Tradition, culture, history and gastronomy come together annually in Kirikoketa besta, an event of great importance, in which the way of working the apple of the Basque people is recreated.
Once a year, when the apple ripens and falls to the ground, the cultural association Jo ala Jo takes the reins of the most important cider presses of Euskal Herria. This association based in Arizkun, Navarra, recreates the process that our ancestors used to obtain one of the historical broths of the Basque people, sagardoa, the Basque cider. The recreations are carried out in Gipuzkoa and Navarra, in the Igartubeiti and Gamioxarrea baserris, buildings from the 16th and 18th centuries respectively. Thanks to this type of spaces and events, we can once again enjoy the fusion of work and music, sounds with great rhythm, which accompany the effort in obtaining the apple juice. Jo ala Jo taldea is a cultural association in which its members and leaders work for and to disseminate the Basque culture around the apple, a work that is rewarded with the success of the events they perform, a real treat for the senses.
Basic information about kirikoketa besta.
- Who organizes kirikoketa besta? Jo ala Jo taldea cultural association. Cultural association that studies and recovers the ancient customs of the Basque people.
- Where does kirikoketa besta take place? Igartubeiti Museum (Gipuzkoa) and Baserri Gamioxarrea (Navarra).
- When is kirikoketa besta performed? At the end of the year, after harvesting the apples, in October.
- Where can we find more information about Kirikoketa besta? Jo ala Jo taldea.
- What musical elements are found in kirikoketa besta? kirikoketa, txalaparta, horns and txistus are some of the elements that take part in this type of events. The fusion of all of them results in an authentic Basque atmosphere.
- What is kirikoketa? Basque percussion instrument whose origin is in the process of beating apples to obtain the juice that later will become cider. An instrument, in which the main elements are the ‘oholak’ (planks) and the mallets, which, hitting each other, create the popular rhythms of our land.
- What is the txalaparta? A more popular instrument than the kirikoketa but of the same origin and similar mechanism.
- What are the horns? Horns are an ancient element of communication. In Bizkaia, for example, they were used to make the call to general meetings from the 5 horn mountains (Kolitza, Ganekogorta, Gorbea, Oiz, Sollube).
- What is a winepress? Space where the apples are pressed to obtain the juice that will later become sago. It is usually strategically located on the upper floor of Basque farmhouses, causing the juice obtained to fall by its own inertia to the lower floor, where it will later be stored.
The smell of the freshly squeezed apple, the taste of the juice obtained and the atmosphere created by the sound of the apple hitting the cider transports us to a time when cider was essential to the daily lives of all Basques. The non-existence of drinking water distribution networks made cider practically the only possible means of hydration, a broth of which each member of the family could easily consume an average of 3 liters per day. Do you want to be transported back in time? Do you want to know kirikoketa besta? Attention!
Kirikoketa besta by Jo ala Jo taldea.
Kirikoketa besta (kirikoketa festival in Basque), is an event in which the authentic Basque culture is enjoyed, a culture that although we share the 7 territories that make up Euskal Herria, unfortunately, we can only see and enjoy in Navarre and Gipuzkoa.
Jo ala Jo Association: With the presentation of the project to the Government of Navarre in 2005, one of the most important cultural projects in the Basque Country, the Jo ala Jo taldea association, was launched. In that document, the importance of the apple in the valleys of upper Navarre and the cultural, historical, economic and moral necessity of not letting it fall into oblivion were put on record.
Thanks to the laborious field work carried out by the association, not only are we managing to make society aware of the importance of cider and apples in the culture and history of Navarre, but we have also managed to recover an old 18th century cider press, the Baroque press of the Gamioxarrea house in Arizkun.
Xabi Torres, one of the leaders of Jo ala Jo taldea, tells us how they travel the corners of Euskal Herria making known what they started in Arizkun, a social work, non-profit, which has led them to be one of the greatest cultural representatives of our people. An association to which we Basques must thank for having kept alive the culture of our ancestors, eskerrik asko!
The appleThe climate of the north of Euskal Herria is not suitable for the production of bread and wine, it is not suitable for sowing vines and cereals, but it is suitable for the production of cider and milk, as it is stated in the writing of Jean Viellard “Le guide de Saint Jacques de Compostelle” of 1971. A text in which reference was made to “the people who live in a rugged, mountainous land, poor in bread and wine, but abundant in apples, cider and milk”, a good description that although it was used to describe the inhabitants of the Navarrese valleys can be used to describe the north of Euskal Herria (Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia, Navarre and the French Basque Country).
The apple is present in the gastronomy, folklore and history of the Basque people, a way of life that had its lowest hours with the golden age of industrialization and from which today we are seeing its resurgence.
Thanks to the great work being done by La ruta de la cidra vasca (Basque cider association) and the efforts of the producers themselves, today 90% of Basque cider is made with native apples, a fact that a few years ago was unthinkable since more than 50% of the apples came from Brittany.
Kirikoketa: The kirikoketa is the living example of the importance that housework, the baserri, has had in our history. From gluing the apple with the only objective of obtaining its broth, to a musical instrument, a derivation that, like the lifting of stones or the dragging of stones with oxen, has become a central axis of our culture.
Arizkun: Arizkun, cradle of the Navarrese cider houses. A small village, in which there were up to 6 sagardotegis in the past and that nowadays is the resurgence of the Navarrese village. It is here, in Arizkun, where the biggest apple festival, Kirikoketa besta, takes place. Less than 60 kilometers from Iruña (Pamplona), passing through Elizondo and Elbete, we arrive at Arizkun, a village divided into 4 neighborhoods: Aintzialde, Bozate, Ordoki and Pertalats. Medieval towers, palaces, convents and other stately buildings make the party in Arizkun look like a party of the eighteenth century, a party in which the Basque cider is made again as our ancestors did, sticking the apple.
Igartubeiti: Igartubeiti is one of the best examples of the golden age of the Basque people. In the middle of the 16th century, Igartubeiti produced the cider that the fearful Basque whalers would later consume during their voyages to the coasts of Canada. A trip that will soon be made again aboard the Nao San Juan, the ship that the Albaola project is creating in Pasaia.
This 16th century baserri is another of the spaces chosen by Jo ala Jo taldea to make us enjoy their performances, a historical place, perfect for the occasion.
Kirikoketa besta: What are we going to see if we go to kirikoketa besta? the production of Basque cider in the old style, the authentic one.
Set by the sounds of the txalaparta, the txistularis and the kirikoketa, we will enjoy exhibitions and tastings of apples, talos and popular Basque gastronomy, folk dances and much more in a 100% festive atmosphere. And as, we will live in first person the ancestral way of obtaining the apple juice. We recommend enjoying the popular food and the party afterwards.
We would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank those who made us enjoy this incredible experience. Eskerrik asko Xabi Torres, Txomin Petrikorena, Jabi Leoz, Jabi and Idoia Sobrino, members of “Jo ala Jo taldea” for making us part of such a special day. Seeing a sixteenth century wine press in full operation is a difficult moment to capture, and this event only takes place once a year and is limited to a small number of attendees, what about you? Are you going to miss it?
0 Comments