Basque ethnography at a glance
Ganixak. Heraitze, Uztaritze; 2024. Source: Lorentxa Saragueta.
Innovation could be said to have come tradition at the Hartzaro festival in Uztaritze. The local residents have chosen carnival time to hold the annual festival for the last 28 years. Even though the Pyrenean bear did not hibernate last winter, the festival has celebrated its awakening in fine style.
Hawthorn crosses. Ezkio (Gipuzkoa). Author: Felix Mugurutza
Our ancestors believed that thunderstorms were the most common, known and feared expression of atmospheric violence: the home, livestock, harvest or life of people hung by a thread during the storm.
Santa Clara Convent in Tolosa, 2023. Author: Fernando Hualde.
At the end of November 2023, the doors of Santa Clara Convent in Tolosa (Gipuzkoa) closed for the last time, after over four centuries of being home to the religious order and the remaining four nuns were moved to another convent. Before they left – and with their cooperation –, I had the opportunity to make an extensive inventory of all the artefacts within the walls of the convent that had been home to the cloistered religious community, the Order of Saint Claire (the Poor Clares). A heritage intervention thus took place from May to October of that year with the goal of preserving the memory of that convent; the outcomes were four different books being produced and published, the recording of the oral memory of the last four nuns, the making of a documentary and the organisation of an exhibition.
The Burgi dam. Ezka river. Author: Gaizka Aranguren
The previous article discussed the damage caused by dams in rivers and their relationships with the heritage. Here are some examples:
Some significant examples
The Santa Engracia dam in Pamplona was first documented in the 13th century. It has been in disuse for decades. It was used for different activities, the last of which was for the rubber industry in the 20th century. The River Arga damaged it several years ago and the sheet of water disappeared as a result; the Pamplona rowing club had to stop using it for their sport. That has led to robust discussion. The law requires it to demolished, which was so ordered by the Ebro River Authority and the Government of Navarra’s Ministry of the Environment; but the City Council has called for it to be rebuilt. Its heritage value has been stressed by the parties that wish to rebuild it, but the most appropriate way to show its interior would be precisely to demolish it and display the inner part of one of its ends. From the intangible heritage perspective, the use by the rowing club would obviously not be reason enough.
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