The witches of Zugarramurdi

"Sorginak, sorginak!" This is the cry that used to be heard in a small village in the Navarra mountain near Labourd there in the 16th century. Bruges .And it is that, in Zugarramurdi, in this corner of our country, in those years of darkness and darkness of sinrazon, the most famous case of witchcraft recorded so far: a fact that even today still escapes the drowned echoes of the six women that they were burned alive and the five burned in effigy because they had already perished before.

Many will know the story thanks to the recent movie that Alex de la Iglesia has taken to theaters, but without a doubt the reality goes far beyond those attractive images of the celluloid.What happened in Zugarramurdi is an indispensable part of our history, of that dark trunk where the black stories of a country hide and that, surely, we can still remember thanks to Goya and his shocking picture of "The Coven".

The purge of a French king

In 1608, French King Henry IV, faithful to the doctrine of Christ and a fervent defender of the faith, embarked on a personal crusade to remove from his lands all vestiges of "darkness and sorcery", displaying an authentic army of men and Judges in search of witches.

The witches of Zugarramurdi

All this deployment caused many women to flee from French lands fearing to be persecuted or executed for the slightest reason or the most insignificant suspicion, before those "faith watchers" able to see conspiracies with the Devil himself in the most daily act.

Fearful of being purged, many of these young women came to Spanish lands, including a young woman who took the opportunity to return to what was her native town al: Zugarramurdi.Alli, the veil of witchcraft was also extended, suspicions, murmurs, stories were common...the fear and traditions of these people caused, without knowing how, some began to accuse others, Maria I accuse other women of practicing strange rites, other people defamed her...such a column of talk was raised that soon all these echoes reached the always expectant ears of the same Inquisition.

Maria de Jurateguia He collapsed before his parish confessing to be a witch since childhood, since his aunt Maria Chipia de Barrenechea had initiated her in these arts.But that was not all, the pressure of the interrogations forced her to give more names, names of other neighbors of the town: sorcerers and witches with whom he went out to look for toads, miraculous plants and learn forbidden arts with the devil in the woods.

The witches of Zugarramurdi

Vain attempt of salvation

On February 9, 1609, four days before the Inquisition sent a letter giving instructions for action on the facts investigated , several neighbors of Zugarramurdi appeared before the court of Logrono demanding justice and mercy: none of them were sorcerers, the only suspicions were based on the custom of several women to look for medicinal plants with which to remedy some ailments, common facts in any village , but that trip unfortunately did not help them.Those people tired, scared, of strange attire and strange language, were imprisoned for the inquisition after the guide who accompanied them on that long trip declared that they were witches.

Among them were Graciana de Barrenechea, and her two daughters: Estevania and Maria.

The inquisitorial process:

Juan Valle Alvarad or was the inquisitor in charge of investigating everything that happened in the small A locality of Zugarramurdi: “These lands are infested with witches,” said the abbot of the Urdax monastery.Sorcerers and witches gathered in the Mongaston (the meadow) del Cabron), next to a cave with an underground tunnel where a cathedral was raised to the satanic or pagan cult.Alli appeared the demon, they said, sat in a golden chair -a moment in black- with his ugly face and sad.They caused the sea to rise and the ships to be shipwrecked, the crops to be damaged, the houses to be filled with vermin and the newborns to die...

In June 1610 the inquisitors of the Logrono court agreed to the conviction of 29 defendants.But Inquisitor Alfonso de Salazar voted against the conviction of Maria de Arburu for lack of evidence, as well as ten others.His doubts about that process were written in a report that today it is still preserved: "We committed guilt by not recognizing the ambiguity of the matter.We committed defects in fidelity and the right way to proceed..."

All this does not prevent on November 7, 1610, the "auto de fe" will be held in Logrono: eleven "alleged witches" burned in the main square, although five of them had already died during the process due to torture or to suicide.

The witches of Zugarramurdi

To protect that square from the clutches of evil and the shadow of the devil, the Church decided to raise ten crosses for a time to protect the town after that execution.The impact of that act reached all of Europe in a short time, raising the dark legend of "Zugarrramurdi" or the town of the witches, which even today, we continue to preserve in our dark popular legacy...

Images: Federico, Brenda Clarke, George F, Jordi Paya, Jesus Reinoso,

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