Basque ethnography at a glance
Runic inscription N-32395. Courtesy of Åge Hojem, University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.
Most Scandinavian Viking-Age/early medieval runic inscriptions can be read either in Scandinavian or, less commonly, in Latin, but a few inscriptions, seemingly composed in an unencrypted natural language, cannot be given a Scandinavian or Latin interpretation. Nor have provisional checks succeeded in linking these inscriptions to a range of languages in northern, western, and eastern Europe (Fennic, Samic, West Germanic, Romance, Celtic, Slavic, Baltic). (more…)
Churching. Bilbao, 1967. Rafael Agirre. Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.
Candlemas is the Christian festival held on 2 February to commemorate the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple and the Purification of the Virgin. The Christmas cycle begins on St Nicholas’ Day (6 December) and concludes with the visit of the Magi (6 January). Candlemas marks the start of the carnival season. Celebrations culminate on Shrove Tuesday and Lent follows. (more…)
Bonfire Night in Labastida, 2015. José Ángel Chasco.
I would like to make a reflection and express a point of criticism regarding the stubbornness of some ethnographers to develop complicated interpretations and mythological studies about the origin and meaning of certain festivals and customs. They make assertions that go against all logic and common sense. Refusing to see reality as it is, ancestral origins and esoteric meanings are claimed. They construct picturesque, fictitious and fantastic theories and hypotheses that can only be the result of a lack of good sense and an unreasonable use of works such as The golden bough: a study in magic and religion by J. G. Frazer or Fiestas populares e insólitas [Extraordinary popular celebrations] by Juan G. Atienza. (more…)
Pottokas in Lapurdi. Michel Duvert.
Does the equine species found in prehistoric cave paintings represent the pottoka? Or is the pottoka the domesticated descendant of the horses introduced in the early centuries before Christ? Is it a breed according to the English model of the 18th century based on calibration standards? The population of pottokas is the result of centuries-old crossbreeding of Arab horses, military horses, smuggled horses… From Zuberoa to the farthest end of Bizkaia, different regional subtypes inhabit both sides of the mountain ranges. The ancestry of all such lineages is largely ignored. Their peculiar polymorphism has, however, not been an obstacle in the identification of an undeniable type officially recognised by the Haras, or French public body responsible for the regulation and administration of horse breeding, whose breed standard is now well established. (more…)
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