Basque ethnography at a glance
Egu, Sun god of ancient Basques. Ziortza Artabe. Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.
Euskaltzaindia, the Academy of the Basque Language, regulated quite some time ago the standard forms for the days of the week: astelehena, asteartea, asteazkena, osteguna, ostirala, larunbata and igandea. Their prescribed equivalents in Bizkaia Basque are likewise well-established: astelehena (also ilena), martitzena, eguaztena, eguena, barikua, zapatua and domeka. And on top of it all, there are innumerable dialectal and subdialectal variants (ortzeguna, ortziralea, egubakoitza, neskaneguna…). (more…)
Stained glass window at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Old in Urduña (Bizkaia). Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.
The devotion professed by the people of Urduña (Bizkaia) to the Virgin of Old dates from further back than the feast popularly known as ochomayos. It was on 8 May 1639 that the local council named her patroness of the town “forever and ever”. The day fell on a Sunday that year and was celebrated with “bullfighting, masquerading and fireworking”, hence the tradition, by vow, of annual celebrations featuring bulls, large-headed cabezudos and fireworks. (more…)
Holy Cross of Bizkargi, 2019. Leire Zaldibar.
Along with traditional weekend dancing, celebrations held at hermitages were hugely popular in times gone by. Such occasions were for the vast majority a great escape from daily routine, a longed-for chance to move away from everyday life, and of course, a once-in-the-year opportunity to meet with friends from the surrounding villages which you would hardly see otherwise. (more…)
By Vincent van Zalinge on Unsplash.
Peoples have forever, since prehistoric times, searched for means to guarantee their protection, from dances to human sacrifices and all sorts of rituals. Without looking further back into history, the need to protect ourselves, our family, our house, our properties… is as vital at this moment of pandemic as ever before, always bearing in mind a logical evolution. (more…)
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