Basque ethnography at a glance

Source: Juanra Melchisidor

In Biscay we have many hermitages, and in almost all of them celebrations are held on the day or time of their saint. In addition to religious rites, various activities are currently organized an enjoyed during the festival as community celebrations, such as popular meals, dances or games. Among these activities, competitions are very common, usually related to sport or gastronomy. But there some uncommon championships as well, an example of this is the txosna contest that is organized in the Berbikez field, in Gordexola, during the festivities of the hermitage of Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian. It must be said that, despite the fact that the dedication of this hermitage of Gordexola is San Juan Bautista, its festivity is celebrated on September 26, the day of the martyrs of Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian, and that is why many also know it by that name.

The tradition of this contest goes back a long way. According to witnesses, about 100 years ago, the richest of the town (some from America) and some baserritarras began to build these shacks to protect themselves from the inclement weather during the festivities. Actually, although we now use it more with another meaning, this is one of the terms of txosna: shack or light building that is constructed for a short duration.

Until the middle of the 20th century, only 5-6 txosnas were built, which were mainly used to eat on the day of Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian. Back then the txosnas were for the families, but little by little they spread among the population, and today almost all the local gangs make their own. This year, for example, 30 txosnas have been built.

Author: Ane Larrondo

They start working on them a month before the holidays begin. In the past they were much simpler and consisted only in chestnut branches and ferns. Today, however, they build authentic little houses, they are spectacular. Of course, they have to do it following some rules: just as it was done before, to build the txosnas they have to use mainly wood and ferns. It is usually a job of many hours and requires a lot of investment, although many materials are stored from one year to the next. Each group chooses a special theme, and this is what they base on when decorating the txosnas.

A few years ago a txosna contest began to be held, and the city council created appropriate regulations for it. It specifies the registration deadlines, the places of construction of the txosnas, the dimensions, the materials to be used, etc. Each gang decides whether or not to participate in the contest, since participation requires time and money. If so, two members of each group are presented, creating a “court” and scoring among them. It should be noted that the judges of each txosna are not repeated the following year and that each year a different txosna is assigned the responsibility of organizing and managing the festivities of Saint Cosmas and Saint Damian.

The winners of the contest and the ten remaining in the top places have the right to choose the place to install their txosna next year. In the past, they used to put up sticks to occupy the places, but when they saw that others removed them, they made that decision. The winners are given a cash prize, but this is usually symbolic and does not cover the expenses incurred. Therefore, getting the top spots is usually more a matter of “honor” than money. It is the most important festival of the year for most of the gordexolarras, something that is clearly reflected because it is a tradition that is still alive today, with great participation of the new generations.

Nerea Etxebarria Gumuzio – Labayru Foundation