Basque ethnography at a glance

Source: Photo archive of the General Direction of Tourism.

The Oria is the main river of Gipuzkoa. It runs from its source in Aizkorri for 75 kilometres through 18 municipalities until it enters the sea at Orio. Even though it may seem the town has traditionally been a fishing town, its inhabitants had to also work in other trades to earn their living. There have been several shipyards along the Oria river estuary – that is, the kilometres of the river that are tidal ؘ– from the 16^th century to the present. And why is that? The Orio coastline was originally known for its currents that made it very dangerous for ships and boats. Before the two sandbars were built and the estuary took on the appearance that we know today, the seafarers from Orio faced great difficulties to set to sea from there. They therefore turned to other trades in the past.

Ala of the early 20th century.                                            Photo credit: Eider Arruti.

Twenty different shipyards have been identified along the estuary banks from the Aginaga neighbourhood of Usurbil to the mouth of the river. Ships for the Spanish Navy, boats for private buyers, large fishing boats and other vessels were built in their building berths. Yet in the same way as other traditional trades, industrialisation and the use of plastic – or rather of fibre in this case – meant the end of the vast majority of traditional shipyards. It should be noted that there were also vessels that do not appear in the archives, in the shipowners’ contracts and drawings; there were the small tenders known as alas, which were built without a contract or drawings. Simple and quick to build, and without complicated designs or embellishments, they were a work tool to go up and down the river. Even though the name of ala is only used on the River Oria, the vessel is very similar to the chanelas or gabarras. Wide and shallow boats used to transport bulky cargo or freight, easy for one person to handle using the currents.

This type of transport was commonly used to collect sand from the beaches to the sea, take it upstream with the tides and sell it to be used for construction or on farmsteads. The Orio fishing boats had their own alas, which were used to move cargo and fit out the vessels. When the bridge over the River Orio was destroyed, these tenders acted as the bridge, taking goods, livestock and people from one side of the river to the other. Of course, they were also used for fishing in the river. Very few of these traditional vessels can still be see in Orio, and which had been used to catch eels until recently. In the same way as that delicacy, the ala has gradually disappeared from the river estuary. Fortunately, the Albaola Itsas Kultur Faktoria Foundation embarked on an educational project last June, thanks to which this heritage has been recovered and its first results have been seen with the recent launch of the first ala built by local students.  A new way of living, learning and educating around the river estuary.

Eider Arruti – Anthropologist