Basque ethnography at a glance
Maize husking. Maruri-Jatabe (Bizkaia), 2008. Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.
There are several proverbs in Basque which remind us that maize is sown in April, according to the agricultural calendar: San Jurgi, artoak ereiteko goizegi; San Markos, artoak ereinda balegoz ‘St George’s Day −23 April− is still early for sowing the maize fields, but for St Mark’s Day −25 April− they should be already sown’; or this other one: San Markos astea, atzekoa baino aurrekoa artoa ereiteko hobea ‘St Mark’s festivities, the week before is better than the week after for maize sowing’.
Despite its deep cultural roots in our land, maize originated in America, and its introduction marked a before and an after. Possibly cultivated as early as the 16th century, its expansion began in the mid-17th century and generalized by the 18th, to the detriment of millet.
Maize imported from America would be known as mijo mayor ‘larger millet’, mijo de las Indias ‘millet from the Indies’ or simply maíz, in Spanish, and arto handia ‘large millet’, in Basque, artatxikia ‘small millet’ designating autochthonous small-grain millet.
Blessing of the sanmarkos-opilak. Irun (Gipuzkoa), 1998. Photo credit: Antxon Aguirre.
We are about to address a custom which encompasses or combines various areas of traditional culture, such as parental relationships (including obligations and interactions), interrelations between age categories, religious beliefs and social protocols, cyclical aspects of our gastronomy, or even elements of customary law. Thus, godmothers and godfathers (aita-amabitxiak or aita-ama pontekoak) acquired a paschal commitment to present their godchildren with a special loaf of bread, year in, year out (sometimes until their wedding or religious consecration), known as karapaixoa (Debagoiena, in Gipuzkoa, and Aramaio, in Araba), garapaua in Elgeta (Gipuzkoa), adar-opila in Bidasoa (Gipuzkoa), aitatxi-amatxi opila in Baztan (Navarre), morrodoa in Garazi (Lower Navarre), morrokotea or mokotsa in Arratia, Durangaldea and Busturialdea (all three in Bizkaia)… And on the feast of St Mark (25 April), the sanmarkos-opila (Bidasoa and Oarsoaldea, both in Gipuzkoa), an almond cake, usual gift from godmothers during this classic festivity of blessing of fields.
Not all languages in the world use exact numbers. The Amazonian cultures Munduruku and Piranhã, for example, are anumeric, that is to say, instead of using words to express exact quantities, they use only general terms to indicate the ideas of ‘a few’ or ‘something’. The basic numbers in many languages are usually 5, 10 and 20, and it does not seem to be a coincidence that this fits with the number of the fingers of one hand, of both, or of the hands and feet.
Most Proto-Indo-European languages use a number system based on 10, called a decimal, such as Spanish. Basque, however, uses a bigesimal system, which has 20 as its base: hogei (20), berrogei (40, twice 20), hirurogei (60, three times 20)… This characteristic is shared, in addition to the French, which uses a mixed system between decimal and vigesimal, with Mayan and Uto-Aztecan languages. It seems that the Celts and Vikings also used a bigesimal system.
Illustrations taken from Orozko haraneko kondaira mitiko ilustratuak by Floren Usia Barbara. Orozko Council, 2021. Treatment of images: Irati Zarandona.
Some people are believed to possess certain minuscule creatures who help them with their daily chores. They are capable of prodigious undertakings and often grant otherwise unattainable wishes when summoned.
These mysterious beings or genies receive multiple names in Basque: pamerialak or familiarrak —because they belong in the household—, gaizkinak —or ‘little devils’, though they are not naturally evil nor benign— mamorroak or mozorroak —or ‘bugs’—, airetikakoak —or ‘air creatures’—… They are occasionally described as tiny, almost imperceptible men, dressed in red pants, known in several places as galtzagorriak or prakagorriak —from galtza or praka ‘pants’ and gorriak ‘red’—. Some claim that they are neither male nor female, and others insist that they resemble flies or even lice.
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