Basque ethnography at a glance

Rabid dog. Dioscórides, Madrid, 1566. Euskal Biblioteka. Labayru Fundazioa.

In the modern society we live the figure of the so-called saludador (literally, a healer or health-giver) has no place. The very meaning of the term is strange to Spanish speakers. The Royal Spanish Academy (Real Academia Española, abbreviated as RAE), in its second entry, defines it as a trickster dedicated to heal or forestall rabies and other virulent diseases with their breath, saliva and certain charms and formulas (“Embaucador que se dedica a curar o precaver la rabia u otros males, con el aliento, la saliva y ciertas deprecaciones y fórmulas”). It stands out and draws our attention that a saludador should be defined as a trickster (direct translation of embaucador, the word used in the definition) or fraudulent pretender. As we know, rabies is most commonly transmitted to humans by an infected dog. It was a widespread belief that dogs eating too little were prone to contract rabies, and let us not forget, in former times, people were more exposed to bites from rabid dogs.

The saludador (salutadore, var. saludadore, in Basque) had the virtue of curing rabies. That was the name given to the seventh son of couples who had hitherto produced only male offspring, explains Azkue, and according to a popular superstition, possessed healing powers and bore a cross on the tongue (“Se llama así al séptimo hijo varón de una familia, porque se le atribuye la virtud de curar. La superstición popular exige que no haya habido ninguna hembra entre los siete y se imagina una cruz en la lengua del privilegiado”). In certain localities the same applied to the youngest of seven sisters. Quackery has existed in many areas of the Basque country; however, there are only a few well-documented accounts in Basque of healing practices.

One of the most notable is the record of events happened in 1876 by Mikela Elizegi, daughter of the bertso singer Pello Errota (1840-1919), in the book Pello Errotaren bizitza bere alabak kontatua [The story of Pello Errota’s life told by his daughter] (Auspoa nº 32, 1963, pp. 42-43). Here follows an English version of Mikela’s narration: the quack heated some oil, and when it was at a full boil, poured it in his mouth and leaked the infected child’s wounds and sores. According to Mikela, born around 1868 and witness of the events she recounts, the quack did heal the diseased child but also predicted her early death.

Another important testimonial comes from José Ramón Erauskin in the book Aien garaia [Their time] (Auspoa berdea, 1975, p. 317), which we also translate. On this occasion the description of the healing of the young boy suffering from rabies is richer in detail. As the bite was on the back of the leg, the quack asked the sick boy to lie face down. He rolled up the boy’s trouser to reveal the infected wound covered with a crust of clotted blood and demanded a tub and a frying pan with boiling oil to be brought to him. He started to suck the wound and pour the extracted poison and dirt in the tub. So he did for a long time until the wound was clean. Next he took two spoonfuls of the boiling oil as if it were cold water, retained it in the mouth and poured it out onto the cleansed wound. Then he wiped the site with a white cloth and sent the boy home. The bite from the rabid dog had healed instantly.

Mikela Elizegi witnessed the first of the aforementioned accounts; the second instance is the recount of a healing case by Erauskin, nephew of the Basque bertso singer Txirrita. The former are happenings of a distant time back around the year 1876, and the latter might also date from the 19^th century.

Jabier Kalzakorta – Full member of the Academy of the Basque Language and professor at the University of Deusto

Translated by Jaione Bilbao – Language Department – Labayru Fundazioa

Reference for further information: Popular Medicine, part of the Ethnographic Atlas of the Basque Country collection.