Basque tales
Here are various tales Basque : Basa Jaun and wheat, The spinners of Lauzpelz, Basa Jaun and the spinners
Basa Jaun and wheat
One day, in Ataun, San Martinico visited Basa Jaun in his cave. He deliberately wore very large shoes for the occasion. When he saw all these big piles of wheat there, he made a bet with the Basa-Jaun: to see who, with one leap, would cross all these piles without touching a single one of their grain.
The Basa-Jaun passed over easily; but San Martinico fell right in the middle of one of them, which filled his abarkak (traditional shepherd's shoes) with wheat. Then he took leave of the “Wild Lord” and headed towards the valley.
But very quickly the Basa-Jaun realized that San Martinico was carrying grains of wheat in his shoes. He threw his throwing weapon, an ax, in her direction. It was planted in the trunk of a chestnut tree, at a place called Mekolalde in San Gregorio d'Ataun, more than a kilometer from the Muskia cave. She could not reach San Martinico which, by then, was even further away, but he did not know how to use it.
From the depths of his cave the Basa-Jaun began to sing:
“If men had known this song they would have benefited from it;
when the leaf buds we sow the corn,
when it falls we sow wheat.
For Saint Laurent, we sow the turnip”.
A man passing by heard the song. Then San Martinico sowed the wheat grains in autumn and thus harvested the first time this cereal whose culture then spread throughout the whole world.
The spinners of Lauzpelz
A large group of spinners met every night in the Lauzpelz house in Ataun.
Once, the daughter of the house made a bet with her companions that she would fetch water from the Joxintxiota fountain located in the mountain where the Iturrioz house is located.
Picking up a vessel, she headed for the fountain as the other spinners watched from the moonlit Lauzpelz porch. From time to time her companions cried to her:
" Where are you going ? ".
“To such and such a place,” she replied, indicating the place she was heading towards.
But to one of these calls she did not answer. His comrades renewed their appeal, but in vain. Under the porch, the spinners were frightened at the idea of some misfortune that could have happened to their friend.
Thereupon a gust of wind blew through the porch of Lauzpelz and let these words be heard:
“Gaua Gauekontzat eta eune eunezkontzat”.
“The night for Gaueko and the day for the day”.
Since then nothing more has been known of Lauzpelz's daughter.
Basa Jaun and the spinners
Women were returning home at night, after having slipped into the Batix house, in Larrazabal.
They heard an irrintzi (neighing of the Basa Jaun) and they responded to it.
They heard another, a little closer, in Larretagan, they answered it the same way.
But when they heard another one much closer, they were afraid and ran away towards a house.
When closing the door, what happened while throwing fire hit the door and left the mark of ten fingers.
This house is called Urkiza-aurrekua.
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