Basque ethnography at a glance
Barandiaran at Sara Etxea. Ataun, 1987. Ángel Alonso. Labayru Fundazioa Photographic Archive.
On 21 December 2017 we commemorated the 25th anniversary of the death of José Miguel de Barandiaran. Those of us who devote ourselves to ethnography as members of the Etniker (name created by Barandiaran to signify ‘ethnographic research’) groups certainly owe him a debt of gratitude. He not only founded the mentioned working groups but transformed a discipline which had until then been rooted in rather romantic and biased views. Barandiaran’s new approach to ethnography was based on scientific evidence. By adopting a systematic method and maintaining, first and foremost, such an open frame of mind, he put us on the broad European map. (more…)
Burdock burrs. Sergio González Ahedo.
As Matthew tells us in his Gospel, when Herod realised he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious and gave orders to put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who where two years old or under, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to the infant Messiah announced to become king of Israel (Mt 2: 16). This biblical episode is known as the Massacre of the Innocents and follows the Adoration of the Magi. Nonetheless, the implementation of liturgical celebrations does not follow chronological order, and the former is commemorated before the latter. (more…)
Adoration of the Shepherds. Labastida, 1993. José Ángel Chasco.
In this city of the Rioja Alavesa region, the traditional Dance of the Shepherds, originally held at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, is nowadays represented at seven in the afternoon on 24 and 25 December.
The story unfolds at two different venues: the church of the Assumption of Our Lady and La Paz Square in front of the city hall. A living nativity scene is staged. As a child angel announces attendees the birth of Baby Jesus in Bethlehem, the shepherds sing Christmas carols and dance while inviting the members of the council to enter the temple and worship the newborn. (more…)
Burning of the land in Sara (Lapurdi). Michel Duvert.
Burning the land or lur-erretzea (different from the slash-and-burn farming of grasslands and woodlands, lurra atera or luberritu in Basque) is an ancient and well-established cultural trait in Europe. The nomadic way of life involved itinerant forms of agriculture based on the exploitation of pastures and fern fields as well as the shifting cultivation of cereal with fallow periods for the soil to recover. Farmers (laborariak or nekazariak) would later settle down in humus-rich (lur beltza) productive areas. Might the general term larrekia refer to the burnt plots of land? This is an issue ethnography research does not entirely confirm. (more…)
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