Ituren - Etxeak Eta Jauregiak (10)
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Ituren is a
town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
and
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. Ituren sits on a westernmost outlying area of the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
, 56.5 km north of
Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...
. It lies on the flood plain of the River Ezkurra, a tributary of the River
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 p ...
, in the shadow of the Mendaur mountain () which is characterised by the tiny white-washed chapel of La Trinidad, on its summit.


Geography

The territory of Ituren extends over an area of 15 km2. In 2012 the town had a population of 518 inhabitants, a 10% increase over the past 10 years.Instituto Nacional de Estadística (España) (ed.): ''Censos de población de Ituren''. Alteraciones de los municipios en los Censos de Población desde 1842. Consultado el 16 de noviembre de 2011 In 2013, 64 children were enrolled at the village primary school which instructs the pupils in Basque (Euskera). The inhabitants of Ituren are distributed between 4 small dependent hamlets and isolated homesteads. These hamlets are Ituren, Aurtiz, and Lasaga on the valley floor and, the smallest of all, the higher mountain hamlet of Ameztia. The valley, extending east to west, is called Malerreka after the river. Although there are extensive pastures, orchards of quince,
apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
, cherry,
fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
, and
peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-f ...
trees are common and the mountain slopes are partly covered with
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
, chestnut,
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...
, beech, and ash.


Urbanism

Ituren is a traditional village built in typical Basque style with large, solid houses with steep-sloping red-tiled roofs and wooden balconies often decorated with geraniums. Many of them have distinctive pink sandstone markings around the doors and window frames, a common feature of Basque design. Some of the manor houses in the village have gothic details and date back to the 17th century.


Economy

In 2013 the village had a butchers, a general supplies store, a chemists, a hair-dressers, two bars, a restaurant, and school. There are also numerous summer rental chalets and rural hotels as well as other tourism operators. There are many small-scale family farms dedicated to pastoral farming in the area, the main animals being sheep and cows (both reared for their meat and milk). The indigenous long-haired breed of sheep, the Latxa, is very popular among the shepherds and many farmers still make sheep’s cheese from the unpasteurised milk. This is a local version of the acclaimed Domination of Origin Idiazabal cheese. Pigs and chickens are also reared on the farms and semi-wild herds of Potxoka horses roam the communally-owned higher mountain slopes. Other local produce include quince jam; ''cuajada'', also called ''mamia'' (sheep’s mild junket); and ''Patxarran'' (a sloe berry and aniseed liqueur).


Traditions

Ituren is a predominantly Basque-speaking community, maintaining its Basque traditions. The annual fiesta is held during the third week of July and includes traditional Basque dancing and rural sports competitions. In October wood-pigeon, wild boar hunting, and mushrooming are part of the local tradition. The neighbouring village of Elgorriaga holds a mushroom festival on the first Sunday of the month.


Carnival

Ituren is by far best known for the ‘ pagan’ carnival which it shares with the neighbouring village of Zubieta. This carnival takes place on the first Monday and Tuesday after the last Sunday in January and has earned international recognition with some anthropologists arguing that it is the oldest pre-Indo-European carnival in Europe. The protagonists are the called Joadunak (''Zanpanzar''). During the carnival the young men from the village, the ''Joaldunak'', don sheepskins and conical hats with ribbons; they carry horse hair whips and strap large cows bells around their waists which they ring in a deep, rhythmic and atavistic dirge. The rest of the villagers dress up as demons and witches who scatter in their wake as the carnival symbolises the eternal struggle between the forces of good and evil; light and darkness, winter and spring.


References

''The Basque History of the World'', Mark Kurlansky, 2000 pp 322–325 ''Carnavales de Navarra'', Francisco Javier Tibero, 1993 pp 34–38 ''Iñauteria. El Carnaval Vasco''. Jaun Garmendia Larrañaga. San Sebastian. Kutxa 1992 ''Fiestas de Invierno en Navarra. Ituren y Navarra''. Mikel Lizara. ''Cuadernos de Etnologia y Etnografia'', Pamplona, Principe de Viana 1974 no16 pp 43–58


External links


ITUREN in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa – Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)

Carnivals of Ituren and Zubieta: Guardian 17 April 2010

Description of the 2011 carnival
{{authority control Municipalities in Navarre Carnival