Roald Dahl, some giants are both intelligent and friendly. Literary and cultural analysis Giants appear in the folklore of cultures worldwide as they represent a relatively simple concept. Representing the human body enlarged to the point of being monstrous, giants evoke terror and remind humans ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamia (Basque Mythology)
The or (plural: or ) is a siren or nereid-like creature in Basque mythology. , , or are typically portrayed as living in and around rivers. They are depicted as beautiful, long-haired women with webbed duck feet, usually found at the river shore combing their hair with a golden comb and charming men. Mythology in coastal areas includes , a variety of lamiak who live in the sea and have fish-like tails, similar to a mermaid. Beliefs In Basque mythology, are described as helping those who give them presents by providing them with help at work. For example, if a farmer were to leave food for them at the river shore, they would eat it at night and in exchange finish ploughing his field. In some places, bridges were believed to have been built at night by : Ebrain (Bidarray, Lower Navarre), Azalain (Andoain, Gipuzkoa), Urkulu (Leintz-Gatzaga, Gipuzkoa), Liginaga-Astüe (Labourd). In other myths, must leave if the bridge that they were building at night was left unfinished ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enchanted Moor
The Enchanted moura or (enchanted female Mouros) is a supernatural being from the fairy tales of Portugal, Portuguese and Galicia (Spain), Galician folklore. Very beautiful and seductive, she lives under an imposed occult spell. Shapeshifters, the occupy liminal deity, liminal spaces and are builders with stone of formidable strength. Appearance The enchanted Moura often appears singing and using a golden comb on her beautiful long hair, the colour of gold or black as the night, promising to give treasures to whomsoever sets her free by breaking her spell. (In Galicia, though, they are more commonly redheads.) Enchantment According to José Leite de Vasconcelos, ''mouras encantadas'' are “''beings compelled by an occult power to live on a certain state of siege as if they were numb or asleep, insofar as a particular circumstance does not break their spell''”. According to ancient lore, they are the souls of young maidens who were left guarding the treasures that the males ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lower Navarre
Lower Navarre ( eu, Nafarroa Beherea/Baxenabarre; Gascon/Bearnese: ''Navarra Baisha''; french: Basse-Navarre ; es, Baja Navarra) is a traditional region of the present-day French ''département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It corresponds to the northernmost ''merindad'' of the Kingdom of Navarre during the Middle Ages. After the Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre (1512–24), this ''merindad'' was restored to the rule of the native king, Henry II. Its capitals were Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Saint-Palais. In the extreme north there was the little sovereign Principality of Bidache, with an area of and a decreasing population of 44,450 (in 1901), 25,356 (in 1990). Although this denomination is not completely correct from the historical point of view, it is also known as ''Merindad de Ultrapuertos'' ("the regions beyond the mountain passes") by the southerners, and ''Deça-ports'' ("this side of the mountain passes") by the Gascon-speakers. Despite its lost administrative cohe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bidasoa
__NOTOC__ The Bidasoa (, ; french: Bidassoa, ) is a river in the Basque Country of northern Spain and southern France that runs largely south to north. Named as such downstream of the village of Oronoz-Mugairi (municipality of Baztan) in the province of Navarre, the river actually results from the merger of several streams near the village ''Erratzu'', with the stream Baztan that rises at the north-eastern side of the mount Autza (1,306 m) being considered the source of the Bidasoa. It joins the Cantabrian Sea (Bay of Biscay) between the towns of Hendaye and Hondarribia. The river is best known for establishing the borderline at its lower tract. This stretch is crossed not only by aircraft at low height but by important European communication axes, namely AP8 E5 E80 - E70 A63 (motorway, connection at the Biriatu toll), main roads N1 - N10 (connection at the roundabout of ''Saizar'' by the river) and major French and Spanish railway networks,— RENFE and SNCF. Besides thes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dolmen
A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were sometimes covered with earth or smaller stones to form a tumulus (burial mound). Small pad-stones may be wedged between the cap and supporting stones to achieve a level appearance.Murphy (1997), 43 In many instances, the covering has eroded away, leaving only the stone "skeleton". The Korean Peninsula is home to the world's highest concentration of dolmens,UNESCO World Heritage List. "Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites." https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/977 including "cemeteries" consisting of 30–100 examples located in close proximity to each other; with over 35,000 dolmens, Korea alone (for unknown reasons) accounts for approximately 40% of the global total. History It remains unclear when, why and by whom the earliest dolmens were mad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harrespil
Harrespil is the Basque name, that can be translated by "stone circle", given to small megalithic monuments which abounds on mountains of the Basque Country in particular. They are also called baratz, a Basque word meaning "garden" and traditionally applied to the prehistoric necropoles. Gathered in necropoles of 5 to 20 monuments, they appeared during the late Bronze Age (from approximately -1200) but remained used during the Iron Age. These burials are distinguished from the preceding ones by the recourse to cremation, like in the urnfield culture. More spectacular by its fitting than by the size of the stones, the harrespil is formed of a rectangular cist made of flat stones containing ashes of the dead, and of a stone circle. The circle measures about 5 to 6 m in diameter and is made of a great number of medium stones. The cist, of approximately a meter by 60 cm, consists of 4 side flagstones and a flagstone of cover. These burials coexisted with tumuli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basque People
The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Basques are indigenous to, and primarily inhabit, an area traditionally known as the Basque Country ( eu, Euskal Herria) — a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France. Etymology The English word ''Basque'' may be pronounced or and derives from the French ''Basque'' (), itself derived from Gascon ''Basco'' (pronounced ), cognate with Spanish ''Vasco ''(pronounced ). Those, in turn, come from Latin ''Vascō'' (pronounced ; plural '' Vascōnes''—see history section below). The Latin generally evolved into the bilabials and in Gascon and Spanish, probably under the influence of Basque and the related Aquitani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moors
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or self-defined people. The 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' observed that the term had "no real ethnological value." Europeans of the Middle Ages and the early modern period variously applied the name to Arabs and North African Berbers, as well as Muslim Europeans. The term has also been used in Europe in a broader, somewhat derogatory sense to refer to Muslims in general,Menocal, María Rosa (2002). ''Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain''. Little, Brown, & Co. , p. 241 especially those of Arab or Berber descent, whether living in Spain or North Africa. During the colonial era, the Portuguese introduced the names " Ceylon Moors" and "Indian Moors" in South Asia and Sri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The word was first used in 1849 by the British antiquarian Algernon Herbert in reference to Stonehenge and derives from the Ancient Greek words "mega" for great and " lithos" for stone. Most extant megaliths were erected between the Neolithic period (although earlier Mesolithic examples are known) through the Chalcolithic period and into the Bronze Age. At that time, the beliefs that developed were dynamism and animism, because Indonesia experienced the megalithic age or the great stone age in 2100 to 4000 BC. So that humans ancient tribe worship certain objects that are considered to have supernatural powers. Some relics of the megalithic era are menhirs (stone monuments) and dolmens (stone tables). Types and definitions While "megalith" ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Portuguese Language
Portuguese ( or, in full, ) is a western Romance language of the Indo-European language family, originating in the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. It is an official language of Portugal, Brazil, Cape Verde, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau and São Tomé and Príncipe, while having co-official language status in East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, and Macau. A Portuguese-speaking person or nation is referred to as " Lusophone" (). As the result of expansion during colonial times, a cultural presence of Portuguese speakers is also found around the world. Portuguese is part of the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia and the County of Portugal, and has kept some Celtic phonology in its lexicon. With approximately 250 million native speakers and 24 million L2 (second language) speakers, Portuguese has approximately 274 million total speakers. It is usually listed as the sixth-most spoken language, the third-most sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
