Basque ethnography at a glance

Source: Labayru Foundation Photo Archive. Author: Nerea Etxebarria.

The habits and ways of life of people who change over the years are prosperous, and it is ethnography that seeks collecting these transformations, to some extent.

One of these customs, which has been greatly altered by modern life, is that of small commerce. According to many correspondents and informants, the presence of women in workplaces has been one of the most significant changes in the family life of the twentieth and the twenty-first century so far. For a long time, families were larger, and it was common for three generations to live in the same house: grandparents, parents, and children. Besides, woman devoted herself to housework, and there was always someone at home.

Nowadays, however, families are more restricted, and the elderly live in their respective houses, as long as they do not need help, or until they retire to a residence. Parents who live at home work outside and take their children of little age to kindergarten or school. Under these circumstances, it is common for no one to be at home at midday. Besides, one day a week, usually Friday or Saturday, they take advantage of shopping in big stores to fill the fridge for a while.

Source: Labayru Foundation Photo Archive. Author: Nerea Etxebarria.

This means that the purchases that housewives made every day have been reduced to a minimum, as bread and newspapers are also sold in big department stores. Needless to say, the practice of using the Internet, which makes it easier for its manufacturers to buy and distribute products online to the same extent as it harms small businesses.

Grocery store, butcher shop, fishmonger shop, market, hairdresser… these were places to bring people together and transmit local events, to know the health or illness of neighbors, etc., like supermarkets or casinos. Small businesses are stirring up and the number of stores or shops available is increasing.

Segundo Oar Arteta – Labayru Foundation/Etniker Bizkaia