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Entering church. José Arrue. Digitized postcard. Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.

In order to describe the culture of a people, besides observational or field research, a study of the farthest-distant past is likewise needed, as depicted in historical documents, engravings or paintings, as well as in the testimonies of geographers, historians or travellers.

The institution I work for, which not by chance takes the name of a renowned Basque historian, houses a library on Basque themes, featuring some remarkable works from, among others, an ethnohistorical standpoint. A glance through their pages indeed suffices to captivate the attention of not such a great expert on ethnography like myself. May the following lines serve as illustration. (more…)