The inhabitants of the commune are known as Arberaztar in Basque.[3][4][5]
Geography
Arbérats-Sillègue is located in Mixe Country in the former Basque province of Lower Navarre, 3 km north-east of Saint-Palais and 10 km south-west of Sauveterre-de-Béarn. The D933 road from Saint-Palais to Osserain-Rivareyte in the north passes through the northern part of the commune. The D134 road passes through the east of the commune from Sussaute in the north continuing south to join the D11 road west of Domezain-Berraute. Access to the village is by country road from the western border passing through the village and going east to join the D134.[6]
The commune is located in the Drainage basin of the Adour. The Ruisseau de Recaide forms part of the northern border flowing north-west to join the Bidouze. The Ruisseau d'Eyherachar rises north-east of the village and flows west through the commune then south forming part of the western border before joining the Bidouze just south of Aïcirits (Aïcirits-Camou-Suhast).[6]
The name of the commune in basque is Arberatze-Zilhekoa.[3][5]Paul Raymond indicated on page 161 of his 1863 dictionary that Sillègue in Basque was Silhecoa.[7]
Jean-Baptiste Orpustan suggested two possible origins of the name Arbérats, both from Basque: ar(r)-bera (or beratz) meaning ’fragile’ or ’friable'; or, together with the word arbel, meaning a "black stone" (slate).[9]Brigitte Jobbé-Duval[4] also interpreted Arbérats as place of slate.
For Sillègue Jean-Batiste Orpustan suggested the name was a blend of the Basque word zil(h)o, meaning "hole" or "depression in the terrain" and a second element leku meaning "place".[9]
The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.
the Inter-communal association for the functioning of schools in Amikuze;
the Syndicat Elgarrekin Ikas;
the Agence publique de gestion locale.
Demography
In 1350 there were 13 fires in Arbérats and 6 in Sillègue.[16]
The fiscal census[17] of 1412–1413, made[18] on the orders of Charles III of Navarre, compared with that of 1551 "of men and weapons that are in this Kingdom of Navarre below the ports"[19] reveals a demography with strong growth. The first indicated the presence at Arbérats of 7 fires, the second of 26 (24 + 2 secondary fires). The same for Sillègue: the 1412 census reported 5 fires and that of 1551 22 fires (20 + 2 secondary fires).
The census of the population of Lower Navarre in 1695[20] showed 40 fires at Arbérats and 20 at Sillègues.
In 2017 the commune had 257 inhabitants. Although from 1793 to 1836 Arbérats and Sillègue were separate communes, the total population for both communes is shown in the table and graph below.
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1793
293
—
1800
328
+1.63%
1806
315
−0.67%
1821
312
−0.06%
1831
321
+0.28%
1836
371
+2.94%
1841
351
−1.10%
1846
314
−2.20%
1851
320
+0.38%
1856
308
−0.76%
1861
271
−2.53%
1866
251
−1.52%
1872
262
+0.72%
1876
251
−1.07%
1881
268
+1.32%
1886
248
−1.54%
1891
233
−1.24%
1896
231
−0.17%
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1901
242
+0.93%
1906
259
+1.37%
1911
242
−1.35%
1921
228
−0.59%
1926
226
−0.18%
1931
230
+0.35%
1936
233
+0.26%
1946
235
+0.09%
1954
196
−2.24%
1962
184
−0.79%
1968
175
−0.83%
1975
177
+0.16%
1982
198
+1.61%
1990
222
+1.44%
1999
270
+2.20%
2007
322
+2.23%
2012
296
−1.67%
2017
257
−2.79%
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
According to the Map of the Seven Basque Provinces published in 1863 by Prince Louis-Lucien Bonaparte the Basque dialect spoken in Arbérats-Sillègue is western lower-navarrese.
Religious heritage
The Church of Saint-Laurent (1615) is registered as an historical monument.[24]
The commune has a festival hall located in the centre of the village. The original building was a school and has been completely renovated.
Sports
As it was only equipped with a left wall, Arbérats-Sillègue in 2007 opened a new fronton with toilets and a Pétanque area. There is also a football field in the same complex.
Leisure
A pit dating to Roman times has been converted to a leisure park.
^Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, Collective work, Amikuze - Mixe Country, Éditions Izpegi, 1992, ISBN2 909262 05 7, p. 77 (in French)
^Census cited by Manex Goyhenetche in his General History of Basque country - Vol. 3, Elkarlanean, 2001, ISBN2 9131 5634 7, p. 26. The same work by Manex Goyhenetche indicated on p. 284 that it counted an average of 5.5 people per fire.
^Transcribed and published by Ricardo Cierbide, Censos de población de la Baja Navarra, Max Niemeyer Verlag, Tübingen, 1993 (in Spanish)
^Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, E 575, transcribed by Louis Baratchart in The Friends of old Navarre, January 1995, pages 44-54 (in French)
^Bibliothèque nationale, 6956, Moreau Register 979, cited by Manex Goyhenetche in his General History of Basque country - Vol. 3, Elkarlanean, 2001, ISBN2 9131 5634 7, page 299. (in French)
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