Lamia (Basque mythology)

The lamia or lamina (plural: lamiak or laminak) is a siren- or nereid-like creature in Basque mythology.[1][2] Lamiak, laminak or amilamiak are typically portrayed as living in and around rivers. They are depicted as being very beautiful, are said to often stay at the river shore combing their long hair with a golden comb and are involved with tales where they easily charm men. They are also characterised as having duck feet.

This article is about a creature from Basque mythology. For the figure from Greek mythology, see Lamia.
Basque lamina
Sculpture of a lamina in Garagartza, Arrasate, Gipuzkoa

In coastal areas, itsaslamiak are a variety of lamiak described in mythology as living in the sea with fish-like tails, similar to a mermaid.

Beliefs

In Basque mythology, Lamiak are described as helping those who give them presents by providing them with help at work; if a farmer left them food at the river shore, they would eat it at night and in exchange would finish a field he had left unploughed. In some places, bridges were believed to have been built at night by lamiak: Ebrain (Bidarray, Lower Navarre), Azalain (Andoain, Gipuzkoa), Urkulu (Leintz-Gatzaga, Gipuzkoa), Liginaga-Astüe (Labourd).

In other myths, lamiak must leave if the bridge that they were building at night was left unfinished at cockcrow. People believed that lamiak had left a river if a stone in the bridge was missing. Other beliefs claim that most lamiak disappeared when men built small churches in the forest.

Lamiak are also believed to be the other side of the rainbow, where they are combing their hair. It is said that when the sunlight strikes her hair, the rainbow opens.

Mythology also occasionally describes male lamiak. In those stories, they are described as strong and are attributed with the creation of dolmens at night. It is also alleged that they can enter a house at night when its inhabitants are sleeping. They are given different names: Maideak, Mairiak, Mairuak, Intxixuak (in Oiartzun, (Gipuzkoa), Saindi Maidi (in Lower Navarre).

Many toponyms are related to lamiak: Lamikiz (Markina), Laminaputzu (in Zeanuri), Lamitegi (in Bedaio), Lamirain (in Arano), Lamusin (in Sare), Lamiñosin (in Ataun).

See also

References
  1. "lamia". Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia. Euskaltzaindia (Academy of the Basque Language). Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  2. Williams, Elena Arana (1989). Basque Legends in their Social Context. Essays In Basque Social Anthropology And History. Basque Studies Program. pp. 119–120. ISBN 9781877802027. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
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