#basque myth

Forms of Mari

Legends attribute Mari as female. She often appears in the form of an elegantly dressed lady, as we are told in the tales of Durango, in which she appears. Furthermore, she is depicted holding a golden palace in her hands. She is represented similarly in the tales of Elosua, Begoña, Azpeitia, Cegama, Renteria, Ascain, and Lescun. In the latter, they say she wears a red gown.

She also appears as a lady seated on a chariot drawn by four horses that crosses the air (Amézqueta).

She has been seen in Zaldivia as a woman breathing fire. A woman enveloped in fire, lying horizontally in the air, crosses the sky (Bedoña).

A woman breathing fire, sometimes dragging a broom and other times chains, depending on the noise that accompanies her (Régil).

A lady riding a ram (Cegama and Oñate).

A large woman whose head is surrounded by the full moon (Azcoitia).

Woman with bird's feet (Garagarza).

Woman with goat's feet, according to the Livro dos Linhagens, by Count D. Pedro.

In the form of a male goat (Auza del Baztán).

In the form of a horse (Arano), of a heifer (Oñate).

Many Cegameses have seen her in the form of a raven in the cave of Aketegi.

According to the beliefs of Orozco, she and her companions appear in the form of a vulture in the great cave of Supelogor on Mount Itxiñe.

In the form of a tree whose front resembles a woman, or in the form of a tree that emits flames from all sides (Ofiate).

She makes her presence known in certain cases as a gust of wind (Escoriaza).

She appears on other occasions as a white cloud (Durango, Ispáster). Sometimes she has been seen in the form of a rainbow. She has frequently been seen passing through the air in the form of a fiery globe (Oñate, Segura, Orozco).

She often takes the form of a fiery sickle (Atáun, Cegama, and Zuazo de Gamboa).

In Lizarraga, Mari is called Damatxo, and it is said that she passes through the air to the Putterri cave, like an airplane that leaves a trail of sparks behind her.

In the ZELHARBURU cave (Bidarray), she is represented by a stalagmitic column that resembles a human torso.

Despite the variety of forms that mythical accounts attribute to Mari, all agree that she is a woman.

Mari generally takes zoomorphic forms in her subterranean dwellings; the other forms appear on the surface of the earth and when she crosses the sky. The animal figures (such as bull, ram, goat, horse, snake, vulture, etc.) referred to in myths about the underworld represent Mari and her subordinates, that is, the earth spirits or telluric forces to which the people attribute the phenomena of the world. The changes in form mentioned in various myths confirm this idea. In Mutiloa, they tell that a daughter of Eguzkitza Gaserio from that place became the Lady of Aketegi (in Mari) because she touched the rainbow.

Mari's Abodes

Mari's ordinary abode is the regions located within the Earth. But these regions communicate with the Earth's surface through various conduits, which are certain caverns and chasms. Therefore, Mari makes her appearances in such places more frequently than in others. Several caves are mentioned where the deity has appeared on occasions that are still remembered. These include, among others, the caves and chasms of Balzola (Dima), Supelaur or Supelegor (Orozco), Amboto, Atxorrotx (Escoriaza), Zaldiaran, Aketegui (Cegama), Agamunda (Atáun), Murumendi (Beasain), Marizulo (Amézqueta), Obantzun (Berástegui), Odabe (Alsasua), and Akelarre (Zugarramurdi). from Leizia (Sara), from Zelharburu (Bidarray), from Marixilo (Biriatu), from Mendikote (above Albistur), etc.

It is generally believed that MARI's rooms are richly adorned and filled with gold and precious stones. In the cave of AKETEGUI, the beds are made of gold (Cegama). A legend from Cenarruza tells of MARI giving one of her captives a handful of coal which, when taken from the cave, turned into pure gold. In the cave of OTSABIO, there is a golden bullock (Lizarza). And in Zarauz, they say that MARI unwinds thread with a golden spool. They also say in Amézqueta that MARI possesses a golden spool in Aralar. The lady (MARI or Lezeko andrea, "the lady of the cave") of the grotto of Arrobibeltz (Ascain) sits in a golden chair.

A golden comb was found in front of the cave of Otsibarre (Canou), supposedly belonging to a red bull (Mari) that has its lair there.

However, according to accounts in Zarautz, in the cave of Amboto, where Mari appears many times, there are objects that look like gold; but when taken outside, they turn into rotten sticks.

Mari changes dwellings (Mañaria): it spends seven years in Amboto, seven in Oiz, and seven in Mugarra.

Mari's Family

In many Basque myths, Mari is considered the chief or queen of all the spirits that inhabit the world.

In a legend from Azcoitia, it is said that Mari has a husband named Maju, who appears in a form similar to hers. When they meet, a furious storm of rain and hail falls. Maju must be the same spirit that in Goverri is called Sugaar, "snake." He is a character who appears infrequently in current Basque mythology. In a legend from Zuma, it is said that he visits Mari on Fridays at two in the afternoon.

Sugaar, or snake, seems to be that devil of Biscay from the 14th century who, according to the Chronicle of Seven Houses of Biscay and Castile (year 1454), mated with a princess who lived in Mundaka, who gave birth to a child, who was the first lord of Biscay. Indeed, García de Salazar recounts that a daughter of the King of Scotland arrived in Mundaka with her servants, who made their village there, and that while they were there, a devil, whom they call Culebro in Biscay, Lord of the House, slept with her in a dream and impregnated her, the princess was pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was a very handsome man with a fine physique, and they called him Don Zuría, "White lord".

SUGOI is the name of the "culebro" (snake) of the cave of Balzola (Dima), to whose legend one of the themes of the story about the origin of the lords of Biscay is incorporated.

Several legends from Ataun, Villafranca de Oria, Arano, etc., allude to Mari's marriage to a mortal. The Ataun version says that, having married a young man from the Burugoena farmhouse in Beasain, Mari had seven children. Since she was not Christian, she did not baptize them. But one day her husband tried to take her and her children to the village church. Then Mari flew, engulfed in flames, to the cliffs of Murumendi, saying:

"My children to heaven, and now I to Muru," and she entered her former dwelling through the chasm in that mountain.

Some legends mention two daughters of Mari; others, only one who accompanies her in her room; and still others, two sons: Atarrabi and Mikelats: the former good, the latter evil.

The preceding tale is a variant of a legend collected at the beginning of the 16th century by Count Pedro de Barcellos in his Livro dos Linhagens concerning the origin of the lords of Biscay. Referring to Don Diego López de Haro, it says the following:

Don Diego López de Haro was a very good mountain man, and one day, while waiting for a wild boar to come, he heard a woman singing very loudly on a rocky outcrop. He went to her and saw that she was very beautiful and well-dressed, and he immediately fell very deeply in love with her and asked her who she was. She told him that she was a woman of very high lineage, and he said that since she was a woman of very high lineage, he would marry her if she wished, because he was lord of that land. She said she would, but on the condition that he promised never to cross himself, and he granted her wish, and she went with him immediately. This lady was very beautiful and well-built throughout, except that she had one foot like a goat's.

They lived together for a long time and had two children, a son and a daughter, and the son was named Iñigo Guerra.

Count Don Pedro then adds that one day Don Diego López de Haro crossed himself while eating with his family, and his wife instantly jumped out of the palace window with their daughter and fled to the mountains, so that neither she nor her daughter were ever seen again.

Certain accounts present Mari, in her various locations, as if she were not a single deity or divinity but several sister deities. Thus, in Marquina, they say that Marije-Kobaku, who appears in the cave of Kanterazar, which has the same attributes as the cave of Amboto, is its sister, and that they visit each other from time to time.

The fact of multiplying figures as a consequence of the plurality of their locations reflects an elemental tendency that also appears in the case of the Virgin Mary in her various advocations. Indeed, some folk tales present the Virgin of Aránzazu, the Virgin of Liernia, the Virgin of Antigua de Zumárraga, etc., as sisters and not as manifestations of the same Virgin. It has been quite common to say that the Virgins are seven sisters: zazpi aizpatxo dira euskaldun Birjiñak "the Basque Virgins are seven sisters."

From the preceding beliefs and myths, it follows that Mari and her mythical husband, Maju or Sugaar, fall into the category of ancestors, since they are ancestors of the house of the lords of Biscay.

Mari's Captive

In addition to the countless entities that Mari has at her service, a young captive sometimes appears in her lair. Some legends say she is the daughter of the Irabi farmhouse (Amézqueta); others say of the Iturriotz farmhouse (Mutiloa), of Palasio (Abadiano), or of Bixiñaa (Aramayona).

The captive is also called Mari. She was in this condition or state for various reasons: Sometimes, it was in fulfillment of a promise or commitment made by her mother.

Thus, a woman from the Sarri neighborhood (Bérriz) promised to give her daughter to Mari, and to keep her promise, she sent her to graze her cows in the Sarrimendi meadow, near the cave of that spirit. Then he seized her and took her to his lair.

Other times, she is taken captive as a result of a curse from her mother.

She was a young woman from the Irabi farmhouse in Amézqueta. One day, a red heifer went missing. Mari was tasked by her mother with finding it, but she refused. Then her mother cursed her, saying, "May the devil take you if you don't bring her back." The young woman went out to look for her. In the field, a red cow appeared before her. Mari thought it was hers, and approaching it, she grabbed it by the tail. And the supposed cow, which was the devil or Mari de Marizulo, led her to the Txindoki cave, located in the Larrunari crag (Aralar mountain range).

Or in a different tale:

A girl from a farmhouse in Cegama spent hours combing her hair, which greatly angered her mother. Her mother once cursed her, saying, "May a thousand lightning bolts strike you down!" The daughter vanished instantly. Later, she appeared in the form of a human skeleton to a shepherd near a cave in Aizkorri and explained how she was held captive as a result of her mother's curse.

In Mutiloa, they also tell how a shepherdess was kidnapped under similar circumstances. A shepherd later saw a luminous flash enter a cave. It was the missing girl.

In other legends, neither the theme of a curse nor a promise appears. Mari simply seizes a girl who approaches her cave. Thus, a shepherdess was taken to the cave of Gabarro, located near Marquina. There, Mari kept her for some years, keeping her busy spinning. She educated her carefully and finally dismissed her, giving her a handful of gold.

A young woman from Bidarray was tending her flock of sheep on Mount Iduskimendi. One day, she disappeared. Her relatives and neighbors searched for her in vain for some time: nothing was known of her. During the night, a voice was repeatedly heard in the vicinity of Iduskimendi: "jago, ago!" "Wait, wait!" The people were dismayed. One night, a luminous burst, like a star, appeared in the air, heading towards the Zelharburu cliffs, and then entered a grotto located there. The next day, the villagers went to explore the cave and there, at its depths, they found the young shepherdess petrified. Today she is known as Arpeko Saindua, the saint of the cave.

Attributes and Functions of Mari

In Cegama, they say that Mari is often seen in the kitchen of her cave, sitting by the fire, arranging her hair. In Ofate, she has been seen spinning. Others have seen her combing her hair, sitting in the sun on the threshold of her lair. In Goyaz, they say that she spends her time unwinding thread in the doorway of her room in Murumendi, especially when the sun is shining and there are stormy clouds in the sky. In Zuazo de Gamboa, they say that Mari spins balls of gold thread in her cave in Amboto, placing the skein on the horns of a ram that serves as her winder. In Aketegui, she does her laundry on Wednesdays and bakes bread on Fridays: a small cloud near the mouth of that cave announces these activities. The residents of Ispáster, upon seeing a cloud on Mount Otoyo, say that Mari has lit her oven.

According to what they say in Oñate and Arechavaleta, when Mari is in Amboto, it rains heavily; when she is in Aloña, there is a persistent drought. In Orozco, they say that when she is in Supalur, there is an abundant harvest.

Mari forges storms. In Oyarzun, they say that she creates them in Aralar and Trinidademendi. In Cegama and other villages of Goyerri, it is believed that she unleashes them, either from the cave of Aketegui or from that of Murumendi. In Arano, they say she sends them from a chasm in Muguiro, and that she then crosses the air in the form of a horse. In Gorriti, they believe that Mari brings forth storm clouds from a chasm in Aralar. According to the beliefs of Ieiza, she brings forth tempestuous winds from a well located near the Mai-Mur bridge. In many villages of Álava, they believe that such winds and clouds come from the Okina chasm. In Cuartango, they say they come from Lake Arreo. In La Rioja, it is common to hear that they come from the Urbión well. In the Lescun region, they say that Yonagorri—Mari—who dwells on the peak of Anié, sends them forth from her abode. In Tolosa, they say that Mari, riding in a chariot drawn by horses, crosses the air during storms, directing the clouds. The mere appearance of this deity is usually a sign of an approaching storm. Mari, mounted on a ram, combed her hair at the entrance to her cave in Muru. She washed her face with her left foot. They asked her why she was dressing up. She replied, "Because today I have to go and harvest wheat in Navarre." That afternoon, a hailstorm devastated the wheat fields of Navarre.

Many trees on Murumendi ("Mount Muru") are destroyed by lightning. This is what they say in Albistur, a town near that mountain. In Cerain, they say that during the time Mari is in Aizkorri, storms are never lacking in the region.

Mari rewards the faith of those who believe in her. Some travelers who wished to cross the mountain of Atxorrotx, in Escoriaza, found themselves at the end of their journey in an instant, a fact they attributed to their belief in that deity.

Mari attends to those who come to her. If someone calls her three times in a row saying AKETEKIGO DAMA ("Lady of Aketegui"), she will appear on their head, according to a common saying in the Cegama region.

In certain cases, Mari was asked for advice, and her oracles proved truthful and beneficial. For example, the blacksmith of Iraeta, seeing that his forge was not working, went to Mari in the cave of Anboto. She explained the cause and the remedy for the problem, and the blacksmith was able to get his forge up and running again. A similar case occurred at the Zubillaga forge, and thanks to the oracle of Anboto, it was able to resume its work.

Cult of Mari

"Whoever makes an offering to Mari annually will not see hail fall on their harvest" (Kortezubi).

The best offering one could make was undoubtedly to bring a ram to her lair. In many legends, this animal appears as Mari's favorite species.

It is undoubtedly one of the rites of worship to Mari or other subterranean deities that was observed until recently in Ataun, of throwing stones into caves while saying these words: au iretzat eta ni Jainkoarentzat "this for you and I for God." In Aralar, shepherds practiced this by throwing stones into the dolmens of Obieneta and Ziñekogurutze, an act considered a prayer. The same was apparently practiced at the Aizkomendi (Eguilaz) and Chabola de la Hechicera dolmens. On the plain of Gaztelueta (in the Aralar mountain range) there is a tumulus where many people threw stones during the full moon. According to local belief in the Ataun region, the gentiles of Aralar danced on nights of the full moon, each with their own shadow, on the plain of Alotza (also in that mountain range), where a legendary long stone called Saltarri exists.

Throwing stones into a sacred pool is another ritual: in one near the site where, according to tradition, the image of the Virgin of Ujué appeared, women who wish to have children throw stones, as they also do in another pool next to Javier Castle. At Arkaitz, or the rock located at the Oskia pass, many trace crosses with stones to ward off the genies or evil spirits of that place. In times past, pilgrims who went to the sanctuaries of Urkiola, Aránzazu, and San Miguel de Aralar carried stones (pebbles or boulders) and placed them on the walls of those temples: this custom has survived to this day in Azkarate and Arruazu. In the hermitage of San Prudencio (Getaria), at the foot of an image of the Virgin, there is a stone on the ground with a hollow on its upper surface containing a pebble. A person suffering from headaches or swelling takes the pebble in their hand, spits into the hollow, dips the pebble in the saliva, and then touches the affected head or limb. In Sara and Liguinaga, it is customary to place pebbles in the treetops, hoping that this offering will cause the trees to bear fruit.

A legend from Aya tells of a procession of shepherds to the cave of Mari de Amboto, praying that no hailstorms or other storms would harm their flocks.

According to another legend, the residents of Muguiro used to go in procession on May 3rd to a chasm of Mari located not far from that place, and the village priest would celebrate Mass upon entering. The legend adds that if Mari was in the cave during the ceremony, no hail would fall in the region for the entire following year.

The custom of depositing coins in caves as an offering dedicated to the spirit that dwells there was widespread in pre-Christian times. As for the Basque Country, Roman coins have been found in the caves of Istúritz, Santimamiñe, Sagastigorri, Solacueva, and Covairada. What devotees do today in the Zelharburu cave (ARPEKO SAINDU) seems, therefore, to be a remnant of pagan times. In other parts of the country, something similar is practiced, although not precisely in caves, but in the open air. Thus, in the Aralar mountains, when a shepherd loses a sheep, he offers alms to Saint Michael and places them on top of the rock called AMABIRJIÑA ARRI, "stone of the Virgin Mother," located near the Igaratza meadow.

In the 15th century, the lords of Biscay placed cow entrails on a rock in Busturia as an offering to their ancestor Mari. This is confirmed in his book by the aforementioned Count Pedro Barcellos, with these words: "In Biscay they said, and still say today, that this mother of Iñigo Guerra is the sorcerer or enchanter of Biscay." And as a sign of offering to him, whenever the Lord of Biscay is in a village called Vusturio, he orders all the entrails of the cows he slaughters at his house to be placed outside the village on a rock, and in the morning they find nothing. They say that if he did not do this, some harm would befall him that day and night, either to one of his squires or in some other way that would cause him great distress. And the Lords of Biscay always did this until the death of Don Juan the One-Eyed, and some tried not to do it and were ill.

How to behave in Mari's dwelling

Whoever goes to consult with Mari or to visit her must fulfill certain requirements. These are:

One must address her informally when speaking to her. When speaking basque, use the informal "you" (Hi instead of Zu).

One must leave her cave in the same way one entered; that is, if one entered facing inwards, one must also leave facing inwards (walking backwards).

One must not sit down while in Mari's dwelling.

Commandments of Mari

This deity condemns lying, theft, pride and boasting, breaking one's word, and disrespect towards others and mutual assistance. Offenders are punished by deprivation or loss of whatever has been the object of the lie, theft, pride, etc. It is common to say that Mari stocks her larder with those who deny what is and those who affirm what is not: ezagaz eta baiabaz, "with denial and with affirmation."

A shepherd was tending his flock of sheep in Murumendi. He felt thirsty and began to wander the mountain in search of a spring. He approached the mouth of a cave and there he saw an elegantly dressed young woman who asked him: "What are you looking for, good man?" "I am looking for water, missy, to quench my thirst." "Water? You mean cider." At once, the young lady presented him with a beautiful jug full of cider and gave it to the shepherd to drink. As soon as he tasted it, he said, "Excellent cider. What kind of apples is it made from?" "From those that Mr. Montes of Ikaztegieta has denied," replied the young woman from the cave, implying that they were apples whose existence their owner had denied.

There is a proverb that says: Ezai emana ezak eaman la nega "what is given to denial, denial takes away." "To deny" is to fail to tell the truth and to neglect the duties imposed by mutual assistance.

Inviolability of Mari's Dwelling

Whoever enters Mari's caverns uninvited and whoever unlawfully takes any object belonging to her is subsequently punished or threatened with punishment. A boy who stole a gold canteen from near the Amboto cave was taken from his home that very night and disappeared forever.

The hunters who threw stones into the Gaztozulo chasm, one of Mari's lairs in the Oñate region, were later knocked down by a wind and a cloud that emerged from it.

A woman stole a gold comb from the Otsibarre cave (Canou), and that very night a plot of land belonging to her was completely covered with stones.

Punishments and Spells

Mari often punishes transgressions by sending inner turmoil to offenders. She also punishes by seizing something belonging to the guilty. If they are shepherds, Mari takes one of their sheep.

The most resounding punishment Mari sends to villages is hail. She herself, or her son Mikelats, hurls storm clouds from the underworld, and she herself, or another subordinate spirit, among whom Odei and Eate are named, directs them from valley to valley and mountain to mountain.

To avoid hailstorms and other misfortunes, according to various legends, people used to celebrate masses and perform incantations near the mouths of certain caves. If the storm cannot be prevented, there is still the option of dispelling it through gestures and magical formulas. Upon seeing a storm cloud approaching, a resident of Ipinizar (Ceánuri) would wrap a herb called UZTAI-BEDAR, "rainbow herb" ​​(RUMEX CRISPUS) around his left wrist, and with his right hand point out to the storm the direction it should take. In this way, he, like others who performed the same ritual in other regions of the country, ensured that hail would not fall on his neighborhood.

There are people who believe themselves to possess magical power and address the storm spirit (Mari or her subordinates ODEI and EATE) with certain phrases consecrated by custom, sometimes indicating with a gesture of their hand where the rain and hail should fall.

Mari's symbol is the sickle. It is known that Mari crosses the sky in the form of a fiery sickle, according to certain beliefs and legends. For this reason, this instrument is considered a protector against lightning in some regions of the Basque Country, and during storms it is placed on the end of a pole in front of the house to prevent lightning from striking it.