The makila maker

At a glance

• Place: Larressore, Basque Country
• Wood: wild medlar, incised on the living tree
• Drying: fifteen years
• Wait for a stick in 1995: fourteen months

A symbol

For Charles Bergara, the makila stands for the Basques' identity as free men who were never bound to a lord and had to defend themselves. Hence the sharp steel point hidden under the pommel, ancestor of the bayonet, and the heavy iron ferrule that steadies the walk and can strike. The name is said to come from e-mak hila, "to give death"; pilgrims to Compostela already carried it for protection.

From tree to stick

In June, the maker walks the mountain looking for straight stems of wild medlar and incises the bark on the living tree in dotted or wavy lines. As the cuts heal they swell into the raised scars that make the makila unique. Cut in December, the stems are peeled, straightened in an oven by a secret method and dried for fifteen years. A natural reaction of the wood, another secret, gives the color from russet to bronze.

Making and engraving

Making the stick itself takes 25 to 30 hours. The steel point is forged, ground and threaded into the pommel, and the weighted ferrule balances the stick, which must balance on one finger. Both ends are fitted with metal collars engraved and chased by hand, with Basque crosses or the fern that is the emblem of Larressore, struck with homemade punches.

Simple and ceremonial

The simplest sticks have brass or nickel-silver collars, a zebu-horn pommel and a plaited leather sheath. Makilas of honor, with silver or gold-plated fittings, can reach very high prices. The buyer chooses the wood color and a motto; the maker signs his work. About 80% of buyers were local, and a makila was given at family celebrations as a mark of esteem.