Basque ethnography at a glance

Performance of the “Chain dance of Bercinjana” in Yécora (2016). Author: Emilio Xabier Dueñas.

The representation of the Cross, as an important element of the Passion of Jesus Christ, is very present in the field of the Christian religion, and its traditional symbology (the protective sign of communities, living family units, persons, animals, or possessions) is embodied in the pious sizes of places of worship, in the head-beds, or above the beds of eternal rest. It is painted on doors and windows, made or composed of several species of plants, or made, in an emblematic manner, as a remarkable gesture of Christianity.

The constant presence of the cross in the cyclical and annual process of the Catholic liturgy and in the secular course of the festivities is evident. The latter is also marked by temporal spaces of various meanings: the joy of Christmas, the overflowing joy of the Carnival, the gathering of Lent, the penitential sadness of Holy Week, or the collective satisfaction of summer. It should be noted, however, that between the Feast of the Cross (3 May) and the The Exaltation of the Holy Cross (14 September) there is a long special period during which the rites of spring protection, spring or summer pilgrimages, as well as the transfers of Virgins or Saints from the surrounding hermitages to the main churches of those villages abound.

For instance, the period from St. Mark’s Day (April 25) to St. Michael’s Autumn Feast (September 29) is the time of the transhumance of cattle and shepherds on their way to the mountain meadows. The temporal interval between the two crosses has been characterized by the care of the crops and the use of the efficacious figures which are worshipped in the local surroundings, and which are carried into the town in procession, and which will endeavor to avert the accidents or dreadful plagues which usually occur between spring and summer, and their most fatal consequences. This is common practice in the villages of the Rioja Alavesa; as seen in the celebrations of Our Lady of Bercijana in Ekora, and the transfer of the Virgin of the Plaza from her hermitage to the parish of Eltziego, where the dancers protect and dance around it.

Placement of the May tree in San Vicente de Arana (1997). Author: Emilio Xabier Dueñas.

There are many similar cases scattered in La Rioja or in the Biscayan elizate (antechurch) of Garaia, at the festivals of Santiago and Saint Anne (25 and 26 July respectively). During those days, in the case of saints, the popular guile signifies a sort of intercourse in the evenings they spend under the same roof. On the other hand, in the May celebration, the raising of totemic protective trees (Done Bikendi Harana, Cintruénigo, Sakana, etc.), blessing of crosses, the exhibition or moving of emblematic crosses (Legazpi) in the spring season and in the summer Exaltation, some of the aforementioned rituals are repeated: raising trees in patron saint festivals (Elbete) and above all, the aforementioned or hackneyed transfers of return of religious images.

Many beliefs and reasons have influenced such specific periodic or definitive displacements, s from the location of their respective hermitages or churches of worship and, if applicable, to their return to the point of origin. As has been indicated, always trying to alleviate, with this unique practice, the issues that influence community subsistence and at the same time, establishing or delimiting the geographical space or the demarcation term of its effectiveness in the community of origin.

Josu Larrinaga Zugadi – Sociologist