Hotel Urune: Atorras and lamias of Mundaka, the Basque carnival

They say that the night of the carnival everything is possible…That is why we wear masks on that day. The celebration of this festivity goes back to the pagan times when special events had been held in honor of Bacchus, the Greek god of wine. Nowadays, there are hundreds of ways to represent this custom all over the world, from Brazil to Bolivia and from Venice to Mundaka… Yes, today we are going to a tiny village of the Basque Coast, proudly overlooking the entrance to the Urdaibai Estuary. Carnival in Mundaka also called arratustes is undoubtedly one of the most curious samples of this festivity in our region as the stone streets of Mundaka resound with traditional songs and guitar chords of atorras and vibrate with lamias’ mesmerizing dancing on its main square.

But who are the atorras and the lamias? According to the local legend, the neat attire of atorras, consisting of a skirt, a blouse, a pair of white trousers, a pillowcase over the head and a red scarf was first used by the local count Anton Erreka, a well-known local character, who once came back home after a few drinks, hastily dressed his wife's petticoats and inadvertently hit the streets to escape the broom of the angry wife. The neighbors thought it was another eccentricity of the first local authority and set out to celebrate a great pilgrimage in their new outfits that did not end until the beginning of the Lent. In this singular way Erreka popularized unwittingly the apparel that, over time, has become the landmark of the carnivals of Mundaka.

Every year, the atorras begin their walk around Mundaka, opposite the house of José María Egileor, one of the promoters of this event during the Civil War and in the years of the dictatorship, playing guitars and signing the most emblematic songs referring especially to the event. Local people usually follow the group from bar to bar joining them in the chorus while tasting an occasional glass of txakoli (a kind of a Basque white wine). The celebration ends late in the evening with lamia dancing on the main square of the village.

As for lamias, according to the Basque mythology they are creatures related to water. They are fairies of the Basque folk, nocturnal beings that look like humans apart from their chicken like legs, goat hooves, a fish tail and a female sex, with long hair, usually blonde, beautiful, noble and powerful.
They live on the sea shore and on river banks, for example, in caves and wells. During the day, they try to hide (as the sun kills their power) and submerge in water when humans approach them. At night, they wash their clothes in the river and comb their long hair with a golden comb. They usually help those who concede them an offering during the night in their daily work. Lamias reward generously the aid of both men and women. The comb symbolizes their power and although they are of a kind nature and they usually grant favours (coal that turns into gold, bacon that turns into silver, ashes that become money, etc.), they can cause damage in some cases. The attraction and the ambition of humans to own the comb causes the wrath of Lamias and some legends say that if humans possess these combs, they will receive a great deal of misery until the combs are returned to their rightful owners.

Lamias form Mundaka wear a black robe, a white wig, a scarf on the head and they paint their faces white, the lips red and their eyes are circled with mysterious black shades.

This year, men and women of Mundaka will come out on the streets on the Sunday of carnival, February 10^th, at about midday, to pay tribute to their customs and traditions.