Alos-Sibas-Abense

Alos-Sibas-Abense Aloze-Ziboze-Onizegaine
Commune
The church of Alos
Coat of arms
Location of Alos-Sibas-Abense
Alos-Sibas-Abense Show map of France Alos-Sibas-Abense Show map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Coordinates: 43°07′12″N 0°52′29″W / 43.12°N 0.8747°W / 43.12; -0.8747
Country	France
Region	Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Department	Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Arrondissement	Oloron-Sainte-Marie
Canton	Montagne Basque
Intercommunality	CA Pays Basque
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Jean-Pierre Iriart[1]
Area 1	5.78 km2 (2.23 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	320
• Density	55/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	64017 /64470
Elevation	204–414 m (669–1,358 ft) (avg. 221 m or 725 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Alos-Sibas-Abense (French pronunciation: [alɔs sibas abɛ̃s]; Basque: Aloze-Ziboze-Onizegaine)^[3] is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France.

It is located in the former province of Soule.^[3]

Alos-Sibas-Abense is located some 90 km south-east of Bayonne and 80m km west of Lourdes. The D918 road runs down the eastern border of the commune, but does not enter. Access to the commune is on road D247 from Alcay-Alcabehety-Sunharette in the southwest which runs through the heart of the commune to the village. It then continues to the southeast linking with the D918 at Tardets-Sorholus. Most of the commune is farmland with some forest and it has a network of country roads covering most of the commune.^[4]

Located in the Drainage basin of the Adour, the Saison river passes along and forms the eastern border of the commune parallel with the D918 road. The Aphoura stream (18 km), which is fed by the Ardounc, the Batasse (10.1 km), the Laritolle, the Jaga, and the Uthurrotche erreka, flows near the village and to the Saisson.

^[6]

The commune name in Basque is Aloze-Ziboze-Onizegaine.^[3][7]

The Basque form of Sibas can be Ziboz(e) or Ziborotz(e).^[8]

Jean-Baptiste Orpustan^[8] suggested that Abense came from a Roman phonetic change to the Basque Oniz > onise > oénse > auénse > abense. The base of the name is the oronym ona, also present in Bayonne and Oneix. The modern Basque form (Onizegañia,^[8] Onizegañe^[8] or Omiz(e)^[8]) are equivalent to "Upper" (gain(e)a > gañia).

Brigitte Jobbé-Duval^[7] suggests that Oniz is the name of a noble Basque family.

The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune.

Sources:

• Orpustan: Jean-Baptiste Orpustan, New Basque Toponymy^[8]
• Raymond: Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees, 1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. (in French)^[5]
• Cassini: 1750 Cassini Map (in French)
• EHESS: Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Abense, EHESS (in French).

Origins:

• Luntz:^[9]
• Soule: Customs of Soule^[10]
• Duchesne: Duchesne collection volume CXIV^[11]

• 
  Town Hall at Alos
• 
  Old Hilarri at Alos
• 
  The Church of Sibas
• 
  Old Hilarri at Sibas
• 
  Trinity Bell Tower at the Church of Abense
• 
  Hilarri at Abense

Sibas merged with Alos on 23 October 1843 to form Alos-Sibas. On 16 April 1859, following the annexation of part of the territory of Abense-de-Haut, the commune took the name of Alos-Sibas-Abense.

On the same day the commune of Abense-de-Haut disappeared, its territory being divided between Alos-Sibas and Tardets.

The motto of the commune is atzotik biharrera (from yesterday to tomorrow) Blazon: Or, a bridge of three arches argent masoned in sable over a party per fess barry wavy of 4 azure and argent and surmounted by a comma sun gules of eight arms all over a terrace in base of 3 pales; the first Or with a tower in sable turreted windows and door open; the second gules a plume argent in an inkpot sable; the third azure 3 commas argent inverted in chief.

Lists of Successive Mayors of Alos-Sibas-Abense^[12]

Alos

Sibas

Abense-de-Haut

Alos-Sibas

Abense-de-Haut

Alos-Sibas-Abense

The town is part of six intercommunal structures:^[13]

• the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque
• the union to support Basque culture
• SIVOM of the canton of Tardets
• the municipal association for the gaves of Oloron and Mauleon
• SIVU for Tourism in Haute-Soule and Barétous
• the AEP Union for Soule country

The population data given in the table and graph below for 1836 and earlier refer to the former commune of Alos, and for 1841-1851 to the former commune of Alos-Sibas. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Aloztar-Ziboztar-Oniztar.^[14]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 188 —     1800 212 +1.73% 1806 218 +0.47% 1821 213 −0.15% 1831 223 +0.46% 1836 223 +0.00% 1841 360 +10.05% 1846 354 −0.34% 1851 316 −2.25% 1856 646 +15.37% 1861 565 −2.64% 1866 505 −2.22% 1872 527 +0.71% 1876 523 −0.19% 1881 538 +0.57% 1886 530 −0.30% 1891 536 +0.23% 1896 511 −0.95%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 484 −1.08% 1906 463 −0.88% 1911 453 −0.44% 1921 437 −0.36% 1926 421 −0.74% 1931 415 −0.29% 1936 414 −0.05% 1946 401 −0.32% 1954 352 −1.62% 1962 368 +0.56% 1968 343 −1.17% 1975 361 +0.73% 1982 316 −1.88% 1990 309 −0.28% 1999 319 +0.35% 2007 269 −2.11% 2012 303 +2.41% 2017 319 +1.03%
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Source: EHESS[15] and INSEE[16]

Economic activity is mainly focused on agriculture (livestock and pasture). The town is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée zone of Ossau-iraty.

• Etchandia House, formerly owned by the Etchandy family.
• La Salle d'Abense

The Church of Abense contains a Processional Cross (15th century) which is registered as an historical object.^[17]

The common practices Controlled burns^[18] for prevention of forest fires.

The town has an early childhood hub (Child care centre and a creche) and an Ikastola.

• Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department

• Alos-Sibas-Abense official website (in French)
• Alos-Sibas-Abense personal website (in French)
• Alos-Sibas-Abense on Géoportail, National Geographic Institute (IGN) website (in French)
• Alos, Sibas, and Abens on the 1750 Cassini Map

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alos-Sibas-Abense.