The Moor’s Parade
The Moor’s Parade takes place on the Saturday afternoon of the Antzuola fiestas during the third week in July.
The Moor’s Parade:
One of the most significant past freedoms of the Basque Country is related to its military organization. The formation of the Basque army was based on the municipal militia: the municipal code stipulated that, according to provincial regulations, military service was to be carried out by all citizens falling between the ages of 18 and 60, whose leaders were the mayors of the respective towns and villages; hence the fact that these militias consisted of companies formed by the locals. This recruitment included the obligatory annual carrying out of a parade, i.e. it was necessary to gather the men in the village square, count and train those of military age and to identify their provisioning. But on losing its provincial freedoms in 1876, the Basque military organization fell into line with its Spanish counterpart, thus eliminating the need for this “display”. Since then only a few towns and villages (Fuenterrabía, Irún, Tolosa, Elorrio… and Antzuola) continue to maintain the ancient custom of this arms parade, moreover commemorating the occasional important battle.
Valdejunquera:
In our case the parade celebrates the battle against Abd al-Rahmán III at Valdejunquera, a valley standing between the villages of Salinas de Oro and Muez in Navarra. According to chroniclers, this historical event, in which tradition would have it that a company of locals from Antzuola took part, occurred on 26 July 920.
Among others, the parade includes a number of unusual features which may attract the attention: the music, the flag, the speech given by the leader and the verses accompanying him.
the flag:
The standard flying on the day in question is also the town flag. This flag and the design of its different drawings are similar to some of those featuring on the different parts of the town coat of arms designed under the Certifications of Arms in 1745, although the earliest mentions date back to when Antzuola was granted its Town Charter, i.e. when it was granted its independence as a town from Bergara in 1629. The flag now carried in the parade is the copy of another one made in 1863.
Diskurtsoa:
Herrian zehar armen ikustaldia egin ondoren, alardearen bigarren zatian, besteak beste, kapitainaren diskurtsoa dago. Baldejunkerako borrokaldia eta han antzuolar konpainia batek parte hartu zuela azpimarratzen da diskurtsoan zehar.
Jatorrizko testuak aldaketa batzuk izan ditu gaur egungo egoerara hobeto egokitzeko asmoarekin baina zatirik haundiena 1745eko arma-Zertifikaziotik ateratakoa da, nahiz eta, aurrean esan dugun bezala, lehenengo aipamena 1629koa izan.
Bertsoak:
Kapitainak diskurtsoan tartetxo bat egiten du eta tarte horretan, hain zuzen, bertsoak kantatzen dira. Bertso horiek Jose Maria Iparragirre urretxuar famatuak idatzitakoak dira. Dakigunez, 1878 inguruan idatzi zituen. Oso kontutan hartzekoa da urte hori; izan ere, ordurako Karlistada bukatuta zegoen eta Nafarroak harremanak galtzen ditu beste probintzia euskaldunekin, eta azken hauek Foruak galduko dituzten 1876an. Horregatik, azken bertsoa da esanguratsuenetakoa, hortxe aldarrikatzen baita Nafarroarekin lotura ez galtzea: “Laurak-bat”; izan ere, Baldejunkerako borrokaldiaren ospakizunean goraipatu nahi dena euskaldunon arteko batasuna da.
Foruak galtzearen (1876 urtea) ondorioetako bat 1877. urtean jazo zen. Urte horretan soldaduskarako adinean zeuden mutilei deitzea Penintsulan egiten zen bezala egiten ziren euskal probintzietan ere; beraz, hemengo antolamendu militarra- eta horrekin batera alardearen zergatia-derogatu egin zen. Gertaera horiek eraginda, Iparragirrek ondorengo bertsoak idatzi zizkien antzuolarrei, euskal ohiturei jarraipena emateko helburuarekin, hain zuzen.
