Basque ethnography at a glance

By Luis Manuel Peña. Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.

The large farm basket weaved from chestnut wood strips was primarily used for transportation of harvested grass, but it did serve other purposes. Here are two most remarkable uses for the harvest basket in and around Gernika:

When a hen became broody, it was placed under the harvest basket to stop it from sitting on eggs. The hen was only allowed to leave the isolation basket for food and water. A broody hen would distinctively pluck out its feathers and make it difficult for other hens to lay their eggs by hogging the nest. At the slightest drop of guard, it would try and stubbornly hatch an unfertilized clutch, a futile act that often resulted in eggs being spoiled from overheating or even broken. Discouraging broodiness is not an easy task and might last as long as a fortnight.

By Segundo Oar-Arteta. Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.

The following is an altogether different case. On the eve of their birthday, children were told to spend the night under the harvest basket (zestopean sartu, so goes the old saying). Many were excited about it, and others felt scared. Skirmishes broke out as the elusive child attempted to escape. The game was played on very young children, one or two years of age, who could be caught with ease and would not easily tip the basket over.

Likewise, elderly people recall the same was suggested to the bride and the groom on the eve of their wedding. We know that marriage is a rite of passage by means of which the future husband and wife make the transition from singleness to a new stage in their lives, and staying under the harvest basket overnight without seeing each other was ritual symbolism prescribed in preparation for the ceremony.

Segundo Oar-Arteta – Etniker Bizkaia – Etniker Euskalerria Groups

Translated by Jaione Bilbao – Language Department – Labayru Fundazioa

References for further information: Rites from Birth to Marriage, part of the Ethnographic Atlas of the Basque Country collection. Agriculture in the Basque Country is the forthcoming volume.