The City Hall of Ereñotzu (Hernani), in collaboration with the Department of Culture of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, launched the Bizitzen Auzolanean project in 2015. In this context he wanted to gather the knowledge and history of the Harrapazka Eguna. Harrapazka Eguna was a special day to cut the carnival and tradition was maintained until 75 years ago – in 1941 it was last celebrated in Hernani. Although many ereñotzuarras have heard it, very few know exactly what it was. The Society of Sciences Aranzadi, in collaboration with the Association of the Basque Country Dobera, has made an effort to locate, interview and record the last testimonies that lived this special day. To all this, the old documents and bibliographic data of the file have been added.

Hipolito Arregui, 98, and the brothers Antonio and Pedro Santa Kruz, 92 and 90, have been our testimonies. Last testimonies of Harrapazka Eguna de Hernani.

But what was the Harrapazka Eguna?

The Day of Plunder was the day when the time was opened to cut the carnival. Until this date it was forbidden to cut the carnival with the risk of being fined. It was a very special day, because of its peculiarities and its importance.

It was celebrated every year around the day of the Virgin of September (8 September), when the carnival began to blush. The City Hall brought out the neighbors to inform them of when and where it was going to do so and those who wanted it had the right to go, as it was done on communal lands. For many it was the day of cutting the carnival for free, while for the City Hall it was the way to manage or regulate the cutting of it. In fact, the Harrapazka Eguna had its own laws and its failure to comply was punishable.

Of each family, two or four – according to the year – only people could participate and she could only wear a sickle to cut the iñistorra.

On the same day, they all began to cut them to the orders of the rural guard. Each of them marked their land, cutting the curb first. The competition was narrow: it was important to cut faster than the people next to you to have more space of your own. The faster they cut, the bigger the plot. Such was, as the word itself says, the looting as quickly as possible, to bring home more wasps. Once “marked” all around, they started cutting the interior.

In the photo, Araldia in Urnieta. Photo holder: PILI Lasa. Ceded by Manuel Larramendi Kultur Elkartea.

“The first day was just free to cut with the sickle,” Hippolytus told us. The Harrapazka Eguna came to an end when the night fell. The next day, in the same place and at the same time, they could still cut the carnival, “but it was allowed to be cut off with the scylla.” In this way, everything was cut off until or caught enough.

An important day full of curiosities

Our testicles tell us how the farthest would do hours in the morning to reach the area where the Harrapazka Eguna was celebrated. They wore front dresses. Type of socks or polains made with pieces of fabric extracted from the bags, and later with blankets from the trash cans, which they placed on the covers. And in the bag they carried everything they had to eat, if they had time to eat, at least… they also carried garrafones with the new cider, because, according to the older ones, “the new cider had to be made by the day of the fuck.” Others, however, “were going to eat at the expense of the people” says Antonio. Also present were the municipal representatives and the rural guards, as well as some representative of the Council, “but they ate the food they brought from the restaurant, eh! And without cutting! On our own!”

At night there were also jokes. People were still cutting in the dark, and the ranger was guarding, changing his clothes and turning his cap upside down for hunting. “On the moon he steals well,” says Peter laughing.

Fight, rivalry -- and auzolan?

There were no more incidents: “You have entered our plot!”, “You have received the carnival that we cut!”... because it was a fight of prey. And that led to fights and problems. The City Hall had to take several sides by remembering the laws. But the iñistor was a necessary raw material that also forced the neighbors to work in auzolan.

Before the time of the Iñistorra’s cut, the so-called “aaldiya” (zeal) was made, which in some villages was also called “malobra”. It was called Araldia auzolana, which was made to fix and adjust the carriageways that were aimed at the Iñistor. Each family had an obligation to bring a representative and if it could not send him, it was his duty to find a substitute. The City Hall put the date by side and made groups to fix the roads. With stones and materials around them, they repaired the roads. However, our testicles also remember other kinds of issues. Because the City Hall had free wine and there were people who had finished singing bertsos that day ...

In the photo, those of the Agerre Farmhouse of Hernani have done a lot, in 1965. Photo: Felix Unzueta Cedido by Kepa Urreaga.

After Aaldiya and Harrapazka Eguna, it was time to cut and go with the chariots in search of the iñistorra that had left to dry in the mountain. Many of them made the appointment with their cars in a certain place, and they all went together, one after the other, in search of the iñistorra, “like a train!”, according to our testimonies “taking good carriageway sounds”. Among the relatives there were not enough people, and on many occasions there was a boom between the dwellings, both to collect the carnival and to do the piles.

Acknowledgements

To all the people who have given us your support, time and information in all the interviews we have made about Iñistorra. Idurre Lekuona, Eñaut Agirre and Xabier Iriarte, for their work in collecting the Harrapazka Eguna.

24 September festival

Organized by the City Council of Ereñotzu and with the cooperation of the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, a video and guided tour will be offered in Ereñotzu on 24 September at 9:30 in the Civic Centre of Ereñotzu.

After 30 minutes of video, they will take a tour of the slopes of the mountains where the Harrapazka Eguna was held (from Akola to Igoin-Sasi). Organizers have pointed out that it is "easy to do" (3.5 kilometers with an elevation of 80 meters) and that it will end at 13:30 hours.

The signatory of this article, Iñaki Sanz Azkue, will provide explanations on the Harrapazka Eguna.