250px, ''Saubat de Arraidou et Maria de Hiriart 1743''
Atalburu in Lower Navarre with a lauburu and founders' names">lauburu.html" ;"title="Lower Navarre with a lauburu">Lower Navarre with a lauburu and founders' names
image:Atalburu Mandoz.jpg">250px, ''Iesus Maria Ioseph hilçiaz orhoitg-ziten Io(a)nnes de Urtiaga, Martin d'Errecalde et Maria d'Errecalde, 1727'' (the first half translating as "In memory of
JMJ's death")
Atalburu (from Basque ''atari'' 'doorway' ''buru'' 'head') is the name given to the
lintel
A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented/structural item. In the case ...
above the main entrance of traditional
Basque houses.
The lintel often contains dates relating to the history of the house.
It was usual for each new house, particularly in the province of
Lower Navarre
Lower Navarre (; Gascon/Bearnese: ''Navarra Baisha''; ; ) is a traditional region of the present-day French '' département'' of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It corresponds to the northernmost ''region'' of the Kingdom of Navarre during the Middle A ...
, to engrave on these stones:
* the year of construction,
* the name of spouses,
* religious symbols, as a cross,
* other traditional motives, as a
lauburu
The lauburu (from Basque ''lau'', "four" + ''buru'', "head") is an ancient swastika with four comma-shaped heads and the most widely known traditional symbol of the Basque Country and the Basque people. In the past, it has also been associated ...
or simply its constitutive
comma
The comma is a punctuation mark that appears in several variants in different languages. Some typefaces render it as a small line, slightly curved or straight, but inclined from the vertical; others give it the appearance of a miniature fille ...
s,
dove
Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...
s symbol of fidelity, stylized
plant
Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
s symbol of
prosperity
Prosperity is the flourishing, thriving, good fortune and successful social status. Prosperity often produces profuse wealth including other factors which can be profusely wealthy in all degrees, such as happiness and health.
Competing notions ...
,
rosettes of
laurel
Laurel may refer to:
Plants
* Lauraceae, the laurel family
* Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel
People
* Laurel (given name), people with the given name
* Laurel (surname), people with the surname
* Laurel (mus ...
leaves, symbol of immortality or various others as sun, stars...
* working tools
The text may have religious references, for example:
* ''Au nom du Père et du Fils et du St Esprit m'a fait bâtir l'an 1806'' ('In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Gost, (one) made me build in year 1806')...
Traditionally, all Basque houses have a name, but this was seldom written on the ''atalarri'' and more commonly found on the ''
armarria''. On modern houses, the house name is frequently engraved on a stele near the door. Once a house is named, the name is virtually never changed.
See also
*
Baserri
*
Hilarri
References
Doors
Culture of the Basque Country
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