EUSKAL HERRIA IN DEPTH: Culture

Basque mythology

Basque mythology is pre-Indo-European and matriarchal in nature, the Goddess Mari being the central figure around which many of its legends rotate. Its priestesses, the sorginak, were demonised with the arrival of Christianity and persecuted, as happened in Zugarramurdi. This did not, however, prevent family veneration of forefathers from continuing, led by the etxekoandre (the mother of the home or farmhouse), whose healing skills were later adopted by the emaginak (midwives).

Other figures worthy of note are the lamiak or laminak, numens who lived on riverbanks, and the jentillak (literally, pagans); of the latter, the only examples to survive the arrival of Kixmi (Christ) were the basajaunak (Lords of the woods) and Olentzero.

In some cases, the influence of Indo-European beliefs differs depending on the historical territory in question; while in most areas the Sun is treated as a female deity (Eguzki amandrea or Grandmother sun), who is prayed to at dusk and highly revered, in Bizkaia, probably as a result of Celtic influence, it takes the form of a male spirit and is given the name of Ekhi.

These beliefs have survived to the present day, sometimes independently in tales and legends, and, on other occasions, in tandem with Christian beliefs, in which paganism was persecuted and identified with the Devil. The work of such anthropologists as José Miguel Barandiarán, José María Satrustegi and Caro Baroja should be highlighted in the field of Basque mythology.

Basque rural sport

Basque rural sport, highly popular throughout Euskal Herria, features among the country´s characteristic, traditional sports.

Basque pelota is another typical sport in the country. It is played in frontons (pelota courts) and there are many traditional forms, pelota mano, cesta-punta, remonte, pala and trinquete being the best known. This sport has spread throughout the world; it is particularly popular in Spanish-speaking countries and is also significant in Florida (USA). There are important frontons in the main cities of the Spanish-speaking world, including Manila´s Jai Alai. Pelota is played in a good part of the north of the Iberian peninsula and even in Valencia.

We should not forget the Basque Country´s boat-racing tradition, rowing teams taking part in a circuit of championships all along the Cantabrian coastline in the hope of winning one of the famous "flags".

Dance

Basque dances form an important part of Basque culture and its folklore. Each village and town has its own dances, which, while studied by territories, do not always share any direct relationship. The earliest studies of these dances date back to Manuel de Larramendi and his Coreografía o descripción general de la muy noble y leal Provincia de Guipúzcoa (Choreography or general description of the most noble and loyal Province of Gipuzkoa) (1756), although records exist from the XVI century, their accompanying the astolasterrak (popular comic plays).

Focussing on the different types of dances, three typical forms should be highlighted: Religious procession or village square dances, based on the dances performed at local religious processions, where everybody joined in when they wanted, these have now come to form part of the repertoire of formal dance groups, although, of course, they are still danced by anyone joining in on the fun at religious festivities, particularly in rural areas.

Sword dances, dances using swords, which share obvious features with European dances of a similar nature. They are always danced as a sign of commemoration or as a tribute and, are linked to the ritual dances where the people respectfully support each group of dancers.

Dances marking the end of the fiesta, these dances are performed to symbolically mark the end of the fun at local fiestas or a specific period, such as a carnival, by striking, beating and burning inflated, empty wineskins. It is the end of a cycle and the start of another.

Literature

The main features of literature in Euskera are:

It is the result of a language neither official nor united: The fact that it arose in such a small community of speakers has had a significant impact on written literature, particularly as history progressed and the boundaries of languages and peoples weakened and blurred. The history of the Basque language is said to be the history of its survival and that of a people. This marked authors, whose committed stance on Euskera (whose first steps were to defend Larramendi), together with religion, was to become a cornerstone of different movements.

It arose between two states with Romance languages: Euskal Herria is located between what were once the political and cultural centres of the west, the two states, while competing one with the other, being the heirs of the Latin tradition. For this reason, this country, which maintained its ancient form of speech, received Latin influence, especially reflected in the Sara School and other religious authors of the time due to the generous use of quotations from classical and Christian authors used in their prose texts. Its main purpose was religious teaching: During his life, Father Barandiarán (as Martín Ugalde points out in his Síntesis de la historia del País Vasco (A short history of the Basque Country) or as Barandiarán himself suggests in Hombre Primitivo en el País Vasco (Primitive Man in the Basque Country)) defended the late Christianisation of the Basques, claiming that pagan beliefs had been preserved in union with Christianity in Navarre up until the XX century. This is the reason why the Catholic church insisted on Christianising and spreading catechism throughout the population using Euskera (following the Counter-reformation). On occasions, this religion was imposed by the politics of the day, but on others, the Catholic Church itself used the language (Euskera) and literature as a barrier to the changes and new ideologies which were appearing, such as Protestantism, the journalistic confrontation of Jean Hiriart-Urruti and the French Republicanists.

Poetry has always borne more weight than prose: Most languages began like this, prose requiring readers, i.e. a literate population capable of appreciating it. Songs, bertsos, eresiak and epic poems only needed to be sung/cited. Consequently, as in literature from other places, the population was and is quite familiar with a good number of couplets and poems set to melodies. Another result of this situation was the abundance of popular, lyrical compositions, as opposed to poetry as such, which did not manage to disassociate itself from the influence of bertsolarismo (the local form of spontaneous oral poetry), particularly as far as metre was concerned, almost until the end of the XIX century.

Scarcity of printing presses or the "press issue": Unlike Romance languages, it would seem that few printing presses were available to Basque when it came to non-religious works, such as Peru Abarca, which had to be transmitted by manuscript until as late as the end of XVIII century. This matter has been the subject of much debate and few clear conclusions have been drawn. Some point towards censorship in both Spain and France in the centuries following the schism of the west, while others state that there was not enough production to justify presses or that the authorities did not require presses, their using other means to publicise royal edicts and the like. As demonstrated by the publication of royal edicts in Euskera during the Kingdom of Navarre, the printing press did exist in Vasconia. So, while one of the arguments can, therefore, be rejected (despite most religious texts´ being printed beyond the borders of Euskal Herria and the Count of Aranda´s 1766 edict which prohibited publishing in Euskera (1766) [44]), the censorship line gains strength in light of the long periods which works had to wait between being written, passing the censorship of the Inquisition and, finally, being published. This occurred to Juan de Tartas, whose works, despite being of a religious nature, took a long time to be printed and, like works by other authors of the day, suffered the so-called "will of the press", i.e. works were altered due to their "Frenchified" spelling and most of the punctuation marks were omitted to such an extent that they were extremely hard to read and understand.

It has only recently been studied: With the possible exception of Oihenart, authors did not take much interest in studying the history of literature in Euskera until the mid-XIX century. When added to the problems involved in printing, this has meant that the discovery of manuscripts by Joan Amendux (1969), Ibarguen-Chopin or Lazarrraga (2004) have revolutionised our knowledge, particularly when referring to late-Mediaeval and Pre-Renaissance literature. Patxi Salaberri (Member of the Navarrese Euskera Council and the Royal Academy of the Basque Language) resumes the above as follows: "The history of written Basque literature is no more than the history of the efforts of a politically-disarticulated and downtrodden, culturally-denied people with a small population to approach the written tradition"

Written literature

The first book published in Euskera was Lingua Vasconum Primitiae by Bernard Etxepare in 1545. We know of this work only thanks to the single copy kept at the National Library in Paris. As can be inferred from the opinions of his contemporaries, it was not appreciated due to the popular metres used, more akin to bertsolarismo (the local form of spontaneous oral poetry). Etxepare´s verses were set to music at the end of the XX century by Benito Lertxundi, Xabier Lete and the group Oskorri, among others, converting them into popular songs. His poems have almost acquired anthem status among certain sectors of euskaldun culture and defenders of the Basque language, their being recited at all kinds of popular and cultural events.

Popular and oral literature

Bertsolarismo (the local form of spontaneous oral poetry) is deeply rooted in Euskal Herria and different competitions are organised at both national and territorial levels. A key figure from the last decade is Andoni Egaña.

Bertsolarismo has a long tradition in Euskal Herria. It dates back to the times before writing in Euskera began. Despite being so old, it is also a modern-day activity, proving itself capable of adapting to more current subject matter. Bertsos (the poems) contain the novelty, intensity, competitiveness, risk and other features demanded in the modern age. New melodies, ideas, expressions, points of view, exercises in bertsos, events, bertsolaris (bards), etc. are constantly being produced.

Bertsolarismo is the fruit of a spontaneous form of oral literature. But it is also a dialectical confrontation between two people, in which arguments and ideas are just as important as form. Poetical and rhetorical features join hands in the bertsos.

Cuisine

The cuisine from all of the territories of Euskal Herria enjoys great prestige at both national and international levels. This is just as true of Iparralde in the north as it is of Navarre and the Basque Autonomous Community in the south. There are a great many gastronomic societies.

The local "pintxos" (tapas) are, without doubt, very popular and highly appreciated, as are the many ways of cooking cod or "kokotxas" (fish cheeks), one of the most popular specialities of coastal Basque cuisine. In the mountainous regions, Idiazabal and Roncal cheese, junket (most appreciated in the Valley of Baztan) and local beef all deserve a special mention.. In the south, you have Lodosa´s piquillo peppers, the wines of Navarre and the Rioja Alavesa, and local asparagus.

Festivals

The following festivals, of differing scales, some political, others cultural, are traditionally held:

Aberri Eguna: day of the Basque Country: Resurrection Sunday.
Eve of Santa Águeda: 5th of February.
San Francisco Javier: patron saint of Navarre, 3rd of December.
Inauteri: Carnivals, end of winter.
San Fermín: from the 6th to the 14th of July in Pamplona.
Pastorale Souletine: Theatrical performance in Zuberoa (Soule) in the summer.

Sports

Non-traditional sports and the support they receive is highly influenced by the media interest given to them in the state each territory belongs to. Consequently, football and cycling are very popular in the territories of Hegoalde (Southern Basque Country), while rugby has a great following and is played a lot in Iparralde (Northern Basque Country).

Football is the main Basque sport, as it is in both Spain and France. The main clubs are Athletic Club, Real Sociedad, Osasuna and Alavés. Athletic Club de Bilbao maintains the policy of only signing players from Euskal Herria, or trained in the youth squads of Basque clubs. Cycling is also very popular. Basque fans can be seen at races dressed in orange, the colours of the Euskaltel-Euskadi teams, and ikurriñas (Basque flag) can always be seen on the mountain stages of the "Tour de France", the race which the now-retired cyclist from Villava-Atarrabia, Miguel Indurain, was the first to win on five consecutive occasions, while also adding a victory in the Giro d´Italia to his triumphs.

Rugby is a very popular sport in south-east France. There are two Basque teams in the first division: "BOPB" or "Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque" from Biarritz and "Aviron Bayonnais" from Bayonne. Biarritz play in red and white, and Bayonne in blue and white.

In mountaineering and climbing, the Gasteiz-born mountaineer Juanito Oiarzabal (Vitoria) deserves special mention for his world record of 8,000 metres at the age of 21. Josune Bereziartu, the only woman to climb a 9a/5.14d, Iker Pou and the 2006 world champion of sport climbing from Eibar, Patxi Usobiaga, named "best Basque sportsperson of 2006", also stand out. Finishing second in the Euroleague twice, winner of the European Cup and twice runners-up, league champion, coming in second on three occasions, and with five King´s Basketball Cups to their name, coming second twice, TAU Vitoria - Baskonia de Vitoria is a notable Basketball team. There are also basketball teams in San Sebastián (Bruesa GBC), Bilbao (C.B.D. Bilbao Berri - Lagun Aro Bilbao Basket) and Irún-Fuenterrabía (Women´s League). The stars of handball are Pamplona´s "Portland San Antonio" and Bidasoa from Irún.

The exceptional conditions for surfing on the Basque coast, with locations such as Zarautz, Mundaka and Biarritz, has earned it a place on the world surfing circuit.

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