Aïcirits-Camou-Suhast (; ; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France.Commune d'Aïcirits-Camou-Suhast (64010), INSEE
The people of the commune are known as Aiziriztar.Brigitte Jobbé-Duval, Dictionary of place names - Pyrénées-Atlantiques, 2009, Ed. Archives and Culture, , passage 12
Geography
Location The commune is part of the Mixe country in the French Basque Country of Lower Navarre. It is located immediately north of Saint-Palais. Highway D29 runs north from Saint-Palais through the entire commune from south to north and passing through the town. The D529 Highway runs east from the commune to its junction with Highway D134. Highway D933 enters the commune in the southeast and runs north along the eastern side of the commune to exit in the north.Google Maps
Hydrography The commune is located in the Drainage basin of the Adour and is watered by the Bidouze, a tributary of the Adour, and it has its tributaries: the Joyeuse and the Eyherachar and Recalde streams.
Places and Hamlets
Aguerria Ahano Aïcirits Aiherguy Berhouet Blazy Bordaberry Camou Capou Changartia Chourry Christy (2 place names) Coutrenia Elgartemix Enauthardy Errecaldia Escutary Esquilamborda Etchart Etchebestia Etchecoin Etchegorria Eyhera Eyherabidia Goyhenetchia Halsague L'Hippodrome Hourcadette Ihitzague Ilhardoy Jauberria Larrabure Larramendy Larrania Larrartia Longynia Mandachainia Mendiburia Mocoroua Oyhenart Sagaspe Salha Salle Suhast Tocoua Tolospia Ttarga (craft zone)
Géoportail, IGN
Climate Aïcirits-Camou-Suhast has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). The average annual temperature in Aïcirits-Camou-Suhast is . The average annual rainfall is with November as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Aïcirits-Camou-Suhast was on 4 August 2003; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 25 December 2001.
Toponymy
The commune's name in Basque is Aiziritze-Gamue-Zohazti.
For Aïcirits, Jean-Baptiste Orpustan proposed the Basque etymology aitz, meaning "high" and aratze, meaning "fern patch", giving "high fern patch" or "rocky fern patch".
He also indicated that Suhast may come from zuhaztoi, meaning "plantation of trees".
The inhabitants of Camou are known as Gamuar and the inhabitants of Suhast are known as Zohaztiar.
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
Name Spelling Date Source Page Origin Description Aïcirits Sanctus Martinus de Assiriz 1160 Orpustan Village Ayxiritz 1316 Orpustan Aysiriz 1350 Orpustan Aychiritz 1413 Orpustan Ayxeriis 1472 Raymond Notaries Camou Sactus Petrus de Camono 1160 Orpustan Village Camou-Mixe 13th century Raymond Bayonne Camo 1304 Orpustan Chamo 1309 Orpustan Gamo 1350 Orpustan Camo 1413 Orpustan Camur 1472 Raymond Notaries Camo en Micxe 1479 Raymond Ohix Camo 1519 Raymond Navarre Camu 1621 Raymond Biscay Camon 1621 Ldh/EHESS/Cassini Biscay Camou-Mixe 1863 Raymond Suhast Sancta Maria de Suhast 1160 Orpustan Village Suhast 1316 Orpustan Suast 1350 Orpustan Suhast 1413 Orpustan Suast 1513 Raymond Pamplona Salha Çalaha 1384 Raymond Duchesne Chateau and Fief, subject to the Kingdom of Navarre La maison deu senhor de Salha en lo pays de Micxe 1547 Raymond Navarre Uhart-Juson Uhart-Juson 1863 Raymond Fief, vassal of the Kingdom of Navarre
Sources: Orpustan: Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, New Basque ToponymyJean-Baptiste Orpustan, New Basque Toponymy, Presses universitaires de Bordeaux, 2006, Raymond: Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, Paul Raymond, Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011
Origins: Notaries: Notaries of Labastide-VillefrancheNotaries of La Bastide-Villefranche in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Bayonne: Cartulary of Bayonne or Livre d'Or (Book of Gold)Manuscript from the 14th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Ohix:Contracts retained by Ohix, Notary of Soule, Manuscripts from the 15th century in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Navarre: Titles of the Kingdom of NavarreTitles of the Kingdom of Navarre in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Biscay: Martin BiscayDerecho de naturaleza que la merindad de San-Juan-del-pie-del-puerto, una de las seys de Navarra, tiene en Castilla, 1622 Pamplona: Titles of PamplonaTitles published by don José Yanguas y Miranda
History The commune Aïcirits-Camou-Suhast was formed in 1972 by the merger of the former communes Aïcirits and Camou-Mixe-Suhast. Between 1972 and 1984, this commune was referred to as Aïcirits.Décret du 13 novembre 1984 portant changement de nom de communes, Journal officiel de la République française n° 0270, 18 November 1984, p. 10523. The commune Camou-Mixe-Suhast was formed in 1842 by the merger of the communes Suhast and Camou-Mixe.
Heraldry
Administration
List of Successive Mayors of Aïcirits-Camou-Suhast List of Mayors of France
From To Name Party 1995 2014 Guy Énéco CPNT 2014 2026 Chantal Erguy CPNT
Administrative Associations The commune is linked to the following administrative bodies (non exhaustive list): the catchment area of Saint-Palais Local Agency for Employment (ALE) of Biarritz the social welfare fund of Bayonne the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Bayonne Basque Country the sanitation sector of Bayonne Saint-Palais-South-West-Landes the subdivision of the Departmental Equipment management of Saint-Palais-Bidache
Judicial Districts The town depends on the district court of Bayonne, the High Court of Bayonne and the Court of Appeal of Pau.
Inter-communality The commune belongs to six inter-communal structures:, consulted on 22 October 2012 the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque the AEP union for the Mixe country the energy union of Pyrenees-Atlantiques; the intercommunal union for regrouping of teaching "Ikas bidea" the intercommunal union for the operation of the schools of Amikuze the union to support Basque culture.
Population Data before 1972 in the table and graph below refer to the old commune Aïcirits, before the merger with Camou-Mixe-Suhast.
Economy Aïcirits-Camou-Suhast is classified by the INSEE as part of the urban area (unité urbaine) of Saint-Palais, and of the employment area of Oloron-Sainte-Marie.
The registered office of the Lur Berri company, a large food cooperative group, is located in Aïcirits-Camou-Suhast.
The town is part of the designated zone of Ossau-iraty.
It also hosts other companies in the agri-food sector as one of the first fifty two communes of the department: Union agricultural coop feed livestock (feed manufacturing for farm animals); Haraguy-Bayonne ham (industrial preparation of meat products); LBO (food production for farm animals); Lajournade SAS (industrial preparation of meat products).
Culture and heritage
Languages According to the Map of the Seven Basque Provinces published in 1863 by Prince Louis-Lucien Bonaparte, the dialect of Basque spoken in Aicirits-Camou-Suhast is eastern low Navarrese.
The village has a cave at Camou (the grotto Oltzibarre) closely linked to the Basque legend of Txahalgorri,Philippe Veyrin, The Basques, Ed. Arthaud, 1975, , page 233. the young red bull.
Civil heritage The former Chateau of Camou (17th century).Ministry of Culture, Mérimée It contains collections of ancient tools and models of machines from plans of Leonardo da Vinci.
Religious Heritage The Church of Saint Martin(1841).Ministry of Culture, Mérimée
Notable People linked to the commune Martin Landerretche, born on 26 July 1842 at Bussunarits-Sarrasquette and died on 29 January 1930 at Espelette was a bascologue, a priest, writer and a Basque French academic in the Basque language. He was the pastor at Aïcirits.
See also Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department
References
External links AIZIRITZE-GAMUE-ZOHAZTI in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa) Aïcirits-Camou-Suhast on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website Aïcirits, Camou, and Suhast on the 1750 Cassini Map