Basque ethnography at a glance

A pen in the commons (Lapurdi). Michel Duvert.

In former times, when the structure of farmhouses (etxeak, in Basque) was still made of wood, open animal housing in the commons (herriko lurrak) was regulated. Enclosures (borda-barrukiak) were built for livestock to use as natural refuge (from heat, flies…). The Charter of Lapurdi, Title III Article I, says: “Every parish in Lapurdi counts with communal and neighbourhood lands owned by all its parishioners where a certain kind and number of farm animals is allowed to graze”. “Sheds, lodges and fencing may be erected for housing livestock, shepherds and rangers”, with no other requirement but the common obligations applying to any “human settlement”. Besides a high regard for private property, we shall mention open access rights, exclusive dedication to pasture, respect for the veto system, protection of trees and forests, etc. This environment would inevitably develop here and elsewhere.

In order to meet liquidity needs, people from Lapurdi were induced to sell communal land, wood from their forests… Such acquisitions could be granted to a collective. By way of example, in 1881 the mayor of Ainhoa and its municipal council, following statutory publication, awarded a communal piece of land registered as “woodland, grove of trees, with an extension of 10 ares 49 centiares”. It was sold by public candle auction, 300 francs being the starting price. The end of the bidding was signalled by the expiration of three candle flames, and the plot was awarded to two villagers for 505 francs.

Thereby extending their estate, farmstead owners had permission to establish agricultural holdings and livestock housing (bordak), mainly sheepfolds (ardi-bordak), with an outdoor confined space (korralea), which gradually spread across middle-mountain areas throughout the 18^th century.

Interior of a shed. Michel Duvert.

Should the assigned plot be cultivated, the land remained common property; none of the neighbours could appropriate it. Accordingly, in the 19^th century there was a mayor in Ainhoa who was brought to justice by the village people in the exercise of his mandate for contravening this principle. After the crop had been harvested, he sold the land he had acquired. Incidentally I found a similar case in the city archives of Lesaka (Navarre).

In fact, and similarly to what happens here in Ainhoa Mountain, livestock housing continues to be fundamentally multifunctional. It is after all but a form of civilisation, its long history being marked by the maintenance of a common good (auzolana) and the importance it deserves. It has progressively evolved away from its primary purpose to become a subject of historical study in itself. The essence of this predominant habitat type prevalent in mountain regions —cared for by the European Union since 1960— has lately been adversely affected even to the point of abandonment of pens on dangerous slopes or less profitable locations.

The ultimate sense of these settlements fallen into oblivion and now fodder for creators of folklore images no longer counts. The communal moors, including cleared land (labakiak) and pastures, its one-time quintessential setting, are hardly exploited. Forests, highlands and scrublands are increasingly uncontrolled.

Modern constructions that meet the new farming regulations can nowadays be found in the low-mountain ranges.

Michel Duvert – Etniker Iparralde – Etniker Euskalerria Groups

Translated by Jaione Bilbao – Language Department – Labayru Fundazioa

Original text in French.

Reference for further information: Michel Duvert. Voyage dans le Pays Basque des bordes, 2008.