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 ...

, Basajaun (, "Lord of the Woods", plural: basajaunak, female basandere) is a huge, hairy hominid dwelling in the woods. They were thought to build

megaliths 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 ...

, protect

flocks Flocking is the behaviour exhibited when a group of birds, called a flock, are foraging or in flight. Computer simulations and mathematical models that have been developed to emulate the flocking behaviours of birds can also generally be applie ...

of livestock, and teach skills such as

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and

ironworking Ferrous metallurgy is the metallurgy of iron and its alloys. The earliest surviving prehistoric iron artifacts, from the 4th millennium BC in Egypt, were made from meteoritic iron-nickel. It is not known when or where the smelting of iron from ...

to humans. They were said to inhabit the forests of

Gorbea Gorbea () or Gorbeia () is a mountain and massif in the Basque Country, Spain. It is the highest summit in Biscay and Álava, with a height of above sea level. The massif covers a wide area between the two provinces. The main summit is a round ...

and Irati. They walked in human fashion, with their bodies covered in hair and a very long mane that reached their feet. Far from being aggressive, the ''Basajaunak'' were protective of sheep flocks and they indicated their presence with a unanimous bell shake. When a storm or wolves approached, the ''Basajaun'' would shout and whistle on the mountain to warn shepherds. In exchange, the ''Basajaunak'' receive a piece of bread as tribute, which they collected while the shepherds were asleep. Despite this, however, the ''Basajaunak'' sometimes appear in the stories as terrifying men of the forest, of colossal forces with whom it was better not to run into, while in others the ''Basajaunak'' appear as the first farmers and holders of the secrets of architecture, agriculture, blacksmithing and sedentary life. The trickster

San Martin Txiki ("Little Saint Martin") is the Trickster figure from Basque mythology. (pronounced "cheeky") means "little" in an affectionate sense. San Martin is often called simply or . He stole the secrets of planting, sowing, and harvesting from the (lord ...

acquired these various skills from them, which he subsequently taught to humans. This creature also appears in Aragonese mythology, in the valleys of

Tena TENA is a Sweden, Swedish-based brand of Essity that specializes in products for adults with urinary incontinence, urinary or fecal incontinence, such as pads and diapers. TENA also produces a youth diaper brand for teenagers and larger childre ...

, Anso and

Broto Broto (in Medieval Aragonese: ''Brotto'') is a municipality in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2018 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 531 inhabitants. Villages The Valle de Broto includes the following v ...

, places that preserve Basque toponymy. There they call it ''Basajarau'', ''Bonjarau'' or ''Bosnerau''. Some authors have suggested that the Basajaun myth is a

folk memory Folk memory, also known as folklore or myths, refers to past events that have been passed orally from generation to generation. The events described by the memories may date back hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years and often hav ...

of early human contact with

Neanderthal Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While th ...

populations in the Iberian peninsula.

Legend

* Like the ''

Jentilak The jentil (or jentilak with the Basque plural), are a race of giants in the Basque mythology. This word meaning '' gentile'', from Latin ''gentilis'', was used to refer to pre-Christian civilizations and in particular to the builders of megali ...

'', the Basajaun is a large, hairy, wild man who lived in dark jungles and deep caves, but unlike them, he is very wise. * The ''Basajaun'' is said to have been among the last of the surviving ''Jentilak'' 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. * In other fables, this character is well spoken of. He is said to have been the first to know agriculture; it has also been considered a blacksmith and miller; and men are said to have learned from him the works of sowing, sawing and welding metals. Naturally, the beginnings of Christianity (''Kixmi'') and the spread of technology coincide with the period when the Romans came to the Basque Country.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography *
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* * * {{cite book, last=Martínez de Lezea , first=Toti , author-link=Toti Martínez de Lezea , title=Leyendas de Euskal Herria , place=Madrid , year=2014 , pages=25–26

Legend

References

See also