Jose Miguel Barandiaran Aierbe was a Basque

Basque people

The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...

 Spanish anthropologist, ethnographer and priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

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Early life

He was born in 1889 as the youngest of nine children to Francisco Antonio Barandiaran and María Antonia Ayerbe in the family baserri

Baserri

A baserri is a traditional type of half-timbered or stone-built farmhouse found in the Basque Country in Northern Spain and Southwestern France. The baserris, with their gently sloping roofs and entrace portals, are highly characteristic of the region and form a vital part in traditional Basque...

 Perune-Zarre in Ataun

Ataun

Ataun is a town located at the foot of the Aralar Range in the Goierri region of the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country, northern Spain.-External links:* *...

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Encouraged by his mother, he entered the priesthood aged 14 in Baliarrain

Baliarrain

Baliarrain is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, in northern Spain.-External links:* Information available in Spanish and Basque.* Information available in Spanish...

 and was ordained as a priest in 1914 in Burgos

Burgos

Burgos is a city of northern Spain, historic capital of Castile. It is situated at the edge of the central plateau, with about 178,966 inhabitants in the city proper and another 20,000 in its suburbs. It is the capital of the province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León...

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Career as an ethnographer

Soon after being ordained as a priest, he took up ethnographical studies of Basque culture and archeology around 1916 in the Aralar Mountains

Aralar Range

Aralar aran'+'larre', meaning 'valley field') is the Basque name for a mountain range, which broadly speaking separates the province of Gipuzkoa from Navarre in the North of Spain...

. He carried out invaluable research into folk traditions and collecting accounts and tales related to Basque mythology

Basque mythology

The mythology of the ancient Basques largely did not survive the, albeit late, arrival of Christianity in the Basque Country between the 4th and 12th century AD...

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