at the confluence of the Zatoya and Anduña rivers, next to the Irati forest, and is one of the most typical towns in the Navarrese Pyrenees. In this territory, sheep farming has been one of the main economic activities since ancient times. The wool that was sheared from sheep in early spring was used by women to make warm clothes that were needed in the family. A group of women from Ochagavía are still practicing the technique of conditioning wool for making garments. The process of transforming wool into yarn begins by soaking it in warm water to release grease and all dirt. "This wool is from churra sheep and the wool of the migrant is better than that of the mountain, because that of the mountain is very caked and the work cannot be done well." “Just warm and see what difference the wool comes out of. Now all the fat is left in the water. " “It's just to get the fat out. But see how it differs from when you put it in warm water to when you take it out. " “Later in the river there is still much whiter. But you see what a difference, from the one I have on the ground to the one I have in my hand. " The fat in wool is actually lanolin, an oily substance secreted by the sebaceous glands of sheep, which was once used to wash colored garments. “With this water they used to wash, which we called here the jabonau, that is, the blue pants, the colored thing, with this. And it stayed clean. Do not believe that it does not. " “Well, here we are done. Now it is necessary to go to clarify it to the river. The wool clears up in the river to make it white. " Milagros has already carried out the first washing of the wool and the next step is to go to the river to rinse it and dry it under the sun's rays , as this will make it whiter. “And now you have to clarify it well to be able to spin it later. But then it has to be dried in the sun. We will put it on the grass in the sun. So that it is very clean and so the fat goes away. It has to be in the river, because if you wash it in the kitchen or in the tap, you don't wash it well. The white wool is not as it should be. It's still fat. " "Look how different it is from when we put it in the kitchen to now, that it is white." At present, there are few residents of Ochagavía who know and continue to practice wool transformation work. “We are already few, few. This is being lost. Youth this no longer does. However, the socks you make with this wool are very good for those with poor circulation, or something of the heart, because it is pure virgin wool. The only thing, the problem it has, is that you have to wash them by hand, because if they don't they stick together and they won't work. But if you take care of them, and they give much more heat than the ones you buy, than the ones that are not authentic. Well, now I'm done and we put it in the sun to dry the wool. " The stones of the river or the bushes that grow spontaneously on the banks are ideal supports for the wool to receive the force of the sun's rays. “Well, now I'll let it dry here for three or four hours. Today as it is, the very good day will dry easier. And then we'll pick it up. " After a period of exposure to the sun, the wool has become dry and fluffy, so it is ready for the following tasks. To carry out the following process, a brazier with burning coal is necessary to heat the tips of the comb. “Well, now we are going to comb the wool. The combs need to be hot, otherwise the wool won't go in. Being fat, it has to be that way. " “This is the comb, which is in the brazier because it has to have hot tips to allow the wool to enter, otherwise the wool will not enter. Because when you comb the wool, the thread comes out much finer. With what is left over from combing the wool, it is given to the carder and with what the carder takes out, the old quilts and pillows were made. Now that is no longer fashionable, but this was so. I'm going to start combing, he takes the comb, he puts on the wool ... “The good fleeces are those from the back of the sheep, that is the best fleece. So, it can be done with that one or with the one you have, but hey, it looks very good, very combed. And then, the bad thing about combing happens to the card to make the bedspreads, pillows, cushions they were also made. " “It is expensive, but it is beautiful. Who likes to do these things, it's nice. I love it." “This is as if you would comb your hair. It's for can't you see how it looks? Now, you put it on the donkey, you go up a little bit, you put the donkey on the legs to hold it and you go making the skein. Notice that the little girl comes out. " “It is that it comes out divine to spin. Smooth comes out. Smooth, smooth. " “This is as if you would comb your hair. Before it was wrong and now look at how soft this wool is. It comes out wonderful. " Edurne is in charge of carding the wool. In this work, cards are used, which are two boards with handles that carry innumerable wire tips on one of their faces. "You put on a fleece like that, it spreads well, that it grips at the ends, on these wires and well, now it rubs against each other, the wool is smoothed out and all the filth it has falls off, all the straws, all the filth. It is done a few times, it changes. It looks clean, but then when you finish it is all the tanker, all the dirt. It is passed a few times, until it is clean, until it seems that there is no dirt left, that everything is smooth. " “My grandmother who I did not know was dedicated to this. I was going through the houses. I went around the houses, doing this to make socks, to make bedspreads, mattresses, they didn't prepare wool so much to make mattresses. But hey, the wool process is very long and for many things. " “Before here you used to go cowgirl, they sent you from a girl to a cowgirl, because in the mountains you used to spin, prepare and, since then, your whole life. And then I liked it, because others my age have had the same option and they don't like it and they don't. I like to keep this. " "And when you were thirteen years old they would send you alone with the cows to the mountains and you did nothing but cry, but you had to go." "Before it was all wool socks, wool sweaters, before you didn't buy anything, it was all homemade." In the past, with the profits obtained from the sale of wool, the shepherd's salary for a whole year was paid . Today, its value has plummeted, so the work of shearing the animals is an additional expense . The soft and fluffy wool fleeces have been prepared to make the yarn. Josefa knows very well the task of transforming wool threads into yarn. “I am going to take the wool to make the amu to spin. I am picking up strands of those that my sister has combed and as it is combed it is spun much easier. The most beautiful yarn comes out, the socks come out more equal and we are going to make sure that this comes out beautiful. Then we take another strand, we put it the same way and we continue doing. And now I roll it up, hold it and look more beautiful. And now I 'm going to put it on the morquilla. I put it here, I hold it with the rope. " “And now this is done. I wrap it on the belt of the mandarra, take the spindle and spin. " “Now threads come out of here that I am winding them on the spindle and when the spindle is full of thread, it is removed and another is made again to later join and twist. And this is what yarn is. " Through the spinning process, the wool fleeces are turned into yarn. With her fingers, Josefa joins the wool threads and the resulting thread is wound around the spindle. “It's a bit complicated, because now you stretch the wool like this, you give it to this, but you have to hold it with these fingers, because if you loosen it, you will have wool, you will not have thread. And you have to know how to combine doing this, stretching the wool and turning the spindle at the same time. But if you loosen this finger , no thread comes out. Wool comes out. " “See, it's broken, and now you do this. With your finger you screw and that's it. " “Well yes, I learned as a child. Stealing from my aunt. An aunt that I was with her. When he didn't see me, I would steal from him, I wasn't there, he didn't see me and then I would take it and I learned, but I learned alone. Stealing from aunt. And that I liked. " “Well now this is already ending. Now there is this. Now we will remove the bobbin and with another to twist, to make the socks. And that's it. " "Now I am going to join the two bobbins that we have spun, to make a ball and then twist it." In order to make the fabrics, you have to join the bobbins two by two in balls to make the double thread, which is the really consistent one. "Now I'm going to twist, with the two bobbins that my sister has made, she makes a ball, now I'm going to put it in the twist to twist. The thread is caught." “We give it a knot, a loop and in one of these we put it on the nail and now you give it with your hand. And this is called twisting because then, with this thread, socks or sweaters or whatever you want are made. But this must be done well. It is collected until you see that it is not crooked. You see how it points. Look, now again, you take it and you give it. Once it twists, again you let go. The same, until it ends again. So we hooked it up again and again. " “Because if you do with just one, as it has no texture, it is not worth it. Then you have to do both. And it is done with the two bobs that you make in the morquilla. " "This is very hard work, although it may not seem like it, but it takes a lot of work." “Because before there was a man who wove the blankets, the saddlebags, there was Gelay at home the weaver was and did. This was done with this wool. Then there were also some black sheep. And do you know what we did? For the most beautiful, as there was nothing else, a white wool thread and another black wool thread and so it came out jazpeado. " "Now we're finishing up and I'll roll up the ball to start making the socks." The ball of wool thread was the piece that was used directly to make the garments, whether they were woven by hand or worked on the loom. "Well, this ball is already done and we are done." "With this ball you can make socks or sweaters or whatever you want." Milagros has already prepared some balls to knit a pair of socks. Among all the residents of Ochagavía who have known the work of wool, Cándida is more specialized in the work of weaving garments. “Well look, here I am making socks, preparing and so that winter will come later, to have some pairs for the shepherds, for those who go to the field. Because here, as it snows a lot, it is necessary to wear warm shoes. So now we take the opportunity to do a little bit, and then so that the socks are ready. " "How is it done? Well, look, we make a piece here. We do it smooth and pacha, which we call here like that. And then we make it smooth again, because sock is easier than making it straight and smooth. " “The better it is to spin, the more beautiful and clear yarn comes out, then they are made with the yarn, if it is bad wool for spinning, then the sock also comes out uglier, more awkward, thicker. If it is good wool, very loose, because the sock comes out very good, very good. The sock does not get so crowded. " “When we were young, we did a lot of socks, we even made them in the fields, where we went with the shepherds' sheep. Well, to entertain ourselves, we would take the sock and make the socks. We even made spinning, twisting, and everything has touched me when I was young. " “Well look, four needles are used. Three are continuously with the stitch and then the other to return the sock, because with the other needle the other round is started again. " “Now I am doing two points forward and another two back. Smooth and pacha. This other point that makes me that is called the pacha y smooth. Two smooth and two pachas. That's how they taught us and that's what we call it. " The artisan tradition of spinning wool still survives among some women of Ochagavía, as a complementary activity to maintain those old trades that were part of their lives and that are a reminder of their rich past.
