Basque ethnography at a glance
Old Bridge of Balmaseda (Bizkaia). Emilio Xabier Dueñas.
Due to the effects of the current pandemic, we are obliged to change our social practices, suspension or postponement of a vast majority of events having been announced. That does not, however, impair the popularity of the feast of James the apostle, customarily celebrated in villages throughout Bizkaia. Particularly worthy of mention among the numerous cultural and artistic manifestations for their choreographic aspect are the Ezpata-dantza, or sword dance, and the Aurresku soloist dance performed in Garai, as well as the time-honoured procession of the image of the saint, represented as the Moor-slayer. (more…)
Bermeo (Bizkaia), c. 1930. Indalecio Ojanguren. General Archive of Gipuzkoa.
Bermeo is a seaside city with nearly 17 000 inhabitants. Former caput Biscaiae ‘capital of Bizkaia’, the city was for centuries a major fishing and trading port.
Deep-sea trawler vessels of about 150 tonnes, each manned by some 15 fishermen from Bermeo, would leave the neighbouring city port of Ondarroa. They sailed through the Gulf of Bizkaia, as far as the Sole Bank, fishing for, among other species, hake (lebatza), monkfish (zapoa), bib (takarta)… Trawlers fished in small fleets of one, two or three, taking turns, if at all, to bring the catch back to shore. They stayed out at sea for as long as the caught fish would keep fresh, approximately 20 days, and embarked again after a couple of days off. (more…)
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. (more…)
Markaida community group, 1950s. Mungia Council Photographic Archive.
Summer is prime time for the celebration of patron saint festivities, along with local festivals in neighbourhoods and at hermitages. In the old days, and until just a few decades ago, such events would be customarily organized by informal groups of youth.
As a matter of fact, we would like to take this opportunity to recall a tradition, once common in many localities of Bizkaia but which disappeared during the civil war: namely, that of the so-called zaragi-mutilak ‘lads of the wineskin’. Indeed, a group of youth, known as eskota in the region of Uribealdea, would share the cost of a full wineskin for drinking and feasting. Most notably observed in the municipality of Mungia, particularly in the neighbourhoods of Atxuri, Belako, Billela, Elgezabal, Iturribaltzaga, Laukariz, Markaida and Trobika, the custom persisted until the mid-20th century. Practically lost today, barely survives, being partly maintained, only in the neighbourhoods of Atxuri and Trobika. (more…)
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