Basque ethnography at a glance

Grazing cattle in Carranza (Bizkaia). Luis Manuel Peña. Archivo Fotográfico Labayru Fundazioa.

In the Valley of Carranza (Bizkaia) there is a long-established livestock farming culture, and a significant part of the population would once upon a time make their living from milk production, thus developing strong links with dairy cattle, and as a result acquiring certain ways of expressing themselves when referring to behaviour patterns and other human traits.

When somebody talks excessively or says something inconvenient, we use the expression echar la lengua a pacer, literally ‘let your tongue graze’, because of the way a cow feeds on grass, wraps its long tongue around plant parts, pulls the food into its mouth and chews it —cattle can indeed inflict more damage onto a pasture than a lighter animal such as a sheep—. Somebody might be said to be so idle as to ‘defecate while lying’, se caga de echao [echado], we would say, like ruminating cows do, without even bothering to stand. A man who does not manifest excessive concern for his own offspring is said to parallel ‘the bull who never roars for its young’, ningún toro grama [brama] por su cría, and of a person who seems particularly agitated, we say that ‘takes more turns than a bull before lying down’, da más vueltas que un toro pa’echarse [para echarse] (although such behaviour is more often applied to dogs). Anybody reputed to possess an indomitable spirit would be labelled as monchino, which is the name given to wild cattle reared in the mountains across the Valley. We say that ‘a small cow always looks like a heifer’, la vaca pequeña siempre parece novilla, speaking about a petite, slender woman, young-looking despite her age. And when we realize that it is impossible to convince our opponent in a discussion, or come to an agreement, we are very likely to utter a sudden déjalo a prao [prado] ‘leave it on the meadow’, equivalent to ‘just leave it’, a reflection of a Valley dominated by a landscape of grassland.

A very important aspect of life on the farm is mating and breeding. Verbs and expressions that are used when a bull covers a cow (before artificial insemination became common practice), such as coger ‘take’ or montar ‘mount’, are likewise used for humans, especially in humorous and witty dialogues.

Expressions used to refer to a cow on oestrus, such as salir al toro ‘go to the bull’ or andar al toro ‘stand for the bull’, are sometimes, rather jokingly, applied to women. A female farmer of a certain age, prompted by excessive heat coming from the hearth, would not but ask a fellow woman: Abre la ventana, que vamos a salir al toro ‘Will you open the window, let some fresh air in, or we shall all end up going to the bull.

However, as far as reproduction is concerned, the greatest link is established in the duration of the gestation period, since of all farm animal species bred, only the pregnancy of cows lasts nine months. The condition of being preñada used to be applied interchangeably, and without pejorative connotations, to pregnant cows or women, but now, paradoxically, it is not uncommon to hear young people outside the rural world say of a cow that she is embarazada. The truth is that traditionally, before the use of antibiotics spread, newly calved cows and post-partum women were in fact provided very similar care in order to avoid illness and reduce the risk of maternal deaths.

And let us conclude with a saying which alludes to us, natives of Carranza, in an attempt to explain our calm character until we are discouraged and our rebellious nature shows up:

—¿De dónde es el ganao [ganado]? ‘Where is this livestock from?’

—De Carranza ‘From Carranza’.

—Déjalo echao [echado], que si se levanta se espanta ‘Then you had better let it lie down, or else it will run off’.

Luis Manuel Peña

Translated by Jaione Bilbao – Ethnography Department – Labayru Fundazioa