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.
Author: Felix Mugurutza
In Spanish, the name zoqueta stands for as a piece of wood, similar to a glove, used by the person who is reaping the harvest to protect the little finger, ring finger and middle finger of the left hand from the cuts of the sickle. Documented in Basque as esku-kapela, it is not a known word, but rather unusual, since that device has been mostly used on the Mediterranean side of Euskal Herria, where cereal was abundant, but our language was lost long before. Along the northern slope, on the contrary, it is a completely unknown object.
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.
Performance of the “Chain dance of Bercinjana” in Yécora (2016). Author: Emilio Xabier Dueñas.
The representation of the Cross, as an important element of the Passion of Jesus Christ, is very present in the field of the Christian religion, and its traditional symbology (the protective sign of communities, living family units, persons, animals, or possessions) is embodied in the pious sizes of places of worship, in the head-beds, or above the beds of eternal rest. It is painted on doors and windows, made or composed of several species of plants, or made, in an emblematic manner, as a remarkable gesture of Christianity.
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