Basque ethnography at a glance

Author: Felix Mugurutza

In Spanish, the name zoqueta stands for as a piece of wood, similar to a glove, used by the person who is reaping the harvest to protect the little finger, ring finger and middle finger of the left hand from the cuts of the sickle. Documented in Basque as esku-kapela, it is not a known word, but rather unusual, since that device has been mostly used on the Mediterranean side of Euskal Herria, where cereal was abundant, but our language was lost long before. Along the northern slope, on the contrary, it is a completely unknown object.

At the same time, it is unknown that we (Basques) were the exporters of these pieces for all of Castile, Aragon, Extremadura or Andalusia, where such large areas of cereal could be found. It was exported in such enormous quantities that it is overwhelming to think about it.

The manufacture of these pieces is mainly identified with two towns: Biotzari (Navare) and Santikurutze Kanpezu (Araba). Nevertheless, there is such a disproportion between the two, that we could assure that the latter had a monopoly on the manufacturing and marketing of those coveted zoquetas.

Even nowadays, it is still common to refer to the people of Kanpezu with the nickname txirrikero. Although some of them may not know, it comes from txirrika, ‘pulley, sheave’ because it was one of the many pieces that were turned from arbutus or boxwood to export them, mainly to be used in boats. Actually, it is still common in the Spanish spoken along the centre of Navarra (Navarra Media) to use the word txirrika when referring to pulleys. That nickname, like cuchareros (spooners), is given to them because, in past centuries, the people from Kanpezu lived by and for the manufacture of wooden pieces, extracted from the immeasurable slopes of a nearby mountain called Ioar. Them and only them: with no doubt the most unique feature of that population.

To have a clear picture of ​​the variety of their manufactures, Pascual Madoz (1845) tells us that, apart from the best-known spoons and zoquetas, thousands of “spindles [spinning wheels], grinders [wooden for churning honey, etc.], nozzles [for closing wineskins], bin dowels [barrel stoppers], distaffs, mortars, and many other utensils of this kind.

Author: Felix Mugurutza

Such was the intensity and productive volume that, by the end of the 19th century, the forest become resentful, causing the decline of this activity.

Still, paperwork shows that, in 1928, in full decline, there were 3 carpentry shops, 4 workshops for manufacturing boxwood spoons, 12 for turning those woods to make nozzles, grinders, and spinning wheels. , etc. and 5 more workshops only dedicated to manufacturing the mowing boots could be found in Santikurutze Kanpezu. The entire town lived related to that activity in some way or another. Astonishing.

But, focusing on the interesting piece of the zoqueta, it is, without a doubt, the most unique and at the same time unknown piece among us, since we have related it to distant places like Castile, always unaware that they come from here, from Kanpezu, to be more exact.

The work began along with the supplying of wood to keep the workshops stock full. For this, good branches or beech trunks were cut off during winter moon wanings period. Because, unlike what happens with spoons, turned pieces, pulleys… for which boxwood or arbutus tree (known here as burrubiote) was preferred, beech was used for the zoquetas.

Those branches were approximately one rod (ancient measurement equivalent to 83.6 cm) long wooden pieces. They were moved by dragging them, loaded on mules or by rolling them after nailing rotating wedges into their ends, as an axle, and to the horses using chains.

Those wooden pieces were cut with vertical cuttings, into six or pieces if it was thick or, mostly into four quarters, while the core wood, which was discarded prone to cracking, was eliminated. Each of those pieces was enough to make six zoquetas. In other words, a pair of zoquetas could be made from each foot of wood, or twenty-four per each log that was taken down from the mountain.

Author: Felix Mugurutza

It wasn´t uncommon for the entire family to be involved in the manufacturing, each member taking care of a different process, in some kind of industrial chain. So, it was usual for each workshop or family to manufacture 60-70 shoes a day.

Making a quick estimation it can be noted that, even in times of decline, around 2000 zoquetas per week left Kanpezu, which gives us an idea of how important this craftsmanship was.

We could get much deeper into detailing the manufacturing process, but let´s leave it for another time, because the objective of this post is different: to make sure this important historical craft process is recognized, because, curiously, nothing has been published about it. So here we are once again, fighting against the windmills of oblivion.

Felix Mugurutza – Researcher