This is the story of the witch of Anboto.
The Witch of Anboto
It is said that, desiring descendants, a noblewoman, after several years of marriage without having had a child, spent her time in church imploring all the saints in heaven to be the mother of a daughter. It is said that for her determination to give birth to a daughter, she spent a good part of her fortune on offerings and donations to the church in order to obtain the grace of God.
It is also said that, for the same reasons, she constantly prayed to the virgin overflowing with fervor. But, it is also said that, tired of not being heard in her prayers by these famous deities, one day she abandoned the temple, full of anger, stood in the middle of the porch and, raising her voice as high as possible so that everyone could hear her. 'hear, vociferated in his delirium:
– Neither God nor the virgin nor the saints in heaven listen to my request, I call the devil to ask for a girl, so he will take her away on her twentieth birthday!
When we heard him say such a thing, we hurriedly crossed ourselves, some considering it blasphemy, others dismayed to hear that such absurdity was the cause of his misfortune.
Better still, the lady's neighbors were scandalized and surprised, overcome by a certain fear when shortly afterwards she announced that she was pregnant. Because, in fact, it is said that this very eager woman was pregnant and that the pregnancy was normal during which she had no setbacks, nor the slightest indisposition or illness and that she gave birth to a beautiful little girl, smiling, with Blond hair.
But, one day, seeing her so pretty and despite the happiness of being a mother and especially remembering with deep concern these famous words spoken to the devil, decided to do something to protect her daughter.
What did this mother do? It is said that she had no other idea than to have a crystal urn made, put the little one in it and spent hours contemplating it. So, day after day, week after week, month after month, for twenty years. And not another day. On the day she turned twenty and faced with the helplessness, pain and despair of this mother, the devil appeared, broke the urn with a deafening crash, grabbed the girl by the hair and took her through the air without anyone , absolutely no one can stop him.
It is said that the devil took the girl to the top of Anboto, to a cave where she would later be seen. This cave is said to be the spectacular Sorginkoba (Witches' Cave), accessible by experienced climbers and overlooking the Arrazola Gorge. It is said that the witch in question is none other than the Lady or Witch of Anboto, sometimes seen sitting at the entrance, combing her beautiful golden hair with a gold comb. It is said that sometimes, transformed into a ball of fire, it crosses the firmament towards the coastal territories of Gipuzkoa and when this happened, it was a sign of bad weather.
Of course we also say that in reality, the story of the woman wanting to give birth to a daughter and the urn is a lovely story. What really happened was that the mother, angry, cursed her daughter as follows:
“I hope that you will fly through the air for as many years as grains of red beans contained in a fanègue” (capacity measurement: 55.5 liters).
Since then the girl spent seven years in Superlaur and seven more in Anboto following a powerful enchantment.
