A brief description of some of the characters and features of Basque Mythology. We ran out of time to make it more complete.

1. BASQUE MYTHOLOGY
By
Oier,Paul,Eihartz,Libe,Maria,Ekaitz,Patty,Elvi,Sara,L
eire and Jeffery
By Eihartz,Oier,Paul,Ekaitz,Sara,Leire,Jeffery,Maria,Libe,Patty,Elvi
E-TWINNING last project 2017-18

2. Eihartz,Oier(Sarrera)
1. Oldness
Basque Mythology is the set of myths typical of the original population of The Basque Country (Euskal Herria).These beliefs
come from the Neolithic era.
2. Earthly essence
Basque cosmology has its center and its creator of everything. Mother Earth is the main goddess, and Mari, her
personification, is the main mythological character.
3. Women’s prevalence
In the Basque mythology women are very important because the most two important goddesses are women. Ama lurra (
that is like Mother Earth ) and Mari ,a goddess who lives in the Amboto mountain, in Biscay. Ama lurra is the mother of all
the creatures in this mythology and Mari is the queen of these creatures.
4. Peaceful nature
In Celtic mythology and classical mythology we find war heroes or Gods,but in Basque mythology we don't have such
aggressive characters.

3. Sara,Jeffrey and Leire(“jeinuak” / magic creatures)
Ilargi-amandrea (the moon godmother): It is said that in an ancient legend, that at the beginning of life,darkness
overwhelmed the earth.In the face of that misfortune,humans went to ask “Ama lurra” to help them to shoo the bad spirit
and supernatural power that were hidden in the darkness.”Ama-lurra” dealt with the demand and created one of her
daughters,called “Ilargi amandrea”(the moon).
Humans expressed their gratitude because of her light,but it was not sufficient.Again, they turned to “Ama-lurra” because
they wanted her to give them something to light up more and defeat darkness.So “Ama-lurra created her other daughter
named “Eguzki amandrea” (the sun godmother).That’s how the day was born.
That’s how the inhabitants of the Earth were able to live peacefully during the day,without being scared of the bad spirits.

4. She Is Amalur´s (Mother Earth) daughter. According to ancient legends the sun and the moon came from inside Mother
Earth and returned to her after their daily walk. The face of this Goddess is the moon. He sheds light on the spirits of the
deads and hence the name “The lights of the living deads”.
The culture of the goddess Moon had strong roots in Basque citizens. Friday was a special day in the Basque week ,the
day that was offered to the moon. One of the variants to designate the moon is 'rough'; in this variant, the root 'anger' is
clear. On fridays the witches joined. On fridays there were also certain prohibited activities: such as carrying out important
tasks, taking the herd to the mountain, removing the honey from the hives, etc.

5. Ortzi - The lord of thunder
What we see above the sky or the clouds are the sun, the moon and the stars. All that is
Heaven and Heaven is a little male God,whose mother is Amalur.
Mari
Mari is a personification of nature:she is the “Anboto lady” She is also known as “Aralarko
lady”,”Muruko lady” or “Aketegi witch” . Mari is the queen of the Gods and has all the
mythological powers . She Is one of the most ancient gods in matriarchal cultures of ancient
Europe, maybe because Mari is a predecessor of the Celtic gods in Celtic culture, even
before Christianism.

6. Libe eta Maria
Olentzero He is definitely the most mythical character of Basque mythology for children.
Olentzero goes down the mountains to fill all the houses of Euskal Herria with gifts;
Sometimes he also brings coal to those who have done wrong.
Tartalo He is an evil creature with one only eye. He lives in caves and catches young
people and devours them. It originates in Greek mythology cyclops. They say that he
lived around the Navarrese mountain range.
Basajaun He is a wild man of the forest. He is also linked to the Gentiles. It is tall and strong
and his hair reaches his knees. He protects sheep and shepherds. When storms approach,
he shouts to warn the shepherds.
Lamia She Is the equivalent of a siren or an nymph in other cultures, She is one of
the most popular characters in Basque mythology. Lamias are beautiful creatures that
look like women and are in rivers. Their body is half human, and half animal.
Akerbeltz He has the shape of a male sheep, as its name suggests. Akerbeltz
protects the animals that are in his charge.

7. Pat and Elvi (Mythological places)
-Akelarre: ): It’s a cave where “witches” and “wizards” made rites and it’s near the caves of Zugarramurdi. It’s very famous due to the witch-hunt
(same as the caves of Zugarramurdi). They made a film about it too.
-Anboto: Is a mountain located in the south-east of Biscay, it is said that it is a magical mountain and the home of the Goddess Mari,one of the most
famous characters of the Basque mythology.
-Aizkorri: It is a mountain between Araba and Gipuzkoa. It is said that a mythological woman called Mari lives there, in a cave. It’s also said that she
lives in other mountains like Murumendi, Gorbeia or Txindoki.
-Gaztelugatxe:It’s a little island on Biscay’s coast (Bermeo),where you can get across a bridge. There is a famous church named Saint Juan (John) of
Gaztelugatxe and is one of the most important tourist places in the Basque Country. From the bridge to the church there are 231 stairs.
-Iratiko oihana (the forest of Irati):This forest is the biggest one in the Basque Country. According to Basque mythology, this forest is one of the most
important, and it is one of Basajaun’s (the Lord of the Forests) homes. There are a lot of myths and legends about this forest.
-Zugarramurdiko leizeak (The caves of Zugarramurdi): They are some caves placed in Navarre’s northwest mountains. Four hundred years ago, the
inquisition gathered a lot of people and judged them there. These caves are famous because of the Zugarramurdi’s witch-hunt.

8. Ekaitz and Paul (myths and legends)
Basajaun:There were two siblings looking after the sheep and the brother saw a snake and
the snake started following him. The snake entered a cave and the brother entered too.
When he was inside he saw Basajaun and Basajaun saw him too. The boy hid but Basajaun
saw him. And Basajaun asked if his dad boiled coal too and the boy answered that he didn't
know what his dad boiled and Basajaun gave him one piece of coal. The boy went to his
house and his sister said that it was red gold.